When I have time...

I would like to blog about Buddhism

1) Vajrayana

2) Triratna, the buddhist centre pdf - here

3) Meditation

Eliminate soy - yay or nay.

So I'm trying to eliminate dairy - lactose on the Low FODMAP diet.

Which led me to read up more about soy - a dairy alternative.

I've heard people linking soy to breast cancer...

But according to Chris Kresser, modern processed soy is linked to digestive problems (ME!), thyroid dysfunction (ME!), cognitive decline (Possibly..), reproductive disorders (ME!), Immune system breakdown (fingers crossed), heart disease (hope not...>.<) and cancer (we shall see).

The soybean, innocent as it may seem, apparently contains many naturally occuring toxins - harmful! yes..
All legumes contain toxins, but the problem with toxins from soy is that they are found in very high levels and are resistant to the traditional ways of getting rid of them (I am not quite sure what the traditional ways are).

According to Kresser, soy products which have undergone a long and slow fermentation process (miso, tempeh and soy sauce) are rid of phytic acid and other digestive inhibitors, but not of phytoestrogens - which according to the United State's National Institute on Health may lead to both desirable and non-desirable effects.

And from Gunnar's article

Mineral absorption
Whole soybeans contain phytates which block absorption of minerals. Soybeans are very rich in Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can cause problems.

Breast cancerSoy isoflavones can increase the multiplication of cells in the breasts. However, observational studies show a reduced risk of breast cancer. Soy may lead to mild disruptions of the normal menstrual cycle.

Testosterone reductionExposure to estrogen-like compounds in the womb can lead to adverse effects on males. Studies on the effects of soy on testosterone and sperm quality are inconclusive.

Hypothyroidism
Even though soy isoflavones have been shown to inhibit the function of a key enzyme in the thyroid, there is not enough evidence to conclude that they contribute to hypothyroidism in adults.

So whilst it's unknown whether soy is truly linked or a causation of the aforementioned illnesses. I think it's safe to say, I should avoid soy.

All soy?

Not soy lecithin - an additive.
Small amounts of miso, natto, soy sauce, tempeh are fine.
But definitely not the processed soy used in vegetarian 'meat', soy milk and other processed foods.

Introduction to IBS.

My Hashimoto's Disease is now well and truly managed and controlled! I have not needed to resort to Thyroxin. My endocrologist have advised that my TSH levels are now in the normal range too :) 

Delighted!

But my IBS flares up ocassionally. And when it does. I want to punch my stomach and faint, so that I am unconscious and cannot feel the pain. Yep, it's that bad. Most times, I hide it. I think I do an okay job. It does affect my mood, so I haven't perfected it yet...

Anyhow. I thought to myself AGAIN: It's time to do something about it. 

It is one of my New Year's Resolution, that I do something about my diet to combat and minimise the symptoms of IBS. 

a) Low FODMAP diet

b) Meditation/ Yoga 

When the Low FODMAP diet proves ineffective I think I will pursue GAPS diet. 

Chris Kresser

I love this guy. He makes sense to me when most doctors don't. 

I like alternative/ integrative medicine practitioners. I know they are technically not medically trained of the Western tradition and most people think they are airy-fairy... But I like that they get down to the root causes of the problem, rather than prescribe a drug to treat/ manage or cure it (if it is curable) when it becomes a full-fledge medical problem. 

I used to work at a medical centre..and did develop respect for doctors. But over the years I have learnt that these doctors were not interested in hearing me whinge about my stomach problems. I was convinced I was gluten intolerant, only to hear my doctor tell me, the tests for coeliac disease came out as negative. 5 years later, I found out myself that there is NO such thing as a test for gluten intolerance, the sufferer him/her-self needs to identify it themselves because technically it's not a disease or allergy. It is merely an intolerance albeit an extremely punishing one. 

So when my doctors didn't know what to do with my whinging, they termed my medical condition as IBS - which is a catch all for digestive issues ranging from diarrhea, bloatess to constipation. 

Disclaimer: The following paragraph may not be suitable to people who are sensitive to detailed description of the gut and human wastes.

At my worst (this was spanned across different stages of my life), I burped for hours end thinking I was an alien and how I could possibly stomach that much gas within me (literally). Or the time when I was constipated for a whole week and my mum had to force soap (the kind you lather across your body) up my a-hole. I was fucked up. 

As a child, I had severe eczema. I think this has something to do with my gut too.

I shall devote a whole post to the gut at a later stage. It has affected me and my whole life after all, and I think it's only fair. 

House of Representatives, Senate, and Ministerial Council.

The Commonwealth Parliament

The Parliament consists of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General) and two Houses (the Senate and the House of Representatives). These three elements make Australia a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy.

There are five important functions of parliament:

• to provide for the formation of a government;
• to legislate;
• to provide the funds needed for government;
• to provide a forum for popular representation; and
• to scrutinise the actions of government.

Proposed laws (known as Bills) have to be passed by both Houses and be assented to by the Governor-General before they can become Acts of Parliament. 

With the exception of laws relating to revenue and taxation (which must be introduced in the House of Representatives), a proposed law can be introduced in either House.

House of Representatives: 

Candidate with the broadest support from the electorate is elected as a member of Parliament

Election: Preferential system, every three years 

Why? 

Designed to result in the election of a person who receives the broadest support from the electorate, even though that person may not be the first choice of the majority of voters in the electorate.

How?

If the candidate who received the voter’s first preference is eliminated during the first count because he or she received the lowest number of votes, the vote will then be allocated to whichever candidate was the voter’s second preference. If this candidate is also eliminated, the vote will be allocated to the voter’s third preference, and so forth until there are only two candidates remaining. The winning candidate will be whichever of these candidates wins the most votes after all preferences have been allocated between the two remaining candidates.

Government

The political party (or a coalition, combined holding the majority of seats) which wins the majority of seats in the House of Representatives will form the government. 

As there are 150 seats in the House of Representatives, the party which forms government must win 75 + 1 seats.

Cabinet

Made up senior ministers (must be members of Parliament) of the elected political party (or coalition). 

State --> Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Premier.

Federal --> Ministers are appointed by the Governor- General on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Senate

Election: Proportional representation. 
State: six years on a rotational basis; Territorial senators: three years

Each state has 12 Senators and each territory two, 

Only half of these will face re-election at a normal federal election, while the other half will continue to serve the remainder of their six year term until the following election.

Historically, the Senate has been regarded as a State's House: the States enjoy equal representation in the Senate, regardless of their population, and State matters are still important to Senators.

How?

A candidate must obtain a certain proportion of the votes, called a ‘quota’ in order to be elected. 

A quota is determined by dividing the total number of votes by one more than the number of candidates, then adding one. 

For example, if the total number of votes in a state is 1.4 million and six Senators are to be elected, the quota will be 200,001 (1,400,000 divided by seven plus one).

If a candidate receives more than this number of votes, each additional vote will be distributed in accordance with the preferences that particular voter. 

If all six positions have not been filled by candidates who obtained quotas in the first round of counting, the least successful candidate will be eliminated and the votes received by that candidate will be distributed according to the preferences of those who voted for the candidate. This process will continue until all Senate positions have been filled by candidates achieving quotas

Ministerial Councils 

Ministerial Councils are defined as a formal meeting of Ministers of the Crown from more than four jurisdictions, usually including the Commonwealth, and the States and Territories of the Australian Federation, which meet on a regular basis for the purpose of intergovernmental consultation and cooperation, joint policy development and joint action between governments.

Ministers must not commit the government to a course of action without the prior approval of Cabinet.

Issues with cross portfolio or whole of government implications, or of a controversial nature in particular, may require careful prior consideration by Cabinet. The operation of Ministerial Councils provides for the agenda to be finalised three weeks prior to the meeting to allow for consideration by Cabinet.  Where new issues or alternative proposals arise at meetings on which a Minister believes further consideration by Cabinet is required, it is the responsibility of that Minister to make this position clear to the Council.

Within one month of the meeting, or within one month of the receipt of the settled minutes, Ministers must provide a report to the Premier on the outcomes of that meeting. The Premier will advise the Minister whether or not the report needs to be considered by Cabinet, either as an Information or Policy submission. Alternatively, the Premier may advise the Minister that the report does not require Cabinet consideration and will indicate the appropriate course of action.

David Foster Wallace

"Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think".

A friend is completing her PHD in philosophy.

She passed on a set of highlighted notes (think green, purple, yellow, orange and pink), scribbled 'To Jess' on the very top and suggested I read it.

"David Foster Wallace, in his own words" was the title of the printed notes.

I gleamed with joy. Teeth showing and all. I was so happy!

I love it when friends/ family share their passion and knowledge with me, and more importantly are willing to help me gain more knowledge in the process.

The aim of this blog was to challenge myself to read more, to know more, and to learn how to think?

David Foster Wallace states "learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think".

I would like to think I am already learning how to think. But I'm far from being able to voice and be assured of my own opinion. Right now, I feel as though I have none.

Edit 26.1.14

We all worship something.
Be it a god, good looks or knowledge.

When you worship/ value knowledge, you feel there is always more to learn, someone smarter, someone wiser.

We all probably think we know 'how to think'.

But an education is so much more than absorbing a set of notes on a few selected topics.

An education should allow us to switch our brains on so that we do not succumb to the automatic default setting. It's one thing to preach, but another thing to act upon it.

Be mindful of your self-centredness Do not your thoughts centre around you.

I am late because there was a cyclist in my way!

I burnt my tongue because they served me boiling water. 

You may be dealing with someone with blind certainties...but it is your choice to "be a little less arrogant. To have just a little critical awareness about myself and my certainties".

"Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think".


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I wonder who can view my blog - people following me on Google Plus?

I really need to sort out this blog's layout. But I am a noob when it comes to HTML, think I'll save that for another day.

Secular buddhism

First post of 2014. Let this year be a fabulous one :)

I'm hoping that I'll be able to update this blog once a week (at least).

Blogging is fairly time consuming, but hey, I've decided this will help me with my personal development, and I'm sure it will. So heck, I'm going to have to stick with it!

Buddhism
I have been brought up in a Buddhist household. There's an altar of Quan Yin near my front door.
I was sent to Sunday school as a child. I enjoyed it mostly, until I figured out that I did not quite agree with the Mahayana teachings, nor did I fancy the orange trackpants (uniform) they made us wear.

Bless my parents. But I had questions and my parents' dogmatic approach to Buddhism  left them unanswered and deterred me from the religion. There were bits of the puzzle that didn't quite fit, and I was not content. However instead of pursuing it further, I tossed it aside and forgot about it. Life went on.

I've recently picked up a book on Buddhism (I may also have brought home a compilation of feminists poetry, and a gourmet Vegetarian cookbook) from a garage sale in Redfern on a lovely Sunday afternoon. You find such treasures from garage sales or op-shops ! ;)

Anyhow, I've only read half the book and I already feel more knowledgeable about Buddhism than ever before. It's one of those books with big pictures and fonts - targeted towards kids? haha. 

I've also listened to a podcast titled Secular Buddhism. Secular Buddhism is essentially Agnostic Buddhism. How can you take the religion out of a religion you say? That's what I thought too, initially. And then it made sense. The teachings or the life of Gotama and Buddhist texts can be considered in an evidentialist manner. Buddhist doctrine may be stripped of any unspecified combination of various traditional beliefs that could be considered superstitious, or that can't be tested through empirical research. It's a relatively new movement...and it makes sense to me. 

However, I guess whilst I do not believe in supernatural beings (such as devas, bodhisattvas, nāgas, pretas, Buddhas, etc.), merit and its transference, I believe in supernatural karma, rebirth, and even to an extent the Buddhist cosmology (including the existence of pure lands and hells), etc

I've got so much to learn! And the journey has only just begun. 

Introductory blog post.

2014 is looming close.

And I thought, what better way to start a new year than with something new - a blog!

I've been writing on and off, in my diary, and on the web since I was a little twat.

Got really frustrated at writing at one point (when I started earning some dosh as a copywriter), so much so that I gave up on my blogs altogether. Also because I thought I wasn't good enough and not attracting followers.

But I'm starting this blog for me, myself and I.

If you know me well, you'd know that I have too many things going through my head at any given time - not in a smart, philosophical or even fanatic way.. At most instances, it's just about what to prepare for lunch tomorrow, which gym class to attend after work and so forth. The usual boring and occasionally weird stuff. Like when I asked my friend "do you pickle?" out of the blue.

I want this blog to reflect what I've learnt, whether it be that soaking traditional oats overnight is better for you than quick oats, the recent appointment of our Human Rights Commissioner, or my new found interest in terrariums-making!

I'd like to think that I'm not any less efficient at completing tasks just because my head is going 100 miles a minute. But I know it has taken its toll on me. And so this is what this blog is for. To capture my gained knowledge - facts, bullocks or not.

Please do leave a comment and correct my mistakes or join in and have a conversation with me if you like.
Let the blogging begin! :)

Warm regards