Why God and Apocalypse Don’t Mix

Would you Burn your own Child?

People say that the Mayan calendar says the world will end in 2012. The Popol Vuh, an ancient book of Mayan history, describes the first three creations that the gods failed in making and the creation of the successful fourth world where men were placed.  We are living in the fourth world, in the 13th era of existence.

“Maya inscriptions occasionally reference future predicted events or commemorations that would occur on dates that lie beyond 2012 (that is, beyond the completion of the 13th b’ak’tun of the current era). In fact, there are predictions of events that occur in the 80th era, which equates to 21 October in the year 4772.

“Despite the publicity generated by the 2012 date, Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, stated that ‘We have no record or knowledge that [the Maya] would think the world would come to an end’ in 2012. ‘For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle,’ says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Florida. To render December 21, 2012, as a doomsday event or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is ‘a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in.’”

via Mesoamerican Long Count calendar – Wikipedia.

So why the fear? I’m not sure it is as base as wanting to cash in, but I certainly do believe that most apocalyptic beliefs in the United States are misdirected interpretations of one religious scripture or another.  After all, we are sinners (if you don’t know me, then please note that this is sarcasm), and we all deserve to be punished.  Shame on us for believing that we share the same attributes as God.  For such impure thoughts, they say, God will rain down fire and fury on our world, and burn us up like forgotten toast.  On December 20, 2012, to be exact, as if he’s penciled it in his cosmic appointment book.

Oh please.  People!  We are God’s children, and he would no more incinerate us (or flood us, or freeze us) than you would to your own children.  Children share blood with their parents, and parents are, generally-speaking, good protectors of their children.  Parents want to see their children learn, explore and make mistakes in order to become decent human beings, who have children of their own.

If you are worried about the end of the world, then you must be focusing your attention outward at all the horrific things that other people are doing.  Are you judging?  Are you fearful for those people that are tearing your world down because you feel that their actions will rain fire on your parade?  Well then go out and touch one of them.  Go to a prison and visit.  Work at a food bank.  Help abused animals.  Do something about what’s going wrong in our world.

This is what God wants.

Guilt Free Dieting – A Case Study using HcG

Is There a Guilt Free Way to Lose Weight?

Today I decided to document my curiosity. With all the hype about the HcG diet craze, my undying need for new experiences forces me to find out more. Anyone who knows me is aware of my anal research habits, which could include a dozen hours poring through white papers, documents and Web sites, before I make a decision to buy something. And even with all the research, sometimes the product or service turns out to be a scam anyway. I know a dozen people who have lost significant amounts of weight using HcG, and this with both the injections (ack) and the sub-lingual drops.

And since my aim is to live guilt-free, what better subject to study than one that causes more guilt than any other–dieting. So over the next 23 days I will document my findings here–both guilt-related, physical and mental–so that others can make a well-informed decision as to whether this miracle diet is worthy of their time or not.  And no, that’s not me in the picture here.

My necessary disclaimers and full disclosure: I work in the Internet industry and I am not an affiliate or related to anyone selling this stuff. I bought my liquid HcG drops based on a friend’s recommendation at YourHcg.com.  They were very revenue-oriented and terrible conversationalists, but gave me a 20% discount on a 15-day supply (I later learned that I will have to buy another bottle to finish the program, so don’t make that mistake!);  the bottle arrived 3 days later as promised.

I am not a doctor, and I did not consult one professionally regarding this stuff.  I did speak to a doctor who has prescribed the injections but knew nothing of the drops since he is not a naturopath and doesn’t claim to know anything about that area of the medical field.

I understand that weight is lost based on calories in vs calories out, and that the source of those calories has an effect on hormonal balance and thus weight loss. I exercise five times a week;  I use a combination of strength training, Pilates, and cardio.  I also ride my horse about three times a week.

My eating habits are already better than 95% of Americans.  I eat fish and chicken, and limit pork and red meat to once a month.  I limit my sugar but don’t avoid it completely.  I eat low-fat or fat-free cheese, eggs and their whites, and eat only whole grain breads.  I limit my pasta intake because I eat too much of it when it’s in front of me.  If I could live on cheese and sour cream for the rest of my life, I would. (I know that there are many of you out there.)  I eat five times a day, which feels more like grazing.

Prior to this experiment, I weighed 143.4 lbs.  According to my trainer, I should weigh 125 lbs, which would put me at a BMI of 20, which is nearly at the bottom of the healthy range for my height of 5’7″.  According to my doctor, I should weigh 140 lbs, which would put me at a BMI of 22.  My BMI is currently 23, which is still within the range of healthy.  Based on these recommendations, I am aiming for a weight of 133 lbs with a  BMI of 21, which is smack in the middle of the healthy zone. This amounts to just over 10 lbs of weight loss.

Today is my first day of taking drops.  I was instructed to administer 6 drops under the tongue, 6 times a day.  On the first two days, I am instructed to eat as many high-fat foods as possible in order to prepare myself for the severe cutback of calories on the third day.  I can understand this principle, yet since I don’t eat like that normally, I am kinda grossed out.  I have had 2 Dunkin Donuts and a sausage and egg sandwich, which normally would be my entire day’s worth of calories.

I am on my sixth glass of water at 10:30am because of all the salt I just ate.

My stomach feels like I swallowed wet cement and it’s hardening inside right now.