Food Inc: How Industrial Food is Making us Sicker, Fatter and Poorer and What You Can Do About It

Book Review: Food Inc.: How Industrial Food is Making us Sicker, Fatter and Poorer And What You Can Do About It edited by Karl Weber (Public Affairs Books -Participant Media Guide 2009)

This book is a real eye-opener and I thought I was well informed about food issues. This book tackles food issues from many angles and shows the many problems that have come about due to obviously bad food policies. There is also a movie of the same name which preceded the book and which I plan to see sometime soon. Several important writers, journalists, nutritionists, food critics, social commentators, and scientists make up this collection.

First up was a chapter by Eric Schlosser, maker of the movie – Fast Food Nation. He talks about food safety issues, factory farming, and exploited farm workers. He says that when he made the movie at first he wasn’t trying for an overly negative movie – just to get to the bottom of some issues. Apparently, the fast food industry was very resistant and not at all transparent in showing how things worked. He talks about a change in the meatpacking industries – where once it was a well-paid job with well-treated workers that became a low-paying sweatshop with increased worker safety issues. He talks about the Food Industry seeking both government deregulation of rules that protect workers and subsidies from the government. He compares deregulation in the food industry to deregulation in the financial markets that allowed people to be bogged down with toxic mortgages. Proponents of deregulation say that regulations stifle a free market economy. This is of course true but some rather obvious regulation is necessary – such as those to protect workers and to promote fair trade over simply just free trade. He talks about the current interest in healthy food movements:

“There has been a sea change in American attitudes toward food, especially among the educated and upper-middle class. And there is now a powerful social movement centered on food. Sustainable agriculture, the obesity epidemic, food safety, illegal immigration, animal welfare, the ethics of marketing to children – all of these things are being widely discussed and debated.”

Cheap food is often toxic in the sense that things like processed ingredients, sugar content, salt content, additives, etc promote poor health and conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. Low wage workers have a need for cheap food and little time to prepare food with good ingredients. This is a rather vicious cycle where cheap quick food leads to poor health. The CDC estimates that 1/3 of children born in 2000 will develop diabetes. So we need to promote healthy food and lifestyles.

Schlosser supports unionization among exploited agricultural and restaurant workers. He praises farmer’s markets and availability of quality food in poor neighborhoods. He supports better labeling laws, animal welfare laws, and regulation of factory farms. These seem like reasonable regulations to me. He states that the price of food may go up as a result, especially meat so this may require that people eat less meat. He also makes the important comment that the government should be subsidizing healthy food such as fruits and vegetables rather than high fructose corn syrup. He supports family farms with a concept of land stewardship over factory farms where all is a business commodity. He thinks there are positive benefits to promoting healthy food over junk food – better health, lower health-care costs, more profits for those who grow and sell healthy foods and less for junk food producers, etc. Really – if you think about it this is a no-brainer.

Food safety issues at factory farms are a real concern as animals are kept in close quarters often in unsanitary conditions. The cruelty issues are even more severe – as animals like pigs, chickens, turkeys, and cows – are kept basically as prisoner-slaves and pumped full of antibiotics and hormones, de-beaked, and not allowed to exercise or carry on instinctive behaviors. This is utterly barbaric. For visuals – see the parody movies – The Meatrix and the Meatrix II – Revolting  - I think there are 3 in all – on web – just google. The crowded conditions contribute to both unsanitary conditions and disease, which makes antibiotics more necessary. These operations also produce a lot of waste that can overwhelm sewage treatment plants and increase chemicals in the water supply. Hormones cause udder infections in cows and those are treated with antibiotics. Avian flu and future diseases were/will be likely generated in factory farm environments. The inhumane conditions and practices are a disgrace and a point of dishonor to our race. We can fight back by knowing where our food comes from and avoiding food from these places as much as is possible. This is another no-brainer.

Robert Kenner, the maker of the Food Inc. movie, talks about industry participation where the people were nice and would share some surface information but left vast amounts off-limits as far as seeing how things were done. Transparency is a path to accountability and people are beginning to demand it from corporations and industry. According to him though – he hit an “impenetrable barrier.” Companies are often worried about liabilities so that was probably a big issue but transparency will become more important as consumers judge with their buying power. The movie started out as strictly about the food industry but inevitably became involved with corporate control and secrecy about how food is produced. He mentions the “food disparagement” laws, aka “veggie libel laws” – which makes it easier for food industry companies to sue people who criticize the quality of their products. In showing Walmart dealing with organic yogurt entrepreneur Gary Hirshberg he wanted to be balanced by showing pro-corporate situations as well as anti-corporate perspectives. He said this was made difficult by corporate intimidation of food workers exposed to pesticide and safety problems. He says one reason for this is that corporations are very conscious of how they are perceived. He does state that things have gotten better in some respects as companies like McDonalds have made some improvements adopting some minimum standards of humane treatment of their meat animals they get from suppliers. He also states that he is not at all anti-corporate on any philosophical level.

An org called Food and Water Watch wrote a short piece about “food sovereignty” which basically refers to who controls food, corporate agribusiness interests or people such as local family farms. The gist are suggestions to support things like farmer’s markets and local family farms, to learn and know where and how your food was produced, and to keep track and speak out about food issues and policies.

An article by Gary Hirshberg on organic food points out the many benefits of buying and consuming it. He goes through his own history of making organic yogurt from a small operation to a corporate level worldwide operation and keeping the tight controls and certifiability regulations that the ‘organic’ stamp requires. I know we have been eating the Stonyfield yogurts for decades now and I love the Oikos Greek yogurts. He explains the various levels of ‘organic.’ 100% organic is pretty obvious and means everything is organic from farm to shelf. ‘Organic’ requires that at least 95% of ingredients be organic with the other 5% being on  a list of allowable materials. The third category is ‘Made with Organic’, and means that at least 70% of the ingredients are organic.

The Humane Society of the United States wrote an article on the six worst animal practices in agribusiness. These are:

1)      Battery cages – tiny cages where hens are forced to lay eggs without being able to practice any of their natural habits. This is banned in many countries but not here.

2)      Fast Growth of Birds – about 9 billion broiler chickens are slaughtered yearly in the U.S. These animals are selectively bred for fast growth and treated with ‘growth-promoting’ antibiotics. They are often so fat and imbalanced they can’t function. This is also true of turkeys as we had one once as a pet. She could hardly walk – it was sad.

3)      Forced Feeding for Foie Gras – this is truly disgusting as geese and ducks are literally force-fed with a tube down their throats into their stomachs so that their liver will be enlarged which apparently becomes a ‘delicacy.’ Mere movement becomes painful for the animals. This is utter torture.

4)      Gestation Crates and Veal Crates – sows and calves are kept in crates where they can’t turn around or even move. Sows are kept like this for four months of their pregnancy. I have seen the calf ones among some Amish farmers. They are being phased out in some places. Again this is utter torture.

5)      Long-Distance Transport – this refers to transport under overcrowded and inhumane conditions. Once stopping for gas along an interstate I saw a truck full of turkeys on a hot day under these conditions. While saying prayers/wishes /mantras for them I noticed that many of the turkeys were actually dead and dying – maybe of the heat, maybe from lack of water. It was sad.

6)      Electric Stunning of Birds – poultry are further tortured before they are slaughtered.  There legs are shackled, they are hung upside down, there heads are passed through electrified water meant to immobilize them before their throats are slit.

Next there is a shift of gears and the topic switches to the challenges of fighting world hunger. This article is by Peter Pringle about the good and the bad of ‘biotech’. Genetically modified crops began as ways to better feed starving people. He mentions the first ‘golden rice’ that was full of the vitamin A that many in underdeveloped countries lacked. But agribusiness came to own the seeds and had not planned to offer them to starving people for free although did consent in the end and lives were saved. Newer strains of these types of nutrition-enhanced and blight-resistant GMOs have been promoted by philanthropic organizations such as the Gates Foundation. While using these crops to feed starving people can’t be denied as life-affirming, there are problems. The seeds need to come from the biotech firms that make them and so promote this dependency. This dependency also affects traditional farming practices, plant varieties, and seed banks. Gates etal. are promoting new Green Revolutions in food craving Asia and Africa but this will be problematic without continuing traditional farming methods and crops. The new crops are also often pesticide intensive and soil depletion is thought to be greater than in traditional methods. High yielding hybrid seeds require cross-breeding and this can be expensive and well beyond the scope of traditional farmers. Pringle mentions that this work in developed countries used to be done in agricultural and government partnerships before agribusiness. He gives a good history and outline of the GMO issue noting that for some problems GM crop varieties may offer the best long-term solutions. This is definitely not true across the board. Each problem is unique and there many other factors that influence starvation including weather, access to water, access to fertilizer, access to land, distribution, and stability of political environments. Some countries that have banned GM crops may benefit from them. There are new royalty-free biotech material and knowledge that countries can use themselves. Certainly biotech is not a one-size fits all solution and as environmentalists and NGOs point out there are all sorts of problems that may come about if the GM hybrids are over-grown in comparison to both traditional crops and less profitable crops. These situations require sharp management which has not been the norm, especially in Africa, where government and thug faction corruption has been rampant. As Pringle notes:

“It’s as important to assess the risks of using GM crops and provide rigorous safety and environmental regulations as it is to consider not adopting them.”

He also talks about efforts to offer “protected technology” commons, a form of “open innovation” where people can have access to use patented technologies.

In an article by Ronnie Cummins of Organic Consumers Association the hazards of GMOs are argued. One fear is that biotech companies, such as the infamous Monsanto, will try to monopolize supply of seeds, food, fiber, and medical products. Although they have likely used some shady business practices in the past I don’t think this is likely in the future, especially in regards to vulnerable peoples. The uncertainties and unpredictabilities of these “frankenfoods” made by splicing genes of various creatures has quite a lot of people worried. Apparently, most processed foods in supermarkets contain GMOs. Toxins and poisons can result in genetically modified substances as happened in 1989 when 37 people were killed and more than 5000 others permanently disabled when a Japanese company used bacteria to make the supplement l-tryptophan. The bacteria were thought to have become contaminated during the recombining process. Other worries include unforeseen genes ‘switching on’ to increase plant toxins, increased cancer risks, food allergies, increased antibiotic resistance, lowering nutritional qualities, increased pesticide residues (where pesticide-resistant crops can withstand more pesticides), genetic pollution (where GMO crops invade non GMO crops through pollen), damage to beneficial insects and soil fertility, creation of superweeds and superpests that become herbicide and pesticide resistant, possibility of new viruses and pathogens through mutation, possibility of genetic bio-invasion (where GM crops become invasive), the socio-economic hazards of wiping out traditional farming in various areas and forming dependence on GM crop seeds, and basic ethical questions. So you see there is quite a possibility of problems to arise in this biotech realm. It was also pointed out that these biotech and chemical companies like Monsanto and DuPont sell both GM seeds and the pesticides so it is a win/win sell/sell for them and buy/buy for farmers. Monsanto also created the rather dreaded rBGH growth hormone for cows that makes them produce more milk and gives them udder infections which are treated with more antibiotics. This stuff is banned in several countries and one can easily find milk here without but according to the book (2009) it was still regularly injected into about 750,000 cows. Although I agree with the idea to stop or phase out factory farming the idea of a global moratorium on all GM crops is not quite reasonable as some have proven both to be safe and to keep people from starving.

Next is a section on – The Ethanol Scam – which is fairly well-known by now. Making ethanol out of corn has proven to be short-sighted and contributed strongly to increased food prices at a time of famine. It also contributes to air pollution, increased water usage, greenhouse gas production, and water pollution. The issue became hostage to political and agricultural lobbyist pressures. Making fuel from food was never really a viable option and won’t be in the future. The author – Robert Bryce – goes into detail about more ethanol hazards to the environment and food prices. There is a possibility for biofuels to be made from waste products, often referred to as second-generation biofuels.

There is a short fact sheet about pesticide exposure – noting that these chemicals can be much more toxic to children because of body weight and less development of organs that detoxify. Apparently, organophosphate pesticide residues are found in most supermarket foods and in 95% of Americans tested. These levels are higher in children and may contribute to various disorders. Bottom line – buy and eat organic.

Two articles pinpoint sources of greenhouse gases, many attributable to agriculture and transportation of food. Buying and eating locally and avoiding or reducing meat consumption, and reducing packaging can lower one’s footprint.

Next are two articles about exploitation of farm workers. The first is called – Cheap Food – and simply states the fact that a main contributing factor to cheap food is underpaid and exploited workers. People occasionally die in the fields due to heat and lack of rest and water. Growers often use labor contractors who are less regulated and more able to exploit workers. Fatality and injury rates among farm workers are second only to coal mines. This is another reason to buy organic, fair-traded, and cruelty-free products. Since many of the farm workers are Hispanic migrants and illegal aliens they can more easily be exploited. Agriculture it seems has been excepted from important labor laws that protect workers rights, even pesticide exposure. This “agricultural exceptionalism” began in the 1930s and has hurt many of these migrant farm workers as this and the 2^nd article on pesticide exposure point out. Cancer rates are way higher across the board among these workers and the causes are rather obvious. The 2^nd article goes into detail about pesticide exposure cases and violations in California. Also of note is how NAFTA had an extreme negative impact on Mexican subsistence farming. Subsequently, wages decreased in Mexico and immigration to the US increased. A good case is made that government, labor, EPA, etc. have neglected these workers basically as a cost-benefit phenomenon. Basically, they are saying that these people are not worth losing money over. This is of course shameful and dishonorable. The recommendation is to unionize these workers regionally in some way so as to give them some means of enforceable rights and protections. Examples given are those of Cesar Chavez who led the United Farm Workers – and this collective bargaining incidentally led to restricting the use of several of the most dangerous pesticides (circa 1970). Besides collective bargaining another helpful action is consumer awareness. If we buy organic and locally grown food, grocery stores will continue to provide it as many have including Walmart.

2006 Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunis penned the next chapter – The Financial Crisis and World Hunger – which was very informative. A food crisis peaked in the summer of 2008 when prices peaked and availability was low. Growing high-yield grains during the Green Revolutions begun in the 1950’s and 60’s are said to have saved up to a billion lives. In more recent times he suggests that poor management of the now globalized food markets has favored affluent countries at the expense of the poor. Free trade he says has reduced government help for traditional farmers and made them dependent on foreign imports subject to market price fluctuations. These government reductions were apparently contingencies on getting loans from World Bank and IMF. Since free trade agreements like NAFTA have eliminated tariffs that protected local farmers, many of them too have been forced out of business. So much of the free trade is only semi-free trade. Ethanol subsidies have created conditions where food grown for fuel increases demand, which also increases price. Increases in raising animals for food also increases grain demand as quite a large percentage of grain is grown for livestock. As the third world grows out of poverty the demand for meat has grown. Meat consumption has more than doubled in the last 50 years in many places and this puts a strain on grain supply and price. Yunis notes that non-crop biofuels have been effective in his native country of Bangladesh. Bio-gas from manure tanks is being used there for cooking and small-scale electricity. The bottom line is that corporate control of farming is negatively affecting traditional farming. It’s an odd situation really. Food Aid agencies, mostly from developed countries, are sending billions of dollars so that their hungry people can purchase grain food, seeds, and fertilizer from agribusiness. So, much of the money that goes to feed the world goes to agribusiness firms? Yunis sees the food crisis as stemming from the financial crisis. His company, Grameen Bank, pioneered the use of microloans, or micro-credit – ie. small loans to poor people, mainly women, without collateral and without lawyers. He suggests this type of lending for small farmers in these places. He sees micro-credit as a viable option for the poor and the hungry. It has worked very well in Bangladesh with nearly 99% of the loans paid back in full. He suggests funding for micro-credit. He also suggests that the financial crisis is an opportunity to redesign our economic systems. He also suggests a Social Business Fund for poor countries where social well-being is targeted with expansion of micro-credit, agricultural credit, health care, and other agricultural infrastructure. He touts second-generation biofuels made from waste materials and non-food crops as useful in poor countries. The fates of humans are all tied together he notes:

“The current multiple crises now troubling the world offer us all a valuable lesson in the interconnectedness of the human family ..... and while short-term trends may appear to benefit a few of us at the expense of many others, in the long run, only policies that will allow all the peoples of the world to share their progress are truly sustainable”

Certainly traditional farming has been strongly and negatively impacted in many cases as a result of the various free trade agreements. Apparently in Honduras it was reported that there were 25,000 rice farmers at the end of the 1980s but fewer than 1300 today due to availability of cheaper imports. Similar things have happened in other import-dependent countries such as Haiti. It seems more reasonable to make imports available for times of emergency but to keep government support of traditional farming so that food staples can be produced locally and sustainably if possible. Since it is mostly the small farmers that have been hurt by the opening of trade – it seems logically to aid them in the agrarian reform the is presumed to be needed.

Michael Pollan’s article – Why Bother – points out that it is often the little things we do to support green energy, the environment, healthy organic natural eating, etc. that do matter in the long run. We do not need to do this as part of some ideology but as intuitive common sense as to what is most wholesome. We may not always be the most right but if our intentions are good and we keep well informed we can perhaps make a difference. Collectively, consumer choice is a vast resource of support. Unfortunately, many people won’t make those choices because they make an incorrect assumption that they are in effect supporting an ideology. These are mostly my takes rather than Pollan’s. He suggests that cheap fossil fuels keep us from being compelled to be more thrifty, reduce waste, and develop more sustainable solutions to problems. Cheap energy thinking will eventually go away as fossil fuels deplete unless renewables take their place en masse  and with more and more efficiency. He suggests, as does the next article, to grow some of your own food and/or participate in a community garden. The benefits can be varied and many although if one is too busy or lazy to do it right, the efficiency and cost-effectiveness may not be the best. I know this from experience. Another article touts declaring one’s independence from factory farm produced food by getting to know where one’s food comes from, even to the point of visiting the farms. Buying local, buying in season, and taking the time to cook often are other suggestions. This article is followed by one that presents questions to farmers to determine if their operation is sustainable – such as how the animals are treated, how much and when antibiotics are used, and hormone and pesticide usage.

Eating Made Simple – is an article by professor of nutrition Marion Nestle who wrote the book – What To Eat -  that encourages digging into food labels instead of mere advertising slogans. Often things are touted as healthy by the addition of one or two ingredients in a sea of excess. I see this often in co-workers who somehow think they are eating healthy based on surface info. She notes that too many ads focus on single nutrients rather than the whole meal or component. She notes various debated effects of various nutrients such as whether fish oil does prevent or subdue heart disease. She notes the rather clear link with sodas and obesity (and diabetes as well I might add) though she does note that sugary sodas simply make an easy way to ingest a large amount of calories quickly as to why they promote obesity.

Next is an article by a worker for an org called Heifer International that helps poor rural people in third world countries by providing them with training and livestock animals to keep them out of abject poverty. Suggestions are provided for donating to hunger and food aid orgs.

There are a couple articles about improving nutrition for children and preventing and dealing with childhood obesity. These are rather obvious ideas such as making healthy food available and making unhealthy food and the sometimes ubiquitous snack foods less available – particularly in schools and school lunches. Limiting advertising unhealthy foods and snacks to children is also recommended.

The last article – Produce to the People – is by a doctor who started a farmers market at the large hospital complex where he works and how this idea spread to other hospitals and businesses. One means of connecting with healthy eating habits is by learning about them through attending healthy food markets, shopping around, and exposing oneself to what is out there beyond the processed food aisles in what should be obsolete cheap but unhealthy food markets. Americans seem to have somehow gotten the idea that healthy food does not taste good and so we have developed preferences for food with high sugar, salt, and calorie contents – through habit and through cheap availability of foods of this sort.

Finally a list of books, orgs, and websites is given to offer “further insight into America’s food system and its future.”

I finally did see a trailer for this movie and it looks pretty good. This is a very pertinent book with ideas of which people should be more aware.

Magic, Mysticism & The Molecule: The Search For Sentient Intelligence From Other Worlds

Book Review: Magic, Mysticism & The Molecule: The Search for Sentient Intelligence from Other Worlds by Micah A. Hanks (2010 Gralien Report)

Here is a fair to good book by a young author. It is mostly a speculative exploration of these subjects which is fairly inclusive and quite interesting in parts. He proceeds more from the perspective of an outsider than an insider, but not totally so. He comes across as an investigator of the paranormal more than a spiritual practitioner although his summary of mysticism is quite interesting. The subject of the book is really the human experience of the supernatural and altered states of consciousness. Drugs, magic, mysticism, alien abductions, dreams, near-death experiences, and out-of-body experiences are all covered.

The section on magic emphasizes the aspect of magic that seeks communication and interaction with beyond-human intelligences. He focuses on the work of the famed medieval mages Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley who practiced scrying with mirrors and reflective stones and claimed to have contacted angelic intelligences in what has come to be called Enochian magic. This style and lore has become a significant part of the overall Western Esoteric tradition since then as others have claimed to have experienced visions with this system. Dee utilized a crystal ball-like stone but also apparently an obsidian artifact that Cortez had brought back from the Aztecs. Kelley was the medium and Dee transcribed what has come to be called the Enochian language. Some of the transmissions were said to come from a child-like angel called Madimi that Dee first encountered. Also examined are the mystical out-of-body travels and communications of the Swedish mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg and of the physician William S. Sadler who beginning in 1911 worked with a group where trance-communications resulted in what we now know as – the Urantia Book – which as the author notes seemed to bridge the contact between ideas of angelic communication and alien contact. (“I thought that they were angels but to my surprise we climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies. Come Sail Away...” - Styx from the 1978 Grand Illusion album). Also examined are Aleister Crowley’s attempts at magickal contact that he called the Amalantrah Working where an ‘entity’ known as ‘Lam’ was encountered. Crowley was able to draw a picture of the entity – a portrait as he called it. Interestingly this drawing, made in 1918 has come to look much like aliens have been depicted by contactees and abductees – looking very similar to depictions of  the “Grays” as they have come to be known. A protege of Crowley, Kenneth Grant further developed the search for praeter-human intelligence into a priority of sorts and refered to the ‘Cult of Lam’ where Lam is considered to be a gateway to deeper levels of consciousness. The author then notes the somewhat similar attempts – through the same Thelemic magickal tradition – of Jack Parsons and sci-fi writer (and founder of Scientology) L. Ron Hubbard who attempted to evoke the goddess-form of Babalon into a human incarnation form. Even though Parsons was involved in rocket science and research and Hubbard was interested in sci-fi and as the author points out – that the birth of the UFO movement came about right at this time (1947) – I don’t see this as so much a means to contact an alien intelligence as was the Amalantrah Working. Parsons wanted more to usher in a time and situation where suppression of women and sexuality and all the attendant suffering that goes with it would be lessened and opportunities for ecstatic magickal practice and subsequent positive transformation of society would ensue. The author covers a few more contactee experiences before moving on to the next topic.

The ancient Greek Oracle of the Dead at Thesprotia was mentioned by Herodotus, Homer, and later by Strabo. A place fitting the description was excavated this century and is thought to be a subterranean place where people went to visit the spirits of the dead seeking oracular wisdom. The author describes this through the work of Raymond Moody – who is known for his work with near-death experiences and communication with the dead. He mentions attending a conference put on by Moody with other occult notables in attendance. The notion of the Oracles at Delphi where the oracle-priestess known as the “Pythia” was lowered into a cavern to retrieve the oracle (possibly being influenced by hallucinogenic gases) was one method. Here the place seemed to be associated with seeing and hearing the dead. At Thesprotia there was found to be a large bronze cauldron surrounded by a banister deep in the underground complex. Although Dakaris, who excavated the site, thought that an oracle was inside the cauldron occasionally springing up to spout predictions, Moody studied the ancient traditions a bit and came to the conclusion that the cauldron was probably filled with liquid and used as a reflective surface for scrying. He devised such a device with mirrors and dim lighting arranged in such a way that the person gazing does not see their own reflection but depth. He based this on legends of the ‘psychomanteum,’ a mirrored room meant to enhance communication with spirits. Moody had been searching for such a device as a way to help people communicate with dead relatives seeking healing and closure. Apparently he refers to his method as “Psychomanteum Grief Counseling.” The author then goes on to recount some experiments with the psychomanteum setup that were organized by his friend Josh Warner. In these scrying experiments they also utilized what is known as the “Ganzfeld technique”, where ping pong balls cut in half are placed over the eyes (sometimes in addition to headphones) in order to increase sensory deprivation. This is said to assist one inducing a theta brain wave state – often associated with deep meditation. Apparently though, there were other variables between sessions, one which  involved the use of a Van de Graff generator – which sends out electrical charges.

The author then proceeds to compare these experiments with those of Dr Rick Strassman in his book, “DMT: The Spirit Molecule,” which describes experiments where people were given the hallucinogen DMT (dimethyltryptamine), a naturally occurring substance possibly produced in the pineal gland in the brain. These experiments yielded interesting results where similar types of hallucinations were experienced. These included clowns, cactus people, and insectoidal beings – often experimenting on the person in a clinical setting and are thought to strongly resemble accounts of alien abduction. Strassman and the author both speculate about naturally occurring DMT release being a source of mystical experience – though this makes a huge assumption that mystical experiences are sourced in neuro-chemical phenomena.

Another chapter notes history and spiritualist-type experiments with Ouija Boards, Seance, and Automatic Writing. These are thought to contribute to experiencing a dissociative state or a trance state where normal cognition is absent for a time. Certainly unusual things have happened with these techniques and can likely be attributed to the state of receptivity of those who experience them.

Next the author attempts a quick history of the development of Mysticism – from ancient Greece through the now familiar Eastern forms through to some more modern and holistic accounts. He takes much from scholar (and Golden Dawn member) Evelyn Underhill from her famous book about Mysticism. She defined mysticism as union with the Absolute (which suggests a theistic approach) but similar definitions reach back to Plato and Pythagoras who talked about “Henosis” and union with the Monad as the Monad or the number one was regarded as the first cause, the origin. Next he goes through the structure of Buddhism as a foundation for mystical experiences although he does note the exhortation in Buddhist texts not to put too much faith and meaning in one’s paranormal experiences. He goes through Underhill’s five stages of awakening one’s consciousness to – Divine Reality: First is the – Ecstatic Discovery – often accompanied by sensuality and intense emotions; Second is the stage she called – Purgation – where one realiized one’s limitations in comparison to the limitlessness of the Infinite. When one sees the illusoriness clearly the response is typically in increase in self-discipline and effort; Third is the stage called – Illumination – characterized by “a certain apprehension of the Absolute, a sense of the Divine presence, but not true union with it,” according to Underhill; Fourth is the – Mystic Pain or Mystic Death – which seems to describe the ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ idea attributed to St. John of the Cross. The author also mentions Mother Theresa who stated that she once felt the presence of God but during much of the latter half of her life she did not sense it and so had to do her good works with a lurking sense of uncertainty. I remember her talking about this not long before she died. The fifth and final stage is the actual - Union with the Divine – which Underhill says can and has been confused with the third stage of – Illumination – which is more associated with ecstatic experiences. The author also interviews the writer of the book – Inner Paths to Outer Space – medical oncologist Slawek Wojtowicz. When asked for sadefinition of mysticism Wojtowicz gave some interesting dialogue – that the goal of mysticism is to discover the ‘Truth’ and that it can’t be communicated, only experienced. He also talks about the metaphysical terror of experiencing the ultimate loneliness as being a type or a temporary perception of mystical experience.

So-called ‘methods of entry’ are next discussed. Meditation is covered as well as its occasional by-products such as ESP. He mentions various accounts of expanded consciousness and expanded senses (ie seeing and hearing for miles). He talks about Hindu Swami Prabhupad’s book – Easy Journey to Other Planets – where yogic methods such as blocking the escape routes of prana through the orifices with breath retention and other methods – can aid out-of-body travel. This type of travel to other planets and deva realms is also mentioned in the Vedas. Also discussed are yoga as mysticism and the notion of ‘tulpas’ or thoughtforms that can possibly be perceived by others as physical entities if they are generated with sufficient energy and skill. Regarding thoughtforms he mentions the 1901 book by Theosophist authors Annie Besant and Charles Leadbetter which I read as a teen and remember rather fondly. They described two effects of thoughts as “radiating vibration” and “floating forms.” They noted the effects of emotions on thoughts and the ensuing thoughtforms. These thoughtforms have also been used as a means of explaining ghosts and paranormal activity and possibly UFO phenomena as well. Jung’s idea of the ‘active imagination’ is invoked to explain our various interactions with thoughtforms. He contrasts Jung’s idea of randomly generated thoughtforms of the subconscious with the intentionally created thoughtforms of spiritualists. Jung tied thoughtforms to his idea of universal forms, or Archetypes. Jung also considered the early UFO phenomena to be psychological in nature, with much of what was seen being mental projections. Also described is a historical occurrence of a mystical Hebrew Kabbalistic technique for creating a thoughtform in the story of the – Golem of Prague – where the golem, or thoughtform was created as a clay figure that was to magically manifest and help fight off anti-Semetic blood libels occurring at the time (1500s) in Eastern Europe. The technique was meditative in nature and involved use of the reputed magical powers of the Hebrew letters. Sleep paralysis experiences are also discussed in this section where perceived ‘entities,’ whether mentally projected or real, are experienced. He also compares some cultural definitions of mental illness and shamanic vision – where they are not said to be similar – as among Eskimos and African Yoruba. Dr. Ronald Siegel’s studies of hallucinations are also mentioned – particularly hallucinations provoked by trauma and life-threatening stress. Prisoners of war, rape victims, survivors of near-fatal accidents, victims of robbery, and even UFO abductees have all experienced such hallucinations. Among the phenomena experienced in Siegel’s study of eight victims were: “flashes of light, geometrical patterns and shapes, and tunnel forms.” Tactile-kinesthetic hallucinations and encountering past memories and friends from childhood were also encountered. One gang member while being tortured experienced out-of-body experiences.

The title of the book uses Evelyn Underhill’s two methods of engaging the unseen: magic and mysticism. Hanks adds a third – the Molecule. Here he refers to the entheogen, also known as the ‘god-releasing’ molecule. He gives a history of man’s long and varied engagement with psychedelic drugs in the quest for meaning and knowledge. Of note are the notions, especially among South American shamans, of the plants themselves being inhabited by an entity that shares the magic of the plant. An interesting idea brought up is that of ‘biological communication’ among plants with not only other plants, animals, and humans but with beings from distant galaxies – receiving them as signals from space. The author notes some experiments where this is one explanation of the results. He notes the possibility that:

“... some kind of intelligent spirit communication may occur between plants, active psychedelic molecules, and humanity.”

Hanks notes some interesting dreams he had that could possibly be interpreted as communications from so called ‘psychedelic molecules.’ He also notes the account of Albert Hoffman who accidentally discovered the effects of LSD-25 which he considered a rather useless derivative of ergot. Five years after first synthesizing it Hoffman intuitively had the idea to make it again and submit it for testing. It was during the final phases that he accidentally absorbed some through his fingertips and experienced the hallucinogenic effects.

Hanks also notes the rather uncanny similarities between alien abduction scenarios and DMT trips. The DMT accounts are said to be frighteningly real. The interesting thing about DMT as a pychedelic molecule is that it is already present in our bodies. It is also the simplest of all these molecules. Dr. Strassman seems to think the DMT molecule has an agenda and message for us, either individually or perhaps collectively. Mantis-like beings, elves, and reptilian beings are often described in DMT accounts. These strange appearances and parallels have led some to think that perhaps alien, or praeter-human intelligences, are communicating these images to us for some particular reason. Mantis-like aliens occur quite a bit in alien encounter accounts. Whether these experiences and entities derive from outer space or inner space is not really known. The idea that they are somehow archetypal or subconscious idea-forms is also a possibility explored.

The last main chapter on High-Tech shamanism describes the ideas of Tesla – who thought that his electrical generators could perhaps communicate with other worlds. Tesla envisioned a ‘Teslascope’ to communicate afar – somewhat similar to the SETI idea. Tesla’s work with intense electrical fields may have presaged the possible psychic effects these fields could have on humans under certain circumstances. Also examined are the intuitive sci-fi notions of the famed horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft connected electrical fields and the pineal gland with inter-dimensional communications in his book – From Beyond -. These connections may have some relation as Dr. Rick Strassman speculates when interviewed by the author. Michael Persinger’s experiments with electro-magnetic energy applied to parts of the brain are also examined with the resultant experiences of ‘presences’ of entities. He notes that stimulating the cortex can evoke ‘infantile memories’. Also mentioned is a book by Alvin Lawson called- Birth Trauma Hypothesis – which purports that alien abduction scenarios may tap into birth memories.

Overall, this book brought up quite a bit of interesting research, accounts, and various ways of looking at paranormal and mystical phenomena. It was perhaps not overly thorough and not much in the way of conclusions or new ideas were brought up, but for an overview of the state of things – it was OK.

Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition: Tracing the Origins of Chod in the Bon Tradition

Book Review: Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition: Tracing the Origins of Chod in the Bon Tradition, a dialogic approach cutting through sectarian boundaries by Alejandro Chaoul  (Snow Lion Publications 2009)

The haunting yet beautiful melodies of chod practice being chanted with bells, damaru drum, and thigh bone trumpet can be compelling to hear. There are many different specific lineages and sadhanas of chod in the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. The word ‘chod’ means- ‘to cut off’ - and specifically refers to severing one’s ego and cutting through all delusion to access a state of unconditioned wisdom. The practice typically involves the calling of enlightened beings, gods, spirits, and demons and visualizing offering to them one’s body cut up into pieces and also cooked into a soup.

In a forward Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak compares Buddhist and Bon versions of Chod:

“The Chod practice according to the Buddhist tradition is said to be originally based on the Prajnaparamita while that of the Tibetan Bon rests upon Tantric practices. However, in both traditions the Chod practice is performed in a manner which has more in common with Tantra than Sutra, and in both traditions it is known as a very effective and powerful practice bringing the practitioner a strong experience of profound generosity as well as liberation from self-grasping, the root of Samsara. It is, then, a forceful tool for developing one’s practice and as such, makes up one of the Four Generosities of the Bon tradition which are practiced on a daily basis.”

According to a forward by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche:

“The core purpose of chod is to turn fear into a path of liberation. The practitioner actively seeks out fearful experiences, using fear as an opportunity to visualize cutting apart one’s own physical body, symbolizing the cutting of the ego, and thus cultivating wisdom. The practitioner further visualizes transforming the body into an offering that satisfies all beings, thus cultivating generosity and detachment.”

Chod is meant to be practiced in frightening places such as cemeteries and charnel grounds and preferably after dark. Other good places to practice it are in places where spirits are said to dwell such as crossroads and where streams meet or in remote woods, mountaintops, or caves. One needs first to summon one’s own fears before they can be cut through. I have even heard it referred to as ‘cemetery yoga.’ The author notes the words of the famed teacher Namkai Norbu Rinpoche:

“By summoning up what is most dreaded, and openly offering what we usually most want to protect, the chod works to cut us out of the double blind of the ego and attachment to the body.”

First one is encouraged to master the practice in a peaceful environment then go out to a frightening place to practice. The Tibetan lamas I have witnessed doing the practice were very good at it – not so easy as the drum and bell can be difficult to play especially with speed changes and the chant melodies are challenging as well. Playing the chod drum requires a subtle mastery of wrist action and gets difficult after five or ten minutes as the wrist gets sore. So mastery takes frequent long playing. The bell in Bon, called the silnyen (or shang) is different than the ghanta bell used in Tibetan Buddhism. The striker is made of wood and the broad and mostly flat bell is played upside down. The thighbone trumpet is used to call the spirits and the drum and bell to realize the union of emptiness and appearance. The four classes of guests are summoned: the enlightened beings, the protectors, those in need of compassion, and those to whom one owes karmic debts.

The practitioner practices powa, the ejection of consciousness, through the top of the head as a goddess – usually Troma – the black Vajrayogini, but sometimes as the red dakini Kalpa Zangmo in the Bon tradition. The goddess then chops up the body and places the pieces in the skull as the cauldron for the soup. The chopping and offering is similar to the Tibetan sky burial excarnation offerings to vultures. One cannot help also noticing the chopping up of the body being similar to the shamanic motif of the visionary experience of being dismembered which is common as a visionary shamanic initiation experience. Machik Lapdron, the woman who is said to have founded the chod lineages in Tibet came from a family background of both Buddhism and Bon shamanism. Shamanism in the Bon tradition is said to be of the external vehicle, or the causal vehicle which is less refined than the tantric vehicle which chod falls under. Shamanic dismemberment forms a model for the rite and is not experienced as one might in a visionary sense but rather is visualized as a means of compassion for those benefiting from the offering. The use of the drum and other instruments is also common to shamanic trance induction as is ecstatic dancing which is also employed in Bon chod. Interestingly, Machik Lapdron is not given in the Bon chod lineages so this opens the possibility of alternative origins for the practice. Milu Samlek, a legendary Bon practitioner who wrote commentaries on the Bon Mother Tantras is associated with the Bon Chod practice. The author criticizes Jerome Edou’s book – “Machig Labron and the Foundations of Chod” – where it is stated with authority that Machig created the chod rite based on the Prajnaparamita Sutra teachings and on Padampa Sangye’s method of – Pacification of Suffering. Certainly there is a relationship between Prajnaparamita and Chod (as Machik was also said to be a master of the Prajnaparamita) as the paramita of generosity is emphasized in Chod to arrive at realization of the paramita of discerning wisdom. In the Bon tradition there are chod lineages based on all four of the (Tantric) Activities of Enlightened Beings: pacifying, enriching, overpowering, and subduing. Edou’s book, which I read years ago,  de-emphasized the shamanic influence on the practice, and mentioned the offering of the body to be more inspired by the offerings of oneself to starving beings given in the Jataka Tales of the past lives of Buddha. Also of interest is Gyatso’s note of very ancient Tibetan lore of ascension up the ‘mu’ ladder and sky door which she thinks is reminiscent of Powa – although it may be more of an astronomical ascension cult idea similar to similar ideas in ancient Persia and surrounding areas.

According to the author, in Tibet there are wandering chod practitioners (chodpas) often on pilgrimages who sometimes perform the practice for others for healing and to bring good fortune and pacification of spirits. He mentions that it can be like a form of street art where small amounts of money are offered to the traveling chodpas. Apparently, it is also thought that some of these practitioners are more performers for money who have learned the technical parts of the practice in order to earn a little extra money and so are in essence imposters with ulterior motives. According to the author, chod is not a mainstream practice and is especially not common among monastics.

The pre-Buddhist shamanic traditions in Tibet were both at odds with the early arrival of Buddhist practices from India and at the same time merged with those practices. According to Bon tradition, in contrast to Tibetan Buddhism, India was not the source of the teachings but the ancient Tibetan Kingdom of Zhang Zhung and earlier from places further west such as ancient Khotan and Tajikistan, part of both Persian and Turkic empires in different times. Of course it is also possibly that other Buddhist oriented kingdoms in central Asia could have influenced Bon as well. The author notes that whether practices are considered shamanic or institutionalized Buddhism in Tibet they both share the ideal of the mahayana form of compassion for all beings as well as the goal of spiritual enlightenment. The author also makes the comparison of chod as a tantric practice and shamanism, noting that tantra and shamanism share several similarities, one being means of communication and interaction with the unseen realms. Such connections are associated with healing in both shamanic traditions and in chod. Chodpas are more like wandering yogis, generally unconventional, and can be at odds with monastics in style. Since the wandering yogis practice non-attachment this can be a point of similarity to a strictly monastic Buddhist who would also idealize renunciation, but in a different way. Bon is generally more inclusive of shamanic practices than Buddhism and so one can find them more represented in Bon.

The author notes several studies and articles mentioning chod among academics such as Snellgrove, Per Kvaerne, and Geoffrey Samuels and academic-practitioners such as Edou, Janet Gyatso, Sarah Harding, Tsultrim Allione, and John Reynolds. Reynolds noted the idea among Bonpos as “Bon”, with a meaning similar to “Dharma” being a Primordial tradition, never considered to be sectarian and exclusive to any cultural situation. In this sense – spiritual traditions can be considered more inclusive of one another with much more overlap than is typically noted. Though Bon and Buddhism had been at odds at several junctions in the past – one may also suspect that less politically motivated practitioners (Vairchana, the 8^th century translator is given as an example) would have seen no major contradictions between the two traditions. Also of interest is the possibility as Reynolds suggested that the word “bon” comes from an Iranian/Sogdian word “bwn” meaning dharma. This reinforces origin from pan-central Asia – such as Tajikistan. In essence the Bon tradition also encompasses the early Bon which is seen as the basic folk tradition of the region which includes shamanism in forms much like extant traditions in Siberia.

In Bon, chod can be traced back to the Mother Tantras, particularly to the Secret Mother Tantras. In Bon and Buddhist Tantric traditions there is often a classification of Outer, Inner, and Secret to denote both degree of accessibility and degree of refinement. The Mother Tantras are said to emphasize the so-called Completion Stage practices – where visualizations are merged with emptiness by being dissolved. The Father Tantras apparently emphasize Generation Stage practices where visualizations are developed, particularly visualizing oneself as the deity. The Secret Mother Tantras are said to emanate ultimately from the primordial Buddha Kuntuzangpo. This Buddha of the dharmakaya (truth body essence realm - also called bon ku in the Bon tradition) is also the primordial Buddha of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. A more recent Bon school called New Bon is an amalgamation of Bon and Nyingma.

The author goes through the origins, lore, and terma traditions regarding the Bon Mother Tantras as well as some of the Chod practices deriving from them. He provides an overview of a section of the tantras called – ‘Commentary of the Fearful Place within the Sun of Compassion of the Mother Tantra.’ Here there is mention of the six means of expediency as well as the six powers, or enlightened senses: life, knowledge, cutting, understanding, awareness, and clarity. Cutting is the one emphasized in chod where one cuts through the delusion of ignorance. One goes to frightening places in order to directly experience the illusory nature of phenomena. As in many tantric texts the methodology and underlying theory is explained in great detail. The author notes that in modern Bon this section provides much of the theory for Chod. He notes that although there are several Chod Sadhanas, a short one composed by the venerated Shardza Rinpoche in the 19^th century is probably the most popular. This one is called – ‘The Laughter of the Skygoers.’ Here the red dakini Kalpa Zangmo is visualized as oneself cutting, cooking, and offering the feasts. The author gives a composite translation of this sadhana in an appendix.

The author also gives the function of the instruments: the drum, the bell, and the thighbone trumpet. He also gives some lore regarding them and mentions that using bone and skulls as part of the instruments can enhance the frightening aspect.

As a few endnotes the author notes other things worthy of investigation such as the female nature of source and awareness in these traditions. Here he quotes Harding referring to mahamudra and dzogchen:

“Here the mother refers to the primordial ground of being, the abiding nature of luminous awareness.”

This quote is quite similar to a quote in the chod sadhana given in the book.

The comparison between chod and sky burial is another possible investigation where it may be that these practices influenced one another.

Philosophically, chod is concerned with cutting the source of demons which is said to be the demon of self-grasping:

“It is the king of demons, and it has four ministers: the believer in self-existence, the thinker of suffering of birth, the thinker of suffering of sickness, and the thinker of suffering of old age and death. Reflections of these come as visible demons that harm oneself and others.”

This book is an important study of a subject about which not much has been written from an academic standpoint. Since the author is a long-time practitioner of Bon and its chod he gives it a good whirl with much sincerity.

The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology

Book Review: The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology  by Snorri Sturluson translated with Introduction and Notes by Jesse Byock (Penguin Books 2005)

The two Eddas – Prose Edda and Poetic Edda – were written down during the 13^th century in Iceland and are thought to reflect material from the Viking Age (800-1100) oral tradition. There were two forms of poetry, eddic and skaldic, with the poetry of the skalds said to be more intricate, more metrical, and to more reflect the styles of individual poets. The Prose Edda is mostly in a prose form (new to Iceland at the time) with interspersed eddic poetry. The Eddas were written in Old Icelandic. For several reasons Iceland was well situated at the time to preserve trans-Germanic lore and story. The island was isolated and inhabited by settlers mostly from Norway and Norse colonies on the British Isles who desired to keep their old lore. It was less affected than the mainland by classical Mediterranean cultural and academic traditions. Not wanting to repeat the violent transition to Christianity that happened in Norway the transition was peaceful in Iceland with the old lore officially kept more as cultural heritage more so than as religion. The Eddas were written down a few centuries after the conversion to Christianity and Byock suggests that they were influenced by prose and poetic styles from mainland Europe as well as by a desire to keep alive old Scandinavian poetic traditions. The word “edda” means great grandmother but may refer to poetry or as Lee Hollander suggests, ‘Oddi,’ which is a place in Iceland where the presumed author Snori Sturluson studied. He is thought to have traveled around Scandinavia. His other known writing is a history of the Kings of Norway (Heimskringla) and is in the same style of mixed prose and poetics.

The Prose Edda (aka Younger Edda as Poetic Edda is called Elder Edda) is made up of four main parts: The Prologue – which is rather strangely Christianized and interspersed with Graeco-Roman mythology and thus shows a suspicious authenticity. The Gylfaginning – this is a dialogue between King Gylfi (or Gangleri) of Sweden and the newly arrived gods called the Aesir – where he questions three magical beings about their creation stories and the pastimes of the gods. Apparently this section of Prose Edda is very similar in all the manuscript versions. The third section is called Skaldskaparmal which means the ‘language of poetry.’ Apparently this section differs in different versions. Here there are also various tales of the gods and heroes from before Viking times back into the time of the Migration Period of Germanic tribes (5^th to 7^th centuries). So in this section history and myth intertwine as stories of kings from Eastern Gothic lands, Denmark, Scandinavia, Germany, and the Huns are recounted. The last section is a section about techniques of skaldic poetry called Hattatal, which refers to a list of metres. Only a sample piece of that section is given in this book edition as an appendix.

Byock notes some differences of the Norse gods to the Greek and Roman gods. They do not have the immortality of the Olympians. They meddle less in the affairs of humans. There are often unexpected consequences of their actions. Odin, Thor, and Loki are the protagonists in most of the stories. All are gods of the Aesir tribe or family, although Loki proves to be an antagonist. Magical manifestations such as shapeshifting and creating of visual illusions often occur in the stories. The main gods of the Vanic family are Njord, and the male-female twin-sibs-couple Frey and Freyja. The Vanic gods are mostly associated with fertility and it is often assumed that they were the original gods of the area with the more dominant Aesir coming later perhaps as an invading tribe. Originally there is conflict among these god families but they make a truce. Giants (Jotun), dwarves, and elves appear in several stories. The giants are thought to represent the danger of nature in the form of chthonic forces.

The Prologue begins in a very monotheistic Christian sense where Almighty God creates the world. Next is the assertion that Thor came from ancient Troy as the son of a King Mennon and Queen Troan, who was the daughter of the famed King Priam of myth. Thor was then called Tror and dwelled in Thracia near the Black Sea. Thor’s descendents are given. After 23 generations comes Odin, usually considered All-father, or chief of the gods. Odin traveled from the Black Sea region to Saxland (greater Germany) and eventually reached Sweden where he and his comrades encounter King Gylfi. They settled there and set up in the civilized manner of Trojans. This whole section is rather odd and often thought to be suspect – but perhaps there is some truth to it.

Next begins the Gylfaginning where King Gylfi is dazzled by three Aesir chiefs who tell him of the gods, the creation and configuration of the worlds, and the origins of gods, dwarves, giants, and men. These are all well-known stories so I won’t repeat them here. The worlds were said to have first arisen from the Great Void, called Ginnungagap. Next is recounted the World Tree, Yggdrasil, which forms the cosmological center of all the worlds. There are three wells where descend the three main roots of the tree. One is in the home of the gods, Asgard. The next one is in the land of the frost giants (where the universe arose from the Void) and this is Mimir’s Well where Odin gave his eye for wisdom. The third is in the dark world of Niflheim near the gates to the underworld and is continuously gnawed by Nidhogg the serpent. The three Fates, or Norns, attend the well in Asgard, called Urda’s well. These three are Urd (Fate), Verdandi (Becoming), and Skuld (Obligation). There are said to be other norns – elf norns, human norns, etc. They are the shapers of lives and it is said that the more noble of norns shape better lives whatever that may mean. Other interesting characters that inhabit the World Tree in Asgard include Ratatosk, the slandering gossiping squirrel and two swans who nourish themselves in Urd’s Well. The various heavenly realms of the light elves beyond Asgard are also described. Next is a description of all the gods, goddesses, Loki and his monstrous children with the giant Angrboda: Hel, the goddess of the underworld, the Midgard Serpent, and the Fenris wolf. Loki runs free and has many adventures with his comrade Odin, with both good and bad results. Eventually, he too, along with his three children with the giantess, comes to be in a confined state, bound by the gods. At Ragnarok – the final fate of the gods, aka ‘twilight of the gods’ they are all freed and war against the gods.

In stories, the gods often fall in love and mate with giants. The god Frey marries the giantess Gerd but loses his sword. Tyr loses his hand. Odin loses his eye. Loki loses his freedom. After more tales of the gods and the story of Ragnarok and the rebirth of the gods are told the Gylfaginning comes to an end. Curiously, in an epilogue to it there are some odd associations (perhaps conflagrations) as in the Prologue:

“... Thor of the Aesir, and Thor the Charioteer. To him they attributed the great deeds that Thor, or Ector [Hector] accomplished in Troy. Thus people believed that it was the Turks who told stories about Ulixes [Ulysses] and it is they who called him Loki, because the Turks were his worst enemy.”

The Skaldskaparmal section begins with more stories of the gods and goddesses. These are told by Bragi, possibly a prominent skald of history  – but also the divine skald of myth. They are told to someone called Aegir. Told are the stories of Idunn and the Golden Apples, The Mead of Poetry, and my personal favorite – where Skadi seeks vengeance for the death of her father:

“Another condition of her settlement was that the Aesir must do something she thought they could not do: make her laugh. Then Loki tied one end of a cord to the beard of a goat and the other end around his own testicles. The goat and Loki started pulling back and forth, each squealing loudly until finally Loki fell into Skadi’s lap, and then she laughed.”

Also included in Skaldskaparmal are the stories of Sigurd the Dragonslayer nearly as recounted in the Saga of the Volsungs, King Atli (Atilla the Hun), and the Gothic King Jormunrek. The story of Frodi’s Mill is also given – about King Frodi of Denmark, a descendent of Odin who had a long and peaceful reign until he became greedy and was killed. There is another story of King Hrolf Kraki of Denmark. Many kennings, or poetical references, are given in these tales. Kennings are a feature of many oral verse traditions and were well developed among Nordic skalds. The last section of the Skaldskaparmal contains examples of kennings and kenning structure. There are quite a few traditional kennings. Since gold appears in many tales there are many kennings that refer to it:

“It can be called the fire of Aegir, the leaf of Glasir, the hair of Sif, the headband of Fulla, the tears of Freyja, the utterance, voice, or words of the giants, the drops of Draupnir, the rain or shower from Draupnir or from Freyja’s eyes, recompense for the otter, repayment fro the blow struck by the gods, the seed of the plains of Fyri [Kraki’s seed], the covering of Holgi’s burial mound or the fire of all expressions for water and hands, also the boulder, rocky islet or lustre of the hands.”

There are many more kennings for gold as well as for all the gods, goddesses, for various natural phenomena, and for weapons, battles, armor, ships, time, etc.

There is a final section in the Skalskaparmal about the names and lineages associated with King Halfdan the Old from Scandinavia. These names and lineages stretch from Sweden to France to Russia to Denmark.

Appendix 1 is a section about the Norse cosmos and the World Tree. Byock suggests an Indo-European origin for the World Tree concept but it may well go back much farther in time. Yggdrasil means ‘the horse of the terrible one’ or ‘Odin’s horse’ which is also a metaphor for gallows tree.

“This view assumes that the ancient Scandinavians saw a similarity between how people ride horses and how a hanged person’s head bobs up and down as he ‘rides’ the gallows. The gallows tree was an emotionally significant site for the passage between life and death, and is a fitting symbol for the World Tree as the causeway fro connecting the heavens and the underworld.”

There is also a nice representative picture of the World Tree with all of its inhabitants at the beginning of the book. There is one map.

In Appendix 2 is given the section about skaldkraft. There is more about kennings and heiti, which are simply synonyms. I can imagine clever wordplay where skalds might try to hide meanings through several layers of kennings and others might try to unravel them much like riddles. This seems rather likely as riddles are well known in the Anglo-Saxon poetry. Kennings also help with learning and familiarizing with tales and tradition.

Appendix 3 has a list of Eddic poems used for sources in the Gylfaginning. There is also mention of some lost poems mentioned by name such as Heimdall’s Chant.

Finally there are some genealogy tables of the gods, dwarves, and giants. There is also a short family tree of the lineage of magicians. Here Vidolf is the source of seeresses. Vilmeid is the source of wizards, and Svarthofdi is the source of sorcerers. I would not mind learning more about that one.

The Eddas are essential for understanding Nordic and Germanic myth and lore and Byock does well at explaining. I am currently reading Lee Hollander’s translation of the Poetic Edda for a change of perspective.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times

Book  Review: When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times by Pema Chodron (Shambhala Classics 1997)

This book is eminently practical and insightful as are all books and talks by Pema Chodron that I have encountered. These are teachings to convince one to look honestly at oneself. This self-honesty can be an invaluable aid to one’s quest for psychological and spiritual transformation. She suggests that we become intimate with our disturbing emotions – particularly with fear. Our tendencies are to avoid and to seek escape. Although one doesn’t typically think of something like meditation requiring courage Pema Chodron explains that indeed it does require it.

“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.”

We have to develop the courage to let go of expectations and ideals. We cling to many habits simply due to fear. Letting go is letting go of our reactions to fear. Fear can be an opportunity to live in the present moment.

When we are faced with new and changed situations sometimes we cannot fall back on old ways and habits and things tend to fall apart. We are forced to adapt to new conditions. We can’t run away so we are compelled to let go of the habit of running away.

In Chapter 3 – This Very Moment is the Perfect Teacher – she states that:

“But for practitioners or spiritual warriors – people who have a certain hunger to know what is true – feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back.”

In discussing meditation she notes that it is more about opening up and relaxing into a difficult situation. The technique of meditation confines one into specific behavior. Reaction to stimuli is minimized as observing stimuli and potential response is the preferred method.

“Meditation is an invitation to notice when we reach our limit and to not get carried away by hope and fear.”

In the formal meditation technique one practices not indulging thoughts and emotions but also not repressing them. The struggle of constantly returning to the technique after being distracted by thoughts and emotions is the point. Pema describes the meditation technique of shamatha/vipasyana that she learned from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and how he taught and refined it over the years. She mentions the importance of developing a non-judgmental attitude and equates this attitude with the Sanskrit word maitri, loving-kindness, or unconditional friendliness.

“... meditation is about opening and relaxing with whatever arises, without picking and choosing.”

As a teacher, she describes hearing from people with problems, often of hopelessness and feelings of inadequacy. Here she says that developing maitri (for oneself) is essential.

Cultivating mindfulness in all aspects of our life helps us to notice what happens when we are challenged. When we can do this we can develop the ability to refrain.

“Mindfulness is the ground, refraining is the path.”

She describes the practice of refraining as an important dharmic path:

“It’s the quality of not grabbing for entertainment the minute we feel a slight edge of boredom coming on. It’s the practice of not immediately filling up space just because there’s a gap.”

She describes a practice she was given once to notice what she did physically when she felt uncomfortable. She mentions such things as pulling on her ear, scratching nose or head when there was no itch, or straightening her collar. These various fidgety actions are what we do to try to avoid the groundlessness, the uncertainty of being.

She describes hopelessness, or giving up hope, as an essential beginning. Hope is often intertwined with preconceived notions. It narrows our mind so that we have a distorted perspective. Traditionally giving up things is the practice of renunciation. This renunciation opens up possibilities. Giving up hope, desire, and all the things we habitually cling to, is really giving up our grasping at self, or at our misconception of self.

She also describes that clinging to hope is often a feature of theism where supplicating an external deity is akin to hope and conviction in an external authority and that:

“Nontheism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves.”

She suggests that we are addicted to hope and that theism is also very often an addiction. So when renouncing things that are addictive, like sex and alcohol, as in monastic rules, what is really being renounced is the hope that we place in them for solving our immediate problems. If our spiritual practice is constantly infused with hope we are not being mindful for we are distracted by grasping at potential future conditions. Abandoning hope is akin to letting go of an addiction.

She discusses what are called the – Eight Worldly Dharmas – pleasure and pain, loss and gain, infamy and fame, and praise and blame. So there are four we typical like and four we typically don’t like. These are sources for our attachment and aversion. Again it is suggested that one observe and become familiar with these situations in our own life so that we can understand how we get caught up in them and so that we can eventually transcend beyond their influence. How we feel often is a result of how we interpret things that happen. Our states of mind are often subject to emotional triggers. So in a very real sense we very often create these eight illusory dharmas ourselves. We often perceive blame (or praise) when none is given and the same goes for the others. If we observe mindfully we can come to know how our own confusion works.

“Knowing our own confusion, we’re more willing and able to get our hands dirty and try to alleviate the confusion of others.”

She describes the –Six Kinds of Loneliness (or healthy adaptations to loneliness) – 1) less desire – refers to loneliness without resolution where we don’t react to it in order to eliminate it; 2) contentment – refers to cultivating contentment with loneliness rather than trying to escape it; 3) avoiding unnecessary activities – refers to avoiding escapism into habits that we use to flee loneliness; 4) complete discipline – refers to cultivating the technique of mindful presence regardless of our loneliness; 5) not wandering in the world of desire – refers to not scanning around for ways to escape loneliness, or not looking for antidotes, recognizing that loneliness is not a disease that requires antidotes; 6) not seeking security from one’s discursive thoughts – refers to not seeking refuge in the mental chatter of our own thoughts.

Next she examines the traditional Buddhist teaching about – the Three Marks of Existence - these are impermanence, suffering, and egolessness. She suggests that these conditions are not catastrophic but that our fundamental situation toward them can be joyful if we keep them in mind and respect them as a part of nature.

“Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality. Many cultures celebrate this connectedness. There are ceremonies marking all the transitions of life from birth to death, as well as meetings and partings,....”

Regarding suffering she notes the inseparability of pleasure and pain and that the end of one thing is the beginning of another. She also notes the inseparability and complementary natures of inspiration and wretchedness.

She equates egolessness with our ‘basic goodness’ and our ‘Buddha Nature’ (potential for awakening). Egolessness is unconditional. Ego covers up this basic state with conditions and schemes. As for how to celebrate these three marks in our lives she suggests that we do so by recognizing situations as manifestations impermanence, suffering, and egolessness. We should first recognize these manifestations without judgment so as to be able to better accept them and further notice our reactions to them and better be able to dissolve our delusions.

She discusses the Buddhist teaching about the Four Maras – or four demons encountered by the Buddha before his enlightenment. These are the main obstacles to being free of delusion. They are how we become ensnared in our habitual confusion. The first is the devaputra mara  - the child of the gods – this is the demon of always seeking pleasure. This is the source of our addictions as we seek pleasure to avoid pain. Second is the skandha mara – the demon of the ego self-perpetuated – this refers to recreating our familiar self as something to fall back on when we are faced with deep change. I have heard it said that this was the source of all the maras – the fixation on the self. Next is the klesha mara – demon of the afflicting emotions – this is the tendency of letting our emotions get out of hand whether desire, greed, fear, anger, pride, or jealousy. When we are motivated by such forces we fail to connect with our basic wisdom mind. The last of the Maras is yama mara – Yama is the demon of death – she notes that she considers all the maras to arise from this one – and certainly all fears arise from the fear of death. She describes this demon in terms of the fallacy of seeking a perfect life:

“Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air. There’s no room for something to come in and interrupt all that. We are killing the moment by controlling our experience. Doing this is setting ourselves up for failure, because sooner or later, we’re going to have an experience we can’t control.”

Basically, the advice for dealing with these demons is that we should keep an overall non-aggressive approach to them.

She mentions clarity, honesty, and kindness as keys to spiritual growth and that they work together. Other useful qualities are courage and confidence. These are particularly helpful to developing discipline. Working with others is how we bring up our own confusion. These conflicts with others show us what we need to work on.

The importance and challenges of practicing compassionate action are emphasized. Such action requires relating with others. Difficulties and unresolved issues arise when we relate with others. Most of us prefer to be compassionate on our own terms but often this is not possible and we must overcome obstacles through struggle and effort. She suggests abandoning the absolutes of right and wrong and fixed attitudes in general so that we can better relate to whatever situation appears.

In discussing Bodhicitta – the noble awakened heart she describes it thus:

“We awaken this bodhicitta, this tenderness for life, when we can no longer shield ourselves from the vulnerability of our condition, from the basic fragility of existence. In the words of the sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, “You take it all in. You let the pain of the world touch your heart and you turn it into compassion.”

She goes on to give the practice of tonglen – taking and receiving – which is designed to awaken bodhicitta. Here one uses the breath and the imagination to breathe in the suffering of all beings with the wish that they be free of it and to breathe out joy to them with the wish that they experience it. This is compassion training for oneself and serves to support the habit of thinking of others and holding the wish for all to be free of suffering. There are many ways one can do this and many situations where it can be applicable. Bodhicitta is always available. She gives some detailed instructions and for practicing tonglen as a formal practice but notes that it can be done in brief and on the spot at any time.

“Tonglen reverses the usual logic of avoiding suffering and seeking pleasure. In the process, we become liberated from very ancient patterns of selfishness.”

The six transcendent actions – generosity, patience, discipline, perseverance, meditation, and discriminating wisdom (or prajna) are all based on and dependent on prajna. Prajna refers to a way of seeing which is not based on conceptions and fixed attitudes. These six perfections are not rules or moral teachings but methods of unveiling that transcendent wisdom on which they are based. Generosity is simply learning how to give, without conditions. Discipline is simply following a routine in order to reduce distraction so that one can better connect to the present and develop that discipline as a baseline habit. “Not too tight and not too loose” is a good rule for discipline. Patience is the antidote to anger and irritation. Being quiet, listening, and tonglen are given is good ways to practice patience as is the more dangerous yet more potentially powerful way of subjecting oneself to potential conflicting situations with others. Our ability to practice perseverance (aka diligence, exertion) is often variable and often we rely on inspiration, or what she calls “connect(ing) with energetic joy.” Another way of expressing it is that we develop the ability to stick with long-term goals over short-term goals. When we meditate we connect (however much we are able) with the unconditional state of mind without grasping and rejecting. We practice remaining open yet we also focus on a technique.

The focus is perhaps a temporary way to anchor us to one point rather than following everything around with our senses followed by thought as we typically do. Prajna is non-conceptual wisdom. It is akin to groundlessness. These six trainings are the trainings of bodhisattvas.

Next is given a practice to simply notice our opinions when they come up. We can notice how certain things affect us and how we form opinions about them – perhaps even see those opinions forming. She notes that we should hold onto our opinions with non-aggression, so not too tightly. Aggressive opinions are at the root of many human problems. We can also mistake truth for opinion and need to examine closely to distinguish.

When we have a load on our system (usually emotionally triggered) it is hard to stick to our lofty aspirations. She calls this feeling ‘squeezed.’ These are the most important times for self-honesty comes to the forefront. The groundlessness of transcendent wisdom is just as available in these situations but typically harder to find as we seem to be overwhelmed. Presence of mind and ‘nowness’ is always available though we tend to forget when pressured by circumstances.

Next she gives three methods for working with chaos. Here she talks about working with our sense of burden:

“We practice to liberate ourselves from a burden – the burden of a narrow perspective caused by craving, aggression, ignorance, and fear. We’re burdened by the people with whom we live, by ongoing daily situations, and most of all by our own personalities.”

The first method of working with chaos is – no more struggle – here rather than struggling with our situations we take the time to observe without judgment and reaction. This is simply using the meditation technique. The second method is – using poison as medicine – here one does not immediately attempt to rid oneself of difficulty but to note it and utilize it. Tonglen comes to mind here. One might have anger or despair and aspire that their anger or despair takes the place of the anger or despair of others, noting that many others are faced with similar difficulties and a big part of the problem is simply selfishness. If one can consider the difficulties of others then our own difficulty diminishes and we can turn difficulty into a healing practice. The key notion that Pema Chodron and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche often emphasize here is that every situation we find ourselves in, no matter how bad or hopeless, is still workable. The third method is to – regard whatever arises as the manifestation of awakened energy – this is basically the Tantric method. The traditional image of this idea in India and Tibet is the charnel ground – where stinking dead bodies were strewn about. This is an acknowledgment of the illusory division of pure and impure. The wisdom mind, or awakened energy, makes no such distinctions, otherwise how could it be available in every situation and in every moment?

She refers to the Vajrayana samaya bond (samaya means commitment) as a commitment to sanity. She calls it a “trick of choicelessness” in that we are already bound to reality even though we make a commitment or oath in tantric practice to keep this bond with teacher and practice. She refers to our sense of choice as ego in that we think we are choosing different relationships to reality when really we are always bound to it in the same way though we have yet to discover that.

“Samaya is like a marriage with reality, a marriage with the phenomenal world.”

“In the case of samaya, when we talk about commitment, its total commitment: total commitment to sanity, total commitment to our experience, an unconditional relationship to reality.”

She mentions that dharma practice alone is insufficient for some people and that therapy is also a possibility. Both have a similar goal of reversing neurosis. Both involve changing habits, particularly mental habits. She calls it reversing the wheel of samsara. This involves first stopping then reversing habitual momentum which as we all know is no easy task and one that is good to have help in the form of teachers, friends, therapists, whoever.

“Every act counts, Every thought and emotion counts too. This is all the path we have.”

Finally, there is the reminder that the path is the goal. This she finds cheerful in the sense that whatever situations arise immediately become our path, our challenge. This means that our access to wisdom is always determined by what is happening to us at any time.

This is another very practical book with much to contemplate and consider. In many ways dharma is more of a spiritual psychology than anything else, as dogma is usually kept to a minimum – or has more of a subsidiary function.

Read this book!