Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Back to Basics - The UN Charter and Mind Freedom

We all deserve the basics of life.

Freedom to live, love and laugh.

The UN Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been a powerful tool for change, in my life.  It helped me break out of many mind prisons.  When I see or hear good info, I pass it along.

The Mind Prisons to which I refer, are those tricky, invisible, barred cells --- where I flounder, lose hope and feel locked into lifestyle choices that no longer fit me.  

It is a truly icky martyr-place I've heard described as where "you made your bed, and must lay in it."  Stuck.  Immobilized.  Lacking perspective.  Paralyzed with fear of the unknown.

As Jen paints -- she constantly steps back to take in the big picture.  As I write a scene -- I continue to think of it in context of the full length screenplay.

Our lives are the same.

Choice to choice, we can loose sight of the overall character arc, we thought we want to take.  Stepping back helps to see where we've gone off course.

The UN Charter brought me to a zero point.  Big Picture -- For Humans.  For Me.  I was relieved to find I, as a human being, deserved the basics in my personal life.

I was also surprised to discover the United Nations saw fit to commit the list of rights and freedoms to print.  It serves as a reminder.  We are clearly not there yet as a planet, but the rights and freedoms have been committed to writing.

I can do my best to maintain my personal charter and show others they can do the same.

Go through it if you feel "off".  You may be surprised by how literal the points are.

How many of these rights and freedoms have you activated in your own life?

No matter what previous choices have been, we can change our minds -- and change them again.  We are never done evolving...as a person, or a species...

Take Everything with a Grain of (Sea)salt.

Most of us know what it's like to be played, at one point in our personal lives.  That manager, coworker, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife -- who is lying to you...yet let's you think your doubts are "All in Your Head..."

Global situations feel like that to me right now.  Can't put my finger on it, but something is really "off". 

What If --- we are playing ourselves most of all?

Miracles come through Unity

Corruption may be rampant -- and many are too compromised to know which end is up...Your fight is not with "them".  Still your inner core.  Be love.  Create.  Make the world you want to live in.  I am.

I continue to appreciate the principles outlined in the UN Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I consider them a universal guidepost.  


The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.

  • All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

  • Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

  • Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.

  • No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

  • No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.

  • Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.

  • All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

  • Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.

  • No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

  • Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.

  • (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
  • (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

  • No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
  • (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
  • (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
  • (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.

  • (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
  • (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
  • (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
  • (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.

  • Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

  • Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
  • (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
  • (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
  • (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

  • Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
  • (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
  • (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
  • (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

  • Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
  • (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.

  • (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
  • (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
  • (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

  • (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
  • (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

  • Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.

  • (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
  • (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
  • (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

  • Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Health Intelligence is Skin Deep...

So,


I learned something today, that I knew was true.  Immediately.  Intrinsically.


Sunscreen is not good for us.  Sunscreen is a biotoxin.  It is a phenol, which has been shown to disrupt placental development.  It has estrogens, which are not helpful to us.


Studies have proven sunscreen kills coral in 96 hours.  Tourists with ethical intentions of celebrating a reef, are inadvertently killing it -- myself included.  Gulp.  When you know better.  Do better.  This is only one reason reefs are at risk, but is an area where individual choice can make a difference.


As a parent, I have used sunscreen on my kids and self on occasion.  If I remembered or was going to be in the sun for a long time.


I knew it didn't work for me.  Any time I put it on, I'd burn worse.  I also hated the way it felt on me.  Sticky.  Metallic.  Tasted terrible.  Burned eyes terribly.


Melanoma and fear mongering are at an all time high.  If we were really protected by products on the market, why would this be the case.  It stands to reason that something is amiss.  Why is our society not connecting dots?  Many are making connections, investigating and bringing their research to the public.


They are also not the popular voice.  Billions are invested in the sunscreen, skin care and prevention of cancer industries.


Care for yourself.  Take care of your skin - it is the largest organ - and permeable -- things that may be flushed out through your internal system -- may be absorbed quicker through the skin -- and into different parts of your physiology.


I heard a really great philosophy recently, to illustrate what I'm writing about:


"If you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your skin."


http://bodyecology.com/


Natural coconut is a great way to moisturize and protect your skin in the sun.  Build up natural melanin (tan) slowly and don't over do anything.  All things in moderation.  Hats, clothing, avoiding exposure certain times of day -- will help all of us enjoy sun in a healthy way.


Olive oil on the skin, can repair any sun damage to DNA after being outside.  Keep in mind, wonderful things come with natural sun exposure.


Anti-oxident foods and nutrition is the most proactive choice people can make for self-care.  Also, maintain a healthy body PH (not acidic).


It would be great to get our society out of "magic pill" mentality -- and back into the community of great meals, shared with friends and family...cooking with kids...explaining why foods are important...and nurturing healthy relationships with the world around us.


Interesting Trivia:


Olive oil with iodine, was used by the US navy in the south pacific, to treat sunburn.  Do your research.  And check out other people's.  Cross reference.  Be informed.  Connect your own dots.


Nature worked for a long time...the answer is common sense.


Enjoy the long days, summer heat, and be smart about it. 


For more information:


http://www.sunscreensbiohazard.com/about.html


Also see Donna Gates' information from her Body Ecology site regarding sunscreen:


http://bodyecology.com/articles/shocking-sunscreen-facts

Happy Solstice!