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      "body": "Congratulations @evok3d! You received a personal award!\n\n<table><tr><td>https://steemitimages.com/70x70/http://steemitboard.com/@evok3d/birthday3.png</td><td>Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 3 years!</td></tr></table>\n\n<sub>_You can view [your badges on your Steem Board](https://steemitboard.com/@evok3d) and compare to others on the [Steem Ranking](https://steemitboard.com/ranking/index.php?name=evok3d)_</sub>\n\n\n###### [Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness](https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=steemitboard&approve=1) to get one more award and increased upvotes!",
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      "title": "Poverty among the rich",
      "body": "![9c2f433b-8237-4dab-880c-899187736293.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfTGqst6zTZT5sTmddoKbpt38LWmyAzFtAhE8mGWV5m9d/9c2f433b-8237-4dab-880c-899187736293.jpg)\n\nI have been left with some remarks tonight as I stumbled across another person. As for the interaction, I was handed a passport - his passport to be precise. He asked me to flip through the pages, saying \"I doubt you have ever seen anything like it\". \nSo I did, and I was blown away - as promised. Every page was covered with six or more stamps. Covering all possible spaces within. Naturally, the story began with a simple question: \"who do you work for?\"\nHe responded by saying film distribution. I wondered - based on his young age - if he meant adult films, but he corrected my guess by expanding the thought to movies and movie studios.\n\nSince the age of 25, he had traveled for work. I could only imagine the places and the type of people he would have met in such a lucrative market. He commented that he had since quit due to personal issues - which I shall guard for his privacy. The stamps included countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Dubai, Turkey, Australia, to name a few. He mentioned that it would have been a lot more stamps though many of the countries he visits - as they are part of the EU Schengen zone - do not even stamp his passport.\n\nHe mentioned that in the course of a day, he would have breakfast in Dubai, lunch in Istanbul, dinner in London and breakfast one again in Argentina. Perhaps it would help to mention he was being paid around $35,000 USD per MONTH for this job! I know what you are thinking, what a life right! well, not exactly. We like to believe that such a job would be a dream come true but as he so elegantly put it: \"It was sickening\".\nI laughed and said to him that he must have seen some shit, based on my own experiences of being around similar people. He responded by saying \"one would not even be able to imagine\". I replied, \"I don't know what you went through but surely we can agree that it is a dirty world, that all the bullshit they teach you in university never matches your reality\". He agreed.\n\nHe said, \"It's not all that its made to be\". I responded by saying, \"I know, I have analysed and sat across the table with many people like him and the people he describes, and rarely if ever felt that they were healthy, happy or satisfied, that mostly I see kids pretending to be adults\". Unfortunately, people have been trained since a young age to praise and look up to such people. As another story describes:\n\n\"He believes that the more money he possesses,\nthe more free he would be from all constraints,\nas though ownership and freedom went hand in hand.\nBut freedom is the asceticism that comes from self-control,\nfrom the desire and will to act; to be and not to have.\"\n\nThis is where the wisdom of the experience began to pour out. He started telling me how he got there. \"It could have been anyone doing that job, was just a matter of being at the right place at the right time\". He said, \n\"it has no value, that having someone to love and love you back has true value, the best things in life are for free. Having a family or raising one has true value. It does not matter if you are a millionaire or not, you will see the same sunset. You just have to do what makes you happy\".\n\nIt reminded of this song by Mumford & Sons I was listening to earlier that evening, the lyrics are as suitable as any for this story:\n\n\"Where you invest your love, you invest your life\".\n\nThe name of the song is called 'Awake My Soul', such golden wisdom! ☯️ He was upset that he could earn such amounts of money while people were starving, people worked like slaves to earn 1% of that. While travelling he said that rarely do people pay attention to the place they are visiting, because they are too busy getting drunk, sitting at the beach or partying. Too busy or ignorant to notice the poverty, the culture, the people.\n\nSo what can we learn from this story? Unfortunately, many people dedicate their precious lives chasing money, status and materials instead of wisdom, truth and the things that are priceless, like self-actualisation. I have seen many people graduate, then start crying and feeling depressed as they do not what to do with their lives thereafter. Universities and our educators fail to enlighten individuals to fulfill their personal destiny, to gain a holistic view and instead make a specialised component to be used in a lifeless machine. Many people continue to do a masters course just for the sake of it, placing themselves in even a greater debt.\n\nSo many do not even know what \"being happy\" means for them, as it is a confronting question that they have never taken the time or been given the opportunity to truly understand. Imagine if instead of paying someone for 4 years to learn information that becomes obsolete soon after it is taught, we were told to put that same money, dedication and time towards an entrepreneurship idea of our own or help build upon other projects. Something to help us find our passion and path to self-fulfillment, both internally and externally.\n\nAs the famed writer Esther Pauline known by the pen name Ann Landers, once said:\n\"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.\"\n\nor the famous quote by Carl Jung:\n“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”\n\nI hope this story helps someone, somewhere learn something of value and if not, i hope it can inspire you to look at the world with the goal of wanting to be satisfied with your decisions and life. 🐾\n\nOne love xoxo\nevok3d",
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      "title": "Is Terrorism, Russia or any other nation really the greatest threat we face?",
      "body": "<h3><strong>Is Terrorism, Russia or any other nation really the greatest threat we face?</strong></h3>\nThere has been a tremendous amount of changes since the events that took place on 9/11- evident both through individuals and society overall. An event that took place nearly 16 years ago. Since then, most governments introduced an array of intrusive methods by which they can detain individuals, monitor innocent citizens and destroy the many liberties which existed prior to the event. Of course, that is not to say the threat does not exist, though it does not take much time to see that such a mere threat is hardly a good reason to invade personal privacy and individual freedoms of millions who have done nothing to be treated in such a way. Some people argue that they are happy to sacrifice such liberties in order to remain protected and safe. Other typical arguments include phrases such as: “if you have nothing to hide, then why does it matter”.\n\nWell, one thing that history has taught us is that it may not matter, until it does. WWII is a pinnacle example of this, though sadly, we seem to have forgotten what can happen when you collect information of citizens on a mass scale. One of the reasons the Nazis were able to track most people of Jewish background was due to the fact that the countries they invaded and their own kept records of their citizens’ religious background. This easily allowed them to identify the people they wanted to target. That was in the early 20th century, now imagine what people can do with the mass amount of information that can be and has been collected in today’s age. Another important factor we must keep in mind is that back then they did not possess the biometric information that is forcedly extracted from innocent people nowadays. If you were of Jewish descent, you could (and many did) change your identity and surname which made it almost impossible to be targeted. Unfortunately - unless you can grow new fingerprints or a new pair of eyes - such a thing has become impossible in today's approach to “safety through breaking liberties”.\n<blockquote>\"We have to put our money where our mouths are. And we can only realise the promise of this institution’s founding to replace the ravages of war with cooperation if powerful nations like my own accept constraints. Sometimes I’m criticized in my own country for professing a belief in international norms and multilateral institutions, but I am convinced that in the long run giving up some freedom of action, not giving up our ability to protect ourselves or pursue our core interests but binding ourselves to international rules, over the long-term, enhances our security.\"</blockquote>\n- Barrack Obama\n\nA very different mentality to what the founding fathers of USA had in mind:\n<blockquote>“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”</blockquote>\n- Benjamin Franklin\n\nYou can see signs of this in every bus, taxi, train stations, airports etc. who seem to have no issues installing cameras on every corner possible on top of the highly intrusive questions asked when entering countries such as the USA, Australia, England, Israel and more.\n\nSo I started to really think about this concept and whether I was being foolish or ignorant to think of this level of security as a natural thing. I wanted to know whether terrorism really does deserve the attention it is getting along with the fear that has been planted, encouraged through media, news, movies, advertisements etc. It is no surprise to me that we did not learn anything from our past. We live in a highly extrinsic society/world - especially in the Western world - where we never hesitate to point fingers at another group or race of people to avoid ever looking at our own faults and wrongdoings. It is always easier to claim that the world is worse because of others. This is basic psychology and I am sure many are aware of this behaviour. It requires little to no responsibility and is a great way to vent personal frustrations derived from our own lives onto others who are not similar to us.\n\nThis has become increasingly true for those of Islamic background or appearance. You can see it in the comments people make, in their thoughts and responses all over social media platforms. I too have been a victim of such discrimination in a country such as the Netherlands which proclaims personal liberty and has one of the most academically educated people on the planet - though these issues are hardly a regional issue and are an issue in all corners of the today's world.\n\nI have had a girl turn around and scream in plain daylight as I was walking behind her to the bus stop. I have had people clench their handbags in fear as I walk behind them, continuously checking if I am still walking behind them. I have had a lady literally turn around, see me and start running to her door. In most cases, I usually cross the road to give them space or just stop for a few seconds to give them some distance so that they can relax. I mean, look at that, I am being treated as a threat due to their ignorance and here I am worried about their feelings. I do not believe that the average local person can understand how it feels to be treated in such a way and I do not believe they ever will. As I said, people rarely learn from their historical mistakes and I believe we will look back at such times with great shame one day, wondering how it happened, blaming it on one or two leaders perhaps, never at our own lack of empathy or understanding.\n<h3>Smoking Tobacco</h3>\nMoving forward, I wanted to compare such threats with other catastrophic events that continue to take place in our modern so called “advanced” societies. I wanted to compare how many people are affected by tobacco companies as well the people affected by our modern diets and fast food chains and take away shops that dominate the advertising/media space. A quick search led me to the <a href=\"http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/tobacco/data-and-statistics\">World Health Organisation</a> that blew me away. NOTE: Do not continue to read if you want to keep living in a bubble as these facts may change your worldly views.\n\n<a href=\"https://wisdomalongtheway.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/smoking-vs-second-hand.png\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-662 size-large\" src=\"https://wisdomalongtheway.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/smoking-vs-second-hand-1024x705.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"980\" height=\"675\" /></a>\n\nSo it turns out that the tobacco industry - and no I do not mean tobacco itself, I rather mean tobacco plus all the chemicals that they put into it that can be as high as 7,000 different chemicals served as a cocktail in today's cigarettes - have a huge death toll attached to them. The facts are as followed:\n<h5>Global</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Tobacco kills up to half of its users. That's right, up to 50%!</li>\n \t<li><strong>Tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year</strong> - that's one person every 5 seconds. More than 6 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around <strong>890 000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke</strong>.</li>\n \t<li>Nearly 80% of the world's more than 1 billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.</li>\n \t<li>In 2004, children accounted for 28% of the deaths attributable to second-hand smoke.</li>\n</ul>\n<h5>Europe and EU</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>16% of all deaths in adults over 30 is smoking related, “with many of these deaths occurring prematurely”. Furthermore, “This is in contrast to the African or the Eastern Mediterranean Regions, with 3% and 7% proportion of tobacco-attributable deaths, respectively, and with the global average of 12%.”</li>\n \t<li>Tobacco consumption is responsible for nearly <strong>700,000 deaths in the EU every year</strong>. Smokers suffer more from poor health (as they are more at risk of cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases) and half of them die prematurely (on average, 14 years earlier ).</li>\n</ul>\n<h5>USA</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>480,000 yearly deaths. You would think the \"war on drugs\" would be a bit more concerned about tobacco.</li>\n \t<li>41,000 as a result of second-hand smoke. People who do not smoke yet have passed away due to other peoples decision to smoke around them.</li>\n</ul>\n<h5>Australia</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Around 15,000 deaths caused by smoking. $670 million in hospital costs in the financial year 2004–05. According to <a href=\"http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/content/warnings-graph\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">QuitNow</a> - an Australian government initiative: \"There is a tobacco-related death about every 28 minutes in Australia, adding up to more than 50 deaths each day.</li>\n</ul>\nNow let us put all these numbers into perspective. If you take a look at the global perspective, that is more than the original figures given by the widely shared views on the Holocaust tragedy brought upon by WWII. You can also compare such figures to the entire population of Bulgaria, Hong Kong or Paraguay being wiped out every year. Imagine that! The entire population of either of those countries being wipe out every bloody year! Now many may argue the point that “it is their right to smoke, and they are doing it out of choice, unlike the terrorist attacks that harm innocent people unknowingly”. Well, firstly if you are addicted to something and never knew when you decided to be a smoker, then it's hardly a choice. Secondly, out of those 7 million people, close to a million, or more precisely, 890,000 of them - close to half of the population of Slovenia - are innocent individuals who have been harmed due to others ignorance and addictive behaviours. Furthermore, as stated by the WHO “In 2004, children accounted for 28% of the deaths attributable to second-hand smoke.” - I am not sure how anyone could justify that part.\n\nIn Australia, smoking indoors has been banned for nearly a decade. Since 2012, this has extended to most public areas where it can affect others. Despite such alarming statistics, in Europe - it has been my experience that - people are totally oblivious to it and even find it strange if you tell them to not smoke indoors or around you as if you were intruding on their personal liberty. At times arguing that asking to leave the doors or windows open for fresh air whilst they are smoking is making them cold, yet not understanding that they are literally causing harm to everyone in that room with their selfish addiction/choice. I mean, here they are literally causing harm to themselves and those around them and you are the bad guy for wanting fresh air and letting the room get cold, which you would not even want to do if they just went outside to smoke. It is strange indeed, as one of the greatest unwritten rules of Liberty is to not cause harm to others. Now imagine my surprise when I even saw billboards in Germany - a country praised for research and advancements in scientific fields - advertising cigarette brands like Camel, something that I thought was banned since early 2000. I literally thought I had gone back in time to some weird Cowboy Marlboro era.\n\nNow the tobacco related harms aside, we must take note of even a greater threat. One that you rarely hear about. One that does not require a warning sticker, a photo of a person in poor health or anything in relation to the dangers which it involved.\n<h3>Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) Worldwide and in Europe</h3>\n<a href=\"https://wisdomalongtheway.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/terrorism-vs-tobacco-alcohol-and-cardiovascular.png\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-663 size-large\" src=\"https://wisdomalongtheway.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/terrorism-vs-tobacco-alcohol-and-cardiovascular-1024x718.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"980\" height=\"687\" /></a>\n\nThis section is mostly concerned with personal diet and availability of food across the modern and so called “civilised” parts of the globe. Just keep in mind that most of such issues can easily be avoided with a healthy lifestyle and diet. Moreover, smoking is a strong contributor to CVD. As mentioned by <a href=\"http://www.ehnheart.org/cvd-statistics.html\">European Heart Network</a> and the <a href=\"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/\">World Health Organisation</a>:\n<h5>Global</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>CVDs are the number 1 cause of death globally: more people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause. Can you imagine if smokers or people working for global companies such as British Tobacco, McDonalds, Dominos and the many other take-away stores were treated the same negative way refugees or people of Islamic look/background were. Have a think about that.</li>\n \t<li>An estimated 17.7 million people died - nearly one person every 2 seconds - from CVDs in 2015, representing 31% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, an estimated 7.4 million were due to coronary heart disease and 6.7 million were due to stroke.</li>\n</ul>\n<h5>Europe &amp; EU</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Each year cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes 3.9 million deaths in Europe and over 1.8 million deaths in the European Union (EU).</li>\n \t<li><strong>CVD accounts for 45% of all deaths in Europe</strong> and 37% of all deaths in the EU.</li>\n \t<li>CVD is the main cause of death in men in all but 12 countries of Europe and is the main cause of death in women in all but two countries.</li>\n \t<li>Overall CVD is estimated to <strong>cost the EU economy €210 billion a year</strong>. Money that could be going into free education, healthcare or other useful things to improve our society rather than destroy it.</li>\n \t<li><strong>Dietary factors make the largest contribution to the risk of CVD mortality at the population level across Europe of all behavioural risk factors</strong>. High systolic blood pressure makes the largest contribution of all the medical risk factors.</li>\n</ul>\n<h5>USA</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>610,000 deaths every year.</li>\n</ul>\n<h5>Australia</h5>\n<ul>\n \t<li>19,777 deaths every year and according to the nation <a href=\"https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/heart-disease-in-australia\">heart foundation of Australia</a>:</li>\n \t<li>Kills one Australian every 12 minutes</li>\n \t<li>Affects one in six Australians or 4.2 million</li>\n \t<li>CVD was the main cause for 480,548 hospitalisations in 2013/14 and played an additional role in another 680,000 hospitalisations</li>\n \t<li>claimed the lives of 45,392 Australians (nearly 30% of all deaths) in 2015 - <strong>deaths that are largely preventable.</strong></li>\n</ul>\nSo let us once again put these numbers into perspective. Globally, the numbers represent the entire nation of the Netherlands and nearly half of that of either Canada, Morocco or Poland - every year! In Europe alone, these numbers represent more than half of the population of Bulgaria, again every year.\n<h3>Alcohol Consumption</h3>\nSo what about alcohol. Oh no! Not my precious beers! Do not tell me that too has negative effects! I will not get into this part too much, but you know for yourself the negative effects. That it breaks away families, friends, relationships, jobs and even lives. So I will just leave you with some details from the WHO report:\n<ul>\n \t<li>In 2012, about 3.3 million deaths, or 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption.</li>\n \t<li>In 2012 139 million DALYs (disability-adjusted life years), or 5.1% of the global burden of disease and injury, were attributable to alcohol consumption.</li>\n \t<li>The harmful use of alcohol is a component cause of more than <strong>200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries</strong>.</li>\n</ul>\nI will not use the previously references country’s populations to depict the numbers here as I am sure you have gotten the point. Though I will mention that mushrooms were made illegal in the Netherlands after leading to the death of one or two the victims who lost control over themselves and did something they were not aware of. That drugs such as LSD, marijuana and many other drugs are strictly forbidden in most parts of the world and parents usually are deeply troubled if they find out their kids have consumed them. Yet it is perfectly fine to have a couple of beers with the parents to celebrate. You even get a discount and are encouraged to buy it at the airport duty-free shops. Movies and television shows celebrate it, holidays demand a drinking day and nowadays it is very rare to go out and not meet for a beer or two - in most cases one or two is rarely the true number.\n<h3>Terrorism</h3>\nJust to give you a point of reference to compare such numbers to that of Terrorism:\n<h5>Global</h5>\nA total number of deaths caused by Terrorism between 1970 to 2017: estimated to be around 393,722 People.\n<h5>Western Europe</h5>\nA total number of deaths caused by Terrorism between 1970 to 2017: close to 10,000.\n<h5>USA</h5>\nAn interesting graph depicted this on <a href=\"http://www.datagraver.com/files/2016-09/us-terror.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">datagraver.com</a> and the author was kind enough to update the map for me. The total number is estimated to be around 3,658. Just 9/11 alone, took 2,996 innocent lives from this earth. This justified an entire nation along with its allies to go to war. A war that has lasted more than any other war in U.S history, and what a <a href=\"http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/unworthy-victims-western-wars-have-killed-four-million-muslims-1990-39149394\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">war it has been</a>:\n<blockquote>The Washington DC-based Physicians for Social Responsibility (PRS) released a landmark <a href=\"http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/body-count.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study</a> concluding that the <strong>death toll from 10 years of the “War on Terror” since the 9/11 attacks is at least 1.3 million, and could be as high as 2 million</strong>.</blockquote>\n<h5>Australia 1915-2017</h5>\nBetween those dates, there have been around 24 deaths as a result of terrorism within Australian borders.\n<h3>We can do better</h3>\n<a href=\"https://wisdomalongtheway.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/graph-20th-century.png\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-664\" src=\"https://wisdomalongtheway.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/graph-20th-century.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"565\" /></a>\n\nIf you made it through this article, you deserve a sticker - if I had one to give you - as I am sure it was not an easy task. You should gracefully accept the hypocrisy present in the very fabric of our society. I am sure most people stopped after it threatened their way of thinking or existing behaviours. If you did make it through though, I congratulate you, for you are now aware of some revealing facts. Do you still believe terrorism, Islam or any religion for that matter is the greatest cause of threat to our existence? It is not religion that made smoking or drinking readily available, in fact, they mostly oppose addictions and impure substances. I am not saying that we should not worry about terrorism, though it would be nice if people were checked for cigarettes, alcohol and foods with saturated fats, sugar and salts at the borders on top of the weapons which they normally seek.\n\nThink about these things next time you want to make a racist comment, support soldiers who are ignorantly believing they are protecting their countries by participating in wars that in most cases have nothing to do with their countries; believing they are somehow “heroes”, meanwhile corporations are killing their people within their borders and beyond by the millions for nothing more than a profit. We praise such CEO’s and think of them as high members of society while we lose our liberties more and more by the day. Meanwhile coming home to have a cigarette with a beer while eating some chicken wings in front of the TV and getting angry that more refugees are coming into our countries due to nothing more than the wars that our tax money has paid to wage on their nations dressed as a fight for \"freedom\". In the process forgetting that our own choices have the greatest impact - considering costs and harm to others. A far greater threat than any outside forces in human history.\n\nIt is never too late to change our view of the world or our personal lifestyle.\n\nReferences:\nhttp://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/\nhttp://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/tobacco/data-and-statistics\nhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20160518STO27901/700-000-deaths-a-year-tackling-smoking-in-the-eu\nhttp://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/\nhttp://www.ehnheart.org/cvd-statistics.html\nhttp://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112736/1/9789240692763_eng.pdf\nhttp://www.datagraver.com/case/people-killed-by-terrorism-per-year-in-western-europe-1970-2015\nhttp://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/statistics-on-incidents-of-terrorism-worldwide\nhttps://www.heartfoundation.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/heart-disease-in-australia\nhttps://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/smoking-statistics\nhttp://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001~2014-15~Main%20Features~Smoking~24\nhttps://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics\nhttp://theconversation.com/australias-daily-alcohol-toll-15-deaths-and-430-hospitalisations-29906\nhttp://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/190430/Status-Report-on-Alcohol-and-Health-in-35-European-Countries.pdf\nhttp://www.tobaccoatlas.org/topic/smokings-death-toll/\nhttp://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/20th-century-death/\nhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vHTUaPWwlCPCg4O5YvDFRuDOCA8xX2ERnJQImnps6sk/edit#gid=8\nhttps://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/index.htm",
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      "body": "Wow! this is crazy. Im going to read over it properly, but just at a quick read/glance, this is ridiculous. Just when i thought i had heard it all. I knew about the vaccine part but not the food!",
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      "body": "@@ -236,10 +236,12 @@\n  to \n-do\n+fast\n  pri\n",
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      "body": "@evok3d, if you could post links to the science behind what you say here, I would love to see that. I have never seen any credible evidence that periodic fasting offers greater benefit than a plant based diet, or that it is a good idea to do prior to switching diets.",
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      "body": "Thank you so much! I really appreciate your feedback. I understand that there are green juicing or other methods such as eating whole plant based diet. The thing is though, if you have never done a cleanse, its better to let your body fast and to shut down your digestive system for the most part before switching to the plant based diet that you mentioned. This way it gets to clean itself out and remove the toxins before putting all the good stuff in there. I say this because i noticed how much more mental focus, clarity i had during the fast as opposed to now when i am consuming organic plant foods. Eating and digestion requires a great deal of energy which can go into healing the body. I am vegetarian and perhaps even vegan in most occasions just as a side note. Since the diet i have switched over to eating only live food and mostly organically grown vegetables. One one or two occasions when i did go and eat something with starch or gluten, i noticed how bloated i would get and how disgusting the feeling was. This fast is also suppose to refresh your white blood cells and has many other benefits that you cannot get (or perhaps not as quickly) as if you were to eat.",
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      "body": "Congratulations @evok3d! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :\n\n[![](https://steemitimages.com/70x80/http://steemitboard.com/notifications/voted.png)](http://steemitboard.com/@evok3d) Award for the number of upvotes received\n\nClick on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.\nFor more information about SteemitBoard, click [here](https://steemit.com/@steemitboard)\n\nIf you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word `STOP`\n\n> By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how [here](https://steemit.com/steemitboard/@steemitboard/http-i-cubeupload-com-7ciqeo-png)!",
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      "body": "@@ -261,17 +261,8 @@\n han \n-actually \n fast\n@@ -282,20 +282,61 @@\n you \n-have lots of\n+eat all the calories you need and have multiple daily\n  bow\n",
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      "body": "@evok3d, interesting experiment! If you want to have the benefits of fasting without starving yourself, though, you might try a whole food plant based diet. This way of eating is sustainable over a lifetime, and only has positive health benefits. It's better than actually fasting, because you have lots of bowel movements due to all the fiber, and that is the best cleanser and also food for your good gut bacteria. After having let go of all the added SOS (sweeteners, oil/fat, salt) Americans typically consume, I feel quite peaceful and never \"hangry\" anymore. http://nutritionfact.org is a great place to start to learn about the WFPB way of eating. Good luck to you!",
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      "body": "Nice! thanks for the positive feedback. Please do try it and if you do, let me know how you go. If you need any pointers or if you have tips for me for next time, would love to hear it also. Cheers mate",
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      "parent_permlink": "life",
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      "permlink": "7-days-without-food-my-fasting-experience",
      "title": "7 Days without Food - My Fasting Experience",
      "body": "@@ -68,17 +68,18 @@\n ng less \n-(\n+- \n you can \n@@ -104,17 +104,18 @@\n e bottom\n-)\n+ -\n  which w\n@@ -188,16 +188,18 @@\n  to fast\n+ -\n  as the \n@@ -260,16 +260,25 @@\n  getting\n+ for fuel\n . While \n@@ -426,16 +426,18 @@\n ay fasts\n+ -\n  for Eas\n@@ -444,18 +444,17 @@\n ter \n-which\n+-\n  mean\n+ing\n  not\n@@ -500,19 +500,9 @@\n  day\n- and whilst\n+.\n  I d\n@@ -511,24 +511,31 @@\n  enjoy this,\n+ though\n  I had found\n@@ -882,16 +882,18 @@\n %E2%80%9CHangry%E2%80%9D\n+ -\n  which i\n@@ -1158,17 +1158,18 @@\n d cells \n-(\n+- \n responsi\n@@ -1207,17 +1207,16 @@\n llnesses\n-)\n  etc. Wh\n@@ -1249,20 +1249,14 @@\n r, i\n-t also turns\n+ found\n  out\n@@ -1293,24 +1293,32 @@\n  system \n+itself \n require\n-s\n+ a\n  tremend\n@@ -1349,16 +1349,18 @@\n d effort\n+ -\n  which c\n@@ -1387,16 +1387,26 @@\n epairing\n+ the body,\n  should \n@@ -1858,20 +1858,26 @@\n crazy.%0A%0A\n-Then\n+After this\n  I start\n@@ -2001,17 +2001,18 @@\n r lives \n-(\n+- \n if you h\n@@ -2045,17 +2045,18 @@\n to do so\n-)\n+ -\n  and as \n@@ -2490,19 +2490,19 @@\n o for it\n-, a\n+. A\n fter all\n@@ -2598,14 +2598,29 @@\n e of\n-, also\n+. As an added benefit\n  if \n@@ -2752,17 +2752,18 @@\n rst time\n-,\n+ -\n  thus re\n@@ -2794,16 +2794,18 @@\n d stress\n+ -\n  which c\n@@ -2868,18 +2868,17 @@\n uld have\n- -\n+:\n  given y\n@@ -2948,16 +2948,17 @@\n ing else\n+,\n  I figur\n@@ -3015,17 +3015,39 @@\n possible\n-:\n+ items available to me.\n  Cayenne\n@@ -3255,18 +3255,17 @@\n an Salt \n-- \n+(\n I actual\n@@ -3360,375 +3360,530 @@\n rced\n+)\n .%0A%0A\n-I picked the next day after deciding to do it as the best way to do anything is to jump straight into it. The traditional process requires an ease-in and ease-out, though given I eat pretty well as much as possible, I figured I did not need to go through such a process. If you do eat meat, consume dairy and processed food, I would suggest that you do the ease-in\n+Things that you need/should have: given you are only consuming this and saving money on not eating anything else, I figured it's okay to spend some money and get the best possible items available to me. Cayenne Pepper powder (organic), Citron (organically grown), Maple Syrup (Grade A or B, Organic), mineral water/Stream water (has more minerals than tap water and just much better for you), Sea Salt/Himalayan Salt (I actually really like the taste of Himalayan salt, though not the best due to the way it is sourced\n .%0A%0AD\n@@ -3931,11 +3931,11 @@\n nade\n-: h\n+. H\n alf \n@@ -3949,16 +3949,16 @@\n ole \n-C\n+c\n itro\n-en,\n+n +\n  1 t\n@@ -3979,17 +3979,18 @@\n le syrup\n-,\n+ +\n  1 teasp\n@@ -4011,17 +4011,18 @@\n  pepper \n-(\n+- \n or how e\n@@ -4058,16 +4058,20 @@\n rave\n-), mixed\n+. Mix it all\n  in \n@@ -4087,17 +4087,18 @@\n f water \n-(\n+- \n mineral \n@@ -4118,17 +4118,16 @@\n am water\n-)\n . You ca\n@@ -4173,19 +4173,28 @@\n  needed \n-and\n+- as much as\n  you hav\n@@ -4199,23 +4199,16 @@\n ave \n-the \n time for\n- it\n . Tr\n@@ -4290,16 +4290,24 @@\n rbs and \n+instead \n switch o\n@@ -4325,24 +4325,16 @@\n ing fat \n-instead \n (ketosis\n@@ -4486,14 +4486,14 @@\n  an \n-a\n+A\n nti-\n-i\n+I\n rrit\n@@ -4501,27 +4501,27 @@\n nt, \n-a\n+A\n nti-\n-f\n+F\n ungal, \n-a\n+A\n nti-\n-b\n+B\n acte\n@@ -4526,17 +4526,17 @@\n terial, \n-u\n+U\n seful fo\n@@ -4537,23 +4537,23 @@\n ful for \n-b\n+B\n lood \n-c\n+C\n lots, ge\n@@ -4990,17 +4990,18 @@\n my body \n-(\n+- \n things g\n@@ -5141,13 +5141,26 @@\n body\n-)\n . \n-So\n+For this reason,\n  I d\n@@ -5180,17 +5180,18 @@\n the SWF \n-(\n+- \n Salt wat\n@@ -5202,12 +5202,18 @@\n lush\n-) as\n+ - because\n  dur\n@@ -5229,45 +5229,8 @@\n ast \n-your digestive system shuts down and \n you \n@@ -5454,17 +5454,18 @@\n morning \n-(\n+- \n its like\n@@ -5480,17 +5480,18 @@\n se enema\n-)\n+ -\n  in a sp\n@@ -5515,16 +5515,19 @@\n Then lay\n+ing\n  on my r\n@@ -5540,37 +5540,35 @@\n ide \n-and stayed there for at least\n+I remained still for around\n  30 \n@@ -5575,16 +5575,22 @@\n minutes.\n+ NOTE:\n  Do not \n@@ -5651,19 +5651,78 @@\n ld it in\n-, y\n+ for as long as possible to reach your 30 minute time-frame. Y\n ou do no\n@@ -5890,16 +5890,53 @@\n system. \n+The salt water itself is a cleanser. \n %0AMy note\n@@ -6247,16 +6247,24 @@\n  to the \n+loss of \n water re\n@@ -6386,17 +6386,17 @@\n s normal\n-,\n+.\n  I can't\n@@ -6812,17 +6812,18 @@\n e apple \n-(\n+- \n with Ada\n@@ -6831,17 +6831,18 @@\n  and Eve\n-)\n+ -\n  is to s\n@@ -6870,16 +6870,21 @@\n ugh and \n+that \n we diver\n@@ -7616,18 +7616,17 @@\n  3 times\n- -\n+.\n  It didn\n@@ -7677,16 +7677,18 @@\n y before\n+ -\n  through\n@@ -7698,16 +7698,18 @@\n e forest\n+ -\n  as well\n@@ -7862,21 +7862,35 @@\n y drank \n+OJ (orange \n juice\n+) -\n  as per \n@@ -7894,16 +7894,29 @@\n er guide\n+ instructed -\n  to get \n@@ -7949,11 +7949,42 @@\n ed. \n-Som\n+This was followed by some vegetabl\n e br\n@@ -8022,16 +8022,26 @@\n ice and \n+vegetable \n salad.%0A%0A\n@@ -8202,19 +8202,8 @@\n our \n-scientific \n unde\n@@ -8518,24 +8518,31 @@\n f water and \n+always \n drink plenty\n@@ -8572,19 +8572,8 @@\n time\n- regardless\n . If\n@@ -8643,25 +8643,10 @@\n ink \n-water/lemon drink\n+it\n  whe\n@@ -8702,17 +8702,17 @@\n  a charm\n-.\n+!\n  Flushin\n@@ -8907,18 +8907,20 @@\n ourself \n-in\n+with\n  a posit\n@@ -8979,16 +8979,17 @@\n and pure\n+,\n  so anyt\n@@ -9243,18 +9243,23 @@\n food or \n-el\n+otherwi\n se.%0A%0AThi\n@@ -9367,19 +9367,32 @@\n ietitian\n- or\n+. Do not do this\n  to loos\n@@ -9978,19 +9978,16 @@\n well as \n-my \n wheat/st\n@@ -10048,17 +10048,18 @@\n ffect me\n-,\n+ -\n  whereas\n@@ -10201,16 +10201,21 @@\n hip and \n+only \n after yo\n@@ -10260,18 +10260,18 @@\n c it was\n-,\n  \n+-\n especial\n@@ -10303,17 +10303,38 @@\n artner. \n-A\n+On a different note, a\n pparentl\n@@ -10334,17 +10334,16 @@\n parently\n-,\n  you are\n@@ -10394,20 +10394,48 @@\n ach meal\n-,\n  th\n+roughout your normal days. Th\n ough due\n@@ -10659,16 +10659,18 @@\n ter this\n+ -\n  which a\n@@ -10730,17 +10730,18 @@\n  Latina)\n-,\n+ -\n  but tha\n",
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      "body": "Awesome story, I've known about the benefits of fasting but haven't had the courage to try it for more than a day. \n\nMight have to try it now that I heard your story.",
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      "permlink": "7-days-without-food-my-fasting-experience",
      "title": "7 Days without Food - My Fasting Experience",
      "body": "My brother recently sent me a video that compared fasting with eating less (you can see the link at the bottom) which was very interesting. Turns out, it is much harder to eat less than to fast as the body never stops seeking the carbs/foods it is used to getting. While this was very interesting, the idea set me on a different journey of watching several other videos on the topic. I had in the past done one-day fasts for Easter which mean not eating or drinking water for the whole day and whilst I did enjoy this, I had found it to be pretty hard and never imagined stretching it past the one day mark.\n\nThen I found a Ted x Talk on the topic which was very intriguing. This guy mentioned that he does a 7 day fast and that it has become a common thing. Curiouser and Curiouser! I became puzzled at the idea as I regard myself a person that is very quick to become “Hangry” which if you ask those that have spent some time with me, I am sure they will easily agree to. So I kept searching for more information and read a few articles. It turns out that the human body is amazing at cleaning itself, repairing cells, replenishing white blood cells (responsible for fighting diseases and illnesses) etc. When I looked into it further, it also turns out that eating and the digestive system requires tremendous amounts of energy and effort which could be going into repairing should the body have the chance. Its like that Seinfeld episode where they do “NOTHING!”. I have found that the best thing to do at times is to do nothing at all. We are always trying to get healthy by consuming foods, putting supplements in our shakes/drinks, taking medicine or herbal pills etc. Why not just let your body figure it out by leaving it alone. Furthermore, so many religions and ancient wisdom promoted fasting, they cant all have been crazy.\n\nThen I started to really think about this concept and came to a realisation. We as a human being have been eating every day of our lives (if you have been fortunate enough to do so) and as such when compared to natural patterns, we have become spoilt to believe we need breakfast, lunch, dinner and for most, the many snacks in between. Now when you compare this to nature, most animals eat when they can, and sometimes go days if not weeks without food. They do not wake up, start eating breakfast, then go for a few more hours, have lunch and snacks in between followed by an evening dinner! So I decided to just go for it, after all I do like challenging my comfort and pushing myself to see what the human body is capable of, also if I was to get into a survival situation that meant no food, I would have already been prepared for it and it wouldn't be my first time, thus reducing shock, anxiety and stress which could potentially save my life.\n\nThings that you need/should have - given you are only consuming this and saving money on not eating anything else I figured it's okay to spend some money and get the best possible: Cayenne Pepper powder (organic), Citroens (organically grown), Maple Syrup (Grade A or B, Organic), mineral water/Stream water (has more minerals than tap water and just much better for you), Sea Salt/Himalayan Salt - I actually really like the taste of Himalayan salt, though not the best due to the way it is sourced.\n\nI picked the next day after deciding to do it as the best way to do anything is to jump straight into it. The traditional process requires an ease-in and ease-out, though given I eat pretty well as much as possible, I figured I did not need to go through such a process. If you do eat meat, consume dairy and processed food, I would suggest that you do the ease-in.\n\nDay 1: The fast started by making the lemonade: half or a whole Citroen, 1 teaspoon of maple syrup, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or how ever much you can handle, be brave), mixed in a glass of water (mineral water or stream water). You can drink this 6-8 times a day or more if needed and you have the time for it. Try and not do it too much because you want to stop your body from needing carbs and switch over to burning fat instead (ketosis). The lemon suppresses your appetite, contains minerals, vitamin C etc. The Cayenne pepper dilates the blood vessels, increases circulation , is an anti-irritant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, useful for blood clots, gets your heart going and is a blood thinner and purifier. The Maple Syrup contains minerals, vitamins and is an antioxidant.\n\nDay 2: Like anything, the first 1-2 days are the hardest. My notes indicated that on this day I felt very calm, relaxed, more focused, my mind was at ease and that I really enjoyed the feeling.\n\nDay 3: I woke up feeling terrible. Was very hard to get out of bed. I could feel all the toxins going through my body (things get worse before they get better, as the body finally has the chance to flush all the toxins out, causing them to travel through your body). So I decided to do the SWF (Salt water flush) as during the fast your digestive system shuts down and you do not have a bowel movement, so its very hard for your body to exert the toxins and clean your bowels. I mixed 1L of mineral water with 2 teaspoons of Himalayan salt, shook the bottle and drank it first thing in the morning (its like a reverse enema) in a space of 5-10 min. Then lay on my right side and stayed there for at least 30 minutes. Do not fart if you have the sensation and try your best to hold it in, you do not want to shit yourself (hopefully). After 30 minutes, you can go to the toilet and your body will finally be able to pass the salt water through and clear your system. \nMy notes say: SWF really helped. It activated my bowel movement. I am thinking much less about food and less hungry overall. I feel more focused and clear.\n\nDay 4 notes: I woke up feeling great. I have so much energy! I believe my body has started to expel all the toxins. I look much thinner, though mostly due to the water retention. The Salt water flush is amazing, esp with the pink salt as it tastes nice. I was a bit irritated but that's normal, I can't believe how amazing the human body is. I will do this every 3-6 months. My mind so so clear and just silent. I love it!\n\nDay 5 notes: I feel great. Almost like I could do this forever. More energy, control, confidence, will power, productive, focus and almost no body odour.\n\nDay 6 notes: oh how gracious and beautiful everything is. This is heaven, this planet contains everything we need. Perhaps eating the apple (with Adam and Eve) is to say it wasn't good enough and we diverged, pretending we know better. Power corrupts, possessions corrupt. This earth contains the most amazing and beautiful things. Why was it not enough? There is a sense of calm within me. I feel so at peace with everything. I can smell and feel every part of it. Specially in nature. What an amazing experience. The human body is remarkable. I can see why so many religions preach fasting.\n\nDay 7 notes: I made it through. What an amazing journey. Seven days, on the 7 of the 7 of 2017. I really love that our body can do this. That we can survive and live in the most extraordinary places. Today was rough, especially needing to ride my bike with a huge backpack, then walking up 4 flights of stairs which required me to stop 3 times - It didn't help that I went for a 2 hour walk the day before through the forest as well as the fact that I forgot to have my lemon drink in the morning before getting on the bike. I feel honoured to have experienced this.\n\nDay 8: only drank juice as per guide to get the digestive system started. Some broth at night.\n\nDay 9: Orange Juice and salad.\n\nDay 10: Vegetable Stew, Greek salad - minus the feta.\n\nConclusion: The human body can do extraordinary things. It has the ability to repair itself beyond our scientific understanding. My skin, energy, focus and many other things improved dramatically. The bags under my eyes disappeared and I felt so much better.\n\nTips: you have to make sure you time it right with your drink. If you are about to go out, have your drink and if you are going to be out for a while, take a bottle of water and drink plenty throughout the entire time regardless. If possible even make the lemon drink and take it with you and drink water/lemon drink when you feel low on energy or hungry. It works like a charm. Flushing the body with the salt water helps a lot and I did it in the morning and waited for the body to settle before going out. Apart from that, do not give in, and stay strong and surrounded yourself in a positive environment. You pretty much become super alert and pure so anything that is not positive, whether it's people, tv shows, really irritate you - or at least it did for me. I also couldn't tolerate high energy or negative people and really had become super tuned to people's vibes, my environment, toxic things - food or else.\n\nThis is my experience, do not try this without looking into more details and perhaps consulting with a dietitian or to loose weight - as you will loose track of the purpose and cause more harm than good. I am not responsible for any negative outcomes. Also, you cannot do this and go to bars, drinks beers, have ciggies etc. Understand the purpose and why you are doing this. Remove all toxins from your life during the process. For me, that included chemical shampoos, soaps etc. If you want to know more, write to me or comment and I will share more details. I could only fit so much. I do know that after this, I have changed my diet completely and removed all dairy, refined and processed foods as well as my wheat/starch and gluten intake. I notice how different foods affect me, whereas before I was oblivious. Like with anything in life, you have to remove it to know what it caused. Like when you are in a bad relationship and after your leave, you come to realise how toxic it was, especially after meeting a nice partner. Apparently, you are also meant to have a bowel movement after each meal, though due to our unhealthy lives, we tend to have one, if that. After this and keeping healthy, I can say that has become true. Anyways enough talking shit - pun intended, I have actually swapped to Dr Sebi’s Mucusless diet after this which another beautiful friend of mine shared with me (Aïsha Latina), but that's a whole other story for another day ;)\n\nI highly recommend watching these videos\nFasting vs eating less: \nhttps://www.youtube.com/embed/APZCfmgzoS0\n\nWhy fasting bolsters brain power: Mark Mattson at TEDxJohnsHopkinsUniversity - Mark Mattson is the current Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University. Mattson is one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UkZAwKoCP8\n\nDr Sebi: Eat to Live (Full Length)\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzVqEfXJHVc\n\nFasting: A Path To Mental And Physical Transcendence | Phil Sanderson | TEDxBeaconStreet\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdQgiTPiRYo\n\nGuides:\nhttp://themastercleanse.org/category/my-experience/roadmap/\nhttp://themastercleanse.org/salt-water-flush/\nIt is good to note that some guides say they had pizza or egg for breakfast after the 7th day. This is a terrible thing to do to your body after fasting. The best guides are the ones that tell you to drink orange juice for the first 2 days.\n\nBenefits Of 7 Day Water Fasting:\n\nhttp://www.stylecraze.com/art…/benefits-of-7-day-water-fast/\n\n- Having no calories burns approximately 1 pound of fat per day, making it the fastest weight loss method.\n- Increases insulin sensitivity as there is less fluctuation in blood sugar levels.\n- Improves body repair, recovery and healing from decreased inflammation.\n- Lowers stress levels, decreases blood pressure and rejuvenates the body.\n- Increases immunity due to better cell resistance.\n- Enables reduction in cancer cell proliferation.\n- Slows down aging and cognitive decline.\n- Lowers the risk of heart disease (2).\n- Solves digestive problems such as gastritis, irritable bowels, constipation, diarrhea, gas, dyspepsia, and loss of appetite.\n- Water fasting is also an opportunity for emotional and spiritual introspection. People find they have better control over their thoughts and diet, after they are done with this fast.",
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