AMMA: "Nature Is Showing Us Who's Boss"

I captured this cover photo last Sunday morning on my bike ride along Las Colonias Park in Grand Junction. The rays of light shining through dark clouds reminded me to remain hopeful to see and feel the warmth of the sun penetrating obstacles including many challenges we face. Learning and listening to others who have overcome many hardships can serve as guides for us to follow.

Mata Amritanandamayi is known throughout the world as Amma, or Mother, for her selfless love and compassion toward all beings. Her entire life has been dedicated to alleviating the pain of the poor, and those suffering physically and emotionally. Here is a recent article where she discusses how the coronavirus pandemic is showing us that humans cannot control Nature and we need more awareness, love and compassion to serve rather continue taking from Nature.

“Children, in business, when the workers stop, the company incurs losses and eventually shuts down. However, if Nature stops working, the world itself shuts down. At least from now on, after experiencing the intense suffering of this pandemic, man should set aside his egoism, stop harming Nature Mother and recognize that she is the ultimate master. We have to develop the attitude that we are nothing but Nature’s servants. We should practice humility, servitude and respect and beg her to forgive all of our crimes against her. Because, with the coronavirus pandemic, she has finally showed us that she will no longer constantly forbear, suffer and forgive all the indignities we heap upon her.

“With coronavirus, Nature has finally showed us that she will no longer constantly forbear, suffer and forgive all the indignities we heap upon her.” — Amma

The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the home in which we sleep, the sun that gives us energy — we are indebted to Nature for all of these. Our life on this earth is possible only because of the combined effort of all its creatures. The rivers, trees, bees, butterflies and worms all play their part. If they did not exist, we would not exist. There would be no life. If we were to visualize Nature as one tree, then all the creatures would be its roots, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. The tree becomes whole only as a totality of its various parts. If one part is destroyed, the rest will also soon perish. Without Nature, humankind would not exist.

We carry the memory of a time when we recognized this truth and lived in tune with Nature, loving and serving her. In those days, simple villagers, who could not read or write, would maintain a pond and a small shrine on their property. They protected even migratory birds and took care not to harm a single creature. But as our selfishness and greed increased, our bond with Nature deteriorated. Forest-dwellers may have hunted, but they only took what was necessary to survive. Just as a cow eats only enough to satisfy its hunger, as a bird drinks just enough to quench its thirst, they hunted to fulfill the day’s need — not to amass and hoard. But today, people kill elephants for ivory , hunt animals for their fur and chop down entire forests to make money.

In my childhood, when a tree was about to be cut down, it was like a wedding being solemnized. Before cutting it down, they would first worship the tree and pray for forgiveness: “I am doing this because I have no other means to survive. Please, forgive me.” Trees were never viewed as inert. We used to protect species from extinction; now we drive them to it. We have to understand that in destroying Nature, we are destroying ourselves — that each tree we cut down is like a coffin we are making for ourselves. May it never come to be that humankind has to perish in order for the planet to survive. In fact, it is the selfish things man has done to Nature that come back to us in the form of such epidemics such as the coronavirus.

We put so much effort into educating our children to become engineers and doctors, etc, because we want to secure a happy future for them. But without clean air, soil and water, they won’t be able to survive at all — much less be happy. Thus, if we want to protect our children’s future, we should protect the life-giving air, earth and water.

“It is as if Mother Nature has stage 3 cancer. Our care alone will determine how long she can be sustained. If we are united in our efforts, we can walk back at least 10% of the way. But we also need the factor of grace.” — Amma

In truth, we have already gone too far astray to return in this lifetime. Regardless, let us try. Let us walk back as much as possible. By “walking back,” Amma doesn’t mean you have to give up all the comforts of the modern-day world and live like a monk — merely, that the current generation must imbibe spiritual values and instill them in its children. Currently, it is as if Mother Nature has stage 3 cancer. Our care alone will determine how long she can be sustained. Our efforts can keep away pandemics, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and global warming to a great extent. If we are united in our efforts, we can walk back at least 10% of the way. But we also need the factor of grace. For that, we need effort, humility and to treat Nature with respectful and prayerful attitude.

Amma is not trying to scare people or make them afraid, but usually the truth is not very sweet. Moving forward, we must be very alert and cautious. We should give spiritual thoughts and selfless actions the same importance we currently give ones aimed at material ends. That is the need of the age. This is Nature’s message to us. Let us stand united as one and work together with love, compassion and patience. Let us pray intensely, with a melting heart.

Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) is a world-renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader. Amma is the head of Embracing the World, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing food, clothing and shelter for the poor and needy as well as many projects aimed at protecting the environment.”

Contagious Consumption

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the leading illnesses was consumption, also known as the lung disease tuberculosis (TB). The mycobacteria infection caused about 1.5 million deaths in 2018. An article in USA Today four months ago examines the history of TB consumption stating, “the disease was eradicated through elimination of poverty, improvement of nutrition and through improvement in living conditions." TB remains prevalent mostly in the developing world. Ironically, another type of consumption is afflicting the entire world by the actions of the most developed nations.

Consumption of natural resources in a consumer economy includes use of energy, food, and water. As the chart shows, people living in the United States led the world in consuming natural resources. If everyone in the world consumed resources at the rate of people in the U.S., it would take 5 Earth’s to support all the people. Obviously this is not sustainable! The World Economic Forum stated in 2019, “the extraction and processing of natural resources alone cause 90% of global biodiversity loss and water stress, and more than half of global climate change impacts.”

The U.S. has only about 4% of the world’s population yet consumes about 20% of the world’s resources. Coal-fired power plants will continue to be phased out in favor of cheaper natural gas, solar photovoltaics, wind, hydroelectric and new designs including small-modular nuclear power generation. A green energy revolution is just beginning but sustainable consumption must be considered for all industries. Powering electric car batteries with lithium oxide places demands on this metal and other rare earth elements, which are also needed for computers and wind generators. Leading producers of these raw materials are in Australia, Chile, and China. However, the U.S. will quickly be a leading importer and consumer of green energy materials and therefore continue to be dependent on imports of natural resources.

As the Covid-19 pandemic becomes even more contagious (as well as TB and other diseases), we need to carefully reassess holistic connections among health care, dependency on natural resources, and consumerism to develop global actions that preserves and protects the planet and essential biodiversity.

Some of the personal and societal solutions are quite obvious: wearing a mask, washing hands, taking vaccines, 3R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle), walking, ride a bicycle, live near your work or telecommute, carry reusable water bottles and shopping bags, and buy products that promote sustainable living.

Vote and Yell If You Can for America to Survive!

Not only are Republicans and Democrats sharply divided, our American republic and democratic systems are in crisis. In theory, we are a republic by democratically electing officials who represent our views and vote for us on legislation. Being able to freely cast ballots is fundamental to our system. Will the great American experiment survive or implode as is being witnessed in several primary elections?

The reality TV star President, previously famous for casinos and “The Apprentice: You're Fired!” who presides over massive unemployment due to the Covid-19 pandemic, protests against police brutality and stoking the flames of race wars, is creating a Fall Blockbuster Special like the world has never seen before! Much more needs to be revealed about the bogus Russian-backed 2016 election but for now we need to proactively have our eyes wide open for November 2020.

Wisconsin forcing people to vote on April 7 during the Covid-19 pandemic caused voters and poll workers to put their lives in jeopardy. The Center for American Progress.org states:

“Only six states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Utah, and Washington—have infrastructure capabilities and critical election policies, such as no-excuse absentee voting, online and same-day registration, and early voting, that leave them well-positioned to respond to COVID-19. Another three states—Arizona, Montana, and Oregon—are also relatively well-situated for conducting elections during the pandemic, as they have most of the necessary policies and infrastructure to support mass reliance on vote by mail.”

The voting process in America is in turmoil due to lack of preparation of voting options. According to Politico, the Republican National Party is suing the California Democratic Governor for trying to require vote by mail. President Trump is hypocritically condemning vote by mail when many states like Florida which is how Trump voted in the March 17 election. Arizona and Georgia leaders appear to be supportive of vote by mail. What happened in Georgia this Tuesday with some people having to wait in line for five hours?

Luckily, here in Colorado we enjoy vote by mail which is not perfect but has great advantages especially during the pandemic! Mail in ballots just arrived yesterday.

We already know what Mr. Trump and his minions think about our sacred Constitution and one only needs to replay events of last Monday in Lafayette Square to see how he abolishes citizen’s First Amendment Rights of peaceful protests! Now he is remotely trying to do the same thing in Seattle. Listen to Fox New interviewing Trump, which aired this morning, gently pushing back on his statement “when there is looting there will be shooting” as well as the Administration’s walk to historic St. John's Church which Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley now regrets. Notice how Fox News cut the video of how they cleared out the protesters, ordered by Attorney General Barr - the same person who shut down the 2016 Russian interference report, as can be clearly seen on the USA Today video. There were several shocking statements that Trump told to Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner (a Black mother) that she did not challenge including:

“I think it was a beautiful picture,” Trump told Fox News. “And I’ll tell you, I think Christians think it was a beautiful picture.”

What? Think again as apparently he and many people need to read about the reactions to Trump’s photo op to hold the Bible in Christianity Today!

VOTE and YELL EARLY AND OFTEN for AMERICA TO SURVIVE !!!

Update 6/17/2020

Vote , Pray, Yell for America to Survive!

According to the Christian Post, “a new book consisting of essays by 30 evangelical Christians of different political and professional stripes is calling on white evangelicals to rethink their support for President Donald Trump in 2020 and warns the president is damaging the broader culture’s perception of evangelical Christianity.

The new book, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump: 30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth, and Moral Integrity, was released last Monday by Wipf and Stock Publishers.

“Our plea is to white evangelicals to please take another look and ask, ‘Does this person measure up to biblical norms?’” Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action, told The Christian Post. “We are not telling you what to include. But please prayerfully think about that. Even if you think the book will make you mad, given the title, I challenge you to read it and decide for yourself if there are any valid points that we are making there.”

From Darkness to Light with Courage

Storm Clouds! Such incredible suffering, deceit and Darkness – where is the relief, the Silver Lining, bright Light and emerging Rainbow?

On this Memorial Day 2020, over 5.5 million people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus Covid-19 and about 345,000 people have died. While the animal to human virus began in China and quickly spread around Asia to Europe, those countries have been more proactive in quickly responding and reducing the spread than in the Americas. Wearing masks and contact tracing are leading factors for stopping the spread.

The United States leads the way in cases and deaths by about four times compared to other countries which has nothing to do with numbers of people being tested, as the President claims to hide reality and spread more darkness. We’ve learned from Columbia University that if the Administration took action just one week sooner, then possibly 36,000 Americans would still be living. About 100,000 people have died in the U.S. in just a few short months during an unprecedented lockdown and now the virus is spreading like wildfire in Brazil with over 22,000 dead. There is incredible suffering by individuals, families who cannot visit or mourn for their loved ones, health-care professionals, and close to eight billion of us are all being affected.

This pandemic might be the first time that humanity has ever been on the same level – all because of an invisible, microscopic enemy. The virus is an equal opportunity human invader as no one is immune. Rich and poor, all countries, races, religions, political affiliation, sexes, and ages. There are many disparities within groups as some races are being impacted more than other groups. We don’t yet know why some groups are more impacted than others but it appears the virus does not discriminate. Initially, people thought Covid-19 only affected the elderly but later we found out that children are been affected in multiple, complex ways.

Ammachi says we need to have courage to fight the coronavirus. From a disciple’s book Color of the Rainbow, Compassionate Leadership, Amma is quoted, “Life seems to be unfair only when perceived with our external eyes. Observe it from within and we realize that life is always fair, because life is the totality, the cosmos. People can be unfair, but the cosmos ought to be fair, since it is equally available to everyone, but we should always remain well-rooted in out own deep convictions about the values of life.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “No matter how difficult the situation may be, we should employ science and human ingenuity with determination and courage to overcome the problems that confront us. Faced with threats to our health and well-being, it is natural to feel anxiety and fear. Nevertheless, I take great solace in the following wise advice to examine the problems before us: ‘If there is something to be done—do it, without any need to worry; if there’s nothing to be done, worrying about it further will not help.”

Pope Francis insists that “an emergency like Covid-19 is overcome in the first place by the antibodies of solidarity.” This lesson “breaks all the fatalism in which we have immersed ourselves and allows us to return to be the architects and protagonists of a common history,” he says, and it enables us “to respond together to the many evils that are affecting so many of our brothers and sisters across the globe.”

Have courage to speak the truth as you know it, share compassion and courage with others, pray for everyone to come together to seek Nature’s balance and we can make our world habitable for all life.

Mastering Metrics

The book: Bad Data: Why We Measure the Wrong Things and Often Miss the Metrics That Matter by Peter Schryvers provides many examples and stories where obsession for collecting data has unintended consequences. One of my favorite stories is the Cobra Effect. As background, he describes how public schools so focused on testing to get federal funding led to widespread cheating. In India, the British colonist offered to buy poisonous cobras from locals in an effort to remove them. However, Indian people began growing more cobras to sell and when the British found out and stopped paying money, the Indians then freed their home-grown snakes. That created a bigger cobra problem than in the beginning! That might explain why I saw so many snake charmers during my visit to Mumbai 25 years ago.

Other interesting examples include the New York Police Department’s effort to get precincts competing based on crime statistics leading to under reporting and not listening to citizen complains that led to loss of trust. The author states that TRUST is one of the main reasons metrics are being collected in schools, homes, businesses and more.

More precisely, lack of trust affects everything from health care, environmental solutions, to worker productivity. Doctors rated on performing high-quality procedures leading to positive outcomes may not take on risky patients that could hurt their rating. Environmental trade-offs comparing light bulbs or where to live must consider total costs and not just obvious factors. A real-estate agent may show you less expensive homes far away from your workplace that will cost you more when factoring in transportation costs to work and shopping.

Bad Data was published in early 2020 but I wish it could have covered the Covid-19 pandemic. Schryvers discusses misunderstanding metrics to measure disease effects on a population. He lists three metrics: prevalence, incidence, and mortality. Prevalence is the number of people affected divided by population (usually 100,000 people). Incidence is the number of people contracting the disease over a period of time like in one year. Mortality is the number of people dying from the disease. He states decrease in prevalence of an illness may sound like good news but actually means fewer people are living with the disease as more people are dying quickly. Therefore, we must think critically when people are citing comparisons in these and other metrics. Testing for Covid-19 comes to mind when comparing total numbers of tests given for a country must consider the “per population” to be meaningful.

One of the best examples of a solution for the ills of Metrics is what the author calls Gateways. Khan Academy, is the non-profit that offers free videos online for mastery of education. The book is well worth reading to hear many great examples, including how Salman Khan started making videos to share with his family and became a worldwide sensation. Imagine taking middle school kids for a summer class and start at 1+1 to correct any gaps in knowledge. There is an interesting TED talk by Sal Khan talking about how even an A students scoring anything below 100% will accumulate gaps in understanding subjects that need to be corrected in order to advance to higher learning (like becoming a doctor) and this takes a longer time than offered by traditional academia where tests are timed and classes progress at the same pace. We are enjoying the Khan Academy videos that teach math, history and interviews with famous icons like Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

In summary, it’s all about Lifelong Learning and finding the correct metrics and gateways for learning from our collective experiences which is key to staying alive especially with challenges with Covid-19, Climate Change, Economic Recessions and Depressions, and surviving/overcoming related calamities.

Earth Day: What Would Lincoln Say?

If President Abe Lincoln were alive today on this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, perhaps he would give the following speech (adopted with respect from the Gettysburg Address) in honor of all victims leading up to the 6th Mass Extinction including one million species based on reports by the National Science Foundation and United Nations:

Twelve score and four years ago our founding fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great planetary crisis testing if any nation will survive human destruction of our beloved Mother Earth. Our actions of exploiting God’s treasures and resources is leading to our own destruction. Most recently animal-human contact has unleashed a terrible coronavirus pandemic Covid-19 that has claimed nearly 200,000 lives and 2.5 million illnesses worldwide.

Our actions are causing over one million species to face mass extinction at our own peril. We’ve polluted ocean life and coral reefs with chemicals and plastics, poisoned rivers, land, and air, and now we are altering our climate. Many people ignored the Silent Spring, Population Bomb, and An Inconvenient Truth.

Now humanity must challenge ourselves to quickly work for and not against Nature. We must resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that all United Nations under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that governments of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.

Universal Compassion

With Covid-19 spreading around the globe uniting us to urgently find a cure, there are many examples of universal compassion and grace occurring. We cannot discount the suffering and loss of life, adversity and personal disruptions to our way of living caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As we isolate and emerge to a new world, rather than furthering the destruction of nature and ourselves, we can look for ways to serve selflessly with compassion. We must work for Nature as Nature does not work for us.

Two days ago I learned about a new YouTube show with three episodes so far called SGN for “Some Good News” featuring John Krasinski from The Office fame. We especially enjoyed seeing the homecoming of a girl with cancer, Broadway Hamilton cast via Zoom, and Fenway Park tribute to health care workers!

We are amazed and appreciative of all the people who are finding ways to make a difference by helping others and becoming more aware of our dependency on the environment. With less burning of fossil fuels we are seeing air pollution levels decreasing and animals are returning to areas visited by fewer people in many places as nature is working to restore some balance. Finding compassion for all species in the universe is what is most needed. Luckily, there is a book written in 1989 on this topic (that I read soon after it became available) from Blue Mountain Center of Meditation written by Ekneth Easwaran called The Compassionate Universe: The Power of Individuals to Heal the Environment. According to Blue Mountain:

Easwaran describes his search for a way of life that combines inner fulfillment, respect for nature, and effective participation in the world. Then he presents the fruit of that search: a comprehensive program of trusteeship. This is environmentalism as a great adventure, filled with the challenges and rewards of inner growth. “As trustees,” he writes, “we discover that each of us is a unique and essential member of a compassionate universe.”

For more insights, check out this review by Spirituality and Practice.com

Also we are finding great inspiration by AMMA, whom I met in 1992, joining many recent webinars by disciples. The Stanford University Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) in 2014 provided a great interview of AMMA by Dr. James Doty, a neurosurgery professor and founder of CCARE. Stay tuned for more!

Post script on April 21, 2020

I feel very inspired by interview with Amma and Dr. Doty. I contacted Dr. Doty and he was not aware of a transcript so I have taken the liberty to record the interview which is provided here. I still highly recommend listening to the actual interview with total time of one hour and twelve minutes. I apologize in advance for any errors or editing in my recording of this interview.

Conversations on Compassion with Dr. James Doty and Amma

Stanford University, California June 2, 2014

Presented by The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE)

School of Medicine, Stanford University

Dr. James Doty: How is everyone? This is really an extraordinary experience. As many of you know, I’m the Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). In addition to research into the neural elements of what compassion is and how it manifests itself physiologically, one of the other aspects of our mission and a very selfish one for me is that I get to invite people who I think are fascinating people and who by their actions exemplify the highest ideals at our core which is compassion. And every time one of these individuals speaks, I believe that so many people are affected because while we can talk about all the science in the world until it manifests itself as compassion and action it has little meaning what so ever. So today it is my honor to be here with Amma and her translator:

Dr. Priya Nair: I am Priya and I am actually a doctor and I have had the fortune of traveling with Amma since I was quite young. So, I have the honor today to be with Amma along with her other senior disciples so I will translate for Amma and hope that I can do it justice.

Dr. Doty: So many people are interested in your background, you were telling me now that you are thirty years old (Laughter)?

Amma with translations by Dr. Priya Nair: Amma just had her 60th birthday, it’s the age of the body.

Dr. Doty: But perhaps as I say as I interview people everyone has a backstory or background which manifests itself at times as an adult, maybe you can tell us about growing up and how this Love of people began?

Amma (5:30 min): So Amma says she remembers when she was around seven or eight years old, she lived in a small fishing village in the southernmost part of India. She used to go every day around the small village and the houses very near each other were all made with palm leaves; so basically she would go to around 60 houses in a day to collect vegetable peels, a tapioca root peel for the cattle that they had at their house so when she would go to all these different houses she would see that most of them around 90% of them are fishermen; They would go out to sea they would come back with whatever they caught that is what they would have that day. So some of the houses she noticed that in a day they had enough food on their table they were happy, they had excess in the village sense, and in other houses even though they worked equally hard their fathers or the main earning member of the family just could not bring enough back to feed their own children and there was so much suffering in some houses and right next to them other families would be okay. When she saw this kind of disparity in the same tiny village where she was from she was almost angry at nature. Why should there be this kind of difference and sometimes this anger, this sadness/sorrow for them was so extreme she wanted to die painfully as though to take on all that suffering. One day when she was suffering with that sorrow suddenly there was a call from within when she asked the question why are they suffering and why is there so much suffering? A call came that it was a result of their past actions. And then she thought if a person falls into a ditch, it’s my responsibility to help them out and if these people are meant to suffer due to their previous actions, isn’t my duty to help them? So that feeling of compassion overwhelms her and that led to what she is doing now.

Dr. Doty: When she felt that deep compassion for those who were suffering did that in some way release her to give love to everyone? (8 min)

So Amma is saying that somebody would come and cry to Amma and whatever their problem they were facing they came crying and they came one after the next after the next and that’s how she started embracing everyone.

Dr. Doty: Would you say this opportunity is available to everyone of us?

Amma: It’s definitely available to everyone.

Dr. Doty: What happens I think though is people see suffering and they feel overwhelmed that they can’t do anything. But I say we can help, each one of us has within our power to make one person’s life every day a better life.

Amma with translations by Dr. Priya Nair: Amma says the main issue is believing we are limited and as long as we believe we are limited then we can’t achieve these kinds of actions or goals. She compares it to a battery -- a battery is limited after its charge is gone its run out so if we think we are a battery then we have a limited amount of time that we can be useful; but if we realize we are not a battery and we are connected to the Supreme Power, that Supreme Energy, then its limitless and our possibilities are infinite. So, she says we need to develop the Self-Confidence. She gives the example of a filter - our mind is full of negativities and we need the filter of Self-Confidence to filter away these negativities so we can realize no, I am capable of anything and everything. She says that Self-Confidence is like a booster rocket that helps us break out of Earth’s gravity field and so that with Self-Confidence we can achieve anything within our reach (11:30 min.)

Dr. Doty: When you were a youngster were your parents happy with your self-confidence?

Actually, Amma’s Mother and Father were sad about it. They were very upset. Especially in the village areas in India at that time there were lots of rules and restrictions for women. The fact that Amma did something like embraced everyone was far out of those restrictions. Woman were not allowed to run, they weren’t allowed to laugh out loud, they shouldn’t talk loud enough for the walls to hear, that was the rule.

Dr. Doty: I agree with that (jokingly).

No man would ever be allowed to wash dishes. They wouldn’t wash their own clothes as the woman has to wash their own clothes, you cannot stand in front of a man with a broom, as soon as a man walks in the woman has to stand up, especially if the women are taller. Even if it’s a younger brother, just because he is taller, she has to stand up for him. (14:00 min)

Dr. Doty: You know I am joking but the reality it is the woman throughout most of the world is the one that keeps the family together and in many cases is the caregiver and the provider; it’s wonderful though that we are seeing a change where people especially woman can change roles and obviously she (Amma) is an example of that. So you were telling us that as a child you felt these feelings that resulted in you having confidence to continue and I think often times many of us growing up actually are influenced by our parents to do certain actions but for some people they regret that instead of having the freedom to be really who they are or what they want to be. Do you find now when you travel in India especially that things changed dramatically for woman or is it still a struggle for woman to find a place in society?

Amma says she sees a lot of changes. There’s change in both men and woman. But the problem is that in some places there have been more changes in woman and the men have not started that change as yet or have not changed as much so the men suffer a little bit more for that. The men suffer more because the men have not changed as much. Men suffer more because they haven’t changed along with the women. Men have been very conditioned. They have been brought up in this environment; just like woman have been conditioned. It’s like if you try to force open a flower -- the bud won’t become a blossom into a flower. So that if men are being forced to change that causes some disharmony or causes some sorrow for the men. So that’s why Amma says women should try to be a little forgiving and patient. Because it may take some time for men to change.

Dr. Doty: What do you woman think about that? (jokingly asking the audience)

Amma says the fact that woman have created both women and men -- they have to find patience and forgiveness.

Dr. Doty: So as you got older and you were having devotees who were seeking out your wisdom did your parents change their view or did they not understand?

Their attitude has completely changed. Definitely. Initially, it was a fear for them because Amma would see suffering or something that was wrong and she would not think it was something a man should do or a woman should do. She would just go to help that person. And that would obviously cause fear for her parents. For Amma, compassion is the most important factor in life. Amma says compassion is the first step, so if can take that step courageously without fear then everything will follow spontaneously. When we have compassion then all of the decisions we make and actions and results that follow will have a special beauty, spontaneity and a power to it. Man’s calculations or human’s calculations can always be wrong but decisions taken from compassion or actions that are compassionate can never be wrong. Because compassion is a law of nature. And it’s because of this power of compassion that it’s the most important factor. When we give up the individual mind the thought that I am as an individual doing an individual action and we tune our minds to the Universal Mind that’s what’s happening in compassion. Then we cannot do anything wrong because it’s actually not us, it’s the Universal Power. So, its compassion that gives us that ability to tune into that Universal Energy and that’s the power of compassion. Both the beginning of life as well as the end everything is based in compassion. When Love attains perfection, that’s when the flower of compassion blossoms. (21 min)

Dr. Doty: Yes, one of the challenges though that we see throughout the world is that there is a tendency to want to be part of a tribe or a group but as soon as that happens it separates you; do you have any thoughts how individuals overcome that and embrace all of humanity as one with Love?

Amma with translations by Dr. Priya Nair: So Amma says there are many kinds of powers in the world. There’s military power, power of written word, intellectual power, so if you look at all these powers and go through history it has kind of been tried and failed. The greatest power, greater than all of them, is the power of Love and this power Amma believes if we use this power, we can actually make the entire world into one flower to bring that kind of Unity to the world. So, it’s through Love she believes that is the key. We’ve tried and failed to bring peace with all the other kinds of powers. Amma says through spirituality, through spiritual understanding, we can actually bring this Love. Not religion, per say, but it’s the essence of religion that spirituality can bring Love into all of our lives and bring Unity.

Dr. Doty: I understand that. Did you want to ask me a question? (23:30 min)

Amma is giving an example when there are a hundred or thousand pots filled with water, the sun reflected in all those pots is the same. So, it is the same way even if there are many individuals. It’s the same consciousness, the same supreme God-consciousness that is present within everyone. If we can see that God-consciousness that in itself will bring Unity. There’s actually no difference between the Creator and Creation. There are many kinds of jewelry but the gold in both is the same. When we can realize or develop a deeper understanding of the fact that we are all One there are no differences. Unity is the only outcome. She says everything is important and everything has its place. Everything is important so whether the engine of a plane is damaged or a vital screw is missing, the plane can’t take off. Everything is important in its place -- that is the understanding that we need to develop.

Dr. Doty: You emphasize from your devotee’s service to others and this seems to be a very important part of many spiritual practices and maybe you can tell us why this is so important for individuals to give service to others?

Amma gives the example of a worm. The worm eats, it sleeps, it procreates, and then it finally dies. We have an elevated birth, a human birth, and are we actually doing anything different than the worm? Are we just like the worm – we eat, we sleep, we make a living and then we die? Amma is saying it is in sharing that we can maintain the balance and harmony of nature. There are three kinds of people: the first kind of person what they get they eat; the second kind of person takes what they eat and also tries to take the other persons food to eat as well. And the third kind of person, whatever they get they eat a part of it and the other half or other part they give to whomever is around them. So Amma is saying we need to elevate from that type of person who keeps everything for themselves to rise to the level to keep only what we need and give to those around us.

So Amma remembers an incident in her childhood. There was only one small school near Amma’s house and children used to walk from three kilometers around. Children would come from three km from the north and three km from the south and that was the only school in the area. When Amma was in fourth grade they had two classes. Each class would have around 60 students so out of these students a few of them lived near enough to just run home during the lunch break. But for a few of them their parents would pack a lunch box like we would think all children would have. But there was a large number of students who would have nothing. They were from such poor families they had no lunch box to eat -- they had nothing. So once Amma saw a student, a girl sitting next to her who had absolutely nothing so she gave half of her food to that girl. And seeing Amma do that, another child sitting next to them gave half of her food sitting next to the girl next to her. And a few days later when Amma had come without any food the person sitting next to Amma thought okay I am going to give half of my food to Amma. And what happened over some time is that everybody started giving their food to the next person and even though there were 60 or 120 students in fourth grade nobody actually went hungry and what Amma noticed or what she felt from this incident that happened is that they all got enough food to eat and it was not just the food that was making their stomachs full -- it was the fact that I was able to give and someone else gave to me (30:00 min).

Dr. Doty: You know in the United States especially we are seeing this ever, increasing width between the wealthy and the poor and we don’t see them giving up. Within and probably only 10 miles from here is the largest concentration of wealth and while some give a relatively small proportion of their wealth, some do not give at all. What comments do you have about that or do you see a solution to that? How do you educate these individuals who frankly need nothing from us to open their hearts to share?

So Amma is remembering an incident that happened in one of the college campuses in India. We have five college campuses and in Bangalore in the engineering college a group of students had come to Amma when she was visiting that City and said listen, we don’t want to wear uniforms any more, we just want to wear our regular clothes. So Amma spoke to them and she basically said what is the point of education? The actual reason for education is to inculcate good values into the coming generation. So then Amma posed a question to them she said that there are many students here that come from really poor backgrounds. So, if you all start to wear regular clothes it’s going to create a divide. There are going to be some that can afford to wear the most fancy, most trendy clothes and there are going to be some that will have hardly anything.

So Amma gave the example to them of some children who couldn’t afford good clothes they took to trying to make money a quick way by selling drugs and using drugs in the process. Their whole lives were ruined as a result of that. Other children would go to their families and say we cannot continue studying unless you give us good clothes. And their parents desperate to somehow fit in would even sell their houses, sell all their property, just to put them through school in a decent way. And there was even one boy who tried to steal a gold chain off of a woman and when he closed her mouth and nose to prevent her from screaming she suffocated. And he was taken to jail, he was imprisoned as a result of that. It was all because these are desperate attempts to fit in. They are just trying to make money to fit in with the society so Amma asked these students what do you want to do? If you want me to cancel the uniforms, I will do it. But by doing that are you willing to create a situation where people are so desperate that they turn to crime and other negativities. Then they themselves said no. We’re fine we will wear the uniform. We don’t need anything else.

Amma is saying it’s that kind of equal vision of the universe. That vision of Unity that will change or bring a difference in this divide. The important thing is to understand the difference between what we need, what’s a necessity, and what’s extra or extravagant. Amma gives the example of a watch. If you have a $20 watch you can tell the time or you can have a $20,000 watch and you are still using it to only tell the time. What do we actually need and what are we using to buy that? We need to be able to tell the difference between the two.

Amma says there are three factors we need to succeed at anything in life. We need health, wealth, and knowledge. If you look at health, we need two kinds of health: physical and mental health. Without mental health it doesn’t matter how healthy we are physically we can’t give happiness or solace to anyone around us. If you take the case of wealth, you need material wealth but also need internal wealth, the wealth of spirituality. She says even if you sleep in a golden palace if you don’t have mental peace it doesn’t matter how much external comfort you have, you’re not going to be able to sleep. You can live in an air-conditioned room but unless your mind is air conditioned you won’t find any peace. And the last case is knowledge. Amma says there are two kinds of knowledge. There is an education for living and an education for life. An education for living we study engineering, medicine, what ever we need to study to make money to live and feed our family to be comfortable. Then you have education for life that is spirituality. That teaches us how to maintain peace and happiness in the midst of all kinds of adverse situations that we might have to face in life. That’s the importance of spirituality. She says when we run a business you have to manage so many people. If you have 500 people you are managing 500 minds. But in order to manage these 500 minds we must first be able to manage our own mind. Only then can we manage everyone else’s minds.

The last point that Amma made is regarding poverty. One kind is we don’t have enough money, clothes, food, shelter and the second kind of poverty is the poverty of love and compassion. So Amma says if we can fix this poverty of love and compassion, naturally those who have will give to those who don’t have. The point is to bring this compassion in and by bringing in spirituality we bring a balance between health, wealth and knowledge. This divide, this lack of compassion when we lose this balance is the cause of terrorism. Amma said we recently had a child in southern California that shot 17 people who were injured. These acts of terrorism or acts of hatred are all the result of this loss of balance. (41:00  min)

Dr. Doty: Do some people need a Guru or help and others seem to perhaps already be attuned? And then it seems there are people who keep going from place to place trying to find something but they never seem to find it. Do you have any advice for those people, not that there is anyone in this room?

Amma says the basic thing is we need to awaken ourselves. Whether you rely on a Master or not we have to awaken ourselves. Amma gives the example of a lab attendant. It doesn’t matter how many years he works as a lab attendant he himself cannot become the scientist. For that you need a specific education and certain number of years of experience. Amma is saying it doesn’t matter how long we live near a Master, we need to awaken ourselves and that is a process that happens within ourselves. She gives the example of an egg. If somebody tries to force open the egg it just breaks. It can’t hatch. It has to open from within; it has to be a process that spontaneously happens. We have to open from within whether we depend on a Master or not. And it’s when the egg opens from within that begins creation -- that’s when the new life happens. If you look at in from a practical sense on the other hand a seed needs the proper environment to sprout. The Master helps to give that environment so the seed can sprout on its own. That is the practical aspect of having a Master. Amma says when we are a child, we learn to tie our shoelaces not on our own, our Mother teaches us how to tie the shoelaces, wear clothes, read and write. We learn every single thing from somebody who knows. Even let’s say our TV breaks down we have to call somebody to repair it. If something is wrong with our internet connection someone needs to come. So just like we need someone to help us with our day to day lives, TV or internet or such things, the Guru or Master helps to fix the internal connections in our mind.

Dr. Doty: It’s appropriate for Silicon Valley!

On the other hand, Amma is not saying you need a Guru or don’t need a Guru that is still up to the individual. It depends, different people will be different. Experience is the greatest teacher. If we can learn from experience it’s individual’s preference. The fact is that God exists or the Guru exists within each of us. The Master is within each of us so we can tune into That. The more practical side is when we are trying to learn meditation, we usually need someone to guide us to say what are the steps and how do you dive deep from within. Amma gives the example of when we learn to drive; if we don’t learn from a teacher, they will drive too fast and get into some accident so it is the teacher who gives them the rules of the road. Amma also talks about medicine when we are given medicine by a doctor who says you can only drink two spoons of the tonic or medicine. If you drink the whole bottle in one gulp it can become toxic. If you take too little it can be a problem so you need somebody to guide you at least in the beginning. That’s the practical side of it to give you a guideline. Some people when they try themselves with meditation, they go 60 hours and don’t have the exact concept that it should be started gradually and they might face some difficulties.

Amma says there are some people who have tried to practice yoga from what they read in a book. And she has seen people who do it slightly differently and people have come bleeding from the ears so you need some kind of guideline on how to start.

Dr. Doty: I have to check my ears (laughter)

Amma has seen so many people come to her explaining the difficulties they have experienced.

Dr. Doty: For those who are here, are there any insights that you might share that might allow individuals to open their hearts easier and to see how compassion translates into Love and makes their life whole or better? (50:00 min)

Amma says that compassion is a decision that we make just like happiness is a decision we make. We decide every day I am going to do something good for someone at least someone around me. That decision is up to us. We have to make that decision. Amma says if our finger pokes our eye, we don’t get angry with our finger, we caress our finger and our eye because we see them both as part of us. That attitude that everything is part of us and I am part of everything else that will help us to make a stronger decision that I will help others. So Amma says where the vibration of compassion results in empathy from within it overflows as compassion as good deeds to everyone around us. The greatest form of love is the way we love ourselves. If we can love others the way we love ourselves then compassion comes spontaneously.

Amma says when we make a mistake, we don’t punish ourselves. We always try to justify our mistakes. We some how feel less guilty when we make a mistake. When we see others as ourselves, we don’t see their mistakes as wrong either and that helps us feel compassion towards them. Amma says we should all try to become role models because whether we realize it or not someone else, somewhere is looking up to us for inspiration. When we meet, it should not be just a physical meeting but a meeting of hearts. And that is what will really help people open up.

Amma gives an example of something practical that has happened to her. There are a lot of problems in nature, lot’s of disharmony and agitation in nature. Amma noticed there were a lot of bees dying because of pesticides and cell phones were another reason given but bees were dying. So when Amma mentioned this to devotees it spread on the internet and many devotees starting growing bees or having bee farms. They would bring the honey to her during darshan. It was just a small thing but it affected so many people. She mentioned in one of her talks that humanity had destroyed over 40% of nature. It’s a huge amount. People on their own started organic gardening and planting trees. Once a week, school children would go out and plant trees so it’s a small thing but each step helps to awaken that compassion. It’s a chain reaction, it goes from one person to the next and finally it becomes a huge difference to make a huge impact. Amma says often times compassion starts with a small action. It does not need to be a huge thing. Even when you turn around and smile at somebody you just look at them with a little compassion that will create a huge wave. You say a single kind word to someone that can affect them and they say a kind word to the next person and it goes on the chain of compassion.

Dr. Doty: You know it is interesting because we see so many people from the East coming to the West and in the West, we have an epidemic of isolation, depression, and loneliness. Yet we look at the East and there is where some of the greatest wisdom and insights comes from. It seems so sad that so many people wish to be like us yet we need to be like them. (58:30 min)

Amma says today if there are three people in the family, they live like three isolated islands. She remembers another example from her childhood – the entire village was a family. They all would not have match boxes to light their stoves in the morning so as soon as they woke up they would try to find the one house that still had a fire going and each person would come and collect their fire and take it back. When Amma would go to get the fire to light her stove her Mother would tell her which ever house you go to make sure you wash their dishes or if they haven’t swept the floor you have to help them clean before you come back. If she wanted to come back fast or not do it she would be punished by her Mother.

Another example is when they would sit down for dinner, she would also keep a portion of their food and she (Amma’s Mother) would tell in the next house the father may have not come back from work and the children may not have gotten anything to eat yet. Before we start eating, let’s go over and give some food to them. So that was the kind of attitude. But today it’s become the opposite -- if we are cleaning our back yard, we are putting our garbage into their back yard.

Amma says the population in India, I think it is about 1.2 billion and here it is around 300 million – I’m not sure. Even there is such a big difference in populations, there are 10 times more psychiatrists in the West.

Dr. Doty: No, (jokingly) there are a 1000 times more psychiatrists!

The number of people in jail because of drugs is much more here. The divorce rate previously in India out of 100,000 people maybe only 5 or 6 people would get divorced. Here is much more. But the sad thing Amma says it that even in India the numbers are slowly increasing. One of the main reasons is due to nuclear families. The concept of a joint, large family is disappearing and everyone is going into isolation.

Dr. Doty: So Amma has repeated all of the scientific research we have now done. (Laughing) We didn’t need to do it, we just needed to talk to Amma. (1 hr 3 min)

The main thing that has to change are the minds of humanity. When the minds don’t find peace they depend on drugs, they become ill, depressed, crime rate increases. It’s the mind that has to change. Its basically a poverty of Love like Amma mentioned before two kinds of poverty, the poverty of love, poverty of compassion – that’s the main thing that has to be changed. Until that poverty is corrected then the other poverty will not change on its own. The suicide rates are high even in India and a lot of that is due to the material poverty.

Dr. Doty: Ours are often suicides of too much wealth. You have everything.

In India, it’s more men that commit suicide. She is not sure what it is here but one of the reasons in India for more male suicides because they don’t express their emotions. They suppress everything within and it builds up and explodes and in that impulse they commit suicide. But women express their emotions. They cry their frustration and that gives them a little bit of relief.

Dr. Doty: I think that is one of the problems in the West so many people hold back their emotions and when you cannot connect you cannot have an authentic relationship. People who know me see me cry so that is how I stay healthy (laughter, applauds). But it’s only on stage.

Amma is saying that crying is a form of relaxation when you take away all the burden or mental strain through crying. Amma is not saying we should all start crying right now. There are people who come to Amma who tell her one of the people they love, their friends or their spouse, has died and because of that they cannot cry. They are sitting in shock like having a stroke with no movement at all. They tell Amma if only they would cry, they would get out the frustration and sorrow would come out. In Amma ‘s point of view crying is not a weakness. Some people feel it is a weakness but Amma says it is a tool to unburden ourselves.

Dr. Doty: Okay then I can cry now. Amma and I were talking earlier and there is the Sanskrit word “Darshan” which means “To See” that can manifest itself in many ways and in her life, it has manifested by connecting with others through hugging. And I will share a story with you that I told Amma which is we had a conference at CCARE summer research institute; we had students and faculty; there was about 60 people. At the end there was a party with the benefactors, students, and teachers and I gave a toast thanking everyone for participating and one of the senior scientists got up and thanked me for my contribution to this event and to the field and she was crying and I hugged her. And then a student stood up and read a poem and again thanked all of us for his being able to attend and I have him a hug and I said I felt like Amma. (laughter) But what happened then a senior scientist said, “I want a hug” and we ended up hugging all 60 people at the conference and half were crying and half were laughing! So, in my own little way, no I’m not a mini-Amma, I’m not saying that ok.

The literal translation of word Amma means Mother and there is an Amma in all of us as well as there is a child within all of us. There is Motherhood within each and every person. (1 hr 10 min)

Closing ceremony – Amma presented Dr. Doty with a hand-carved Ganesha statue from her school and offered Darshan to the audience.

A special treat is to listen to the entire interview and final concluding ceremony for yourself!

Supermoon Setting at Sunrise

A view from inside our home (yes we are sheltering-in-place during the Covid-19 pandemic) of the Super “Pink” Moon setting over the Colorado National Monument. The Wingate Sandstone rocks illuminated as the Sun rose.

Here is an excerpt from NASA:

“The next full Moon will be on Tuesday night, April 7. It's also a "supermoon," the largest of the full Moons this year.

The next full Moon is the Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon, the Pesach or Passover Moon, Paschal Moon, Hanuman Jayanti, Bak Poya and a "supermoon."

The Moon will be full on Tuesday night, April 7, 2020, appearing opposite the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 10:35 PM EDT. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Monday night through Thursday morning.

The Maine Farmer's Almanac first published "Indian" names for the full Moons in the 1930's. According to this Almanac, as the full Moon in April and the first full Moon of spring, this is the Pink Moon, a name that comes from the herb moss pink, also known as creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox, which is native to the eastern USA and one of the earliest widespread flowers of Spring. Other names for this Moon include the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Fish Moon, as this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.

This is the Pesach or Passover Moon. Pesach or Passover begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 8, and ends at nightfall on Thursday, April 16, 2020. In the Hebrew lunisolar calendar the months change with the new Moon and full Moons fall in the middle of the lunar months. This full Moon is in the middle of Nisan.

In the Christian ecclesiastical calendar this is the Paschal Moon, the full Moon from which the date of Easter is calculated. Paschal is the Latinized version of Pesach. Generally, the Christian holiday of Easter, also called Pascha, is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full Moon of spring. However, there are differences between the times of these astronomical events and the calendars used by the Eastern and Western churches. This is one of the years where it makes a difference. Western Christianity will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 12, 2020, while Eastern Christianity will celebrate Easter a week later, on Sunday, April 19, 2020. 

There are a number of variations of the Hindu lunisolar calendar, but for many this full Moon corresponds with the Hanuman Jayanti festival celebrating the birth of Lord Sri Hanuman.

Every full Moon is a holiday in Sri Lanka. For Buddhists in Sri Lanka, this full Moon is Bak Poya, commemorating when the Buddha visited Sri Lanka and avoided a war by settling a dispute between chiefs. 

This full Moon will be slightly closer to the Earth (about 0.1%) than the March full Moon was, so this will be the "most super" of the full supermoons this year.

This full Moon is a supermoon. The term "supermoon" was coined by the astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 and refers to either a new or full Moon that occurs within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit. Under this definition, in a typical year there can be 3 or 4 full Supermoons in a row and (about half a year apart) 3 or 4 new Supermoons in a row. In practice, what catches the public's attention are the full Moons that appear biggest and brightest each year. For 2020, the four full Moons from February to May meet this 90% threshold, with the full Moons in March and April nearly tied in size and brightness. This full Moon will be slightly closer to the Earth (about 0.1%) than the March full Moon was, so this will be the "most super" of the full supermoons this year.

In the Chinese lunisolar calendar the months change with the new Moon and full Moons fall in the middle of the lunar months. This full Moon is in the middle of the third month of the Chinese calendar. In the Islamic calendar the months start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon shortly after the New Moon. This full Moon is near the middle of Sha'ban, the eighth month of the Islamic year 1441 and the month before Ramadan.”

First Time Unable to Order from Costco Online!

This morning we tried to place an online home delivery order to Costco for groceries. Most items are shown as out-of stock. There are a few items showing availability like canned tuna, chicken, Spam, crackers or beans. These have limits of one or more per customer. We made a list of about 20 items placed into the cart. When we went to pay for the online order, each item came up as temporarily out-of-stock one at a time. It quickly became apparent that we could not order anything online! We wasted about one hour and wonder what is becoming of the food supply?

We Have the Power to Heal Ourselves and Our Environment

Our hearts go out to all the families worldwide that are fighting to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that we are spending more time at home, we can find healthy activities to keep our minds and bodies strong. While it is important to stay informed, do you agree that an overdose of the doom and gloom news can be extremely depressing? In addition, stress caused by the pandemic including diminishing grocery supplies can be toxic to our peace of mind.

Check out the movie Heal, currently showing on Netflix and other streaming services. The theme of the movie discusses the mind-body connection to keeping healthy and healing from disease. The conclusion of the movie states,

“The human body is capable of miraculous things.It It is an intelligent system, deeply connected to our minds and the world around us, and brilliantly designed to self regulate and heal. By detoxing our environment, the air we breath, the food we eat, the water we drink and the products we use, we support the healing process.”

These are topics frequently mentioned in this blog and is the overall objective of Conserve & Prosper LLC. We cannot ignore the threat of the pandemic and having a clear awareness is vital. As the movie states, we need to keep the faith! We have the power to heal ourselves and the environment.

From March Madness to April Actions

On January 30, 2020 coronavirus Covid-19 became a global health emergency of international concern as shared on this blog and announced by the World Health Organization, WHO.

On March 11th, WHO announced a global pandemic:

“WHO characterizes COVID-19 as a pandemic

11 March 2020

Speaking at the COVID-19 media briefing, the WHO Director-General said: 

"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.

Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do.

We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus.

And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time."

Then two days later on Friday, March 13, 2020, the White House declared a national emergency.

On March 11- 14th, we were in St. George Utah for our kid’s baseball tournament and the Governor of Utah closed activities involving more than 150 people. Other governors from around the country began issuing orders for limiting crowd sizes and events to different requirements.

On March 15th, the NCAA cancelled the basketball tournament known as March Madness for the first time since it began in 1939! So while college basketball’s March Madness was cancelled, we been seeing fear and panic this month like I’ve never seen before.

The global stock markets crashed by 25 to 30% during this global March madness erasing that past three years of gains.

Grocery stores shelves emptied in panic buying including toilet paper.

Due to the slow and uncoordinated federal responses in the US and Europe, the virus and fear have spread rapidly. Here is a video comparing Mr. Trump’s statements on Covid-19 with a timeline.

The contrast in responses by Asian nations is remarkable. For example, South Korea has free WiFi networks in Seoul and low-cost cell service nationwide. This and many other preparations enabled a rapid high-tech response to mitigate Covid-19 according to a March 21 Wired article.

India and many other countries required staying-at-home including in my state of Colorado effective today. I heard an estimated 25% of the world’s population is required to stay home. Over 1.5 billion children (including 55 million in the U.S.) are at home and not in school according to UNESCO.

So what can we do to transform the Covid-19 March madness into positive actions in April?

We need to replace fear with courage.

We need accurate, scientific medical information and not political hogwash that stinks and hides the truth.

We rapidly need to keep school children busy at home with many productive, learning activities. As a part-time substitute teacher, I’ve found great benefit from Teaching with Love and Logic books as recommended by our local academy.

We need to pressure our elected officials to insist on a coordinated federal-state-local response to testing, obtaining protective medical supplies, sufficient facilities, people, and more. Will $2 trillion added to the U.S. economy be sufficient or is more needed?

We need positive affirmations! Checkout the show called The Secret on Netflix.

We need to be prepared and be ready, especially now that that FEMA is in charge of the Covid-19 response. See Ready.Gov.

We need to conserve and ration our resources - a continual theme of Conserve-Prosper LLC. I described my family experience with rationing during WWII in my blog on Memorial Day 2016 and here’s an excerpt:

My Mom shared memories as I was growing up of the War Rationing Program to conserve all resources. Each family received a coupon book to purchase food, clothing, shoes, gasoline, and much more. The government wanted everyone to ration goods to help the soldiers and created messages like, "Do with less so they'll have enough." Recycling programs began! My Mom described having to write a letter with only one piece of paper -- so she wrote on both sides, in the margins, and after writing the letter on two sides she turned the paper upside down to print in the spaces between the lines! Talk about being economical! So that's how my parents raised us baby boomers: to be very conservative and not waste anything. 

Here are some of my favorite prayers that we can all say to strengthen our resolve:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”

Empowering Prayers for Everyday Life by Unity: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31”

“Amma knows my children are all living in fear of Coronavirus. Amma is thinking of all of you and praying for you. This is a time when you have to exercise extreme caution and alertness. It is the time to respond with courage, self-control and unity. Amma knows that my children are all afraid, but fear is not helpful now. What is needed is caution and alertness. Courage is the primary thing. With courage, you can overcome anything. So, abandon fear and gather courage. The antivirus that can kill this virus is courage. Courage is our mind’s antivirus. If you befriend धैर्य लक्ष्मी Dhairya Lakshmi [the Goddess of Courage], you will gain the strength to face and overcome anything…..Each day sit in your room for some time and chant the mantra Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu: May All the Beings in the World be Peaceful and Happy!”

Asking Questions and Getting Truthful Answers is Critical to Our Survival

I just finished reading Ken Coleman’s book One Question: Life-Changing Answers from Today’s Leading Voices. Published in 2013, the book is very relevant to the challenges we face individually, for families, businesses and society. He shares interviews with one unique question for each of the 36 famous people including Jimmy Carter on reinvention, John McCain on courage, and Ken Blanchard on leading with love.

The book cites a quote from Albert Einstein, “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”

The book’s three main themes of succeeding, surviving, and sustaining provide structure to the insightful and inspirational questions and answers.

With thinking of our current global crisis of COVID-19 several of the interviews are relevant on dealing with fear, obstacles, starting over, accountability, gratitude, health, fulfillment, legacy, passing the torch, and more.

One interview with Tony Robbins is particularly relevant in response to Ken Coleman’s question, “How can dream chasers achieve their full potential and find fulfillment in life?”

Tony Robbins response includes the statement, “Whatever we focus on affects our state, and our state then affects the story we have about who we are, what life is about, what’s possible, and what’s not. From that story we often determine whether or not we will maximize our capabilities and the strategies that will help us achieve what we’re truly after in a sustainable way.”

Here Tony Robbins is talking about our state of mind affecting our physiology and opportunities to achieve our potential. Asking the right questions and getting truthful answers from our loved ones to our customers, managers, and government leaders is so very critical especially during a pandemic crisis.

Covid-19: Unique Prevention and Treatment Advice from my Preferred Doctor

Over the past several years I have seen many doctors to resolve health issues.. I’ve found that the doctors available on my medical insurance were limited to the tests they could order resulting in an inability to resolve my complicated illnesses as I described on January 26th.

Over a year ago I reported on finding an incredible doctor who I’ve now seen twice and paid out of pocket for information that has greatly improved my health! Guarneri Integratve Health at Pacific Pearl in La Jolla, CA, founded by Dr. G. who began as a New York cardiologist, expanded to integrative eastern and western medical treatments focusing on prevention of diseases.

Here is news shared by email to their patients that is newsworthy consisting of a letter from Dr. Guarneri, on March 12th, additional information the next day, and ideas for being home sent on March 16th :

March 12, 2020

Dear Patients,

At Pacific Pearl La Jolla we believe that a healthy immune system is the key to preventing viruses and infections and chronic diseases such as cancer. In light of concerns regarding the Coronavirus we recommend the following:

1. If you are not feeling well, please call the office and speak with a team member as soon as possible. You have your private access via your VIP membership to utilize phone, email and text to your Pacific Pearl Provider team.  

2. If you are feeling well, you have the option of doing your follow-up routine appointments, lab and testing review by phone. Since we are a Membership Medicine practice, our priority is to meet your health care needs. 

3. Non-members who have had appointments with our providers will be accommodated if possible. We are encouraging you to consider becoming a VIP Member for ease of access to our health care team.

4. You are welcome to come in for a preventative IV immune-boosting infusion, especially if you are planning to travel. I do those myself routinely and strongly recommend them.

5. You are welcome to sit in our infrared sauna for about 15-30 minutes. Coronavirus dies in high heat. We have other therapies, such as acupuncture, naturopathic treatments and Healing Touch.

6. Please pick up or have us send you our viral prevention nutraceutical package which includes nutrients, essential oils and two face masks (as available). 

7. Remember, love is greater than fear. Wash your hands, watch funny movies to boost your immune system and know your team at Pacific Pearl La Jolla is here for you.

March 13, 2020

Dear Patients and Friends,

Many of you have reached out asking additional questions about coronavirus prevention, symptoms and more. We are committed to keeping you informed.

The information we provide comes from the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and UCSD molecular virologist James Robb, M.D. Of course, we are all learning about this new virus, and facts change quickly. This email covers the best, most recent information available. To keep up with day-to-day changes in coronavirus information, please go to the Centers for Disease Control website.

Some Coronavirus Facts

• If you have a runny nose, you may have a simple common cold.

• The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.

• Coronavirus starts with a dry cough and sore throat, followed by fever and possibly pneumonia. 

• It seems that the virus is less harmful to children and young adults.

• Older adults with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease and cancer are at higher risk.

• It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

The Symptoms

• Coronavirus first infects the throat. You'll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days.

• The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.

• With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing. 

If you develop any of these symptoms, it is imperative that you seek immediate attention.

Steps to Take If You Are Feeling Ill

• Call your healthcare provider. Follow their instructions.

• Separate yourself from other household members, including pets.

• Wear a face mask.

• Cover sneezes and coughs.

• Don't share personal household items like dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with other people or pets in your home. If another uses these items, they should be washed thoroughly with soap and water before you use them.

• Clean hard surfaces (such as counter-tops) daily.

• Monitor your symptoms closely.

• If the doctor asks you to come in or if you go to the hospital, wear a face mask to protect others. Let them know when you will arrive in advance so they can prepare.

• The decision to discontinue self-isolation should be carried out with your healthcare provider and state and local health departments.

Mind Body Spirit Approaches to Staying Healthy

• Do your best to avoid crowds and sick people.

• Travel only if you absolutely must. Avoid non-essential travel.

• Stay hydrated and gargle with a simple solution of salt and water daily.

• Can't emphasize enough - drink plenty of water and wash hands frequently!  

• Prioritize foods with phytonutrients, such as dark berries and leafy greens.

• Get a good night's sleep.

• Watch funny movies and limit your news consumption.

• Practice favorite mind-body exercises such as meditation and yoga.

• Remember to take a deep breath. Breathing in for 4 seconds, holding for 2 seconds and out for 7 seconds will put your body into a state of relaxation.

Those concerned may want to consider a preventative IV immune-boosting infusion, our viral prevention nutraceutical package or time in our infra-red sauna.

As mentioned in our email from yesterday, if you are not feeling well, please call the office at 858-459-6919 and speak with a team member as soon as possible. VIP members are utilizing phone, email and text to connect with the Pacific Pearl provider team.  Non-members who have had appointments with our providers will be accommodated if possible. We are encouraging you to consider becoming a VIP Member for ease of access to our health care team.

March 16, 2020

Dear Patients and Friends,

COVID 19 is probably going to be with us for some time. Unfortunately, we do not know for how long. Additionally, it is unclear how severe an outbreak might be in the United States.  

Thankfully, there are many things we can do as individuals and communities that may be helpful. It is important to remain calm and think clearly. Remember that our positive attitudes go a long way in protecting health, enriching our daily lives, and supporting the ones we love.   

Here is a list of things one can do at home to help in these uncertain times:

• Meet with household members, other relatives, friends and neighbors to discuss what role each individual might take should there be a COVID 19 outbreak in your own community. 

• Plan ways to care for those who are perceived at greatest risk.

• Know your neighbors and come up with a neighborhood plan.

• Identify aid organizations in your community i.e. Scripps Hospital, UCSD, and The Red Cross. San Diego Department of Public Health, San Diego Center for Stress and Anxiety, supermarkets.

• Create an emergency contact list i.e. of family, friends, neighbors, doctors, carpool drivers and teachers.

• Designate a “sick” room in your home should someone become ill.

If you have been diagnosed with Covid 19, you must SELF QUARANTINE for 14 DAYS. 

In addition, if you are around or have been around someone who is ill or traveled from a high-risk location where Covid 19 is prevalent, you also must SELF QUARANTINE for 14 DAYS from last known contact with the sick individual or location even if you have no symptoms.

Good things to have at home regardless of this crisis: (dose and amount of any medicine or supplement listed below as recommended by your doctor):

• Thermometer

• Aspirin

• Ibuprofen or Naproxen (do not use if you have high blood pressure)

• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) 

• Over the counter cold medicine of your choice; if you have high blood pressure Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold or Flu per package labeling directions

• Herbal Teas, (Yogi- throat comfort, breathe deep, cold season, immune support)

• Consider an air purifier

• Supplements that support immune function

• Vitamins that support immune function

• Probiotics 

• Gastro ULC or Pepto-Bismol

• Imodium A-D 

• Stay hydrated, use electrolyte tablets (NUUN, Liquid IV, or Vitalyte) added to 8-12 oz of water, Pedialyte or Gatorade zero as needed

• Any Cleaning Product known to kill COVID 19 on Surfaces Such As:

• Clorox Brand Regular Bleach and Cleaners (any bleach product should be diluted 1/3 cup in 1 gallon water of 4 teaspoons bleach in 1 quart water)

• Purell Cleaners and hand sanitizers

• Lysol Brand cleaners

• Micro-Kill Bleach Germicidal Bleach Solution (Medline Industries)

• Micro-Kill Bleach Germicidal Bleach Wipes (Medline Industries)

• CaviCide Bleach (Metrex) 

• CaviCide1 (Metrex )

• Disposable Gloves 

• Face Masks

Please remember that there are only shortages that we create. There is no worldwide shortage of toilet paper or paper goods unless we create it. Buy in the amounts that you would as if shopping for the week. 

Positive ways to say entertained:

• Read a good book

• Exercise

• Call friends and family

• Take a walk

• Meditate

• Pray

• Breathwork

• Do Sudoku

• Do a jigsaw puzzle

• Play cards

• Do a crossword puzzle

• Watch a funny movie

• Play a board game 

• Play charades

Remember to practice good personal hygiene:

• Avoid close contact with sick people.

• Stay home if you are sick.

• Wear a mask if you are sick.

• Cough and sneeze into your elbow.

• Keep your hands away from your face.

• Clean surfaces and objects daily.

• Use hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol.

• Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds frequently throughout the day especially after using the bathroom, sneezing, coughing, or being out in public.

• Socially Distance yourself from others, stay 6 feet away from your neighbor, avoid handshaking and crowds.

Helpful Websites:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/community_epidemiology/dc/2019-nCoV.html

Coronavirus: A Global Pandemic and Environmental Retribution

The global pandemic from the coronavirus COVID-19 is not only a deadly infectious pathogen but also many people believe retribution for how we humans are treat nature. The origins of the outbreak came from people eating contaminated bats as described on my blog from January 30th. Cleaning the environment with disinfectants can kill the virus. Logic tells us that a clean environment including pure air, food and water are essential to our survival.

According to The Guardian article on destruction of nature being responsible for COVID-19, “Yet human health research seldom considers the surrounding natural ecosystems, says Richard Ostfeld, distinguished senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. He and others are developing the emerging discipline of planetary health, which looks at the links between human and ecosystem health. There’s misapprehension among scientists and the public that natural ecosystems are the source of threats to ourselves. It’s a mistake. Nature poses threats, it is true, but it’s human activities that do the real damage. The health risks in a natural environment can be made much worse when we interfere with it, he says.”

The governments that have been most effective in combating Covid-19 have strong national systems that are rapidly testing and isolating infected people. Places like Singapore that have strong environmental controls is getting top recognition for responding to the pandemic. I visited there in 1994 and they fined people for dropping a gum wrapper on the ground - it was the cleanest place that I visited in Asia.

The U.S. has been very slow to adopt testing perhaps because our government did not want to know or reveal the pending crisis. Why has Vietnam provided more testing than in the U.S., according to a Harvard researcher? I ran into this problem by managers being against testing for pollution while working as an environmental scientist for my entire career. Many people in power only want to hear good news!

The Atlantic on March 13th described the reasons for the U.S. lagging in testing compared to the rest of the world and how President Trump’s comments and misinformation influenced being prepared and taking quick and decisive action.

We are all interconnected on this planet as Covid-19 reveals. We need global laws for our health and environment. Support the United Nations and organizations, including the World Health Organization and UN Environmental Programme, for common international policies so that no one country can create more pollution and reap economic benefits. Say no to deregulation of environmental health and safety standards and let’s fight for our lives!

Air Pollution and Covid-19 Alert in Western Colorado!

The cover page map taken this morning comes from Citizens for Clean Air.

Yesterday, I posted two photos of the smoke during the day and night.

According to the Mesa County Public Health,“(MCPH) is urging residents to take action to protect themselves from wildfire smoke. Air quality monitors Wednesday show AQI levels in the unhealthy, or red (between 151-250) category. At these levels, everyone may begin to experience some adverse health effects, not just sensitive groups.

• Wildfire smoke from the Pine Gulch Fire burning about 20 miles north of Grand Junction is causing air quality concerns. Mesa County Public Health (MCPH) is urging residents to take action to protect themselves from wildfire smoke.

• Air quality monitors Wednesday show AQI levels in the unhealthy, or red (between 151-250) category with more severe impacts at the east end of the valley near Palisade. At these levels, everyone may begin to experience some adverse health effects, not just sensitive groups. If you develop symptoms suggesting lung or heart problems, consult a health care provider as soon as possible.

• Critical fire weather conditions continue with a red flag warning in place for Mesa and several surrounding counties with gusty winds, low relative humidity and dry fuels expected to increase fire activity. 

Strategies to reduce exposure to wildfire smoke:

• Stay indoors as much as possible.

  • Limit outdoor exercise or choose lower-intensity activities.

  • Keep doors and windows tightly closed to decrease the amount of smoke that could enter.

  • Create a clean room, with filtered air at home.

    • Use a do-it-yourself box fan filtration unit to help keep air clean in the home

• Use air conditioners, fans, and window shades to keep your indoor air space cool.

  • Evaporative coolers, known as “swamp coolers” should be turned off during periods of heavy smoke unless there is a heat emergency. These coolers rely on bringing outside air into the home and won’t cool effectively if the home is sealed up so air can be released. 

• Use caution while inside your vehicle.

  • Keep windows and vents closed.

  • Turn the air conditioning to “recirculate” mode.

• Wildfire smoke can irritate your lungs, cause inflammation, affect your immune system, and make you more susceptible to lung infections, including COVID-19.

• COVID-19 and smoke exposure can have similar symptoms, but it’s important to know the difference.

  • Symptoms that are similar are dry cough, sore throat and difficulty breathing.

  • If you experience symptoms such as fever or chills, muscle or body aches, and diarrhea, call MCPH COVID-19 hotline at 970-683-2300 to be screened for testing as these are not related to smoke exposure.

• Avoid activities that create smoke or other air pollutants to decrease indoor particle levels including:

  • Smoking cigarettes, pipes, and cigars.

  • Spraying aerosol products.

  • Frying or broiling food.

  • Burning candles or incense. 

  • Vacuuming, unless you use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.

Preparation is key:

• Recommendations if you are at risk for smoke exposure include maintaining nonperishable groceries not requiring cooking. 

• People with chronic diseases should check with their health care provider about precautions ahead of smoke events and have adequate supply of medication available.

• People who experience asthma should have a written asthma action plan.

Some people are more at risk of harmful health effects from wildfire smoke than others, including:

• Children less than 18 years old

• Adults aged 65 years or older

• Pregnant women

• People with chronic health conditions such as heart of lung disease, asthma, and diabetes

• Outdoor workers

• Individuals experiencing homelessness or those who have limited access to medical care

• People who are immunocompromised of taking drugs that suppress the immune system. 

• Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in place in Mesa County, open burning of any kind is not allowed.

• For more information on local air quality conditions, and to view conditions in real time through community sourced purple air monitors visit health.mesacounty.us.”

Parental Decisions for Vaccines

This week taking our son to the doctor for his annual check-up renewed my putting faith in medical science by giving my permission to administer him with three vaccines. I agreed without hesitation but past memories of our child, like all kids and some adults, freaking out to get shots did cross my mind. Giving him my cell phone to play a game worked as a distraction. It’s been a parental decision that we’ve made since he was born over a decade ago when I did much more research about the safety of vaccines. Many of us have heard the reports linking vaccines to autism. Myths about vaccines are discussed on PublicHealth.org.

For many years I did not take a flu vaccine due to my severe egg allergy. I started taking the flu shot about five years ago after new vaccines became available made without eggs as described by the Mayo Clinic.

I just heard a news report from a doctor saying about 50% of the people might not want to take a future vaccine for Covid-19. However, according to InfectionControlToday.org quoting Dr. Paul Ehrmann, “Some diseases, like measles, require as much as 95 percent of the population to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity.”

Apparently, vaccines have worked so well to eradicate diseases that now people especially in developed countries wonder if they are still necessary. According to OurWorldInData.org, “what percentage of the public think vaccines are safe? What share thinks they are ineffective? And what share denies their importance? In this post we present the global data on attitudes to vaccination. Here is a summary of the results:

 92% of people in the world think vaccines are important for children to have;

• 7% of people globally disagree that vaccines are safe. But this differs considerably between different countries: France topped the list with 33% disagreeing;

• Globally, 5% of people disagree that vaccines are effective. But skepticism is high in some countries, ranging from 28% in Liberia to less than 1% in Bangladesh and Egypt;

• In many countries few people disagree that vaccines are safe and effective, but the share of people who “neither agree nor disagree” can be more than 50%.”

Providing vaccines is a primary mission of CDC and WHO as well as groups like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Let’s hope and pray that new, low cost vaccines become available to fight viruses and other diseases and then we need to trust the medical professionals to accurately tell us the risks and the benefits.

American Opulence Causing Crises?

This motorcade scene in D.C. is posted on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director’s blog showing a GM Cadillac. The informal definition of cadillac is, “something that is the most luxurious or highest quality of its kind.” The luxury automobile, a symbol of American opulence, is rated to get below 20 mpg in the city and fits the definition of a “gas guzzler,” a term which originally came into use in the US when Congress established Gas Guzzler Tax provisions in the Energy Tax Act of 1978 to discourage the production and purchase of fuel-inefficient vehicles according to Wikipedia.

However, the Gas Guzzler tax got removed in 2016 as can be seen on the EPA website. The current American President is the symbol of opulence who branded his name on many buildings shining in gold. Do you agree that many of his supporters thought (and some still seem to think that) he would make them rich too by cutting taxes, creating manufacturing jobs, kicking out immigrants, and boosting the stock market?

Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water describes how cities built in the desert have grown by converting rivers into hydroelectric dams causing economic and environmental crises. The most cost effective way we can reduce our demand on water resources and lower our utility bills is through conservation.

I lived in the D.C. area working for the federal government during the 9/11 attack on America. Everyone old enough probably remembers where they were on that tragic day. About 3,000 people died in planes crashing into two World Trade Center towers in New York city, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania that was bound for D.C. Why would anyone be willing to plan out a suicide attack to hurt innocent people? According to The Ohio State University history professor Peter Hahn, “after contesting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Saudi nationalist Osama bin Laden organized a network of unconventional combatants known as Al-Qaida. Bin Laden believed that the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War of 1990-91 violated the sacred spaces around Mecca and Medina, and in 1996, he essentially declared war on the United States.”

So the U.S. protecting oil interests in Saudi Arabia as well as our opulent lifestyle, such as needing oil to drive gas guzzlers, were major factors into the 9/11 attacks. I found other reports stating the terrorists spent about a half a million dollars while it cost the U.S. trillions of dollars fighting two wars and over 800,000 people have died in the region according to Brown University.

The climate change crisis is directly related to carbon emissions from fossil fuels and the U.S. emits the largest amount of CO2 per capita according to World Bank data posted on economicshelp.org. We only have a few short years left to avoid cascading tipping points, as described by Yale University, where we cannot reverse the damage caused by global warming. We need radical changes to our opulent lifestyle through boycotts, cutting costs, and conserving more. Climate change is costing lives and property damage despite misinformation from opulent oil companies and politicians.

There are many causes of the Covid-19 pandemic as have been discussed in previous blogs. It’s becoming clear that the U.S. reopened too soon in an attempt to revive the economy and is now tragically leading the world in cases and deaths. Compare this CNN graph of Covid-19 cases US vs EU to see why there is now a travel ban! This is the time to change our ways! Bike sales are booming! People are eating more at home. Working from home is more possible for many people. Wearing a mask in public should become the new normal.

Social change is happening through groups like Black Lives Matter fighting police brutality and injustice. This fight includes environmental justice, racism, and economic disparities that must be corrected. What would Robin Hood do - increase taxes for more social welfare programs? If the US cares so much about the economy, why kick out international students who contribute $41B?

According to Wikiquote, 19th century Italian philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Things will never return back to “normal” which has not been great for the environment or for many people. Say No to Opulent lifestyles, separate basic needs from wants, appreciate God’s many blessings, and sign up for the Conserve & Pro$per challenge!

Statement From Former Gov. Scientists & Public Health Officials Calling for Science-based Response to the Serious and Growing COVID-19 Pandemic

I’m honored to join my peers in commending current gov scientists, researchers, and public health officials who are prioritizing the well-being of Americans above politics amid this devastating pandemic. Sign on here. #LetScienceSpeak

We are scientists and public health experts who have dedicated our careers to promoting the health of all Americans. In the past, we have pursued that mission within different components of the federal government, whether in advisory roles to Congress or within the executive branch under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The offices in which we served had different roles but shared a common goal of saving lives and advancing public health through scientific research, public education, and informed policy.

We have gathered with one voice because the clear and present danger of the continued spread of COVID-19 hangs above us. Unless science and expertise guide our preparation and response to the serious and growing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, our nation will again suffer avoidable death and disruption. Together, we commend our fellow scientists and public health experts currently serving in government who are holding steadfast to the principles of scientific integrity and independence. We call on them to continue pursuing their mission to advance public health, regardless of politics.

Having served in these same roles, we understand the immense responsibility of controlling the spread — and potential resurgence — of COVID-19, which has already killed more than 129,000 Americans and 530,000 people worldwide. As our society and economy reopen, the American public, healthcare workers, and state and local officials across the country are looking to the federal government to ensure that we put the worst behind us. The federal government, after all, plays the lead role in pandemic preparedness and response activities, from stockpiling essential medicines and supplies, to coordinating hospital surge capacity, to supporting vaccine development and providing guidelines on mitigating the spread of disease.

For the federal government to fulfill this role, independent and sound science must be the driving force behind its efforts. Research and data must inform production and allocation decisions for vital supplies such as personal protective equipment and ventilators; basic accounting for new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths; and plans to develop vaccines and treatments. Science should steer decision-making and policy, even as our elected leaders weigh competing priorities. Scientists working for the United States government are some of the best in the world, and their work has been vital in combating many of the epidemics in the 20th and 21st centuries, from HIV to SARS, from H1N1 influenza to Ebola. They are working tirelessly right now to save lives in the face of this novel coronavirus.

But at great cost to our country, science and expertise have been marginalized in our government’s response to the pandemic thus far. Far too often, political expediency has won out over scientists’ advice. The federal pandemic response has muzzled key public health experts within the government and pushed them aside in decision-making processes. In short, the independence of our public health institutions has been compromised. If we continue to cast aside the scientific advice of our own experts, the consequences for the nation will be dire. Indeed, sidelining science has already cost lives, imperiled the safety of our loved ones, compromised our ability to safely re-open our businesses, schools, and places of worship, and endangered the health of our democracy itself.

The novel coronavirus has starkly reshaped our global reality. It is highly likely to continue spreading, either through one large, sustained wave, or resurging in multiple waves. To save lives, we must let science guide us and let scientists speak. Congress must more rigorously oversee the pandemic response and any attempts at political inference in scientific decision-making, while federal inspectors general must be allowed to conduct their oversight functions without fear of retaliation. Data from our federal agencies must be more accessible to outside experts, and the processes generating data on the pandemic more transparent. When federal employees speak out about interference in science, the law must better protect them. Finally, this global pandemic demands a global solution. Our scientists must be free to coordinate with their peers around the world to surmount COVID-19.

To the federal employees working on the frontlines of this pandemic, preparing our country for any resurgence of COVID-19, we say: keep speaking out. We support you. You stand as a bulwark against the spread of misinformation and the diversion of public health policies and programs to suit political goals. The health of the American public and the integrity of our august scientific and public health agencies depend on you.

(If you are a former government scientist or public health official and would like to add your name to this statement, please complete this form. Protect Democracy will update this list with new signatories until July 20th.).

Overcoming Obstacles: A Few People I Admire

Do you agree that overcoming personal and social challenges takes courage and persistence? Our challenge might be a learning disorder, a physical issue, or peer pressure resulting in political correctness. Learning challenges affect 1 in 5 children according to the NCLD. One in 4 adults in America live with a disability according to the CDC.

The novel Covid-19 virus affects 100% of us. Wearing a mask is proven to save lives during the pandemic but many people refuse. Not convinced? Check out the county comparison posted on MasksSaveLives.org. Everyone with or without a preexisting personal challenge needs wear a mask - it could save your life and the lives of other people. I posted a blog on April 1 about mask confusion and many people in the U.S. are still not wearing masks.

I admire my wife and son (shown in the photo) for overcoming many personal challenges and being willing to wear the mask!

We admire Greta for acknowledging how her autism fuels her passion to fight carbon pollution and asking people to listen to scientists.

We admire Governor Gavin for sharing how his learning challenges taught him to solve problems and inspire others. He deserves much credit for his environmental and public health actions.

There are so many more famous people that we admire who overcame adversity including Ben Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Oprah Winfrey. Everyone has something and now we must all join together to fight the virus!

Before we judge or blame others, let’s smile with compassionate eyes and feel our shared humanity and goodwill towards all creatures.