Healing the Ills of Society

Civilization has denatured and commercialized our lives (our bodies) in three major areas, as follows:

1. The way we EAT.
2. The way we EXERCISE (if at all).
3. The way we TELL TIME.

EATING

By now, most people who read are aware that most commercially "processed" foods commonly displayed on the shelves of food markets have been denatured to the point of being at least useless and often injurious to the health of our bodies. These "processed" foods have been transformed from "vital" to "dead" in order to extend their commercial "shelf life". The desire of the merchants to extend "shelf life" has come to encourage the use of chemical preservatives and refined "sugars" such as SUCROSE and corn-syrup FRUCTOSE. I consider these to be the heroin and crack of the sweeteners in our diets. These seductive substances along with MSG (monosodium glutamate) and other "taste enhancers" should be avoided altogether. No, I do not accept the popular doctrine of "moderation" in the use of these substances. All of them are addictive and have become scandalous public-health menaces. Regardless of what the lurid advertisements tell you, no one should eat or drink any of the many commercially processed taste-tempters. Instead, everyone should eat as close to fresh and vital Nature as possible. This also means that you should avoid eating such commonly accepted "foods" as sugar, white bread, white rice, and white pasta! (Sorry, but it´s true.) And certainly any kind of cake, pie, cookie, pastry, or ice cream should be actively SHUNNED FOREVERMORE. Yes, all this may seem extreme and even anti-social, but unfortunately our commonly accepted cultural feeding habits have too easily become the unsuspected enemy of both our physical and mental health. In short, you must train yourself to FEED YOUR BLOOD and NOT YOUR MOUTH. The amazing thing about this is that it takes only two weeks to "kick" your addictions, but it means that you must read all food and drink labels carefully and refuse to ingest these "poisons".

EXERCISING



During my 25 years of teaching Theatre Arts in American high schools, I was appauled at how so-called "Physical Education" was based on competitive (para-military) team sports so as to ignore the need for each person to take responsibility for his own private exercise after graduation. Also I have some doubts about the suitability of some "walking and running" (trail behavior) programs, especially the ones which require you to install exercise machines in your home. These programs ignore the unique history of how our bodies operated when we lived as apes in the trees. Our primate ancestors developed and enjoyed a fully "globalized" body. Their very efficient "body bubble" was not yet so frontally oriented (for tracking and trailing). No, it operated in a space which was not only 360 degrees horizontally, but also 360 degrees vertically (at least a 720-degree experience). When we dropped out of the trees to walk and run upright on the surface of the Earth, we lost much of this efficient "body bubble" and were encouraged to focus our attention ahead on a far horizon. There are ways to "re-globalize" our bodies, ways to reclaim our deep-muscle memories of having lived in that "paradise garden" above. In other words, it is still possible to return to our "roots in the tops of the trees". And for this I have designed a completely new kind of "X"-axis" exercise program which enables you to re-learn what "your mother, the tree" taught you. This program is elaborated in our Website.

TELLING TIME

By 1884 the entire civilized globe (following the example of the American railroads) installed 24 "Standard Time Zones". Thus our bodies and our minds were immediately "denatured" and subjected to "commercial" time. The I-CHING-ECLIPTIC system is designed to "re-tune" your body and mind to the Real Local Time (RLT) of the longitude you live on. This "re-tuning" gives you back your innate (natural) feeling for the four quadrants of the day and for the 72 I-CHING messages of each 24-hour day. Believe it or not, every 20 minutes of every day there is a specific, geometrically-determined message coming to you along the "L Channel" (the conduit of cosmic resonance created by the meeting of your terrestrial longitude with the longitude of the ECLIPTIC). A daily awareness of these 72 local I-CHING messages (now available as short songs) liberates you from being dominated by your culture´s "denatured" and "commercial" agendas. Thus you not only regain control over your unique individuality in a world of "group-think", you also learn to SHARE a "real time" ethic with the people around you.

Dare We Dream a Future of Global Prayers and Ecumenical Angels?

"I don´t like missionaries, and yet I may be one myself, but hopefully a non-sectarian one."...Don Evn Odm

The Year Cycle For the past seven years I have lived south of the equator in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay where I have experienced the totally illogical domination of yearly religious and marketing events by a "foreign calendar" from the northern hemisphere. Before the 15th Century the LOCAL calendar-makers of every culture (both north and south) held power over the people. They did this thru Priests and Kings who set dates for religious rituals and festival which were carefully TUNED to the four LOCAL SEASONS of the 365-day year-cycle. But since the imperial colonialism of the "white" north over the "darker" people of the south, we have a ridiculously "white (cotton) Christmas" (Ho! Ho! Ho!) near the time of the southern SUMMER solstice! Ridiculous! And we have chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies near the AUTUMN equinox! Tragic! This may be good merchandizing, but it certainly is BAD TIMING.

The 24-hour Day Cycle Nature wants our bodies to live in Real Local Time (RLT), but Culture insists that we live by standard-commercial clock-time. This "fake-time" was invented, then promoted world-wide in 1884 by the North American railroad companies so as to promote a more efficient commerce. Furthermore, as if "Standard Zone Time" weren´t bad enough, there is a yearly one-hour adjustment both INTO and OUT-OF "Daylight-Savings Time" or "Summer Time" which really throws our BODY´S "circadian clock" awry and divorced from Nature. During the middle ages in Europe every town had its own Real Local Time of day (Sundial on the south wall of every church), and the Catholic Church even had special prayers for people to say from a "Book of Hours". And in some Asian religions there was a habit of igniting various incense odors to fit the various hours of the day. But alas, these "naturally" sensible practices have been abolished by the current reign of commercial clocks all over the entire globe. But "mourn not their passing". I´m the "missionary" who plans to bring them back (alive) in a new, more logical (scientific) form.

Mending the Mess of Astro-Imperialism: What sign are you?

Well, you must be THE OPPOSITE of what THEY said you were! And who are "THEY"?
"THEY" are the imperialist astrologists from the northern hemisphere who are all wrong about the southern hemisphere. Because: Opposite seasons mean opposite signs.

More precisely, if you were born below the Tropic of Capricorn you are:

Not Aries but Libra
Not Leo but Aquarius
Not Taurus but Scorpio
Not Gemini but Sagittarius
Not Cancer but Capricorn
Not Virgo but Pisces

(Or viceversa)

The Tropic-Zones Problem, and How To Solve It

It is our firm belief that anyone living within either the "north tropic" or the "south tropic" region (zone) needs to know the exact time his body switches from above to below (or vice-versa) the plane of the ecliptic. This is important because the two positions represent two opposite "SIGNS" ("Calendar Hexagrams"). So far, in the Appendix of Don´s book we have graphs which show these times for any day of the year, but for the EQUATOR ONLY. This limitation leaves it to you to use a mathematical formula to determine the "switch-times" for your specific latitude either north or south of the equator. We hope that very soon someone with a gift for math can construct a computerized formula for automatically giving you this information without your having to do any "calculations".

Just provide the name of your city (of birth or of current residence) and immediately get answers for whatever day of the year you want.

Tuning Your Body to the Real-Time, DAY-NITE Arena The FOUR HALF-ARENA sectors: (inside, outside, front-side, back-side... of our globe)

The INSIDE (Sun side) of the Arena I will call "DAY-". It spans 12 hours of Real Local Time (and has nothing to do with amounts of "light"). It is the "IN"-or Center- side of Earth´s tracking-orbit around Sun (from arrow-point in front to feather-trail in back). Its RLT is from 06:00 am to 06:00 PM. Mid-Day is its center mark. KEYWORD: "COMPETITION"

The OUTSIDE (outer-space side) of the Arena I will call "-NITE". It spans 12 hours of Real Local Time (and has nothing to do with amounts of "dark"). It is the "OUT"- or Stellar- side of Earth´s tracking-orbit around Sun (from feather-trail in back to arrow-point in front). Its RLT is from 06:00 PM to 06:00 am. Mid-Nite is its center mark. KEYWORD: "COOPERATION"

The FRONT-SIDE (arrow-point side of the arena). It spans 12 hours of Real Local Time (is partly "-NITE" and partly "DAY-). It extends from Mid-Nite to Mid-Day. Its RLT is from12:00 am to 12 PM. KEYWORD: "SECURING" Its I-CHING function is YANGING (increase of Solar Power).

The BACK-SIDE (feather-trail side of the arena). It spans 12 hours of Real Local Time (is partly "DAY-" and partly "-NITE"). It extends from Mid-Day to Mid-Nite. Its RLT is from 12:00 PM to 12:00 am. KEYWORD: "RISKING" Is I-CHING function is YINNING (decrease in Solar Power). The FOUR QUARTER-ARENA sectors. ("QUADRANTS") When we overlap the four half-Arena sectors, we create the quadrants. These are the "four seasons" of the DAY-NITE, Real-Time cycle:

MRN (morning) From 06:00 am to 12:00 PM. This compares with the year cycle´s SPRING. KEYWORD: "NATIVITY"(The new organism struggles for survival.)

AFT (afternoon) From 12:00 PM to 06:00 PM. This compares with the year cycle´s SUMMER. KEYWORD: "IDENTITY" (The individual forms ego from tribal roots, then serves.)

EVE (evening) From 06:00 PM to 12:00 am. This compares with the year cycle´s AUTUMN. KEYWORD: "EQUALITY" (The individual learns to share himself with others.)

DWN (dawning) From 12:00 am o 06:00 am. This compares with the year cycle´s WINTER. KEYWORD: "SOCIETY" (The individual submits himself to ethical enterprises.)

GENERAL MEANINGS: (a geometric philosophy)

I believe that the INSIDE half means COMPETITION and that the OUTSIDE half means COOPERATION. I believe that the FRONT half means SECURING and that the BACK half means RISKING. When these ideas are overlapped, they produce four different "operation systems" for all life forms on our globe. For our own species these four "operation systems" have the following meanings: MRN QUAD: warns the basic biological organism not to waste its reserve supply of energy in BLIND pursuit of survival or advantage over others. The ultimate goal of this quad is to avoid conflict and to make "well-informed" personal CHOICES.

AFT QUAD: encourages the selfish individual first to CONFORM to the local "tribal" (family) limitations and then to develop his own ego center. The ultimate goal of this quad is to become an adult "specialist" in SERVING the SOCIETY.

EVE QUAD: warns the maturing personal ego to observe the rules of FAIR give-and-take, first with those close-by and then with strangers. The ultimate goal of this quad is to develop a "wide-ranging", impartial, NURTURING COMPASSION.

DWN QUAD: encourages the "compassionate" adult to dedicate his talents and resources to the improvement of various larger societies of strangers. The ultimate goal of this quad is to develop "ethical trusting" so as to promote future GLOBAL PEACE.

The TWELVE-PART sectors of the arena. ("SIGNS") "Calendar Hexagrams" THREE KINDS: "START", "MIDDLE", "FINISH" (formerly: "cardinal", "fixed", "mutable")
The TRI-PARTITE QUAD: Of course, each QUAD has three "SIGNS" classified ONLY according to the three capitalized terms above.

WARNING: Never classify any of them by "fire", "earth", "air", "water". They mean NOTHING. The 72-PART ARENA ( 6 "I-CHING Places" in each of the 12 "SIGNS" or hexagrams.) I also call these the "Fortune-Cookie messages" because I have distilled them down to cryptic, one-or-two-sentence "reminders" of the original "Book of Changes" texts.

The Travelling "Dancing Ape" Act

(This is an Image from Don Evn Odm "Equinox" perfomance, explaining the use of the water-bottle weights and the "X" axis in both TONING the BODY and TUNING the BODY to the 72 DAY-NITE "messages")

This act can be an attractive fundraising event for various ecological organizations. Wherever it goes, it changes its content to celebrate a specific occasion or a significant time. It can celebrate a time of birth (of a person or an organization), a wedding, or an anniversary. Or it can celebrate the time of a cosmic event in the heavens such as a new moon, full moon, an equinox or solstice. The possibilities are endless, and each show is tailor-made to suit each occasion. Don and one assistant are the travelling core of the act. All other personnel (such as narrator and technical assistants: lights, sound, house management) will be recruited locally. Because we are using this act to promote the Website (and my book) there is no charge for our professional services. We ask only the travel cost, temporary housing, and the hiring of the local narrator and technical personnel. We require a rehearsal time of three weeks before the performance.

"Packing" Water

All life-forms on earth are based on water. Plants store it and pump it UP from their roots (in conduits called xylem) and then back DOWN again to their roots (in conduits called phloem). Animals too store and pump water, but they also "pack" it about on the surface of the Earth. Birds even pack water about through the air! We human animals pack water everywhere as the major component of blood, lymph, fat, and (as female mammals) MILK.

This last item has led me to create the following poetic metaphor: "Water is the milk of all life." Water is also very heavy, so that when a person is "overwieght", it means he is packing too much excess water about. This uses-up a lot of inefficient energy and slows that person down. Just take a quick look around, and you will immediately see how and where too many people are packing too much body-water about. Notice also how sluggishly they move. Too much body-water packing has robbed them of essential vitality.

Arnold Schwarzenegger became very famous when he appeared in a movie called "Pumping Iron". This title referred to the training of his muscles by the repetitive lifting of heavy metal barbells and dumbells. This weight training was very good for both increasing the muscular energy system of his body and for decreasing its water content. I too recommend weight training for the body, but instead of using metal weights, I like to use plastic bottles of water. There are two reasons for this, as follows:

1. If you drop a plastic water bottle on your toes, it does much less injury than a metal weight does.

2. There's a certain aesthetic in "Pumping Water" with plastic bottles which, I feel, connects me more firmly with Nature, especially with trees. In fact, I like to think that when I do this outdoors, the trees are highly sensitive to, interested in, and entertained by my activity, especially when it takes the form of dance. Therefore, my habit of "pumping water" has become a way of "dancing with trees".

Save The Trees

Nowadays my main focus as a theatrical performer is to help stop the commercial denaturing of our globe's forests (especially the rainforests of Brazil). My chimpanzee heritage leads me to feel that the tree has been our "true mother" because she "taught" our bodies to swing by the arms from branch to branch and thus to become the only consistently vertical mammal standing, walking, and running on the globe. Ironically this unique VERTICALITY left our "clever" hands free to chop and to saw our mother into masts, telephone poles, lumber, and firewood to benefit the glory of our culture but to damage the health of our planet. Therefore at every one of my silent "dancing ape" performances my "guest of honor" is a potted seedling tree which during the finale is presented to a child as the narrator says: "Go, child, and plant this tree."
This helps me realize one of the goals of my Ecological Education NGO which is now based in Natal, Brazil.