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  • Spinoza’s Ethics of Strength of the Emotions in W Somerset Maughm’s Of Human Bondage

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    The writer probes on the complex world of W. Somerset Maughm’s protagonist in the novel Of Human Bondage, using the propositions the Jewish Portuguese philosopher Baruch Spinoza postulated in his book Ethics in 1674. Some of Spinoza’s propositions are as follows( Morgan, 2006, pp 108-120):

    The following propositions of Spinoza enlighten the changing character of Philip in his own bildungsromans of his life. The force and increase of any passive emotion and its persistence in existing is defined not by the power whereby we ourselves endeavour to persist in existing, but by the power of external causes compared with our own power;

    The force of any passive emotion can surpass the rest of man’s activities or power so that the emotion stays firmly fixed in him;

    An emotion cannot be checked or destroyed except by a contrary emotion which is stronger than the emotion which is to be checked;

    Knowledge of good and evil is nothing other than the emotion of pleasure or pain insofar as we are conscious of it;

    An emotion whose cause we think to be with us in the present is stronger than it would be if we did not think the said cause to be with us;

    We are affected toward a future thing which we imagine to be imminent mo intensely than if we were to imagine its time of existence tofarther away from the present. We are also affected by a remembrance of a thing we imagine to belong to the near past more intensely if we were to imagine it to belong to the distant past;

    An emotion toward a thing which we think of as inevitable [necessarius] is more intense, other things being equal, than emotion toward a thing possible or contingent, that is, not inevitable;

    Emotion toward a thing which we know not exist in the present, and which we imagine to be possible, is, other things being equal, more intense than emotion toward a contingent thing;

    Emotion toward a contingent thing which we know not to exist in the present, is, other things being equal, feebler than emotion toward a thing past;

    No emotion can be checked by the true knowledge of good and evil, insofar as it is true, but only insofar as it is;

    Desire that arises from the true knowledge of good and evil can be extinguished or checked by many other desires that arise from the emotions by which we are assailed;

    The desires that arises from a knowledge of good and evil insofar as this knowledge has regard to to the future can be the more easily checked or extinguished by desire of things that are attractive in the present;

    Desire that arises from the true knowledge of good and evil insofar as this knowledge is concerned with contingent things can be even more easily checked by desire for things which are present;

    Desire arising from pleasure is, other things being equal, stronger than desire arising from pain;

    Every man, from the laws of his nature, necessarily seeks or avoids what he judges to be good or evil.

    The more every man endeavours and is able to seek advantage, that is, to preserve his own being, the more he is endowed with virtue. On the other hand insofar as he neglects to preserve what is to his advantage, that is, his own being to that extent he is weak.

    Philip is highly affected by nature. There is in Nature no individual thing that is surpassed in strength and power by some other thing. Whatsoever thing there is, there is another more powerful by which the said thing can be destroyed. And he was able to surpass all his problems because of the incoming different emotions, problems which proved to make him stronger if not released from “Human Bondage”.

    The force whereby a man persist in existing is limited, and infinitely surpassed by the power of external causes.

    Philip’s deformity limits his own persistence to live. But his meeting with Hayward, Clutton and Lawson, his former classmates in France, who taught him that life is all about passion and the pursuit of it, he became engross in his art. France did not also care about his clubfoot. Cronshaw taught him more philosophy in life about living in let live. Cronshaw even on his death bed, defied doctors’ prohibition. His life is anyway to end just like any other’s lives.

    Set in Kent, England, a sub-urban near London, the novel presents the multifaceted personal, social, political and religious experiences of Philip carey from his childhood to his middle age of thirty. A bildungsroman (1991, Smiley) in style, which highlights the formation of a youngman’s character through education, travels and early life experiences. Philip at the age of nine, as a young boy, is set apart from his peers by some misfortune and undergoes a humiliating experience that later proves strengthening. his first experience of love is unsuccessful or problematic one that nevertheless paves the way to a happy marriage with a suitable mate. The novel has ample observation, if not criticism, with the character’s institutions such as schools, churches and class structures.

    Philip’s personal life is truly an amalgam of life’s tragedies. But how he surpassed the seemingly insurmountable heap of oppressing weight, if not the meaninglessness or nothingness of life, is the focus of this attempt anchored on Spinoza’s propositions. To enumerate, at an early age, his mother died of tuberculosis and his father, a medical doctor, died of lung cancer. His innocence never understood the situation. He has only the temporary joy of travelling to Blackstable to live with his uncle William and childless Auntie Louisa. Forcibly liking his second family as an orphan, he is left reading his books without noise for his uncle, a Vicar in the community, is irated with children’s unruly behaviour. Aunt Louisa is incapable of understanding Philip. he is left with the care of the governess. His personal disability or deformity, being born with a club-foot, proves to be the stigma of his life forever. His early education in Kingston School, caused his early childhood bitter as his peers laughed at him, mocked and physically abused him because of his physical abnormality. Then, his adolescence which brings him to Heidelberg, Germany to study foreign languages, is never sweet. Girls chided him for his deformity. the consolation is meeting friends like Hayward and Miss Wilkinson, who flirted with him, to his disgust. His sojourn to France, albeit, his uncle’s disappointment, proves to be annihilating. His lack of talent in painting plus his deformity, made him a mediocre student. His classmate Fanny Price, who fell in love with him, on the pretext of sharing the same abnormality (hers is lack of beauty), committed suicide out of hunger and wretchedness.

    Then everything escalated to its height, when realizing that painting is not his passion, he goes back to England. He decides to change again to pursue what his uncle William tells him to do: to follow the footsteps of his father. To be a doctor. feeling he has nothing to do, he embraces the new idea. Sauntering along the Parliamentary Street of London, he is driven to dine in a cafe where he meets the slatternly waitress Mildred Rogers who awakens his sexual desire. But his languid mien, caused by his club-foot proves to be a disadvantage. the waitress prefers rugged and rich men. But his desire to pursue the pale, anaemic, aloof Mildred, beomes a challenge to him. Gradually, the two becomeclose. But the ambitious and materialistic waitress always insults him because of his deformity. to slander him cripple, would totally “cripple” his mood and emotion. Even when Philip is generous to the moody Mildred, she hurt him by marrying a German businessman Miller. His desperation is tantamount to his yearning for Mildred. He is left believing that one day, he would see Mildred again. His concentration with his medical study is forlorned. And Mildred came back,looking sickly, with a child. His generosity and forgiveness for his first love, who hurts him the most, is even greater than life. The ingrate waitress after a little recovery from poverty, elopes with Griffith, Philip’s handsome and robust classmate. That is the height of Mildred’s shamelessness. So her expected return is welcomed with derision by the newly awakened Philip. Even when Mildred turns into a prostitute, Philip is only capable of compassion, without passion or sexual desire. She is freed at last. And Philip is extricated from the pains excruciatingly caused by the destitute Mildred.

    His obsession to Mildred costs Philip his fortune and gradually his savings is left with seven pounds. He is forced to stop from his medical studies that brings him to experience unbelievable poverty. He meets the generous Athelneys who fed and sheltered him in his misery. His uncle’s death, leaving an average fortune, helps him to finish his medical studies. His fateful shelter with the Athelneys brings him to his final, harmonious and peaceful resolution to marry Sally Athelney and go on with his life beautifully. Shakespeare is affirmed by saying that “all is well that ends well.

    At this juncture, it is noteworthy to enumerate Spinoza’s propositions to elucidate Philip’s “bondage” and his strength of his emotion. Spinoza in his preface to his philosophical treatise wrote:

    I assign the term “bondage” to man’s lack of power to control and check the emotions. For a man at the mercy of his emotions is not his own master but is subject to fortune, in whose power he so lies that he is often compelled, although he sees the better course, to pursue the worse. In this Part I have set myself the task of demonstrating why is so, and also what is good and what is bad in emotions. But before I begin, I should like to make a few preliminary observations on perfection and imperfection, and on good and bad ( Morgan, 2006).

    In the beginning, Philip is a slave if not a victim of his emotion. His physical deformity, his club-foot, caused him too much pain. He learned to hate his classmates and,worst, abandoned his belief in God. He could not appreciate the God of his uncle vicar when God cannot give him the miracle he wanted to have normal feet. His painful childhood in school changed him to be rough character. He never wanted to become a vicar anymore. His obsession to Mildred indeed showed his real weakness as a man, and even wretchedness as a human being because of his deformity. he would always think that women cannot love him as he is because of his deformity.

    He who has undertaken something and has brought it to completion will say that the thing is completed; and not only he but everyone who rightly knew, or thought he knew, the intention and aim of the author of that work. For example, if anyone sees a work (which I assumed is not yet finished) and knows that the aim of author is to build a house, he will say the house is imperfect. On the other hand, as soon as he sees that the work has been brought to the conclusion that its author had intended to give it, he will say that the house is perfect. But if anyone sees a work whose like he had never seen before, and he does not know the artifecer’s intention, he cannot possibly know whether the work is perfect or imperfect.

    This appears to have been the original meaning of these terms. But when men began to form general ideas and to devise ideal type of houses, buildings, towers, and so on, and to prefer some models to others, it came about that each called “perfect” that which he saw at variance with his own preconceived ideal, although in the artifecer’s opinion it had been fully completed. There seems to be no other reason why even natural phenomena (those not made by human hand) should commonly be called perfect or imperfect. For men there are wont to form general ideas both natural phenomena and artifacts, and these ideas they regard as models, and they believed that Nature (which they consider does nothing without an end in view) looks to this ideas and holds them before herself as models. So when they see something occurring in Nature at variance with their preconceived ideal of the thing in question, they believed that Nature has then failed or blundered and has left that thing imperfect from their own preconceptions rather than from true knowledge.

    So perfection and imperfection are in reality only models of thinking, notions which we are wont to invent from comparing individuals of the same species or kind; and it is for this reason that I previously said (Def. 6, II) that by reality and perfection I mean the same thing. For we are wont to classify all the individuals in Nature under one genus which is called the highest genus, namely, the notion of Entity, which pertains to all the individuals in Nature without exception. Therefore insofar as we classify individuals in Nature under this genus and compare them with one another and find that some have more being or reality than others, to that extent we say that some are more perfect than the others. And insofar as we attribute to them something involving negotiation, such as limit, end, impotence and so on, to that extent we call them imperfect because they do not affect our minds as much as those we call perfect, and not because they lack something of anything except that which follows from the necessity of nature of its efficient cause; and whatever follows from the necessity of the nature of its efficient cause must be necessarily be so.

    To be a master of his emotion is to attain perfection. It may not be physical but spiritual, mental and emotional. His challenges may have hardened him but enlightened him to loosen up and later, embrace the beauty of life. The unattainable perfection, was answered, through his friend Cronshaw, a poet whom he met in France, that the meaning of life cannot be answered unless one lives it. he realized that men are born, study, work, marry, have children and die is the most beautiful pattern that the Persian rug edifies.

    As for the terms “good” and “bad,” they likewise indicate nothing positive in things considered in themselves, and nothing but models of thinking, or notions which we form from comparing things with one another. For one and the same thing can at the same time be good and bad, and also indifferent. For example, music is good for one who is melancholy, bad for one in mourning, and neither good or bad for the deaf. However, although this is so, these terms ought to be retained. For since we desire to form the idea of man which we may look to as model of human nature, we shall find it useful to keep these terms in the sense I have indicated. So in what follows I shall mean by “good” that which we certainly know to be the means for our approaching nearer to the model of human nature that we set before ourselves, and by “bad” that which we certainly know prevents us from reproducing the said model. For it is important to note that when I say somebody passes from a state of less perfection, to a state of greater perfection, and vice versa, I do not mean that he changes from one essence or to form to another (for example, a horse is as completely destroyed if it changes into a man as it would be if it were to change into an insect), but that we conceive his power of activity, insofar as this is understood through his nature, to be increased or diminished.

    Philip may have been both good and bad due to circumstances. he was good in the Blackstable with his Auntie Louisa and Uncle William. he became bad in school because his classmates taunted him because of his clubfoot. In Heidelberg, he is good to all the people even if he did not understand their silence and even their insolence. In France, was forced to become bad, to protect himself from the looming abuses of other foreigners. The death of an anti-social fanny Price, showed him to be the only compassionate painting student.

    Hence, after a series of Philip’s tragedy, his experiences, his meeting with different people, his education, his travel to Heidelberg, to Paris and to London, his affluence and reversal of his fortune to poverty taught him greatest lessons in life. That life can be beautiful if man knows to master his emotion, moderate his desire and be reasonable in every decision. A man is finally freed from the chains and cufflinks ” Of Human Bondage”.

    References:

    Maughm, Somerset W. (1991). Of Human Bondage.

    Canada: Bantam Book Doubleday.

    Morgan, Michael (ed.). (2006). The Essential Spinoza: Ethics And Related Writings.

    Cambridge: Hackett Publishing, Inc.

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    Source by Wilfredo M. Valois

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  • The Essence of Technical Writing

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    The Gist of Technical Writing

    Technical writing, though may seem to be complex outwardly, is not that much complicated when approached in a pragmatic and systematic way. To make it simple, technical writing is just the process of peeling the outer chunky cover of the complexity of the entailed subject and showing the common reader the right way to feel the inner softness at ease.

    The Objective of Technical Writing

    Technical Writing is the process of taking away the toughness of the subject and making it simple and straightforward so that even ordinary readers who do not possess the grasp of the subject can easily digest the topic. A technical writer must be capable to assimilate the subject technical communication in its entirety and must be competent enough to translate the same into a commonly used language avoiding all of the included technical jargon.

    Though the subjects can vary, an expert technical writer will have to be skillful in providing the readers practical and precise content regarding the discussed subject in an ordinary language. The topic may be based on issues such as computer snags, recently launched innovative apps, description of a consumer gadget, mobile phones, computer tablets, medical items, or many other such things that are par for the course of modern living. A talented technical writer will delve deep into the subject and will gather all the relevant practical points and then will pass them to the readers without losing the grip of the subject, but, in a simple language. There lies the real significance of a technical writer.

    Give Valuable Information to Readers

    One of the main points that all technical writers will have to take care is to include valuable information that will be useful to the readers rather than detailing the apparent technical data. Readers will be more interested in knowing what the item concerned will impart them, rather than the physical or technical specifications. That does not mean that the writer must completely avoid such technical details; the only thing that he or she must ensure that the detailing must be customer-oriented.

    One Basic Tip

    To become a good writer, one should become a good reader and when the topic comes to technical writing, the writer must be clued-up on the latest technological advancements. The writer must absorb the scientific advancements as and when it comes to pass, and in our time the best bet for it is to rely on the effectiveness of the various internet platforms. In short, all technical writers must comprehend and assimilate the subject concerned fully before trying to pass on to the readers.

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    Source by Kaliyath Achutha Kumar

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  • Three Reasons Why Money Was The Worst Invention Of All Time

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    Who invented money? Ask any number of people and they couldn’t tell you who it was that actually invented money or where the idea came from. History has given us some bad ideas, but money has to be the worst and here are my top three reasons why.

    1. Something Invented By Man Should Not Have Power Over Him.

      If I think really hard and try to imagine a time without money, before it was invented and used on a daily basis, I tend to imagine that the world was a completely different place. People most likely had a barter type society where goods and services were exchanged and that is how one survived. If I had a particular skill, say hunting, and you were hungry you could come to me for food. The idea would be that if you could make fire, and I could provide the food, then we could exchange our skills or abilities and everyone got what was good for them. I assume, for the sake of argument, that if someone possessed absolutely no skills whatsoever, that person was still allowed to eat. I can’t imagine that I would loan the helpless soul some meat, only if it could be paid back somehow. Before helpless soul could blink, he might owe me for five dinners and then I have to send out the collection agents to call in his debts. Money provides control, in both a positive and negative control. Although it is man made, and essentially just a piece of paper or a mixture of cheap metals, money has power, and is power. I can just imagine Mr. Helpless Soul explaining to his wife that he can’t repay the hunter and doesn’t know what to do. So Mr. Hunter decides to enslave the Helpless Soul family until the debt is repaid. It is unfathomable to me that so many people in my country, and the world go hungry every day. Those who possess the money have the power to deny the needs of those that don’t have means. Where have the humanitarians gone? I’ve seen a business owner kick out a person who was homeless and starving, and then half an hour later deal with a complaining customer as he shouted that his food was not hot enough. Money only has the power that we give it. If we choose to see it as just a means to an end, or just some silly paper we have been told to obey our whole lives, then one can focus on what really matters. I am not advocating not paying debts, or shucking responsibilities. This is the world we live in, and norms must be followed…until the laws change again to suit what the politicians want on any particular whim of a day.

    2. Money Shifts Focus From Helping One Another To Arbitrary “Worth” Of Mere Things.

      Why should I do anything to help anyone else, unless they can pay for it? If my entire focus in life is to obtain material things, then I should only be motivated by money, or obtaining it, to do anything. What is anything really worth? Marketing companies have defined worth for me since I was a child, and it was beaten into me during commercial breaks of GI Joe. What is the value of all of the things you want in comparison to something that really matters? Imagine what the worth is of spending one more hour with a loved one before they pass away and are gone forever. The worth of teaching your children that there is more to life than money and obtaining things. The worth of feeding a homeless man, and helping him have at least one night’s sleep where his stomach doesn’t keep him awake. The value of reaching out a hand and helping someone else in this world is worth more than the largest diamond, the heaviest gold, and the purest oil. Now, I am the biggest hypocrite on this topic, because I love things! It has been programmed in me for so long, it is hard to shake the desire to obtain things. Imagine a life in which people helped each other because it is the right thing to do, and not just for what they could get in return. The argument is, well, that things can’t just be free. You have to pay something to get something. How would the world work if everyone was just giving away everything for free and everyone just had everything they needed and didn’t have to be slave to credit card companies anymore or to a job that they dislike? How would we survive? My answer to those questions is, famously! I would be free to learn a trade that benefits others and could use that ability to provide for my family and to help others. I have wanted to help by donating or giving my entire life, but never had the means. I’ve donated a little time here and there, and not near as much as I should or would have liked to, but at least it was something. But because I like things, and those things have cost me money, I have to continue in my job, and repeat the same cycle my father did.

    3. Money Makes You Question If People Really Care About You, Or Just Your Money.

      I try to envision the end of my life surrounded by those that have made my journey with me, who love and care for me because of the enrichment I gave to them through my friendship and dedication. In my latter years, enjoying my days with my wife, and talking to my grown children and my grand children. I want to soak up every single minute of my life between here and there. I want to feel and love and enjoy all that there is to offer. I have seen families destroyed, fighting over the money left behind after a loved one passes. Some of those grudges are held for the rest of their lives. They lose a relationship and also a loved one, and the only thing they can think about, is how much money they will be getting. More than likely, Mr. Entitlement as we will call him, won’t even miss the loved one that was lost. How many brilliant individuals never get the chance to succeed because of lack of means, and how many elite are given free passes because their pile of paper is bigger than yours. Do the people closest to you care about you or your money? Does the girlfriend only love you because of what you can buy her? Do your children only listen to you in order to get something they want? Take the money away, and would they abandon you? Such a great idea, this money.

    My answer to all of this is that I don’t have an answer. My two year old daughter asked me about money and loves putting money in her piggy bank. It made me start to consider all the reasons I worry about money, and fight about money, and read books about money. Nothing like the honesty of a child, to make you sit and think.

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    Source by Mitchell Pierce

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  • Why Sage Hosting Is A Real Big Thing For Tech-Savvy Accountants and CPAs

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    The modern accounting world is the proof that technology accelerates every industry it touches. Whether it be data or relationship with clients, advanced accounting software is efficient enough to handle it all. Before the emergence of cloud technology, CPAs and accountants were handling their complex financial data on spreadsheets. But, it is hard for them to claim better results with spreadsheets, and that’s when the need for a reliable cloud-based accounting software come to the fore.

    Sage 50 Cloud is a familiar name among tech-savvy accountants and CPAs, who prefer technology to get expected results. From small businesses to huge enterprises, entrepreneurs to individual professionals, the hosted solution has worked exceedingly well for everyone. The major reason behind the popularity of Sage hosting solutions is flexibility, which allows firms to streamline complex accounting tasks smoothly. The hosted software not only minimize the overall cost but also bring productivity into your business.

    There is plenty of other accounting software in the market that has the same set of features, but Sage gains the slight edge due to its cost-efficient pricing solutions. The hosting feature of Sage is also one major factor that makes it future ready. Let’s discuss further factors that justify the name of Sage in the accounting world. In short, here are the benefits of hosting your Sage to the cloud.

    1. Mobile Device Compatibility to Focus on Core Business Goals:

      Sage, when hosted to the cloud, ensures that you can access your data from any location at any time and with any device. You are able to achieve better results when you enjoy doing your work. The hosted application allows you to work according to your comfort zone, which means you can complete tasks more efficiently. It is not less than a perk for technology-oriented accountants to have the comfort of the place and satisfaction of AI while handling complex accounts.

    2. Supreme Operations to Avail Professional Growth:

      The presence of cloud help businesses to think beyond accounting hassles as the hosted accounting application is versed enough to take care of it. Accountants and CPAs can strategize new ways to expand their services globally or, simply think about resources management. There are lots of other tasks that they can handle in the meantime. Dedicated server, timely software upgrades and automated integration processes are some of the features that help accounting firms to claim professional growth.

    3. Updated Technology to Stay Ahead of Market Game:

      In today’s competitive market world, it is hard to stay at the top always but not impossible. Accounting firms can find a sustainable place for themselves only if, integrate with cloud technology. Fortunately, Sage 50 cloud is able to do that for firms. The expert of hosting provider ensures that your accounting software will upgrade to its latest version, and you don’t have to pay any upfront cost for that.

    4. Excellent Support to Think About Business Productivity:

      You automatically say yes to the assistance of cloud vendor when your data migrated to the cloud. There are many instances in business that makes it hard to focus on core business goals. But, the same is not a case with Sage hosting as experts assist every user 24*7. Be it day or night, experts will take care of your data and assist you with sustainable solutions. Hence, it is always beneficial to have an automated accounting software in the process.

    Final Words

    Sage hosting offers many benefits to its users, especially to accountants and CPAs, that allow them to explore the data, market opportunities and global expansion. Most of the traditional users still consider cloud as an expensive option. But, the truth is hosted application play a bigger role in the overall transformation of the firm’s growth. Organizations who truly want to stay ahead of the accounting game should make a quick switch to the cloud as it is the only way to steer the firm’s innovation.

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    Source by Tina S Smith

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  • A New Perspective on Medicine

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    Society evalu resorts to pharmaceuticals as a means of alleviating pain, treating infection and illness, yet many of these synthetic drugs have long lists of side-effects. What the world doesn't know is the potency of natural remedies. Thus, medical coverage is not universal, and this precipitates the need for holistic treatments. Near Eastern medicine has largely been dismissed in favor of pharmaceuticals, in the process discarding millennia of medical knowledge. What can be cured with crushed clovers is now replaced with ibuprofen. This is one of the biggest flaws in our "universal" health care system. I developed a medical journal over last year spring break, and I have been expanding it ever since, adding holistic remedies used in place of synthetic drugs to treat a variety of ailments. Not only would this restore almost-forgotten medical knowledge, but it would also encourage a peaceful relationship between Muslims and other Near Eastern communities during a time when such peaceful relationships are vital.

    How long are we to remain ignorant of these things? Yes, perhaps medications and OTC drugs are much more efficient and work faster, but what happens to our appreciation for medical literature and the equivalent of a millennium of medical knowledge? Are they to be discarded? Thrown away?

    This is something that we, as a society, have to work toward, one step at a time.

    Recently, I put this to use. A few days ago, on January 6th, 2018 at about 9pm, my father indicated he was experiencing some discomfort in his right eye. Curious, I took a high resolution photo of the eye in question, in a slightly supine position. I analyzed the picture and discovered an irregular growth / inflammation in the right, upper eyelid. I do recall studying and reading about various eye infections and irregular growths in a few of my classes in school, such as conjunctivitis ("pink eye"), myasthenia gravis, and blepharitis. I came to conclude that the symptoms that my father was experiencing were characteristic of what is commonly called "stye". In stye, the eyelid is usually slightly red, almost looking like it was trying to develop into a minor for of blepharitis. I asked myself and my dad, "Perhaps this stye was the cause of lack of sleep? I asked this because a few blood vessels in his right eye were slightly bulging." No ", he replied. I read and researched about stye online. Just before my mom got up to go to the pharmacy to get him a few OTC's, I read that stye could be cured through ONE SIMPLE TECHNIQUE: HEAT.

    I told my father to apply heat (best option) so that the inflammation in the idea and whatever bacteria in there can dissociate (if that's the right word). He held a soaked, hot towel ABOVE his right eye (notice: he did not necessarily have to TOUCH his eye with the towel). He held it for 6-8 minutes and repeated this until the pain subsided. The next day, he performed the same procedure. After just two days routinely practicing the same procedure (WITHOUT MEDICATION), my father's eyelid returned back to its normal color and shape.

    So there you have it.

    Certain things CAN be cured by simply holistic, natural remedies. We like to think that doctors, physicians, pharmacists, etc. are "in charge" of Medicine. Not necessarily. Medicine can start at home, with us. One step at a time.

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    Source by Masood Shawyan Jan

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  • Use Caution With Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) in Living Wills

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    All people including lawyers need to use caution with Living Wills and the Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) clause. Our relative who was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for 17 years said he would not sign a DNR because he thought if he did that it would allow physicians to cause his death. We respected his decision but could not believe that physicians who mainly preserve life would be anxious to end life. However, it turns out he was correct, a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) document does give a nursing home or a physician a green light to determine when or if a person can get medical care to preserve life.

    When you are signing paper work to place your loved one in a nursing home they will tell you how humane a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) clause is, not requiring Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and/or a defibrillator which can break your loves one’s ribs. However, they do not inform you how bad it is for your loved one if they lose their mental or physical faculties unable to communicate their wishes for medical care and uncaring people determine the DNR means that they do not want medical care to extend their lives. Although my wife had a power of attorney requesting medical care for her Father, the Nursing Home staff just ignored us and our attempt to preserve the life of our family member.

    It turns out they had our relative sign a DNR while in a mental fog of an infection. The physician made a misdiagnosis claiming this patient’s daughter (my wife) was mentally ill for trying to honor her Father’s last wishes. She could not adequately communicate with her Father so she had reservations about sanctioning an amputation of his leg without his consent which I thought was prudent. This physician had never even met or talked to my wife and had no psychiatric credentials we are aware of. But when a physician makes a notation in a medical file it has powerful weight with a Court even if the information is false. So the nursing home staff took the physicians view declaring my wife crazy for trying to preserve the life of her Father thus over ruling her rights as a power of attorney and were going to legally expunge the life of her Father who wanted to live.

    Thus, a DNR in some circumstances can be more powerful than a power of attorney. I do not believe we are the only victims of this abuse of a DNR clause that some misguided people use to prematurely extinguish the value of human life. The common practice with the fervent sales pitch to get family members to sign a DNR out of humanity may be valid to a certain extent, but it can also be abused by people who believe they have the right to determine when a person dies.

    Including a clause or adding a hand written notation that the DNR does not give any party the right to deny medical care to your loved one is advisable. A DNR has the ability to convert a physician or nursing home staff into a psychopath and you should have reservations about signing such a document.

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    Source by Dale Adams

    Views: 0

  • Concierge Medicine – Is it For You?

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    The last time you called your doctor’s office, how long did you have to wait for a reply? How long do you usually have to wait to get an appointment or wait for a prescription to be called in? When you get to the office, how long do you spend in the waiting room and how much time does the doctor spend with you?

    Did you get all your questions answered? How many seconds do you have in the beginning of your appointment to explain your symptoms before you are interrupted? Do the nurses and doctors seem to be more interested in their computers or their charts than they are to you?

    If your experiences are like most people, your answers to these questions are not very flattering to the medical profession and to the health care system in general. Most doctors don’t really want their practices to be like this, but they don’t have much choice. They have to have a high volume of patients in order to make ends meet financially. The high volume makes the clinic a very busy place and most patients don’t feel like they get much attention.

    In 1996 in Seattle, a doctor named Howard Moran thought there should be a better way to do this. He pioneered the concept of having a lower volume practice with highly attentive medical care provided as a service for patients in return for a retainer fee, much like many attorneys or accountants use. This fee may be in addition to, or in lieu of, the regular office fees that are billed to insurance companies. This concept allows the practice to remain financially solvent while providing better, more attentive medical service to its low volume of patients (usually keeping the patient count down to about one tenth of the number in a typical traditional primary care practice).

    Unfortunately, health insurance companies currently don’t pay for this type of service, so that means the patients have to pay this out of pocket, but if the service is good, it may be worth it. Patients who join these practices are encouraged to keep their usual insurance which they will need for visits to other specialists, laboratory testing, radiological testing and/or hospital services if needed.

    Many concierge practices offer same or next day appointments, no long waits for appointments or prescription refills, direct access to your personal physician day or night, house calls if necessary, continuing care if hospitalized, complete physical examinations, audiometry screening, cardiovascular and cancer risk screening, more attention to preventive care, unrushed appointments, all questions answered, family meetings if needed, coordination of care with specialists, provision of personal health records on CDs or flash drives, etc., etc.

    Depending on the type and number of services that are provided, the flat retainer fee can vary widely from one area to the next ranging from $100 to $20,000/ year, most probably averaging around $1500-3000/year. There were only a few hundred of these physicians a few years ago, but there are over 5000 of them now all over the country. Many of them, but not all, are listed at the main website for the American Academy of Private Physicians – http://www.aapp.org/. Patients may be able to find a concierge physician in their area on this site.

    There has been some controversy surrounding some of these practices because some authorities feel the growth of concierge medicine will lead to a 2-tiered medical system in this country – one for the wealthy and one for the not-so-wealthy. Also, with the current shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs), with increasing numbers of concierge practices, the number of PCPs available for traditional offices will be even smaller, and access to care for patients served by those practices will suffer. On the other hand, more medical students may become interested in primary care if opportunities in concierge medicine are available to them when they finish their residencies.

    Some of these practices have come under fire from insurance companies who say that concierge physicians are basically providing an insurance plan for their patients without having an insurance license to do so. The practices must therefore be legally and financially structured in such a way that avoids this criticism.

    Overall, the concept of concierge medicine provides a good alternative to the currently unsatisfying traditional model of medical practice. The fee may seem high to some, but in most instances, it probably isn’t much higher than the cost of the local cable or telephone bill, or about the same as what a family would spend eating out at a restaurant once a week. 

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    Source by Greg Warth, M.D.

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  • The Health Benefits of Indoor Plants

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    When you think of a house plant, you probably think of a green plant that you water occasionally right? But did you know that those pretty green leaves can actually be beneficial to your health? Having indoor house plants can boost your physical, mental and spiritual health.

    Many people thing growing indoor house plants is too much trouble so they turn to the silk variety for green foliage in their homes. But there really is a different in how your home feels when the plants are real. Did you know that living plants can actually improve the air we breathe? Green plants are known for removing carbon dioxide from the air, but they can also filter harmful toxins and pollutants as well. This will make the air in your home healthier for your family, which in turn can help to keep your family healthier as well!

    In addition to helping to purify the air, having house plants in your home can actually help prevent allergies in children. If children are exposed early in life to things that typically cause allergy issues they will begin to develop a tolerance and immunity to the allergen. It works similar to custom allergy shots that people get from their allergist. The allergist does an allergy test then makes a serum of the things that the person is allergic to. The person gets weekly shots of this serum to help them build a tolerance. Exposing your family to house plants can work in the same way, by helping them build a tolerance to the plants in your home. It is important to note that if someone in your family has severe allergies you should talk to their doctor before introducing house plants into their environment.

    In addition to the physical health benefits of house plants, they help with mental health as well. When someone is depressed or lonely, caring for a living thing can help give them a purpose in life. Many people live in places where pets aren’t allowed, so a house plant is a good choice. The person becomes involved in watering, fertilizing and trimming the plant when needed. This is a great therapy for people with mental health issues.

    Being surrounded by living things is good for the soul, so having house plants is good for your spiritual health. Caring for another living thing and being exposed to the beauty can make you feel at peace with the world or at the very least your little corner of the world.

    There are so many advantages to having house plants. However, there is no health benefit in a sick or dead plant. Make sure you water your plants regularly and mix slow release fertilizer in the soil about every three months. If you care for your plants, they will give you years of beauty and the added benefit of clean air, better mental health and calming peace.

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    Source by Piper Cox

    Views: 0