Peter Ruocco (Mephistopheles) and Blythe Foster (Gretchen): Photo Credit: Jessica Palopoli

Faust, Part 1

By Mark Jackson
Freely adapted from Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s
FAUST, DER TRAGÖDIE ERSTER TEIL
Directed by Kevin Clarke and Mark Jackson
May 20 – June 21, 2009
Ashby Stage, Berkeley
http://www.shotgunplayers.org/faust.htm

Mark Jackson brings Faust, Part 1 to Berkeley and the Ashby Stage’s The Shotgun Players. Jackson’s freeing adaption of Goethe’s FAUST falls someplace in between a fairy tale and a gothic horror. It gives a real theatrical presence to Goethe’s closet drama. While the adaption itself is quite intriguing, the real value of the show comes from the direction of Kevin Clarke and Mark Jackson. Jackson’s background in theater is a dance based, full body, physical acting. The beauty of the piece lies in the moment, or lack thereof, portrayed by the actors. Much like Jackson’s Yes Yes to Moscow, we see an outward expression through physical expression of each characters real internal struggle. Jackson does not do realism, in any production I have seen of his, but has an innate ability to draw his audience in through his formalism. What may at first glance appear to distance his viewers from the events ends up being what brings them closer than they have ever encountered the text before.

Jackson’s adaption refuses to investigate some of the real issues at play beneath the text. The “Woman” is constructed, in much literature as the whore or the angel, and while the text brings up this issue, it leaves it quickly for bloodshed and action. It seems like there are a lot of big issues that are lying just under the surface that are not really addressed within the adaption. Of course since this is only part 1, we have but a portion of the story. Hopefully Jackson will adapt the second part, and challenge some of these notions.

While the set is simple and vague, Jackson hopes you will take the leap into this fairy tale with him. Not only did Jackson adapt/co-direct, he also starred as Faust himself. Faust’s performance seldom seemed forced, but instead seemed natural and flowing, no matter how ridged Jackson plays him. It is truly a treat to see Jackson and co-star Peter Ruocco (Mephistopheles) and the subtleties they are able to bring out of the rich text provided to them. Ruocco strides onstage and persuades the audience that he is the embodiment of evil simply by stating that fact. His portrayal of Mephistopheles is, as one viewer put it, “like a jaded melancholy” and it works beautiful into the scope and setting that Jackson and set designer Nina Ball have created

However, the real highlight of the show lies with the performance of Blythe Foster just as the tragedy begins to unfold. The dance sequence that has been created is an incredible piece of visual beauty. Hearkening back to the style of movement in Yes Yes to Moscow, Jackson abstracts movement and turning it simply into something that Gretchen does to express her inner turmoil rising up within her. This scene alone is worth the cost of the ticket, and all the rest of the play is simply enjoyable.

While there are still some nuts and bolts to iron out, Jackson’s concept is strong enough, especially when supported by the performances of Peter Ruocco and Blythe Foster to create a piece that, on the whole, is a beautiful representation of movement and how it should be used. In Faust, Part 1 Jackson has created another piece that he should be proud of.

Going into nature, laughing, exploring, feeling, resonating integrity, and just being — all these things raise the vibration rate and keep the frequency high. Then you come back inside, switch the TV on and it plummets back to zero. It is the most reliable, effective and ubiquitous tool of propagating ignorance at their disposal. You have to have a titanium psyche to be even half impervious to its deleterious effects. Everyone else is at its mercy. I am trying — again, still, always — to remain focused on the present moment and to stop taking flight out into the stratosphere of imaginary troubles. I too easily take off, without even knowing I’m on my way, into a place where everything bad that could ever happen looms larger than possible and realer than can be. It’s the habit of a lifetime, the thanks I get for being overly intellectual. Living inside my head and letting the world slide away. It has to stop.

And stopping it starts with letting things slide a little and being more content with what I can get done instead of constantly holding it up against unrealistic imaginings of what I could do (if I was a superman, if I had twenty-eight-hour days, if I slept less, and so on). I’ve said it before, but apparently it bears repeating, that there is no point trying to create positive social change around me, even if on a very limited scale, if I am fundamentally a harried and unhappy person.

So more time for flaking. Satisfaction with a job done. More satisfaction with a job well done. Time for dreaming and gawking and doing nothing of value. Adrift and alive. Happy just to be here trying to figure out just what the hell is going on. And not much more, because there is not much more. OK? OK.

New Cancer research and research summary Sudarshan Kriya

Posted by: “Sunil Chheda” nss_sunil@yahoo.com

Wed Mar 4, 2009 11:37 pm (PST)

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .
 
Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins :
. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.
3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc. 7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.
10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy… Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.
WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties.
Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.
Please see these files for a summary of current research findings on the Art of Living practices:
In a fast paced age where stress and depression are widespread, the toll of stress on physical and mental health can be extremely high. Stress, anxiety and depression are known to be significant factors in the onset and progression of a wide spectrum of illnesses ranging from cancer and HIV-1 infection, to asthma and cardiovascular disease.
Sudarshan Kriya® and its accompanying practices (SK&P) are time-honored stress management/health promotion techniques whose health benefits are being validated by modern medical science.
Independent research has shown that SK&P significantly:
Reduce levels of stress (reduce cortisol – the “stress” hormone)
Support the immune system
Reduce cholesterol
Relieve anxiety and depression (mild, moderate and severe)
Increase anti-oxidant protection
Enhance brain function (increased mental focus, calmness and recovery from stressful stimuli)
Enhance well-being and peace of mind
These simple, yet powerful breathing practices have a unique advantage over many other forms of treatment: they are free from unwanted side-effects, can cut health care costs, and are easy to learn and practice in daily life.
The Art of Living International Research and Health Promotion Center aims to promote timely and scholarly investigation of the SK&P as they relate to physical, social, and emotional well-being. We welcome research collaborations and suggestions from interested parties.

QA with Bawa

Q: Why should a person who has been living his life happily need to do an art of living course?
Answer. The Art of Living series of courses are not only for people who have problems in life, they are also designed for extremely happy, successful people who simply want to know more and experience more in life. AOL courses will open up dimensions within you that you don’t even know exist.
The courses also provide you with breathtaking tools (pun intended) that will allow you to flush out daily stresses and allow you to consistently give peak performance.
Besides, the YES!+ course is just pure, unadulterated, challenging fun! So unless you are utterly allergic to having fun and learning something really worthwhile you should find the next course that’s happening and go and do it.

Q: What are the most important qualities I should possess to make a positive transformation in society?
Answer. A deep yearning for that transformation to take place. The ability to quickly move from just making plans to putting them into action! The ability to inspire other people to join up with you. Finally to be able to relax and smile and move through obstacles.

Q: How do I attract people to me?
Answer. Meditation. Makes you to people like what an open pot of honey is to bees. When you regularly meditate, you will make heads turn when you walk into a room. The best part is that not only do you attract people, you attract the right type of people. People who will enhance your life by being with you (as you enhance their life by being with them).
Meditation cannot be learned off the internet or from a book, please make sure you learn from someone who is qualified to teach you. We would of course recommend the YES!+ course:).

Q: There is a guy in my life. How do I know that he is the right one for me?
Answer. When the question you are asking doesn’t remain, then you will know!

Q: Is it possible to get anything you want in life?
Answer. Yes. It is possible to get anything you want in life provided you make sure you help a significant number of other people get what they want in their life. Sooner than you think, what you want will plop into your lap!

Q: Should I believe in miracles?
Answer. Only if you want them to happen to you!!

Q: Can you tell me about a miracle?
Answer: Black cow, eating green grass, giving white milk!!

Q: How do I get out of depression?
Answer. The recipe for depression is asking the question: “What about me?”. Continuously thinking only about what’s in it for me? Very quickly you will get depressed. So the way out is to start thinking and doing things for others. Do some Seva, think about others for a change and you will see that depression just fades away…

Q: How do you from Art of Living see India 25 years from now?
Answer. Wise people don’t predict the future. Wise people MAKE the future! We invite you to join us and make the India and the planet of our dreams!!

Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa

Suicide

cuando Dios creó el amor no ayudó mucho
cuando Dios creó a los perros no ayudó a los perros
cuando Dios creó las plantas no fue muy original
cuando Dios creó el odio tuvimos algo útil

cuando Dios me creó a mi, bueno, me creó a mí

cuando Dios creó al mono estaba dormido
cuando creó a la jirafa estaba borracho
cuando creó las drogas estaba drogado
y cuando creó el suicidio estaba deprimido

cuando te creó a ti durmiendo en la cama
sabia lo que hacia
estaba borracho y drogado
y creó las montañas y el mar y el fuego al mismo tiempo

cometió algunos errores
pero cuando te creó a ti durmiendo en la cama
se derramó sobre su Bendito Universo

—————————-yes yes (versión original)

Charles Bukowski

when God created love he didn’t help most
when God created dogs He didn’t help dogs
when God created plants that was average
when God created hate we had a standard utility
when God created me He created me
when God created the monkey He was asleep
when He created the giraffe He was drunk
when He created narcotics He was high
and when He created suicide He was low

when He created you lying in bed
He knew what He was doing
He was drunk and He was high
and He created the mountains and the sea and fire at the same time

He made some mistakes
but when He created you lying in bed
He came all over His Blessed Universe.

“Would you sit on Little Richard’s cock for $100,000?”

-Dubz

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!….wait

yes yes yes yes yes”

-C-unit