IntentBlog

Alternative Medicine is Mainstream Medicine

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:45:32 -0800

Co-authored by Dean Ornish, Rustum Roy and Andrew Weil

In mid-February, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the Bravewell Collaborative are convening a "Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public." This is a watershed in the evolution of integrative medicine, a holistic approach to health care that uses the best of conventional and alternative therapies such as meditation, yoga, acupuncture and herbal remedies. Many of these therapies are now scientifically documented to be not only medically effective but also cost effective.

How to Defeat Hamas -- Face Up to the Truth

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:29:51 -0800

An article in the Washington Post On Faith section in response to their question: Hamas leaders claim that their understanding of Islam makes Israel's survival a theological and moral impossibility. What's your response to that? How should Israel respond? How should other Muslims respond?

Dear Mr. Obama, It’s Time For a Peace Plan That Works

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:14:21 -0800

Israel's massive assault on Gaza is the worst sort of déjà vu all over again. As news commentators wearily point out that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a never-ending story, there are shifts in that story. The most important was George Bush's decision to studiously ignore the whole problem. For eight years the U.S. has abandoned its responsibility to broker peace. The result has been an ongoing catastrophe. No one needs reminding of that.

Read the rest of the article here at the San Francisco Chronicle

Leave the Sinking Ship: An Open Invitation to the Wall Street Journal to Get on Board for Integrative Health Reform

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:23:56 -0800

Deepak Chopra, MD Andrew Weil, MD and Rustum Roy, PhD

On December 26, 2008, the Wall Street Journal published “The Touch that Doesn't Heal,” an article by Steve Salerno. Without discernible professional credentials in health reportage, the writer opened his piece by pledging allegiance to "scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine." He next declared opposition to integrative medicine, and characterized as “gurus” two proponents of integrative medicine, Deepak Chopra and Andrew Weil, choosing to overlook that we both are highly trained MDs with almost 40 years of clinical-experience. Joining us in our response is Rustum Roy, an internationally known scientist, and member of five major National Academies of Science Engineering, who has spent ten years researching a wide range of health technologies, both ancient and modern. We predict that while they may try to dismiss us, the Wall Street Journal writer and editors will find they can't dismiss a burgeoning field of medicine currently saving and improving millions of lives worldwide.

Tools of Personal Transformation – Forgiveness

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:21:27 -0800

From an early age we are told forgiveness is an important virtue we should practice, but we are only told to forgive, we are not shown how to forgive and mean it. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us,” But I don’t think forgiveness should be regarded as prescriptive morality. Prescriptive morality never works and is frequently a form a self- righteousness in disguise--a mask for the ego.

Memo to President-Elect Obama

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:23:48 -0800

You have been elected by the first anti-war constituency since 1952, when Eisenhower was elected after promising to end the Korean War. But ending a war isn't the same as bringing peace. America has been on a war footing since the day after Pearl Harbor, sixty-seven years ago. We spend more on our military than the next sixteen countries combined. If you have a vision of change that goes to the heart of this country's deep problems, ending our dependence on war is far more important than ending our dependency on foreign oil.
Read the rest of the article here in Tikkun Magazine

If Terrorism Is a Cancer, Treat It Like One

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:04:33 -0800

In the spirit of President-elect Obama's call for unity, the present divide between opponents and supporters of the war in Iraq needs to be healed. On one side, as represented by President Bush in his exit interviews, the war is seen, post-surge, as a key success in the war on terror. On the other side, as voiced by peace advocates, the war has been a dismal, shameful failure that did nothing to lessen the threat of terror around the world.

Continue reading the rest of this article in the San Francisco Chronicle

Dear Abby, my economy's been cheating on me

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:56:26 -0800

The shock is in the statistics. For the months of September and October, consumer confidence fell lower than at any time since it's been measured, going back forty years. The same for consumer expectations for the future. More than 70% of Americans say they are spending less than last year. A third of Americans are at risk for moving downward economically, another third know someone who is in that position.

Read the rest of this article here in the San Francisco Chronicle

We Don't Need Rick Warren's Blessing, Or Anyone Else's

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:18:40 -0800

Since God didn't vote for President, why should he get a seat on the inauguration platform? In the midst of controversy over picking Rick Warren to offer an invocation, it's been overlooked that reality is shifting in America. We are a largely secular society where the vast majority of people do not attend church. When religion enters the picture, we are a pluralistic society, not a Christian one. The right wing may posture as if Christianity deserves special privilege and pride of place. Their posturing has convinced a lot of people for the past twenty years, but it's high time we threw the whole charade out the window.

Enlightenment

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:50:41 -0800

Enlightenment is the transformation of personal consciousness to universal consciousness. According to the wisdom traditions of the world, this transformation is not an anomaly or departure from human nature, but rather the actualization of human potential. The evolution of consciousness is a progressive journey back to the source of existence, to our source. This metamorphosis represents a shift in identify from the personal to the transpersonal, to the universal. It is the realization that as persons we are a transient impermanent pattern of a deeper consciousness that differentiates simultaneously into the observer and the observed. The maturation of awareness reveals that in reality we are ultimately not defined as either the observer or observed, but rather that consciousness which simultaneously differentiates into both.

George W. Bush Has Been Throwing Shoes at Us

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:23:01 -0800

Most commentators took the shoe-throwing incident that happened over the weekend as a bit of grotesque political slapstick. The Iraqi television reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush apparently considered himself a martyr, according to a note he passed to a colleague on the spot. No doubt he anticipated some extremely cruel reprisal for his symbolic protest. It's up in the air what will happen to Muntadar al-Zeidi. The fact that he became an instant hero in the Arab street carries small significance in the West, since that tinder box doesn't need even a spark to ignite it.

Listen to Deepak's latest podcast

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:37:00 -0800

Brought to you by Sirius XM Radio - Listen here for part 1 and here for part 2

Deepak Chopra brings together a conscious, intelligent host of guests in this two part episode; the dialogue centers around the current global insecurity, instability and the roots of conflict, war and terrorism. In addition, Deepak’s guests pose potential creative solutions to these growing problems.

Guests include: Alan Colmes, Bill Bradley, Gotham Chopra, Peter Bergen and Ken Robinson

Opinionators in Paradise

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:32:32 -0800

It's a golden time to have an opinion. Broadcasting your personal viewpoint to the world has never been easier. The chances of fame, if only momentary, are the same for millions of bloggers. The risk of retribution is basically nil. Therefore, a new democracy has arisen, the democracy of "You want to know what I think?" It used to be that a cat could look at a king. Now the cat can post on the Web every tidbit of court gossip, and the king can do absolutely nothing about it.

Continue reading in the San Francisco Chronicle

Visit www.intent.com to read more from Deepak Chopra and other prominent voices.

Cursed are the peacemakers

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:42:17 -0800

The catastrophic and horrendous attacks in Mumbai are being labeled as India's 9/11. Several thousand innocent civilians have already died in India as the result of bombings over the past few years. But this particular attack, striking at the most prestigious sites in the country's most prestigious city, has had a unique psychological effect. As with 9/11, a symbolic wound has been opened. The image of India as progressive and modern has been shattered.
Read the rest of this article in the San Francisco Chronicle

How to keep the vow of nonviolence

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:56:53 -0800

Since we started the itakethevow.com web site only a few weeks ago, we have had over 3000 people take the vow for nonviolence. A number of questions though have come up on how to keep the vow.
I will try to address some of these questions here: