The author's true, exciting and serendipitous journey through the wilds of Papua New Guinea, the Himalayas, around the planet and into the heart of life guaranteed to change the way you see the world.
Dr. Michael Klaper has been a physician for 37 years and a vegan since he was 34 years of age. He was my recent guest on Voices from the North in another interview I recorded at Shangri La, an amazing place here in New Zealand’s Far North. Here’s the show:
Dr. Klaper has had great success treating various maladies using a nutritional approach. In our talk he speaks of the amazingly quick response certain ailments have when patients switch to a plant-based diet. Lasting relief of symptoms for rheumatoid arthritis and asthma begins, in some cases, after only a few days on a new diet. Back in the 1980s, Dr. Klaper recorded a series of instructional tapes outlining how a vegan diet could help those suffering from obesity, cancer, diabetes and more.
Michael sees the expression ‘arrogant physician’ as an oxymoron. He says the moment a physician stops listening and becomes arrogant is the moment he/she stops being a physician. From his perspective it is a great privilege to be a doctor and it is important to listen deeply to patients and to admit that the doctor doesn’t always get it right.
Part of Dr. Klaper’s training included tutelage under esteemed Chicago paediatrician, Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn, author of How to Raise a Healthy Child…In Spite of Your Doctor and more inspiring books. Robert Mendelsohn was a courageous modern pioneer who advocated home births and discouraged the overuse of vaccinations and medicines.
Dr. Klaper is unable to separate his being a vegan from being a doctor. As he says, “Being vegan is doing actions where no one gets hurt.” That seems to tie in nicely with Hippocrates’ edict: Physician Do No Harm. Dr. Klaper goes so far as to say that all physicians should be vegans.
In our hour long interview we cover a broad spectrum of issues including Dr. Klaper’s take on some possible benefits that can arise out of the ashes of our current global financial woes. This eloquent man has worked tirelessly for decades in support of the creation of a gentler, more compassionate world. He compares the resistance people have to adopting a plant-based diet today to the resistance our forefathers had to slavery one-and-half centuries ago. He paraphrases the words of a friend of his Keith Akers (author of A Vegetarian Sourcebook: The Nutrition, Ecology and Ethics of a Natural Foods Diet and The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity), ‘The world will become vegetarian, one way or another.”
Here’s a link to some of Dr. Klaper’s books, The Cookbook for People Who Love Animals, Vegan Nutrition: Pure and Simple andPregnancy, Children and the Vegan Diet:
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
is the award winning documentary describing the Gandhi-like efforts of one elderly New Zealand gardener, Peter Proctor, to transform agriculture in India.
150,000 Indian farmers have taken their lives since the mid-1990s as agrichemical giants like Monsanto of America and Syngenta of Switzerland have taken their livelihood. These seed behemoths control the genetically modified seed, effectively removing the ability of 60% of Indian farmers to support their families in their millennia-old traditional ways.
Enter Peter Proctor armed with a bucket and cow manure. One farmer at a time, he is giving back hope. Like Peter says, “Unless we have the right food, we can’t think properly.”
I invite you to view the trailer and purchase the video. You’ll be supporting the efforts of a modern day Gandhi, a humble octogenarian who is living the change he wants to see in the world, and coincidently transforming the lives of countless people.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
Cape Gooseberries, Feijoas, Bananas and More from the Garden April 2009
To reach our beach we need only walk along a footpath between two neighbouring houses. These neighbours have turned this public esplanade into a garden of beauty.
At the end of many early morning walks I return to the garden with handfuls of seaweed, mostly kelp that has washed in with a north easterly swell; a gift from the sea. After a storm I may fill several 30 litre bags with seaweed. This then sits covered in the compost area until I have a place to dig it into the garden.
When we first arrived here more than three years ago, the clay soil was heavy when wet, and it dried out and cracked quickly in the hot summer sun. Now, after four years of added seaweed, compost, grass clippings and mulched leaves and twigs, the soil is loose, friable and holds water well without getting sticky.
I allow many of my favourite greens to go to seed – summer and winter lettuces, kale, orach, fat hen, chickweed, amaranth, bok choy, etc. Much of the garden is a year round self sown mesclun mix. Lucia and I eat salad every day of the year from this wild, rich, tender and tasty mix of greens. In addition there are often surprise self sown plants popping up in the garden – tomatoes, passionfruit, alpine strawberries, pineapple guavas….The list goes on and on.
You give nutrients and love to the soil and plants, and they give so much back. One feels incredibly grateful for the freely given abundance of nature.
In this Voices from the North interview Dr. Jennifer Cornell describes her astounding experience while still in medical school in the 1980s of researching TB in the Navajo Reservation in Arizona; this is the place that contains Monument Valley, familiar scenery from Western movies. The Navajo vocabulary has no words for human body parts and no words for pain. For them health is harmony. Jennifer’s time with these people shaped her future direction in medicine and life. This interview touches areas most of us will never personally encounter. The insights are profound and fascinating.
The knowledge indigenous people have always had is only being discovered in Western culture now because technology is able to corroborate the knowledge of the ancients. I will say no more. Listen to this talk for a whole different world view that will stretch your mind. Don’t miss the stunning music in the middle of the hour, Lullaby for a Stormy Night by Vienna Teng, and the finish with Jennifer playing Native American Flute.
Here’s the complete interview:
Here’s a short extract from the interview on the Navajo Healing Perspective:
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
Release all meaningless activities. Do you need to read the newspaper and listen to or watch the news every day? Do the things you read, listen to or watch help you create a positive attitude and the realization that through your own efforts and positive thinking anything is possible? So often the negativity of the news drains our optimism and makes us feel helpless in light of seemingly endless wars, calamities and insurmountable problems around the world. If you’re not going to personally get involved with one of these issues, give them little or no attention.
Release all unnecessary possessions. You’ll have to determine what is necessary for you. Those in the householder stage with children will have different requirements than empty nesters. Our true wealth is not determined by what we possess, but by what does not possess us. Our true wealth is not determined by what we have, but by what we can live happily without. That which we possess needs to be looked after. This takes time and energy; time and energy that could go elsewhere if we had less stuff.
Put your time and energy where your heart is. So often we do things because others expect them of us. Do these activities make us happy? Do they fulfil us? We need to listen to and follow our hearts. Then the whole world supports our every step, we are guided by synchronicity, and we find true peace and happiness.
Grow some food of your own, preferably organically. In the supermarket of today we rarely know where our food comes from or how it’s been grown. Some crops are sprayed more than ten times before they are harvested and the chemical residues are absorbed when we eat them. It’s not difficult to create a little vegetable garden and/or plant a few fruit trees. Apartment dwellers can grow micro greens in pots using plants like garlic, onions, buckwheat and lentils. Anyone can sprout seeds such as alfalfa and wheat in jars. Not only will you eat healthier food, you’ll be reducing your carbon footprint and doing your bit to improve the health of the planet.
Get out of your car and onto your feet. How far do you drive to work? Could you find employment closer to home, or even at home? Time now spent in the car could be used getting exercise if you were able to walk or cycle to work. You’d feel better, lose those unwanted pounds and, again, be reducing your carbon footprint.
Discover natural ways to stay healthier. Rather than just relying on prescriptions from the doctor, heed the advice of Hippocrates: ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.’ So often the side effects of medicines are virtually identical to the symptoms they are prescribed to treat. Read books on natural healing or take courses to upscale your knowledge on how to look after yourself. You’ll save unnecessary trips to the doctor and you’ll feel better mentally, emotionally and physically.
A simple life is a balanced life, relying on a careful, dynamic interplay between activity and rest. It’s not for nothing Native Americans sometimes call modern civilization ‘Termite People’ because we are forever scurrying about. Look closely at the word ‘business’—‘busy-ness’. We often wear our ‘busy-ness’ like a badge. When someone asks if we are busy, it is expected that we are. Life is a delicate balance between activity and rest. Find that balance.
Put the above ideas in place and your life will be simpler, healthier, richer and more satisfying. This is an organic process, meaning that results come at the right time (which may or may not correspond with your expectations.) Just concentrate on thinking and living more simply and leave the results and timing to God.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
It was recently decided to fluoridate the drinking water in Kaitaia and Kaikohe, two small towns in New Zealand’s Far North. I have received permission from Elaine Hollingsworth to print the following words from her excellent book titled Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry. Elaine is the founder and Director of the Hippocrates Health Centre of Australia.
‘One of the greatest con jobs ever pulled on an unsuspecting public is the fluoride scam. We have the Aluminium Company of America (ALCOA) to thank for that one. This company, the largest fluoride polluter in North America because of sodium fluoride, a by-product of aluminium manufacture, faced huge lawsuits due to crop and livestock poisoning. In their search for a profitable way to rid themselves of their waste problem they came up with a brilliant idea – they decided to make us drink it!
‘The original fluoridation proposal was made by Dr. Gerald Cox, an employee of Mellon Institute, ALCOA’s research facility. Later attorney Oscar Ewing, who had been receiving $750,000 a year from ALCOA, transferred to the United States Public Health Service, where his salary was cut by approximately $650,000. This “noble” gesture enabled him to preside over the first experiment with fluoridated water. Halfway through the experiment, Mr. Ewing claimed it proved fluoridation was effective and safe, and recommended, in his capacity as chief of the U.S. Public Health Service, that it be implemented in the United States. Incredibly, dentists, some doctors and quite a few governments were persuaded that it was a great idea!
‘And, so it was – for ALCOA –but not for the public. Suddenly, fluoride was “in,” and it was forgotten, or ignored, that in chemistry indexes, sodium fluoride was rated as more toxic than lead and just a little less toxic than arsenic, and was considered an intractable pollutant which was dangerous to the environment. It was forgotten that it had been used as an insecticide, rodenticide, herbicide and fungicide; had been incorporated in nerve gasses; and used in frosting and etching glass, due to its powerful scouring ability There were few voices raised in the medical and dental professions drawing the obvious conclusion that if fluoride can kill bugs and animals and etch glass, it wasn’t suitable for the delicate gastrointestinal tract.
‘Allergist George Walbott, M.D., wrote of 500 of his patients who experienced dreadful symptoms due to drinking fluoridated water: dizziness, joint pain, fatigue, bloody vomit, skin rashes, gastroenteritis and hypersensitivity. He found that when they used purified water their symptoms disappeared.
‘Even if [fluoride] DID stop dental caries in children, the risk is unacceptable. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on a study of ten non-fluoridated and 10 fluoridated cities in the U.S., matched for size, race and other factors. 26,000 excess cancer deaths were found in the fluoridated cities. This was thought to be due to fluoride’s action as an enzyme poison.
‘The government of Quebec, Canada agrees. Then scientists they appointed concluded that fluorides in water are cancer-causing and mutagenic.
‘A higher incidence of AIDS patients was found in large fluoridated cities than in large unfluoridated cities, according to the United States Centre for Disease Control. This is due to fluorides immune system-suppressant action.
‘When fluoridated water was initially proposed, individual governments in the United States embraced it enthusiastically, as did some European and most Antipodean governments. However most of the Europeans dropped it when they discovered it was dangerous and didn’t work. Fewer than 1% of Western Europeans are now subjected to fluoridation. Australia and New Zealand have the worst record in the world; ignoring the latest information, they continue dosing 66% of the population with this corrosive chemical. Through the years, due to a groundswell of indignation, vocal consumer groups and scientists’ protests, many cities in the United States have abandoned fluoridation.
‘The introduction of fluoride to our drinking water marks the first time in history that governments practice mass involuntary medication of populations. In fluoridated areas, every man, woman, child and animal was medicated, with no regard for possible allergic reactions, susceptibility, age, weight or history of illness.
‘A list of 119 scientists who oppose fluoridation was compiled by the London Anti-Fluoridation Campaign. The list includes Nobel Prize winners, and reads like a Who’s Who of the scientific community. This is one of the statements they released to the press: “FLUORIDATION IS THE GREATEST SCIENTIFIC FRAUD OF THE [TWENTIETH] CENTURY, IF NOT OF ALL TIME.”’
Elaine Hollingsworth has obviously done extensive research into the subject of fluoride and the above excerpts represent only a fraction of the ten pages she has dedicated to the Truth about fluoride. Her book containing common sense solutions and insight into osteoporosis, Alzeimer’s Disease and much, much more is available in New Zealand by calling Dawn Stewart of Body Tech at (03) 2156744 or emailing dawn@bodytech.net.nz.
It is good to remind ourselves that the mind is really only a sixth sense. You are not the mind. You are so much more than that.
The mind is like a computer and you’re the programmer. That’s why I do affirmations most mornings before even my yoga and meditation. I want the program to run positively.
I think quality time spent in nature is always helpful, as is repeating mantras (if you resonate with such a practice). The mind is like a trickster. And don’t forget we live in times where there are so many negative messages around which also influence the programming. Hence we have to be particularly vigilant. What we choose to read, watch and listen to have profound impacts on the mind.
It is all about awareness. Knowing your weak times and being prepared for them. Knowing your tired times and acknowledging them AND accepting that sometimes you don’t get it right BUT next time you’ll do better.
Doing temporal tapping when affirming while looking in the mirror with a big smile may sound cheesy but it works!
It is my experience that the clearer we become the more careful and mindful we must be. That’s the responsibility we must accept for waking up.
Remaining positive is important because it is in so doing that we create positive ripples in the people and the world around us. But it is worth accepting our humanity and allowing things to be as they are. All you can do is your best. That is good enough.
One other thing I feel is often overlooked. What we put in our mouths in the way of food and beverages can have a powerful positive or negative effect on our whole being.
I hope I’ve given you some ‘food’ for thought!
John
My thanks to Jodi, whose comments and questions inspired me to put together the above words. I trust they’ve been helpful to you too.
This Voices from the North interview is with ocean sailor and writer Lindsay Wright of New Plymouth. Originally trained as a journalist, Lindsay’s love of yachting has carried him all over the world and almost to a watery grave. His fascinating stories give listeners a glimpse into the psyche of a person prepared to do what he loves, despite the obstacles life has thrown his way. He describes with fondness a recent but bygone era when adventurous sailors plied their skills without the advances of GPS and improved sail handling gear.
He is the current secretary for the Solo Tasman Yacht Race that sails out of New Plymouth in 2010 enroute for Queensland. This single-handed race runs every four years and has hosted some illustrious yachting names, people like Jerry Clark, Bill Belcher and musician Andrew Fagan (in a craft under 20 feet). These are people who don’t just sail, they often build their own boats. They’re an eclectic mix—from a dentist in Queenstown to a quarryman in Turangi. Lindsay will himself be participating in the next race with his 28 foot sloop.
Lindsay describes sailing and racing for others, delivering boats on the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway of the Eastern US).
Lindsay speaks with fondness of an earlier adventure in his life; time spent cruising the Spitsbergen Islands. The trip, made by Lindsay, his wife, Sarah and their cat, Luigi began with a journey through the Stairway to Heaven between Fort William and Inverness, a canal system connecting something like 12 lochs including Loch Ness.
Such is the life of intrepid sailors: Lindsay’s wife Sarah is English, they met in the Caribbean and they were married in America.
He describes vividly the lives of the last old time whalers of Norway; in fact, he and Sarah were there living briefly with Norse traditional Minke whalers in the last year they were allowed to legally whale. These were proud whalers with a way of life many generations old. Lindsay is quick to point out that this way of life is far removed from the unsustainable slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean being carried out by Japanese whalers today. The book he wrote of the journey is called Red Sails No Sunset.
Lindsay’s choice of music is a famous Jacques Brel song, Ne Me Qutte Pas. He chose the song for very personal reasons. He owned, sailed and wrecked (the night his hair went gray) a yacht owned by famous Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel. His story of Askoy, the boat Brel sailed to the southern seas when he was diagnosed with throat cancer, is fascinating and not to be missed.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream, counting prayer beads no more sacred than simply breathing. . . . If you wish to attain oneness with the Tao, don’t get caught up in spiritual superficialities. A Taoist Quote from Lao Tze
In a few hours time I’ll be interviewed by Theresa Chaze on Blog Talk Radio. The links are below. Obviously, it’s possible to listen to the recorded show later if you can’t tune in live.
This Voices from the North interview with Elan Sun Star is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. In addition to dialogue packed with anecdotes and scientific evidence supporting the value of smiling, the hour is sprinkled with smiley songs from the likes of Tony Bennett and Red Grammar. Hear about:
How smiling assists brain development in children
The Duchenne Smile
The value of smiling to astronauts and peace negotiators
How Norman Cousins cured himself of an incurable disease
Laughing clubs spring up in India and elsewhere
The Inner Smile
The smile is quite simply the easiest, cheapest and perhaps most important and available means of attaining radiant health and finding peace in any situation. This is one of my favorite interviews. Here’s the link:
When this interview was recorded Sun’s book was still a future eventuality. It is now published and available at http://smilesbook.com/ . Enjoy and keep smiling!
The author's true, exciting and serendipitous journey through the wilds of Papua New Guinea, the Himalayas, around the planet and into the heart of life guaranteed to change the way you see the world.
Dr. Klaper is unable to separate his being a vegan from being a doctor. As he says, “Being vegan is doing actions where no one gets hurt.” That seems to tie in nicely with Hippocrates’ edict: Physician Do No Harm. Dr. Klaper goes so far as to say that all physicians should be vegans.
In this 
Release all meaningless activities. Do you need to read the newspaper and listen to or watch the news every day? Do the things you read, listen to or watch help you create a positive attitude and the realization that through your own efforts and positive thinking anything is possible? So often the negativity of the news drains our optimism and makes us feel helpless in light of seemingly endless wars, calamities and insurmountable problems around the world. If you’re not going to personally get involved with one of these issues, give them little or no attention.
‘The original fluoridation proposal was made by Dr. Gerald Cox, an employee of Mellon Institute, ALCOA’s research facility. Later attorney Oscar Ewing, who had been receiving $750,000 a year from ALCOA, transferred to the United States Public Health Service, where his salary was cut by approximately $650,000. This “noble” gesture enabled him to preside over the first experiment with fluoridated water. Halfway through the experiment, Mr. Ewing claimed it proved fluoridation was effective and safe, and recommended, in his capacity as chief of the U.S. Public Health Service, that it be implemented in the United States. Incredibly, dentists, some doctors and quite a few governments were persuaded that it was a great idea!
It is all about awareness. Knowing your weak times and being prepared for them. Knowing your tired times and acknowledging them AND accepting that sometimes you don’t get it right BUT next time you’ll do better.
These were proud whalers with a way of life many generations old. Lindsay is quick to point out that this way of life is far removed from the unsustainable slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean being carried out by Japanese whalers today. The book he wrote of the journey is called 
When this interview was recorded Sun’s book was still a future eventuality. It is now published and available at 
