Healthy Wealthy and Wise Issue
Larry Brilliant grew up in Detroit, where his dad stood up to the Mafia—who in turn firebombed the family business. On scholarships he became an MD. He first came to SF during the psychedelic Summer of Love and wound up forever “on the bus.” In 1971 he met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba, who accurately predicted he would participate in the eradication of smallpox. This led to cofounding Seva Foundation, which so far has restored eyesight to more than 5 million people. Check out the fascinating stories of this unique tech-savvy do-good hippie doctor, including how he and wife Girija have given the lie to the old line “Hippie relationships don’t last.”
We’ve two inspiring pictorials. The images and quotes of “Running on Faith” take us through aspects of this oh-so-mysterious phenomenon. “Pearls of Consciousness” showcases French photographer Dominica’s
black and white portraits of spiritual masters.
Richard Appelbaum reminds us of the health hazards of the just implemented 5G wireless technology and describes the mounting local
opposition. Harmful EMF radiation (Electromagnetic Frequencies) has
long been a Common Ground cautionary tale. As with Big Tobacco of
yesteryear and GMO “frankenfoods,” the long-term health hazards of
5G small-millimeter wave radiation (up to 300 gigahertz) at close proximity are at best unknown, if not being vigorously swept under the rug.
Go to a local meeting before towers go up in your backyard—because
they will.
Misha Montoya, who 17 years ago fell from a tree and became paraplegic, exposes the ubiquitous ablelist perspective. I learned a lot and so will you. In “Everything Is Burning: Tending Our Grief in Overwhelming Times,” Francis Weller reminds us how the recent local fires are teaching us to unite. In “Navigating Change: The Art of the Soft Pivot,” author Abigail Juan advises how to keep life’s inevitable changes from becoming painful smash-ups.
2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the flu pandemic that killed millions. Dana Ullman tells how many deaths may have been avoided and makes an interesting case for homeopathy. Leo Raderman picks up on the phenomenon of Michael Pollan’s book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence and raises the question of whether cannabis too can be considered a sacred psychedelic.
Baba Hari Dass, the founder of Mount Madonna Center, died recently. He was an extraordinary monk who took a vow of silence in 1952.
Ward Sadanand Maillard provides a unique tribute to this exemplary
teacher, whom he first met in 1974. In “The Paradox of the Spiritual
Teacher-Student Relationship” Amir Freimann explains the vicissitudes
of a relationship rife with many paradoxes.
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May you have a blessed 2019, where we’ll see you soon!
Onward and upward,
ROB SIDON, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR IN CHIEF