tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post5032397955994997392..comments2023-05-24T23:33:57.516+10:00Comments on My Unwelcome Stranger: How come I got a brain tumour?Denis Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-55308255959616249982010-11-02T14:46:09.157+11:002010-11-02T14:46:09.157+11:00We could learn a lot from Ashoka about how to rule...We could learn a lot from Ashoka about how to rule a country, until he got old and crotchety. I always spelt his name like this so students would get closer to the Sanskrit than 'Asoka'.<br /><br />Will email you re the cheap wines!Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-79393720336070698122010-11-02T09:50:47.299+11:002010-11-02T09:50:47.299+11:00This b*stard just deleted my post, for some bizarr...This b*stard just deleted my post, for some bizarre reason. Jinx again.<br /><br />What I said was that the diacritical mark should go above the s. I got the sibilant wrong. To those in the know, Asoka is fine as even Ashoka is not entirely correct, ruling out only one of the three sibilants.<br /><br />Finally found a use for all that Sanskrit study.<br /><br />Where do I get the cheap online wine?Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-36369832738883773932010-11-01T19:11:50.137+11:002010-11-01T19:11:50.137+11:00Yes - all but 50% of it. :)Yes - all but 50% of it. :)Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-35773453118258532492010-11-01T17:23:54.142+11:002010-11-01T17:23:54.142+11:00So.....the bottle of Moet in the fridge is all min...So.....the bottle of Moet in the fridge is all mine then? :-)Traceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09920294359715307782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-41042557365453821312010-11-01T13:41:15.431+11:002010-11-01T13:41:15.431+11:00Yep, but it's not easy to display diacritics i...Yep, but it's not easy to display diacritics in online fonts! <br /><br />For $65 you can get online a carton of a dozen top quality export reds [because of the wine glut here in Oz at the moment!] I'll take the cab savs over the Moet, especially as it's supposed to be anti-angiogenetic!Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-2560769513693538762010-11-01T10:17:34.347+11:002010-11-01T10:17:34.347+11:00Asoka- It's pronounced Ashoka, but spelled Aso...Asoka- It's pronounced Ashoka, but spelled Asoka with a diacritical mark underneath the s to indicated which of the 3 Sanskrit sibilants it is :).<br /><br />How's that for academic pendantry.<br /><br />I assumed the story was a Sufi story because it came from a Buddhist who usually uses Sufi stories to illustrate his teaching points -- Jack Kornfield. However, he did say that the village was in China, so that should have given it away.<br /><br />For $75 you can get 3 casks of decent plonk.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-3467682901369453482010-10-30T11:31:04.123+11:002010-10-30T11:31:04.123+11:00Asokavadhana - or Ashokavadhana - I mean. Academic...Asokavadhana - or Ashokavadhana - I mean. Academic pedantry I can't get away from....Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-90049217140256001152010-10-30T11:27:55.228+11:002010-10-30T11:27:55.228+11:00Isn't it funny - that same story is used in Hu...Isn't it funny - that same story is used in Huston Smith's The World's Religions practically word for word in his chapter on Daoism [Taoism], which would age it by 1500 years or more from the Sufi one. But then it's such a good story it's bound to pop up everywhere where people are trying to illustrate common sense. After all, Aesop's fables come through time and again in the Old Testament, the Asokavadharna, the Ramayana, Chinese and Japanese myths and the Norse sagas - because human beings encounter the same situations in life no matter what part of the world they currently inhabit....<br /><br />Re your PS - YES! You can buy a whole bottle of Moet for that price! :) **joke**Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-63958120762832526142010-10-30T11:09:13.380+11:002010-10-30T11:09:13.380+11:00PS. I've changed my mind. $75 for a glass of...PS. I've changed my mind. $75 for a glass of champagne is not just bad, it's criminal.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-59471999922255569572010-10-30T10:03:02.213+11:002010-10-30T10:03:02.213+11:00A famous Sufi story:
A villager had a horse, unco...A famous Sufi story:<br /><br />A villager had a horse, uncommon wealth in his village, and his friends said, "Oh you are so lucky." "Maybe," the villager said.<br /><br />Then the horse ran away. His friends said,"Oh, how unlucky." "Maybe," the villager replied.<br /><br />The horse came back with 2 stallions. "Oh, you are a fortunate man," his friends said. "Maybe," replied the villager.<br /><br />His son trained the stallions, but got thrown and broke his leg. "Oh, how unfortunate," his friends commiserated. "Maybe," replied the villager.<br /><br />Then the Emperor's armies came through, taking all the young men to war, but the villager's son could not go because of his broken leg.<br /><br />And so it goes. What is good? What is bad? Who knows in the end?Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-7690582048138654892010-10-30T01:05:06.833+11:002010-10-30T01:05:06.833+11:00' do bad things, and good things come!!!' ...' do bad things, and good things come!!!' Whoops!! not quite how it works, is it? Of course, you're right. For one thing, we have a problem of defining what's good or bad. They're relative terms. I challenge anyone to come up with universal 'goods' or 'bads'.<br />Please don't get me started on how governments paying for a good health system is 'bad' socialism while giving huge amounts of money to failed entrepreneurs and institutions is 'good' and somehow not 'socialism'.<br />No, you don't ramble irrelevantly. Irrelevant to who or what? Even karma's 'cause and effect' is misleading, as cause can be effect. The potter makes the pot. Cause/effect. BUT the pot also makes the potter, because without the pot, there is no potter! Cause and effect intertwined. <br />Bedtime!Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-21572272887154888652010-10-29T10:56:07.038+11:002010-10-29T10:56:07.038+11:00The problem in understanding karma in our culture ...The problem in understanding karma in our culture is that the laws of Physics state that "for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction." Our refrigerators run on that principle. So do bad things, and good things come!!! :) <br /><br />We've forgotten "as you sow, so shall you reap", and instead are pondering, "am I my brother's/sister's keeper" and coming up with the answer "no". So we get the politics we create -- blow them out of the water, here in Oz. Workers in the US are angry that cheap or free healthcare is being forced on them,as though that's an infringement of their individual liberties. And they support millionaires' rights to low taxes because governments should mind their own business and let people get on with their individual rights to get super rich at the expense of everyone else. Bizarre.<br /><br />Meanwhile the laws of Buddha's physics, that all things arise from previous causes is not the philosophy of the West. Everything happens by chance; there is no meaning or consciousness, just dead matter. <br /><br />But I ramble,irrelevantly.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-7914796702853027552010-10-28T16:43:48.170+11:002010-10-28T16:43:48.170+11:00PS People don't understand karma, wrongly tran...PS People don't understand karma, wrongly translating the word as 'fate', which is absolute nonsense. Karma literally means 'action' so it's simply cause and effect and the interaction between them. Every action has a consequence, and anyone who denies this is loopy. Some actions we have a degree of control over, some we don't appear to. The trick in life is to understand causes and effects, not deny them, and change what seems sensible to change if possible and work with what you can't seem to change. Your last statement, Joan, is all too true.Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-65965285544378140322010-10-28T16:33:17.445+11:002010-10-28T16:33:17.445+11:00I think the best explanation of anti-angiogenesis ...I think the best explanation of anti-angiogenesis treatment is here:<br />http://tinyurl.com/236ca5v<br />but in a sentence, angiogenesis is the ability of cancer cells to reproduce. Anti-angiogenesis then is a treatment that inhibits cancer cells to reproduce. In my case it is consuming foods that have proven anti-angiogenesis qualities, and avoiding the ones that aid angiogenesis. <br />The most dangerous food for brain tumour sufferers would appear to be items rich in refined sugar, which gives the tumour a nice old boost in reproductive capacity. So those kindly meant 'naughty' food gifts rich in sugar are not the best for me, I'm afraid.<br />Good things? Blueberries, beetroot, red grapes, strawberries, green tea, green leaf veggies, cherries, and, the occasional red wine and very dark, almost sugarless chocolate - the bitter sort that doesn't taste all that great! There are more but that's off the top of my head, where I still have a bit of brain, I hope!Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-87037303471031453652010-10-28T10:18:23.372+11:002010-10-28T10:18:23.372+11:00What are angiogenesis treatments?
Karma isn't...What are angiogenesis treatments?<br /><br />Karma isn't plain logical truth to everyone, otherwise we'd have an epidemic of better behaviour :).Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-83338167831985471632010-10-27T15:38:58.393+11:002010-10-27T15:38:58.393+11:00Dee: your theory may be as valid as any other! Min...Dee: your theory may be as valid as any other! Mind you, there are a few dead crims that might be an exception to your rule. I am hanging in, so it partly supports your theory....<br />Joan: I agree with a lot of what you say, and I think we've talked over some of them personally.<br />I always thought 70 years was fair enough, and anything more would be a bonus, so if I don't make it that far I will feel a bit cheated, I admit. But others have fared far far worse in the longevity and quality of life stakes than I, even if I die tomorrow, so I can't really complain.<br />You are quite right about modern medicine and what it's done to save lives. I doubt if my darling girls would be here now without it, nor Christian, and my mother would have succumbed decades before she did. <br />I expect the cancer epidemic to continue, and in the 'developing' world as well, as I have seen in Bangladesh and in China. <br />People are living longer through Avastin for brain tumours and reinforced by natural anti-angiogenesis treatments.<br />The statement about karma is simply plain, logical truth.Denis Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786035137418348609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-10917148866890328882010-10-27T13:29:49.220+11:002010-10-27T13:29:49.220+11:00My theory is: Only the good die young.
DeeMy theory is: Only the good die young.<br />DeeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5722735165669239585.post-17021670101161962022010-10-27T09:52:50.276+11:002010-10-27T09:52:50.276+11:00Denis, all of the above plus karma and bad luck. ...Denis, all of the above plus karma and bad luck. Not to mention living close to your alloted life span - 3 score and 10.<br /><br />For those of us who get to our sixties, it will most likely be cancer or heart disease that taps us on the shoulder when it's time to go. It used to be bacterial infections, viral diseases, and that curse of curse, childbearing. Most people didn't live long enough to get cancer or heart disease, and if they were taken by either early in life, no one knew what it was anyway. If it weren't for modern medicine, most of us over 50 would be dead by now.<br /><br />Gerard Allen, who had the same kind of tumour as you did, although in a far more unfortunate location (it took his mind first), blamed his mobile phone.<br /><br />My father managed an agricultural chemical plant and I grew up eating and breathing 24D, DDT, Deildrin, and Aldrin. My mother couldn't grow house plants because they all mutated and became deformed in that toxic air. I also worked in my father's factory during my summer vacations. Sooner or later, pay back will come to me. I'm surprised none of my family has developed cancer as a result. Perhaps the genetic predisposition has to be there first.<br /><br />We seem to be in a cancer epidemic, and I think all of the toxins, artificial hormones, and radiation in our environment, which are unnatural in their excess, are contributing. Not to mention the chemicals in our food, which accumulate in fat cells, and unfortunately are released into the blood stream when we are good little health-minded souls and lose weight.<br /><br />Soon, someone with GBM4 will go into remission because of advances and refinements in treatments. Denis, you could be that someone. <br /><br />As a famous saint once said, when the body can no longer support its karma, it goes.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04715081266571704126noreply@blogger.com