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Most of have heard the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We generally associate it with soldiers coming back from war or other military conflicts. PTSD, however, can occur for many, many reasons. Accidents, witnessing something frightening, natural disasters, and assaults can all leave people with residual issues that can manifest into PTSD. PTSD from an abusive relationship is also possible and, sadly, it’s overlooked far too often.

The association between abusive relationships and PTSD is clear even if it isn’t often discussed. It takes a lot of time and emotional energy to survive in or break-free from an abusive relationship and, once done, there may not be a lot of thought given to what it may mean for your psychological state months or years down the road. But the lingering effects from any kind of abuse can be extremely painful and disruptive and need to be addressed in order for someone to fully heal.

For loners, recluses, and other solitary types such as myself, sheltering-in-place feels natural and normal.

However scary other aspects of this pandemic might be, for us, this aspect isn’t.

Working from home? Making our own meals? Amusing ourselves? Contactlessness? Not a problem. Not boring. Not weird.

With stay-home orders issued worldwide and offenders arrested for attending funerals and weddings, it’s time that society learned a thing or two from introverts.

That’s new. The mainstream has always mocked, punished, and pathologized us. Society loves … well, society, with all its conversation, eye contact, and crowds.

This is an evolutionary legacy: Our prehistoric ancestors survived by forming clans. Down the millennia, it took whole villages to build barns and defend themselves. Whoever could or would not help with harvests, rituals, or wars was seen as heartless, evil, weird.

Fast-forward to this century, when declining a party invitation sparks rage and misdiagnoses—“Come out of your shell!” “Think you’re too good for us?” “Are you depressed?”—and serial killers promptly inspire such headlines as “Las Vegas Gunman Was a Loner” and “Loner Student Shoots 10.”

But, now, thanks to a microscopic onslaught, extroverts are being forced to act like introverts.

And we, the homebodies and avid solitarians, have the advantage of knowing how to thrive under conditions that feel to the world-at-large like jail or hell.

States of being we always welcomed—isolation, separation, distance—are being required of everyone. For us, a day inside alone is just another lovely day. For extroverts, it means stifling their true natures and doing things they find painful and weird—as if pandemics were not weird enough.

Here are eight recluse-tested tips that anyone can use to make the best of these new isolated, mainly-indoor days:

Catch Up

Whether it’s reading, viewing, learning, or any of those other “ings” you once vowed to sustain but that got submerged in the rush of adult life … dust off those old National Geographics, those thick novels. Now’s the time to watch those kung fu films or car-repair tutorials you’ve bookmarked, and to teach yourself Morse code once and for all.

Clean Up

That messy, overflowing attic, dresser, kitchen, closet, car, desk, shed, garage: Year after year, we dread and thus ignore the dire ordeal of cleaning them, telling ourselves we’re “too busy right now.” Guess who’s not busy anymore? Guess who has tons of time? It feels good to finally scrub, declutter, and reorganize.

Plan Ahead

Quarantine lends us the leisure to ask, then answer, our own questions. Where should I go when travel becomes possible again? What is its history, its botany, and its cuisine? How should I get there, and what should I bring? Which new sport or practice might I explore? These days were made for research. Give your future self the gift of being well-prepared.

Make Stuff

Home sick from school, were you the sort of child who made birdhouses and strung beads? Rekindle that innate creative spirit. Use whatever you can find around your home—no shopping trips required!—to craft, cook, build, and fix. Lonely? Connect with others by creating things to give away or trade or share someday.

Experience This Moment

And the next. That sounds so obvious, but mindfulness is easily forgotten in a crowded world. Take inspiration from sadhus and monks who meditate in treasured solitude. Or make it informal and fun: No need for mudras or mantras; just notice colors, textures, the expansiveness of minutes, and your transient moods and thoughts.

Celebrate Silence

It’s not required under quarantine, but given how close together most of us live, silence is polite. For some, it’s off-putting and unfamiliar. But sit still amid it and you’ll notice microsymphonies: birdsong, the hum of distant highways, rustling leaves, machines—and exquisite spans of strange, vivid soundlessness.

Embrace Acceptance

We’ve been placed into the rare state of having no choice. Unless we want to risk infection or arrest, we must abide by weird new rules. Social distancing and wearing masks and all the rest teaches a larger lesson: how to live with what we have and make the most of it.

Reinvent Yourself

What better time than now—when no one’s watching—to create a virtual chrysalis, rest for a while inside it, then emerge transformed? What would you most want to shed, alter, upturn, adopt? How might you make that possible? In private, dreams start coming true.

This post courtesy of Spirituality & HealthSpirituality & Health.

Photo: Viktor HanacekViktor Hanacek

Stoicism emerged as a philosophy, a way of life — similar to a religion, really — most famously in ancient Rome somewhere around 50-100 AD (even though it was Greeks who pioneered the thinking).

Two millennia later, the philosophy is enjoying a revival of sorts, and it’s not hard to understand why.

The primary goal of ancient Stoicism was to figure out the best way to live; as modern philosopher Lawrence Becker writes: “Its central, organizing concern is about what one ought to do or be to live well — to flourish.” And this question of how to live is perhaps humanity’s most enduring — becoming especially acute in ages in which a sense of shared meaning has atrophied and every individual is left to find meaning on his own. Stoicism’s answers, its fundamental tenets — what many modern writers and thinkers have deemed the “art of living” — thus feel just as relevant now as they did a couple thousand years ago.

While we’ve covered some tenets of Stoicism on the Art of Manliness before (and given an introduction to it in a podcast interview), we’ve never laid out its more concrete practices — the tactics that lead both to personal joy and the betterment of society. It’s my aim to present five ways you can start to inject Stoicism into your life today, and begin experiencing more happiness and fulfillment.

These aren’t just abstract ideas that I’ll be presenting to you. Rather, they’re based on firsthand experience. Since I first read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations last year, I’ve been rather intrigued by the philosophy he espoused. So I’ve studied up, read a handful of books — both ancient source material and contemporary guidebooks — and have incorporated a number of new habits into my own daily routines.  

While there are many more practices and principles that can be gleaned and applied from Stoicism, my goal with this article is to provide those that have most impacted my own life (providing plenty of personal anecdotes to that end), and which I believe can most impact the lives of other men as well. These are things to do on a daily and weekly basis (even if some of them are more psychological in nature). While Stoicism also offers an outline of how to react and respond in a number of different situations — from anger and anxiety, to disability and death — that isn’t in the purview of this piece (though perhaps it will be in another article later on).

What’s especially appealing about Stoicism is that it’s what Massimo Pigliucci calls an “ecumenical philosophy.” Its precepts complement those of many other philosophies, religions, and ways of life. You can practice elements of Stoicism and still pursue Christianity, Judaism, atheism, and a number of other isms or non-isms out there. It’s about finding joy, fulfillment, and tranquility, and making society a better place for everyone in it. Isn’t that something we can all get behind?

Without further ado, I present 5 ways to make Stoicism a daily practice:

1. Visualize Your Life Without the Things You Love

“He robs present ills of their power who has perceived their coming beforehand.” —Seneca

William Irvine argues that “the single most valuable technique in the Stoics’ psychological toolkit” is a tactic he calls “negative visualization.” To fully appreciate your blessings — the immaterial and material alike — imagine your life without them.

For example, if you live in a tornado-prone region, imagine your house being destroyed, along with all your possessions. Obviously sort of a sad thought experiment, but chances are good that you’ll actually come to better appreciate your home, and the stuff in it, if you can really visualize what life might be like without it.

This practice might make it seem like Stoics are lifelong pessimists, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Stoics are in fact the ultimate optimists. Consider the image of a 16oz drinking glass holding 8oz of water. It’s of course either half full or half empty, right? The Stoic, though, would actually just be grateful that there was any water at all! And that there was a vessel to hold that water to boot. The Stoic takes nothing for granted.

This exercise is of course harder to practice with your loved ones, but it’s well worth it. When I drive to daycare in the afternoon to pick up my son, I briefly meditate on the fact that each day really is a gift, and that anything can happen. He might not be around tomorrow, so I better live and love and parent to my fullest, most joyful abilities today.

Now, I’m not consumed with anxiety that my kids aren’t long for this earth (Irvine notes the important difference between contemplating and worrying). I know the odds are extremely slim of that reality. It’s more an acknowledgment that you just never know when the things and people you love might not be there anymore. It’s truly made a difference in my mindset, general gratitude, and mostly — as perhaps to be expected in this young kids phase — my patience. Whether my toddler son is taking forever to brush his teeth, or my 1-month-old daughter decides she won’t sleep unless she’s held and rocked, I seem better able to cope when I briefly imagine a life without them. It should also be noted that this exercise hasn’t made me sad or mopey as you might expect; rather, it makes me swell with gratitude for the days we are given, and I can say that I better truly appreciate all the blessings life has to offer, from my wife and kids, to the cheerful song of a bird out my window on a nice spring day.

As Seneca noted at the top of this section, bad things — which inevitably happen to all of us — are robbed of at least some of their power when we’ve anticipated their possibility, and consequently taken full advantage of each day, hour, and moment given us. The grief of loss isn’t quite as acute when we can truthfully state that we squeezed every ounce of joy out of what we own and who we love when they were with us. As the Reverend William Sloane Coffin said in giving a eulogy for his 24-year-old son, Alex:

“there is much by way of consolation. Because there are no rankling unanswered questions, and because Alex and I simply adored each other, the wound for me is deep, but clean. I know how lucky I am!”

2. Memento Mori — Meditate on Death

“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. . . . The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” —Seneca

While related to the above point, memento mori is about meditating on your death rather than that of your loved ones. Whereas negative visualization is about imagining life without the things you love, memento mori asks you to meditate and be aware that you will not, in fact, live forever. Death comes for us all, including you, dear reader.

We live in a pretty death-averse culture though. At large, we’re terribly afraid of it. The Stoics would argue, though, that if you’ve lived a life of purpose and meaning, you shouldn’t have any fear of something that has naturally befallen each and every human being (and every other living creature) since time immemorial.

Now, meditating on your own death is not the same as asking something like “If you knew this was your last day on Earth, what would you do?” In that scenario, I’d play hooky, make my friends and family do the same, and do something memorable with them. I’d eat a ton of tasty but bad-for-you food, drink some whiskey, stay up all night, etc. Those aren’t things you can do on a daily basis, though. Rather, the question is more like “If you don’t wake up in the morning, would you be satisfied with how your last day was spent?” Did you engage fully at work? Did you love your family and your friends? Did you add to society’s greater good at all? Did you make virtuous decisions?

When I ask myself this question, as with the previous point, it’s not a depression- or anxiety-inducing meditation. I realize the likelihood of my dying tomorrow is very slim; I am simply countenancing the fact that it is possible. And this possibility isn’t demoralizing, but invigorating. It makes me far less likely to waste time. If I’m gone tomorrow, I’d much rather have spent time baking a loaf of bread than playing games on my phone. I’d much rather have spent time reading stories to my son at bedtime (all the words) rather than speeding through it to watch another episode of Nailed It (which is great, don’t get me wrong). 

As you go through the day, or just at the end of it, reflect on your activities and decisions. Both the good and the bad. If this day was your last, would you be satisfied with its outcome? What would you have done differently? How would you have changed your interactions with others? How can you use this information to make better decisions and engage in more worthwhile activities tomorrow? Make it actionable. As the Stoics themselves would have asked, what good is philosophy if there’s no impact on how we live day to day?

I’ve also found it’s good to occasionally read memoirs about death and dying. One of my all-time favorite books is When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. He wrote the book as he was dying of lung cancer in his late 30s, married and with a young child. I’ve read it twice — when both of my children were just days old. He provides an unmatched perspective on what it means to not only die well, but to acknowledge its reality: “The fact of death is unsettling. Yet there is no other way to live.” Even in his waning months, he maintained an incredible sense of positivity: “Even if I’m dying, until I actually die, I am still living.” If the words of dying people don’t inspire you to live more fully each day, then nothing will! A few more good books are The Bright Hour, Dying: A Memoir, and The Last Lecture.

3. Set Internal Goals and Detach Yourself From Outcomes

“Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing.” —Epictetus

One of the pillars of Stoic philosophy is not letting circumstances outside your control disturb your equilibrium. Such externally-dictated circumstances include things we’re used to thinking of as being out of our hands, like the weather, traffic, and our health (and that of our loved ones). But it also includes things we often erroneously believe we have full personal control over, like the outcomes of contests and the success or failure of business ventures.

As a help in grasping a truth we inveterate bootstrappers often resist, Irvine gives the example of a tennis match. You might set a goal of winning the match. Seems perfectly reasonable, no? But when you really think about it, you can’t control many of the factors that determine the contest’s outcome: The weather is poor and wind gusts aren’t favoring you; you experience equipment failure (like a broken string) that isn’t disastrous but a distraction nonetheless; your opponent is simply better prepared than you (or perhaps just better, period); you sprain an ankle part way through the match and can’t continue on. If your goal is to win, and any of these things happen, you’ll be rather upset.

Recognizing that much of life is out of your control doesn’t mean giving up your sense of agency; instead, it means focusing it on the only areas where you do have full control: your own actions.

Instead of focusing on results — which are impacted by external circumstances outside your control — set goals strictly related to your own efforts. Instead of setting a goal to win the match, make it a goal to prepare as best you can, practice as hard as you can, and then play to the best of your abilities. If you do those things, and still lose, there’s just nothing more you could have done, so why fret?

Rather than setting a goal of getting the job you’re interviewing for, make it your goal to prepare well, dress right, and answer every question as best you can. If you do all that and don’t get the job, it wasn’t meant to be (or so the Stoics would argue).

Rather than setting a goal of getting a girlfriend, prioritize making yourself a good catch. Eat well, work out, have a stable job, dress nicely, and make it a goal to ask someone out X times a month until you get a yes.

My own hope regarding this article shouldn’t be, and truly isn’t, that it gets shared or retweeted X number of times. I can’t control what goes viral and what doesn’t. The whims of the internet aren’t worth thinking or worrying about. Instead, my true goal was that I would do all the research I could, and write, organize, and edit the article to the best of my abilities so that those who read it have the best possible chance of engaging it meaningfully and putting something into practice.

When you set goals, attach them to what you can control — your own efforts and attitude — and detach them from what you cannot — their ultimate outcome.

4. Welcome Discomfort

“Nature has intermingled pleasure with necessary things — not in order that we should seek pleasure, but in order that the addition of pleasure may make the indispensable means of existence attractive to our eyes. Should it claim rights of its own, it is luxury. Let us therefore resist these faults when they are demanding entrance, because, as I have said, it is easier to deny them admittance than to make them depart.” —Seneca

One practice the Stoics famously abided was welcoming a certain degree of discomfort into their lives. They’d go without, for a time, certain pleasures — food, drink, sex. They’d immerse themselves in poor weather conditions (and with few clothes to boot). They’d eschew riches (and even praise) so as to not learn to cling to those things. They’d even deliberately subject themselves to ridicule. These practices were rather contrary to the Epicurean view of things, which was to ultimately pursue pleasure. The Stoics knew, though, that in welcoming challenge, they were actually far more content and fulfilled than their Epicurean peers.

To be Epicurean — one who basically just seeks the things in life that feel the best — you have to ever be experiencing pleasure. You’re basically living off constant dopamine hits. But, those senses get dulled after a while, and you need ever bigger and more pervasive doses to keep your pleasure sensors activated at the same level. Once you start running on the “hedonic treadmill,” real contentedness becomes frustratingly elusive.

Let’s show this with a quick little thought exercise. It’s simple: you want to stay cool when it’s hot outside. It’s a natural inclination. So you turn on the AC at home to a chilly 65 degrees while it’s a sizzlingly 95 outside. Ahhh, feels nice, doesn’t it? You get used to that sense of comfort, and even pleasure of staying so cool. But now, to feel comfortable, you also need to feel that cool wherever you go. You need to start your car 10 minutes early so that it cools down enough for you to be comfortable, otherwise you’ll just be miserable. You need your workplace, your favorite restaurant, heck, every establishment you enter, to be that chilled. If, God forbid, the AC goes out, you’re royally screwed. A friend invites you to an outdoor ball game? You’ll go, but you won’t enjoy it because it’ll be too stinkin’ hot. It’s all you’ll be able to focus on.

Consider the alternate scenario. Yes, you turn on the AC at home, but in the car, you just roll the windows down and let yourself be a little warm if it’s hot outside. Rather than work out in your refrigerator of a basement, you take a ruck outside in order to break a sweat. In some regards, you embrace being hot every now and then so that you can feel content in any situation. AC goes out? No biggie, you can adjust. Invited to a ball game in a heat wave? Heck yes! You love baseball, and you’re happy to just be at the game, regardless of the weather. You are a tranquil man who isn’t bothered merely by what the mercury reads on the thermometer.

Isn’t that a better way to live?

It’s sort of a silly and shallow example, but the principle holds for just about any pleasure in life. If your enjoyment and comfort relies too much on it, you’ll turn into a fragile, petulant curmudgeon when you don’t have it.  

Irvine lays out three specific benefits of sometimes welcoming discomfort and intentionally foregoing pleasures (with an example of how a particular practice — periodically abstaining from alcohol — could play out):

1. It hardens us to whatever misfortunes may come in the future. (If your health turns, and the doctor forbids you imbibing alcohol, having practiced regular periods of sobriety will help you to easily get through that period.)
2. The idea of those misfortunes won’t cause us anxiety, because we know we can withstand and even be content in just about any scenario. (You can look forward to a birthday party with friends where you know the booze will be flowing; you won’t be downtrodden about not being able to have any fun, because you know you can enjoy things just fine without alcohol.)
3. It helps us appreciate the pleasures we do have, when we have them. (If you then receive a clean bill of health, you’ll be far more appreciative of the dram of whiskey you can enjoy with friends.)

This is one of the practices most associated with Stoicism, and there are a number of specific things you can do to welcome discomfort into your life and harden your general resolve:

• Enroll in The Strenuous Life (embrace the motto of “Do Hard Things”)
• Take cold showers
• Hold/try to calm a crying baby while staying completely cool
• Exercise outside in inclement weather (perhaps without shirt, shoes, etc.)
• Keep your house at a higher temp in the summer, and a lower temp in the winter (don’t freeze out your family though; be reasonable!)
• Eat nothing but rice/beans for a week (or a month)
• Fast from food completely for 24 hours once a month
• Embrace challenging situations in which you aren’t comfortable (travel/vacation with your kids, go to an event you don’t want to attend, make small talk with strangers, volunteer at a soup kitchen)
• Do manual labor around your house instead of hiring it out

There are innumerable ways to embrace some semblance of discomfort in your life, and it can and will be different for each person. Find yours, and tackle it head on. As Irvine astutely observes, “The act of forgoing pleasure can itself be pleasant.” Embrace the grind!

5. Vigorously Pursue Character and Virtue

“Every day I reduce the number of my vices.” —Seneca

To the Stoics, the best way to live well was to pursue virtue. William Irvine even writes: “What, then, must a person do to have what the Stoics would call a good life? Be virtuous!” In becoming a better person — a man of great character — we’ll naturally find fulfillment, but also make greater contributions to society as a whole in the process. How might that happen, you ask? If you’re committed to virtue, won’t you volunteer more? Be more likely to help a stranger in need? Won’t you take on the role of Neighborhood Watch leader or Little League coach? Will you be more likely to say “Yes!” when a favor is asked? These are all things that improve our communities, and are natural byproducts of attaining greater personal virtue and character.

How does one become more virtuous though? How do you develop your character and exercise it in daily life? Luckily, there are a number of good options (many of which we’ve previously covered in-depth):

Regularly ask yourself: “What would my best self do in this situation?” Father James Martin brought up this idea in his book The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and in his interview with Brett on our podcast. All of us have an ideal version of ourselves in our head. That version eats better, exercises more, is a little more patient with his wife and kids, doesn’t waste time at work, etc. To more consistently act in ways that align with this ideal, simply ask what your best self would do, or how that best self would decide, in any given scenario:

Would my best self take two minutes to floss in the morning?

Would my best self choose a hard-boiled egg to snack on, or a Girl Scout cookie?

Would my best self call his parents and grandparents just a little more often?

Would my best self watch porn?

Would my best self write more letters to old friends as a way to stay in touch?

Would my best self have a little more patience with his kids’ drawn-out bedtime routines? 

Would my best self yell and flip the bird to the guy who cut him off on the freeway?

Would my best self take work time to dink around with his fantasy football team?

Would my best self read a book on the Kindle app, or play another level of Candy Crush?

Would my best self pursue romancing his wife, or spend another conversation-less night watching TV on the couch?

Would my best self have yet another drink?

Would my best self attend the far-away funeral of a dear friend’s parent?

Would my best self volunteer to clean up a park on a weekend morning, or would he sleep in?

It’s such a simple question to ask, but remarkably powerful. And these aren’t just theoretical examples. Some of these are the very questions I’ve been asking myself since I read Fr. Martin’s book late last year. And while I don’t always follow-through on what I know my best self would do (particularly when it comes to Girl Scout cookies), I’ve seen enormous strides in my being able to make more virtuous decisions on a consistent basis and am slowly getting closer to that ideal.

Follow Benjamin Franklin’s virtue plan. As a 20-year-old, Franklin set a lofty goal for himself: attain moral perfection. To do so, he developed a 13-week plan to improve himself in 13 areas or virtues. He’d particularly focus on one each week, while also keeping track of his progress with the others as well. We’ve written about the program in-depth here, and we have also created a unique journal that acts as a virtue tracker based on this 13-week plan. While Franklin never did attain perfection, over time he saw his mis-steps decrease, and had this to say about his program later in his life:

“Tho’ I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.”

Ask “What good shall I do this day?” Another of Franklin’s ideas on his own pursuit toward being more virtuous. Every morning he’d ask himself this question, and every evening he’d reflect with “What good have I done today?” This question will have you focus less on your pie-in-the-sky “I want to change the world” ideas, and more on doing daily kindnesses to and for your fellow humans. Whether it’s writing a letter home, helping an elderly woman with her groceries, or maybe even just giving someone (your wife, a stranger, anyone!) a compliment, sometimes going smaller to change the world accomplishes much more. Read more about this idea here.

Develop a code of principles. How can you pursue virtue if you aren’t sure of your life’s guiding principles? Massimo Pigliucci writes in How to Be a Stoic: “the question of how to live is central. How should we handle life’s challenges and vicissitudes? How should we conduct ourselves in the world and treat others?” You need some sort of guide in order to best answer those questions; the answers aren’t going to come out of thin air.

The Stoics thought there was one universal Truth which could be discovered by contemplating the laws of Nature. You may choose a different course of study. Whether from religious texts, philosophical ideas, or some combination thereof arrived at through your own rigorous reading and reflection (à la Winston Churchill), it should be your aim to acquire a defined set of principles and values you’ll adhere to in your daily life. If you aren’t sure where to start, dig into classic religious texts. From there dive into various schools of philosophy. What resonates in your soul? What are some practices and/or spiritual disciplines your ideal self would commit to? Speaking of disciplines . . .

Regularly practice the spiritual disciplines. While called “spiritual” because their original purpose was to bring the practitioner closer to God, these disciplines can be used by anyone in order to develop character and “train the soul.” From fasting, to pursuing solitude, to doing service and practicing gratitude, there are a number of disciplines that have guided and strengthened higher-purpose-minded people for thousands of years. Read our series on the topic, and decide which you’d like to take up in daily, weekly, monthly, and annual cycles. You’re guaranteed to come out on the other side more centered, virtuous, and fulfilled.

Pick one of these ideas, stick with it, and see what happens. The only thing holding you back from attaining greater character and virtue is yourself. If you truly and wholeheartedly pursue the task — making it a goal to in fact get veritably drunk on virtue — you’re bound to make strides, and as noted above, you’ll improve your community at the same time.  

Stoicism is a rich philosophy, but it’s not just for contemplation. Full of ancient truths, it’s got myriad modern applications. Put it into action, and practice the art of living.

______________________________

Sources

A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine (the best modern guidebook, in my opinion)

How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci

The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

Discourses by Epictetus

The post 5 Ancient Stoic Tactics for Modern Life appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

“Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” –Genesis 4:2-5

For millennia, readers of the Bible have puzzled over this passage in Genesis. Why does Yahweh accept Abel’s offering of meat, but not Cain’s of fruit? What accounts for the seeming capriciousness of the Almighty’s favor?

The most popular interpretation is that the brothers presented their gifts with two different attitudes: the scriptures mention that Abel brought the “firstlings” of his flock, but don’t apply that designation to Cain’s yield, leading to the conclusion that the former gave the best he had, while the latter offered inferior gleanings.

That’s not the only theory on the matter, however.

Noting that Abel’s name is mentioned first, despite his being the younger brother, some scholars, like Hermann Gunkel, have posited that God simply has a preference for him, and more broadly, for his vocation, arguing that “The narrative maintains that Yahweh loves the shepherd and animal sacrifice but wants nothing to do with the farmer and fruit offerings.”

Why would the Lord (or the author of Genesis) prefer shepherds over farmers?

In the Jewish historian Josephus’ interpretation of the tale, the brothers’ divergent occupations breed divergent sets of virtues.

As a shepherd, Abel followed the “way of simplicity,” wandering where he pleased, and being content with “what grew naturally of its own accord.” As a result, he was “a lover of righteousness” and “excelled in virtue.”

Cain, on the other hand — whose name means “possession” — was a “covetous man” who was “wholly intent on getting.” His desire for gain led him to look beyond what grew spontaneously and to invent the practice of farming — to “force the ground” to bear fruit. The more he grew, the more he wanted, and the more desirous he became to protect that which was his. Cain became “the author of measures and weights” and the founder of commercialism, ownership, and divisions between public and private life. He “set boundaries about lands; he built a city, and fortified its wall, and he compelled his family to come together to it.”

His progeny in turn further established a more settled existence, and invented things like metallurgy and music.

But in tandem with this “civilizing” process, Cain and his subsequent lineage became more and more sinful. The original farmer “only aimed to procure every thing that was for his own bodily pleasure, though it obliged him to be injurious to his neighbors.” His love of luxury developed a moral softness in himself and in his posterity, so that each generation became “more wicked than the former.”

In other words, Josephus theorizes that Cain’s offering was rejected by Yahweh, because it was the offering of a farmer, and farming would lead to commercialism and civilization, and civilization would bring both greater complexity and greater temptation and depravity. Farming symbolizes the beginning of vice — a fall from the innocence, generosity, and primitive simplicity represented by pastoralism.  

Greater civilization can not only be seen as leading to a weakening of moral virtue, but a weakening of distinctly masculine virtue as well.

In fact if you look at the story of Cain and Abel from another angle, it becomes a kind of explanatory tale in which two archetypes — shepherds and farmers — symbolize two types of manhood, and the way in which the latter inevitably kills off the former.

Shepherds vs. Farmers

Agriculturists and pastoralists historically found themselves in conflict, as they lived two very different lifestyles, which called for the development of two very different sets of traits:

Shepherds Wander and See More of the World; Farmers Lead a More Settled and Constricted Existence

The main difference in the resources shepherds and farmers tend/produce, is that the former’s move (and can be moved), while the latter’s are literally rooted in one spot.

Early shepherds lived a life of great openness; they often didn’t legally own the land they let their livestock range upon, nor did they fence pieces of land in. They didn’t reside the entire year in one place, but rather took their herds to pasture in different locations, depending on the season. Because of the necessity of this travel, shepherds saw more of the landscape, met more people, and explored more of their world.

Since a farmer’s crops were rooted in a single location, so was his whole life. He planted his crops in the ground, and there they remained to be cultivated and harvested. A farmer could build his homestead with a sense of finality, and he and other farmers formed towns that were equally permanent. Land was parceled out and marked off. Fences were built. Life was settled down.

Shepherds Live a Harder and Simpler Life; Farmers Live a Softer and More Complex Life

Because farmers knew they’d be living in the same place for a long time, they were able to create homes that were more permanent, elaborate, and comfortable. The intermittent, seasonal nature of farm work also permitted time to pursue other interests, while well-established, well-populated towns allowed for greater specialization. From agricultural communities, then, grew advancements in knowledge and technologies.

The farmer’s life was softer and more complex, but also more artful.

The life of shepherds was harder and evinced a kind of primitive simplicity.

Because they moved so much, shepherds had to travel light. And while pastoralism required less intensive, hands-on work, tending sheep necessitated more constant vigilance, and left less time for innovating in arts and other fields. The work itself demanded fewer tools, and thus less technological innovation. Greater emphasis was placed on improvisation, on making do with less. The shepherd’s life, if it subsequently rarely rose above a subsistence level, was also more Spartanly stripped down; he neither had much, nor needed much.

Shepherds Have Bigger Families and Wider Patrilineal Ties; Farmers Have Smaller, More Insular Families

One of the most crucial differences between farmers and shepherds was the portability — and thus vulnerability — of the latter’s resources. It’s much easier to steal a flock of sheep than a field of crops. Shepherds thus had to direct much of their energy to guarding their livestock against theft, and this need for vigilance informs nearly everything about pastoral culture.

For one thing, it encouraged having large families, full of ties that bound not only the nuclear family but the extended one as well. The more male brothers, sons, uncles, and cousins who were part of your clan, the more men you could count on to guard your flock, and thus the larger, and more prestigious, your flock could be. Not only was a deep, wide patrilineal line a major asset to a shepherd, his network didn’t end with branches born of blood; he also made alliances with men with whom he was not biologically related, adopting these “kin” into his “family.” A shepherd needed to be part of a large, loyal tribe to survive, thrive, and gain and maintain power.

While the farmer’s life was certainly organized within a patriarchal structure as well, he wasn’t as motivated to have a large family, or cultivate wide-ranging ties, because he didn’t need as much help working the land. Further, land was not infinitely dividable as an inheritance for a farmer’s sons and was a more finite resource. Farmers’ families were thus smaller and more insular.

Shepherds Co-Exist With Wild Nature; Farmers Tame and Cultivate Nature

A central difference between shepherds and farmers was their relationship to nature: shepherds tended to it, while farmers cultivated it.

Shepherds co-existed with nature, while farmers transformed it. Shepherds were immersed in its wild state, while farmers tamed that wildness — pushing the perimeter between their homes and the rawness of nature further and further out. 

Shepherds Are Impulsive and Daring; Farmers Are More Patient and Controlled

The key qualities to a farmer’s success were prudence, self-control, patience, diligence, and a propensity for long-term planning; he greatly needed the ability to delay gratification. He had to plant and tend to crops that wouldn’t be ready for harvest until months after seeding time. Every day the chores of farm work awaited, and had to be completed over and over again. He had to be patient with his lot, and patient with the weather as well — with whatever the season would bring. The farmer had to set a stoic face to the forces of fate and nature; an overweening ego could not survive the buffeting of such uncontrollable forces.

The key qualities of a shepherd’s success were bravery, toughness, strength, cleverness, and cunning. Status and prestige came in growing the size of your flock, and this growth partly came by stealing sheep from the flocks of others (the point of stealing sheep was not to gain sheer numbers, but as we’ll see, to convince the victim to ally with you). These raids were risky, stealth operations necessitating courage and prowess in navigating a mountain at night, and making off with livestock without being caught and physically attacked.

Such theft attempts were common and did not violate the shepherds’ code of ethics; rather, they were almost ritualistic and constituted a reciprocal competition based on mutual respect — a way to test and earn manhood and honor. A shepherd gained honor by demonstrating his adeptness at raiding another’s flock and by defending his own; skill in these areas earned you a reputation — which you outwardly expressed with a heated pride — which deterred others from messing with you and your flock. You showed weakness by letting someone steal your sheep, and not trying to steal them back, plus some. Such weakness made you a greater target. This was honor at its most basic: if you get hit, you must hit back. Eventually, if one shepherd showed his superiority in raiding another’s flock, and thus gained his admiration, an alliance between the two men would be formed, allowing the successful raider to increase the protection, and thus the size, of his own flock.

Two Necessary Archetypes of Manhood

Farmers thought of themselves as superior to shepherds, who they viewed as lazy, shiftless, morally inferior, uncultured, socially backward rubes. Farmers saw themselves as smart, civilized, and morally disciplined — the masters of man’s highest aim: to be in control of your own land.

Shepherds believed themselves superior to farmers; they thought agriculture was safe, effeminate “women’s work,” and saw it, and the towns it birthed, as filled with a bourgeois culture that was sedentary and corrupt. Shepherds were proud of their rangy toughness, nimble simplicity, closeness to nature, and bold bravery. Though they didn’t own the land they lived upon, they believed their freedom made them the true kings of it.

While real shepherds and farmers saw their lifestyles as part of an irreconcilable dichotomy, when viewed as symbolic archetypes, perhaps we can see them as neither good nor bad, but two necessary parts of manhood.

Farmers represent the idea of being a good man: having self-control, dignity, foresight; being a patient creator and builder.

Shepherds represent the idea of being good at being a man: embodying the core virtues of masculinity — courage, honor, mastery, and strength.

The task for modern men is not to be one or the other, but to embrace the ethos of the farmer, while not entirely letting go of the way of the shepherd.  

In The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis, Leon Kass points out: “Though He respected Abel’s offering, God speaks only to Cain; Cain seems to hold more interest, being both more promising and more problematic.”

Cain symbolizes farming, and thus civilization, which holds both sticky pitfalls and rich potential. From civilization can come many great developments in philosophy, morality, art, technology, and knowledge. But it can also make men too comfortable — too soft, too decadent, too settled. Within the confines of civilization, men can lose their sense of boldness, toughness, adventure, and risk-taking. The fruits of civilization can be sweet, but only if they don’t come at the price of enervating vice, and at the expense of one’s essential masculinity.

After God rejects Cain’s sacrifice, he is angry and downcast, and Yahweh counsels him:

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Of course, Cain doesn’t do what is right; he slays his brother Abel. In reaching for culture, for progression, for comfort and convenience, he sees no other choice than to kill the symbol of that which is more “barbaric,” more primal.

Rather than mastering his desires for the fruits of civilization, and letting his flintier, more strenuous side act as a check on its excesses, he buries that blood and heedlessly pursues decadence.

Perhaps we instead must learn to be the keeper of our brother, to preserve the ethos of the shepherd. Perhaps in order for the sacrifice of our lives to be accepted, we must maintain a wild heart.

________________________

Insights on the intersection of shepherding, farming, and manhood, as well as the distinction between being a good man and being good at being a man, from The Poetics of Manhood by Michael Herzfeld.

The post Shepherd Manhood vs. Farmer Manhood appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

“It is circumstances (difficulties) which show what men are. Therefore when a difficulty falls upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you with a rough young man. For what purpose? you may say. Why that you may become an Olympic conqueror; but it is not accomplished without sweat. In my opinion no man has had a more profitable difficulty than you have had, if you choose to make use of it as an athlete would deal with a young antagonist.” —Epictetus

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” —Corinthians 9:24-26

The ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus and the apostle Paul — though their worldviews differed — both used the metaphor of athletic contests to explain the way a man was to struggle against weakness, erroneous beliefs, and all lower impulses, in order to win the prize of higher virtue.

They weren’t unique in deploying this analogy. Many early sages and saints also likened man’s attempt to conquer himself to physical exercise and the games of the sporting arena. They called their readers to become Stoic athletes, Christian athletes — spiritual athletes.

These philosophers and prophets understood that it was important not only to train the body, but also to train the soul.

The Greek word for training used by both Epictetus and St. Paul — áskēsis — was orginally associated with the physical training of athletes and soldiers, but later came to be used to describe any rigorous, discplined program of training, including the spiritual struggle for virtue.

This paradigm, in which practicing virtue is exercise; confronting personal weakness is contest, has not entirely disappeared from modern culture, but has become fainter and somewhat lost to us. It is partly for this reason that virtue and the spiritual life have come to be seen as “soft” and effeminate pursuits, despite the fact that the Latin word from which virtue derives — vir — actually means “manliness.”

Today, drawing on both the Christian and Stoic traditions (although adherence to either is not required to find usefulness in the underlying principles) we issue a wholehearted call to revive the idea of training the soul, and embrace it for the very meaningful, very “muscular” contest it is.

How Training the Soul Is Like Training the Body

“let the man who is rich in a worldly sense adopt in his own case the same considerations as apply to athletes. For the athlete who has given up the hope of being able to conquer, and to obtain the garlands, does not even give in his name for the contest; while the one who has conceived this hope in his mind, but does not submit to the fitting labors and diet and exercises, continues ungarlanded, and fails to gain what he hoped for.

In the same way let not a man who is clothed in this earthly covering withdraw his name altogether from the Savior’s contests, if at least he is faithful, and perceives the greatness of God’s kindness to man; and again, if he refuses exercise and contest, let him not hope to share in the garlands of incorruption without the dust and sweat of the arena; but let him at once submit himself to the word as trainer, and to Christ as judge of the contests; let his food and his apportioned drink be the new covenant of the Lord, let his exercises be the commandments, let his gracefulness and adornment be good dispositions, love, faith, hope, knowledge of truth, gentleness, goodness of heart, dignity; so that, when the last trumpet sounds for the race and the departure hence, passing out of this life as out of a race-course, he may stand with a good conscience before the president, acknowledged to be worthy of the heavenly home, into which he passes up with garlands and proclamations of angelic heralds.” —Clement of Alexandria

Philosophers and theologians have debated and expounded on the nature of the soul for thousands of years, and we can’t hope to provide a definitive definition of it here. But for the purposes of this article, let’s call the soul that part of a man’s make-up that desires higher order aims over lower order impulses. It’s the thing that seeks that which is life-giving, rather than life-deadening. It’s your moral compass, your attraction to doing noble deeds and choosing the right. It’s the capacity to reach beyond the self in order to serve others.

Your soul is your spiritual center, and, traditionally, your eternal essence. However, a belief in the immortality of the soul isn’t necessary for a belief in the possibility of actively training it; even if one sees it simply as the part of the psyche that’s more human and advanced, and less primitive and reptilian, the protocols for exercising it still very much apply.

No matter how exactly you view the soul, it lends itself to being seen as having a spiritual “physique” just as real and readily shapeable as your tangible one. The spirit, like the body, has muscles that must be regularly exercised in order to maintain good health, perform optimally in everyday tasks, and come out the victor in the occasional high-stakes contest. In both cases, you are given these physiques in a raw, impressionable form; you can either let them be molded by external forces, or intentionally sculpt them into the shape you desire.

Let us delve deeper into the parallels that exist between training the body and training the soul:

Physical and Spiritual Strength Atrophy Without Use

All matter — physical and spiritual alike — tends towards the path of least resistance. Without intentional effort to move and exercise our fleshy bodies, we become encased in layers of fat, get winded from light activity, and cannot pick up heavy objects. Muscles get tight; joints get creaky. Should an emergency befall us, we’re unable to flee or fight the danger. If forced to compete in a race or game, we would face embarrassing failure.

In the same way, ignoring one’s soul leads to the accumulation of spiritual flab. Our moral muscles atrophy, and we give in to sin and weakness more easily. We cannot put off temporary pleasures to achieve lasting goals. In wrestling with temptation or a heavy moral issue, we fatigue easily, and make a choice of convenience rather than principle. Or, we choose not to engage in the wrestle at all, defaulting to whatever direction our fluctuating feelings take us, or referring to a rote rule or bureaucratic expediency that may not be the best solution to the particular problem at hand. We lose our moral agility — our capacity to exercise practical wisdom and do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.

Of course, the converse of the above is just as true regarding both our physical and spiritual physiques. Muscles that get used, get stronger. Get more agile. And allow you to do more and be more . . .

Physical and Spiritual Strength Widens Your Freedom and Field of Action

A flabby, atrophied physical physique circumscribes your choices. This is true as a practical matter: You can’t play with your kids because you’re too tired; you can’t climb a mountain with your friends because you’re too weak; you can’t lift a certain weight, even if you wanted to.

A flabby, atrophied spiritual physique limits your ability to autonomously make choices at all. If you want to be faithful to your girlfriend, but hook up with an old flame, your lust is in control, not you. If you want to lose weight, but can’t stop overeating, you’re taking your marching orders from your belly, rather than your higher aims. If you want to be loving to your children, but keep losing your temper, your anger is calling the shots, not your soul. If your moods and reactions are determined by external events, then you’re being acted upon, rather than acting. You are not a free moral agent.

In training the soul, you strengthen your self-control: you gain the ability to harness your energies towards deliberately chosen ends, to choose long-term ideals over short-term impulses, to decide how you will act, regardless of the circumstances. You become master, rather than slave. As a consequence, your options increase; your potential field of action widens.

Or as former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink succinctly puts it: “Discipline equals freedom.”

Physical and Spiritual Strength Require Weight and Opposition in Order to Grow 

“Souls are like athletes that need opponents worthy of them, if they are to be tried and extended and pushed to the full use of their powers.” —Thomas Merton

“Good fortune comes to common men and even to those of inferior talent; but only a great man is able to triumph over disasters and terrors afflicting mortal life. It is true that to be always happy and to pass through life without any mental distress is to lack knowledge of one half of human nature. You are a great man: but on what do I base this if Fortune denies you the opportunity to demonstrate your worth? You have entered the lists at the Olympic Games, but you are the only competitor: you win the crown, but the victory is not yours; I congratulate you, but not as a brave man, rather as one who has gained the office of consul or praetor: it is your personal standing that has been enhanced. I can make the same point also to a good man, if no more difficult circumstance has given him the chance to show his mental strength: ‘You are unfortunate in my judgement, for you have never been unfortunate. You have passed through life with no antagonist to face you; no one will know what you are capable of, not even you yourself.’ For a man needs to be put to the test if he is to gain self-knowledge; only by trying does he learn what his capacities are.” —Seneca

Physical training is essentially the act of intentionally breaking down the body with stress in order that it can be rebuilt stronger and better than before. Without this stress, no improvement can take place.

In weightlifting, the stressor is the weight to be lifted. A lifter essentially pits himself against gravity as he tries to move a barbell off the floor, or raise himself up when it’s sitting on his shoulders. Gravity is the opponent to be overcome; the lifter must struggle to resist its force — hence the name, “resistance training.”

Just as the body needs to confront an opposing force in order to grow, so does the soul. In this case, the antagonists are internal: our sins and weaknesses. It’s Soul vs. Lust. Soul vs. Selfishness. Soul vs. Self-Pity. Soul vs. Envy. It’s a contest between the best parts of ourselves and the worst.

Our souls also grapple with external combatants in the form of events and circumstances beyond our control — hardships and difficulties we are forced to face. The mere existence of these obstacles does not necessarily strengthen the soul or incur automatic benefits, however. Rather, the attitude we take towards hardships matters, and determines their effect.

In his Discourses, Epictetus responds to a hypothetical student who wants to know if he is making progress in following the Stoic way. The philosopher says that if he were talking to an athlete who had the same question, he would ask the athlete to show him his shoulders. If the athlete instead responded by showing the weights he had been lifting, Epictetus says he would reply that he didn’t ask to see the athlete’s weights, but his shoulders. What’s important is not that a man has access to gym equipment, but that he is using it properly, and the proof of this is in the embodied pudding — in the size and strength of his muscles.

In the same way, if you want to know if the soul is improving, you cannot look to the mere presence of difficulties in your life, but how you are facing them, using them. You can know if you’re making progress by the ways you can flex your spiritual muscles, “how you exercise pursuit and avoidance, desire and aversion, how you design and purpose and prepare yourself, whether conformably to nature or not.”

What emerges from the struggle against inner and outer demons, from the stress of pushing back against our flaws and frailties, is the development of character. The more we resist the gravitational force of our appetites, the stronger and more iron-clad our character becomes.

Physical and Spiritual Strength Require Effort, and Pain

“Where then is progress? If any of you, withdrawing himself from externals, turns to his own will to exercise it and to improve it by labor, so as to make it conformable to nature, elevated, free, unrestrained, unimpeded, faithful, modest; and if he has learned that he who desires or avoids the things which are not in his power can neither be faithful nor free, but of necessity he must change with them and be tossed about with them as in a tempest, and of necessity must subject himself to others who have the power to procure or prevent what he desires or would avoid; finally, when he rises in the morning, if he observes and keeps these rules, bathes as a man of fidelity, eats as a modest man; in like manner, if in every matter that occurs he works out his chief principles as the runner does with reference to running . . . this is the man who truly makes progress.” —Epictetus

Fitness is an encompassing lifestyle choice. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes dedication. You’ve got to structure your schedule, and say no to other activities, to prioritize getting your workouts in. You’ve got to follow special rules regarding what you eat, and sometimes how and when you eat. You’ve got to be keenly conscious about the decisions you make regarding your diet and training.

There’s effort required in the actual workouts too, of course. And pain. The stress that makes your muscles grow is not a pleasant thing. Sometimes working out is enjoyable in the midst of it, and sometimes in the afterglow. But if it also doesn’t hurt a little, sometimes a lot — if your legs don’t burn at the bottom of a squat, if your lungs don’t ache at the end of a sprint — you’re not getting better. You’re not getting any faster or stronger. The stress of physical training in fact creates tiny tears in your muscles. When these tears heal, the muscle is rebuilt stronger than it was before.

Training the soul requires the same kind of encompassing commitment and the same submission to the tearing and repairing of your spiritual muscles.

Forsaking the path of least resistance requires strenuous effort. It requires greater consciousness of your principles and your decisions. You must follow certain rules, some of which appear arbitrary to outsiders, and sometimes even to yourself. You must deliberately prioritize the practice of spiritual disciplines and look for opportunities to serve that the untrained and unprepared soul would miss, or spurn.

And you must embrace a certain level of pain.

Denying a lower appetite to fulfill a nobler aim is painful. Re-ordering your priorities to do more for others, and less for yourself, hurts. You must kill your native laziness. You must check your pride and learn to be humble. For virtue to live, you must die to the self. The process of striving for ideals, failing, and getting back up again — of ever trying to be a better man — creates endless tears in the tissue of the ego.

Just as the body cries out for cake when forced to feed on broccoli, the flesh screams to give in to indulgence when forced to walk a harder way.

Just as the body cries out to be released at the apex of a difficult lift, the flesh begs, cons, manipulates to be liberated from the strictures of discipline. “Just this once won’t matter,” “You deserve this,” “This isn’t really wrong given the circumstances.”

No matter the lies one tells oneself in the heat of crisis, at the height of temptation, the truth is that nothing can be sculpted without pressure, nothing can be changed and rebuilt without effort and pain. Progress — whether physical or spiritual — can only be found on the other side of five seconds of grind.

Physical and Spiritual Strength Require Consistency and Habitual Practice

Working out is not a one-and-done kind of affair. You can’t put in a few days of exercise, or a few weeks, or even a few years, and then stop going to the gym, and expect to maintain your fitness. It’s not like putting money in a bank account, where, if you don’t touch it, your investment will stay the same, and even accrue interest. Rather, fitness is like shaving, or flossing, or cleaning or any of the other regular maintenance tasks we have to do again, and again, and again, and that’ll we’ll never be free of. If you don’t use it, you lose it.

Training the soul must be engaged in regularly as well. You can never rest on your laurels, on past spiritual experiences, or former good deeds. Each day we must choose and re-choose to earnestly engage in spiritual disciplines and practices — despite changing circumstances, fluctuating feelings, and encroaching setbacks.

Aristotle said that virtue was a habit like any other, and that just as we get better at playing the piano, by playing the piano, we gain virtue by doing virtuous things. Every time we attempt to deny a lower impulse to grasp a higher one we work out the soul. Every decision we make is a moral contest; even small choices matter, not just in maintaining day-to-day spiritual health, but as preparation for a more strenuous testing. Every time we practice the virtue habit, we settle our souls in a nobler direction.

In The Road to Character, David Brooks describes this painstaking but vitally transformative process:

“Character is built in the course of your inner confrontation. Character is a set of dispositions, desires, and habits that are slowly engraved during the struggle against your own weakness. You become more disciplined, considerate, and loving through a thousand small acts of self-control, sharing, service, friendship, and refined enjoyment. If you make disciplined, caring choices, you are slowly engraving certain tendencies into your mind. You are making it more likely that you will desire the right things and execute the right actions. If you make selfish, cruel, or disorganized choices, then you are slowly turning this core thing inside yourself into something that is degraded, inconstant, or fragmented. You can do harm to this core thing with nothing more than ignoble thoughts, even if you are not harming anyone else. You can elevate this core thing with an act of restraint nobody sees. If you don’t develop a coherent character in this way, life will fall to pieces sooner or later. You will become a slave to your passions. But if you do behave with habitual self-discipline, you will become constant and dependable.”

In the contest for virtue, there’s no standing still; if you’re not striving forward, you’re degrading back.

Physical and Spiritual Strength Require Endurance

“Who then is the invincible? It is he whom none of the things disturb which are independent of the will. Then examining one circumstance after another I observe, as in the case of an athlete; he has come off victorious in the first contest: well then, as to the second? and what if there should be a great heat? and what, if it should be at Olympia? And the same I say in this case: if you should throw money in his way, he will despise it. Well, suppose you put a young girl in his way, what then? and what, if it is in the dark? what if it should be a little reputation, or abuse; and what, if it should be praise; and what if it should be death? He is able to overcome all. What then if it be in heat, and what if it is in the rain, and what if he be in a melancholy (mad) mood, and what if he be asleep? He will still conquer. This is my invincible athlete.” —Epictetus 

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” —Hebrews 12:1

Endurance sports require perseverance — the dedication to running or biking a long, long course. You can’t just sprint the first few miles of a marathon, run out of gas, and walk 20 more to the finish. Well, you can, but you’re definitely not going to get an award at the end. To make a good showing, you’ve got to fight fatigue and keep on trucking all the way through.

The pursuit of virtue is also an endurance sport.

When spiritual dryness sets in, when setbacks arise, when temptation grows acute, you can choose to throw in the towel, or you can hold to your principles and keep pushing towards the distant finish line. When the excitement and animating feelings that explode at the beginning of the race begin to flag, you can call it quits, or you can switch to the steadier fuel of duty and discipline, and continue on.

It’s not an easy contest, but if the spiritual athlete perseveres, he can say with the apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Why Train the Soul?

“To strive with difficulties, and to conquer them, is the highest human felicity. The next is to strive and deserve to conquer; but he whose life has passed without contest, and who can boast neither success nor merit can survey himself only as a useless filler of existence.” —Samuel Johnson

In delineating the many parallels between training the body and training the soul, we have also implicitly laid out the benefits of both kinds of exercise.

Physical training develops bodily health and strength, providing a man with hardness and toughness of physique, greater mobility and agility, wider opportunities for activity, the ability to perform day-to-day tasks, and the capacity to survive and thrive in a crisis. Truly, every man should be physically strong.

Spiritual training develops the health and strength of the soul, increasing its ability to delay gratification and deny lower impulses in favor of higher ones, conquer weaknesses and temptations, act as an autonomous moral agent, make weighty decisions with dexterous wisdom, and, willingly serve other people. For, ideally, training both body and soul leads to a greater desire and capacity to help others along the way, so that we may say, along with 19th century physical culturist Georges Hebert, we have become strong, to be useful.

The ultimate effects of both kinds of training can be summed up in one word: power. The man with a well-trained body and soul possesses the power to do more, and be more. The power to maintain his equilibrium despite life’s ups and downs. The power to transcend the petty status grabs and superficial entertainments of modern culture. The power to sidestep the snares of lust, greed, and pride. The power to attain a virtuous, flourishing, happy life in this world, and, if one so believes, an eternal life in the world to come.

Yet these are not the only reasons to commit to training the soul.

In fact, the most compelling reason of all may be this: in the modern world, the conquest of self constitutes man’s last, best contest.

In a time of luxury and convenience, when most men are not required to struggle with external hardships — do not have to plow the earth or hunt wild game or often even get up from their chair to earn a livelihood; do not have to grapple with the forces of nature; and do not have to go to war — there is little else to push against. There are few other opponents a man can bravely struggle with in order to, as Seneca puts it, “learn what his capacities are.”

In embracing the battle between our best and worst selves, in pursuing the tang of moral heroism, there is energy and meaning that can only be found in confronting a worthy antagonist. As the British writer Henry Fairlie put it, “If we acknowledge that our inclination to sin is part of our natures, and that we will never wholly eradicate it, there is at least something for us to do in our lives that will not in the end seem just futile and absurd.” He also puts it this way: “At least if we recognize that we sin, know that we are individually at war, we may go to war as warriors do, with something of valor and zest and even mirth.”

David Brooks perhaps best captures the attraction of self-conquest when he describes it as the chance to see one’s life as “a moral adventure story.”

There are twists and turns along the way; dragons to slay, new paths to discover, and myriad failures and chances for redemption. And, as long as there’s breath in your body, this hero’s journey never ends. As Epictetus explains, unlike sporting athletes, for whom the opportunity to contend for a prize comes only in occasional races and games, the contest for virtue and the chance for victory begins fresh every single day:

“Consider as to the things that you initially proposed you have managed to achieve, and which you have not, and how it gives you pleasure to remember some of them, and pain to remember others, and if possible recover the things that have slipped away from your grasp. For those who are engaged in this greatest of contest must not shrink back, but must be prepared to endure the blows. For the contest that lies before us is not in wrestling or the pancration, in which, whether a man succeeds or fails, he may be a man of great worth or of little . . . No, it is a contest for good fortune and happiness itself. What follows, then? In this, even if we falter for a time, no one prevents us from renewing the contest, nor need we wait another four years for the next Olympic games to come, but as soon as a man has got a hold on himself and recovered himself, and shows the same zeal as before, he is allowed to take part in the contest, and even if you should falter again, you may begin again, and, if you once become the victor you are as one who has never faltered.”

“The purpose of the struggle against sin and weakness,” Brooks notes, “is not to ‘win,’ because that is not possible; it is to get better at waging it.”

How exactly do you that? In physical training, the body is honed through exercises like running, and by grappling with tangible weights. What then are the exercises and weights — the spiritual disciplines — that can be used to train the soul?

That is where we will turn next time.

The post Training the Soul appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

Rice conjures up different images for different people. Some may think of a nice white rice ball steaming next to a set of chopsticks. Others might picture the long black and brown grains of wild rice, and the infuriating amount time it takes to cook them. Still yet, others might think of the short brown grains of unpolished white rice.

There are many, many kinds of rice available for purchase all around the world. Since rice can be cultivated in a huge amount of places, it is available year round and you don’t have to worry about purchasing seasonally. However, you might want to worry about what kind of rice you choose to purchase. In this article, we’ll be discussing rice varieties based off the grain typically purchased in western grocery stores.

• White rice is the most commonly seen variety. It has been stripped of most of its nutrients. During the processing of white rice, the whole grain of rice has several layers stripped.

  • The bran, which is the outermost layer on a grain of whole rice. The bran is mostly inedible, and its removal is the least damaging to the nutritional content of rice.

  • The germ, a layer that is very dense in nutrients.

  • The bran, another layer that is removed, often at the same time as the germ.

  • The aleurone layer, which is the final layer removed before you see the finished product of white rice that is so commonly consumed. This layer contains many healthy fats and is one of the most beneficial parts of a grain of rice.

Rice that has been stripped of all these layers is simply a shadow of its prior nutritional value, losing much of the vitamins and minerals present in whole grain and brown rice. Ironically, white rice is typically sold as ‘enriched’ rice, because the end product is so nutritionally devoid that manufacturers have to add vitamins and minerals to it so it maintains at least some of its original nutrition.

• Brown rice is what we will be referring to as the nutritional source for most of this article. Brown rice is sometimes referred to as whole grain rice, which isn’t entirely true. Typically, brown rice only has the hull removed, leaving quite a few nutrients left for us to absorb. There is another variety of further refined rice that has the germ and the bran removed, without removal of the aleurone. There is sometimes confusion as to whether this type of rice should be called white or brown. For this article, brown rice will refer to rice with only the hull removed.

• Red, gold, black, and purple rices are all other varieties of ‘whole grain’ rice that notably have a different pigment colour than our standard brown rice. All have different flavours and slightly different nutritional profiles. These types of rice are in the same state of production as our brown rice would be.

Health Benefits of Brown Rice

Now that we’ve established the different kinds of rice, we can begin to delve into the potential benefits of eating such a food. Rice is well-known for being a good source of energy—since it’s high in carbs—but typically, these are eaten as ‘empty carbs’ in the form of white rice. An empty carb or empty calorie is a food that offers high carbohydrate or calorie content with minimal nutrition.

Often available right next to white rice is the super-nutritional, extra-tasty brown rice. Many people are unaware of the tremendous benefits that unprocessed rice can have for your health. Don’t let that hinder you, though - brown rice has been studied for dozens of health-promoting things, from curing heart disease to helping you think better. We will explain the most prominent benefits of brown rice.

1. Brown rice has lots of vitamins and minerals.

Brown rice is naturally packed full of nutrients - more so, in fact, than white rice after it’s been ‘enriched.’ It’s a great source for a varied number of minerals, which can be difficult to obtain in a diet that doesn’t include whole grains. Here are some of the more prominent vitamins and minerals you can obtain from a cup of brown rice.

• Vitamin B1 - 16 percent of your daily recommended intake (D.R.I.). Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, helps your body metabolize carbs into energy. It also helps your brain function more efficiently.

• Vitamin B3 - 19 percent of your D.R.I. Like other B vitamins, vitamin B3 helps your body produce energy. It’s also an antioxidant that works to fight free radicals.

• Vitamin B6 - 16 percent of your D.R.I. Along with aiding energy production, vitamin B6 helps your body produce red blood cells which are crucial for fighting infections.

• Pantothenic Acid - 11 percent of your D.R.I. Pantothenic acid helps your body produce Coenzyme A, which is one of the most important molecules in the development of organic life. It’s central for many of your bodily functions, like metabolising fats, carbs and proteins.

• Copper - 21 percent of your D.R.I. Copper is a mineral that helps your body’s bones and tissues develop properly. It’s also a vital unit that ensures your body can produce and use antioxidants effectively.

• Manganese - 88 percent of your D.R.I. Manganese is a nutrient that’s very important for the production of strong, healthy bones. It’s also utilized by the body to maintain your skin’s integrity, adding to a clear complexion and strong, elastic skin.

• Magnesium - 21 percent of your D.R.I. Magnesium is fairly well-known for helping the body’s bones gain strength and structure. On top of that, it also helps your body produce effective energy.

• Phosphorous - 23 percent of your D.R.I. Phosphorous is key for ensuring that the cells in your body can effectively communicate with each other, preventing degenerative diseases of tissues and organs. It’s also used with manganese and magnesium to ensure healthy bones.

• Selenium - 35 percent of your D.R.I. Selenium helps your body produce glutathione. Glutathione is often reputed to be one of the most important antioxidants for the survival of the human being. It’s produced naturally by our body, and selenium is one of the nutrients that makes sure we can reliably produce it.

• Zinc - 11 percent of your D.R.I. Zinc functions similarly to copper, aiding in the production of healthy bones. Since zinc and copper are so similar, it’s a good idea to maintain a healthy balance of both of these minerals.

Conclusion: It’s clear that brown rice has a huge assortment of important minerals and vitamins that your body can use. Adding this staple to your diet plan could clear up a number of potential vitamin deficiencies.

2. Brown rice contains oil that lowers cholesterol.

Lightly processed brown rice—the variety that still has its aleurone layer intact—contains some healthy fats. These particular fatty oils are known to reduce LDL cholesterol.

There are two types of cholesterol—LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is known as the 'bad' type of cholesterol—low-density lipoprotein.

• LDL cholesterol is highly reactive and oxidizes easily. It can clump up in the endothelium (the inner walls of your arteries) leading to hardened arteries, or can cause free radicals to develop which can lead to cancer.

• HDL cholesterol is the good type. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein. This cholesterol, being denser, can effectively 'sweep' LDL cholesterol out of the bloodstream.

Louisiana State University studied rice oils and their effects on cholesterol. 26 volunteers ate a diet with a monitored level of fiber. After a few weeks, half of the subjects switched their diet and added rice bran, effectively doubling their fiber intake. Fourteen subjects ate a diet with regular consumption of rice bran oil.

The group consuming rice bran oil lowered LDL cholesterol by up to 7%. Brown rice also contains healthy amounts of fiber, magnesium, and several B vitamins—all of which are known to help improve cardiovascular health and could contribute to lowered cholesterol.

Conclusion: Those looking to limit the amounts of cholesterol in their bodies might want to use brown rice as a staple. It contains some healthy oils that, when eaten regularly, can reduce cholesterol. It also has a number of other heart-healthy minerals and vitamins.

3. Brown rice can improve your cardiovascular health.

Brown rice has been studied for its effects on improving cardiovascular health. This means that the bloodstream and all related organs and systems - so, basically, everything in your body - will grow stronger.

Its effects are particularly noted in women. A study done on around 200 postmenopausal women proved that regular consumption of whole grains, including brown rice, made notable improvements in several areas.

• Atherosclerosis—the hardening of arteries, caused by buildup of plaque that can be left by cholesterol—is less likely to develop. Atherosclerosis can prove to be fatal, since it obstructs the flow of blood and oxygen to and from the heart.

• Stenosis—narrow arteries that hinder blood flow and transport of nutrients—progresses much slower in those who consume whole grains on the regular.

Conclusion: There are a number of cardiovascular related illnesses that brown rice and whole grains can work to prevent. Adding them to their diet will strengthen the health of your heart and bloodstream.

4. Brown rice is jam-packed full of phytonutrients.

Phytonutrients are plant-based nutrients, and brown rice is full of them. Their importance has only been recently realized, since the more commonly studied vitamins and nutrients overshadowed their benefits.

• Phenolics are strong antioxidants that fight disease in different ways. This includes compounds like quercetin and curcumin, which have grown wildly popular for their health promoting activities. Catechins are also considered to be phenolics, and comprise an entire category of nutrients on their own.

• Lignans are nutrients present in many plants. Lignans are consumed by the bacteria in our intestines. Here, they are converted into mammalian lignans, which fight against cancer and heart disease.

Conclusion: Brown rice has many phytonutrients that work to fight off different diseases. Phytonutrients are plant-based nutrients that can only be obtained through plant material, so brown rice is a good option for those seeking particular benefits.

5. Brown rice lowers the chance of getting type 2 diabetes.

Brown rice fights against the development of type 2 diabetes. A large portion of its defensive capabilities come from magnesium.

Magnesium is artly responsible for your body’s production of hundreds of enzymes. Some of these are responsible for the human’s ability to process sugar and produce insulin. Insulin is the hormone responsible for metabolizing and regulating blood sugar, and deficiency or desensitization to insulin is what causes blood sugar spikes and diabetes.

A huge study done over 8 years, with tens of thousands of participants, found proof that magnesium and calcium prevent type 2 diabetes from developing. There was up to a 31% decrease in the chance of developing type II in some populations.

Conclusion: Brown rice can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, largely because of its magnesium content. Those who already have diabetes should consider adding it to their diet.

6. Brown rice contains enough magnesium to fight off disease.

In addition to preventing type 2 diabetes, brown rice contains enough magnesium to be effective at modulating many of your body’s functions.

• Magnesium has been shown to reduce asthma symptoms

• Magnesium reliably lowers high blood pressure

• Magnesium has been shown to prevent migraines

• Magnesium is a good preventative agent for fighting heart disease

Magnesium’s power comes in its ability to balance the action of calcium in the body. This helps your nerves and muscles maintain structure and functionality. If calcium isn’t prevented from flooding nerve cells, they won’t be able to relax. They become overstimulated, contracting too often. This creates issues like high blood pressure, spasms of muscles and important organs like the heart or bronchioles, and painful headaches.

Aside from modulating calcium,magnesium also helps your body produce healthy bones - most of our body’s magnesium is stored in our bones. It’s important to keep these reserves filled, lest your bones lose strength and structure.

Magnesium also helps to improve levels of nitric oxide in the blood. Nitric oxide helps your blood flow smoothly, and can act as an antioxidant in the arteries and veins, preventing damage from cholesterol-induced free radicals.

Conclusion: Magnesium is a crucial nutrient for a lot of your body’s daily functions. Brown rice supplies enough of the nutrient to offset the effects of deficiency.

7. Brown rice contains enough fiber to improve bodily functions.

Fiber is a hugely important nutrient in the human diet. Brown rice contains pretty significant amounts of both varieties of fiber, with just over 3 grams of insoluble fiber and just under half a gram of soluble fiber per serving.

• Insoluble fiber will not dissolve. While both types of fiber are indigestible, insoluble fiber maintains a solid shape during its journey through your digestive tract. Insoluble fiber is used for a number of things, and is particularly useful in the excretion of bile. Bile’s produced by your liver in response to consumption of fats, or a response to toxins that need to be excreted. Bile picks up these toxins and is usually excreted via feces if the body has enough fiber. Insoluble fiber floats through the intestine and bile adheres to it, leaving with the fiber as it’s excreted.If your body doesn’t have enough insoluble fiber, the bile will be recycled by your liver instead of being excreted as waste. This cycle will continue, and with each cycle, the bile grows more and more toxic and destructive to your body. Ensuring that you have enough fiber prevents this toxic bile recycling and any ensuing health defects.

• Soluble fiber turns into a thick, paste-like substance when it comes into contact with liquid. This means that, when it is consumed, it swells and turns into said paste in the stomach. This allows the consumer to feel full faster and generally consume less calories, since the soluble fiber has swelled their digestive tract. This is not as unhealthy as it sounds, and is the main reason that eating raw vegetables can fill you up so quickly.

There was a study done on over 35,000 UK residents. The study examined pre-menopausal women who consumed diets high in natural fibers. The study was to determine whether or not fiber was effective at reducing the risk of breast cancer, and it roved quite effective. Those eating more than 30 grams of fiber a day had more than 50% less of a chance of developing cancer.

It turns out that fiber from whole grains—like brown rice—is the best for protecting from cancer. Those women who had a higher intake of fiber from whole grains had significantly lower chances of developing cancer when compared to study groups whose fiber came from fruits or vegetables.

Healthy intake of dietary fiber from whole grains like rice, is also shown to help with the following issues:

• Maintaining healthy bowels. Fiber increases the weight of your stools, making them easier to pass than loose, liquid-like stools. Fiber does this by absorbing water, which adds bulk to your waste. This also prevents the development of hemorrhoids and other bowel-related issues, such as constipation.

• Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber can slow down the speed with which sugar is absorbed in the body. This not only prevents diabetes, but can prevent the further development of type 2 diabetes from those who already are diabetic.

• Maintaining a healthy weight. Since fibrous foods are so filling, people who eat high-fiber meals tend to consume less calories than those who are eating foods that are low in fiber,

Conclusion: Fiber is a very important part of the body’s digestive processes. It helps you burn calories, eliminate waste, clear cholesterol, and do many other important things. If your body is deficient in fiber, it will not be able to perform many of its regular duties.

8. Brown rice can prevent gallstones.

Whole grains high in insoluble fiber are known to help prevent the development of gallstones.

A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology took a sample of almost 70,000 women. Over sixteen years, they were evaluated in regards to their fiber consumption. Those with the highest rates of fiber consumption were showed to have 13% less of a chance to develop gallstones when compared to study groups consuming minimal fiber.

Insoluble fiber was shown to be more effective than soluble fiber. The prior statistic was based on women’s overall fiber consumption (soluble and insoluble.) Those who consumed the highest amounts of insoluble fiber were 17% less likely to develop gallstones.

Fiber does this because of its importance in clearing bile out of the digestive system, and generally improving the transit time in which waste passes through your digestive system. Excessive bile can collect cholesterol, which can harden and turn into gallstones. Additionally, fiber helps clear blood fats from the body, making less cholesterol available to be turned into gallstones.

Conclusion: Gallstones—a very painful symptom caused by hardened cholesterol—can be prevented by consuming adequate fiber. Brown rice is a good source of fiber and cholesterol reducing vitamins.

9. Brown rice can prevent the development of asthma.

The American Lung Association did a study regarding the efficacy of whole grains on asthma. Around 20 million Americans have asthma, which is the disease related to a huge amount of school-related absences in children.

The International Study on Allergy and Asthma in Childhood suggests that eating more whole grains can reduce the risk of children developing asthma by almost half!

There was a far more significant relationship between increased consumption of whole grains and reduced asthma than with any other sampled food group. The researchers tested fruits, vegetables, and dairy, and found that fish and whole grains were far superior in regards to preventing asthma.

The research indicates that magnesium, vitamin E, and omega-3 fats are responsible for lowered chances of asthma development. Many Americans are deficient in these nutrients, which are all known to be potent anti-inflammatory agents. Eliminating the deficiency can greatly reduce the chance of developing inflammation related illness.

Conclusion: If you’re worried about your children developing asthma, consider adding brown rice to their weekly diet plan. The nutrients in brown rice have been proven to eliminate asthma caused by deficiencies, and lower the symptoms of asthma in those who already have it.

Selecting and Storing Brown Rice for Maximum Health

Since you likely won’t be buying your rice freshly harvested, your choices likely lie between different pre-packaged varieties. Ensure that you heed the expiry date.Brown rice does actually expire - some of the healthy oils in the grain can molder if left for too long.

Choose organic rice as often as possible. Non-organic varieties are shown to have up to five times more toxic metals than organic varieties (which contain negligible amounts.)

Brown rice, contrary to its white cousin, should be stored in a refrigerator. The aleurone layer contains the oils which may go bad with time, but refrigerating the rice will greatly slow the process. White rice can be kept in a cool space in an airtight jar without being refrigerated.

Cooked rice does not have a definitive storage time, though it’s generally advised not to store it for longer than a week in the fridge. It’s smartest to just cook what you need for the day and eat that. Rice left to sit for too long can give rise to all sorts of pathogens and unhealthy microorganisms. Some of these fungi can even turn the amino acid tryptophan, present in rice, into alpha-picolinic acid. Alpha-picolinic acid can cause a hypersensitive response to eating rice - quite a dangerous compound to find in rice itself.

How to Eat & Enjoy Brown Rice, Including 5 Amazing Recipes

Brown rice is known for having a healthy cooking time of at least half an hour—so, there aren’t a whole lot of quick-fix snacks you can make with rice. However, there are a few suggestions of how you can enjoy brown rice without having to resort to using a recipe:

• Cooked rice can make a great cereal if mixed with soymilk. Spice it like you would your oatmeal - nutmeg, cinnamon, cocoa, sugar, diced fruits or berries make this a delicious snack.

• If you have leftover rice, you can make a rice salad by simply mixing it with chopped veggies, berries or nuts, and some dressing.

• Rice is a staple for a reason—it goes great with almost anything. Serving a big bowl of brown rice as an accompaniment to many entrees will allow you to serve many more people.

• Rice served without any other food can be good, if it’s properly flavoured. Olive oil and a mixture of your favourite spices can turn something otherwise bland into a tasty between-meal snack—or, a low-budget daily dinner!

If you’re feeling more ambitious, we’ve included a few recipes that use brown rice as a primary ingredient. Brown rice can lay the foundation for entrees, salads, snacks, desserts - even beverages, in the form of rice milk. You might be surprised at some of the recipes we’ve provided here!

1. Creamy Brown Rice Pudding.

It’s rice pudding - with brown rice! It uses typical spices that would flavour a rice pudding, but the whole grain makes this dish much deeper and nuttier than the white rice alternative. It only takes five minutes to prep, but the cooking time takes a couple hours.

You will need:

Four cups of water

Two cups of brown rice

Three quarters of a teaspoon of salt

Two cups of milk

An ounce of evaporated milk

Half a teaspoon of almond extract

A cup of sugar

A 3-inch cinnamon stick (or piece of one.)

The method: First, bring your water to a boil and add your rice. Mix in the salt, then reduce the heat so it’s simmering and let it cook at this temperature until the rice is ready. It should take about 50 minutes for all the water to absorb and for the rice to become nice and tender.

When the rice is cooked, stir in both types of milk, your almond extract and sugar. Add the cinnamon stick and simmer without a cover, stirring often. It should take just over an hour for this rice to reach the consistency of pudding.

2. Lemony Shrimp Over Brown Rice

This recipe’s name includes shrimp but the pictured result is most definitely prawns. Either way, this meal provides a healthy, delicious, tangy entree that can add an exotic flavour to your kitchen this evening! It only takes 35 minutes from start to finish.

You will need:

A cup of brown rice

One and two-thirds of a cup of water

Three tablespoons of butter

Three tablespoons of olive oil

Two cloves of garlic

Half a cup of white wine

Two tablespoons of lemon juice

One and a half pounds of prawns

A quarter cup of parsley

Half a teaspoon of cornstarch

The method:

First, bring your water to a boil in a small pot. Add your rice, then reduce to a simmer and cook until all the water’s absorbed. This shouldn’t take more than half an hour.

Meanwhile, melt your butter and olive oil in a pan. Mince your garlic, then add the garlic to your butter and cook over medium heat for a minute or two - just long enough for the garlic to release its scent. Quickly add your wine and lemon juice, then reduce the heat a bit and simmer the mixture.

Add the shrimp, mixing them, and cook until they turn pink. With regular stirring, this should take about five minutes. When they’re cooked, sprinkle your parsley (after chopping it finely, of course) on top and cook for another minute or two.

Add the cornstarch to the cooking juices. Cook until the starch thickens—at least a minute, but not too much longer. Serve the prawns and sauce over the rice.

3. Curried Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole.

This delicious meal brings an eastern flavour to the kitchen. It’s a tasty comfort food that packs a lot of nutrition with its taste. It takes fifteen minutes to prep and an hour to cook, meaning the meal will be ready for you and your guests or family in just over an hour.

You will need:

A cup of water

An 8 oz. can of stewed tomatoes

Three quarters of a cup of quick-cooking brown rice

Half a cup of raisins

A tablespoon of lemon juice

Three teaspoons of curry powder

A cube of chicken bouillon

Half a teaspoon of cinnamon

A quarter teaspoon of salt

Two cloves of garlic

Three quarters of a pound of boneless chicken breast

The method:

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 fahrenheit.

Mince your garlic. Mix it with your water, tomatoes, rice, raisins, lemon juice, curry, your bouillon cube, cinnamon, and salt. Bring all these ingredients to a quick boil. While it’s heating, cut your chicken into pieces about an inch thick. When everything’s boiling, add your chicken, then switch everything into a casserole dish.

Put the casserole mixture into the oven, covered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, and cook until the rice is soft and tender and the chicken’s juice has no colour.

4. Pineapple Fried Rice.

This is an exotic meal with a reasonable price tag. It’s got deep flavours and packs quite a bit of a healthy punch. The meat in this meal is optional, so vegetarians can feel free to make this meal without any animal products. It takes thirty minutes to make, and you’ll get four servings from the recipe.

You will need:

Three tablespoons of soy sauce

A tablespoon of sesame oil

Half a teaspoon of ginger (powdered)

A quarter teaspoon pepper

Two tablespoons of olive oil

Two cloves of garlic

An onion

Two carrots

Half a cup of frozen corn

Half a cup of frozen peas

Three cups of brown rice

Two cups of pineapple,

Half a cup’s worth of ham

Two green onions

The method:

First, get some water boiling and cook your rice!

Then. start off by mixing together your soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger powder and pepper in a bowl. Set this aside for later.

Peel & grate your carrots. If your pineapple is fresh, dice it. Dice your ham as well, and slice your green onions.

In a big pan, or in a wok, heat up your olive oil. Mince your garlic and dice your onions, then add them to the skillet when the oil is heated. Cook them over medium heat, frequently stirring. The onions should start looking translucent after a few minutes.

Add your carrots, corn and peas when the onions are clear. Cook them for a few minutes. When all the veggies are tender, you can add your rice, pineapple, ham, green onions and soy sauce mixture.

Stirring, cook these until they’re all heated through. This shouldn’t take more than two minutes. After this - it’s done!

5. Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger.

This burger has a fantastic texture, flavour, and nutritional impact. It’s quite filling, and incredibly simple to make. You only need a few ingredients, and the longest part of it is cooking the rice. The recipe makes twelve burgers.

You will need:

Two cups of mashed sweet potatoes

A cup of cooked black beans

One and a half cups of brown rice

Half a cup of walnut meal

Half a cup of diced green onion

Two and a half teaspoons of cumin

A teaspoon of smoked paprika

A quarter teaspoon of salt and pepper

A quarter teaspoon of chipotle powder

The method:

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. While it’s heating, halve your sweet potatoes. Brush them with olive oil and put them on a baking sheet, lined with foil, facing down. It should take about half an hour for them to become tender. Once they are, let them sit aside and turn the heat down to 375 fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, get your rice cooked. Add the rice to three cups of boiling water and reduce to a simmer for about half an hour.

Add your cooked black beans to a mixing bowl and mash them lightly, just for texture. Then add your baked sweet potatoes and mash a bit more, add a cup of rice and your green onions, walnut meal, and spices. Mix until they’re well distributed. Add more seasoning if you desire, or more nut meal if the mixture’s too liquidy. It must be moldable.

Grease a baking sheet, and line a measuring cup with plastic wrap. Fill the measuring cup with a quarter cup of sweet potato mash. Push down and pack it until its compact, then transfer this burger to the baking sheet. Press it down until you’ve reached a desired thickness - the thinner they are, the less time they take to cook.

Bake for as long as it takes to cook them through. Thin burgers should take half an hour, thicker ones closer to 45 minutes. Flip them halfway through..

Serve on buns with your choice of toppings - tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, whatever you want.

Conclusion

Brown rice is an amazing, healthy staple grain that can be used in a ton of different recipes. If you haven’t already been using this grain in your diet plan, you’ll want to consider including it in your kitchen.

The range of nutritional benefits is impressive, and rice is cheap—you could save yourself a trip to the hospital. Brown rice has been studied to ward off diabetes, heart disease, help people lose weight, improve metabolism, and aid your body in eliminating toxins. If that’s not enough reason for you to pick up a bag of this cheap, hardy grain, then nothing will be.

 

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Sobs.  I heard sobs.

They were coming from upstairs, on our side of the duplex this time, broken hearted, wrenching sobs.

At three years-old, the worn couch swallowed me up.  I remember wiggling and scrunching out of its cushions.

“Where are you going?”  My father sat near me, his voice scolding.

“I want to go to mommy.”

“She’s just a crybaby.  Stay here.”

It is interesting how a moment will burrow its way from sensory perception to belief.  The transformation may take years as one grows in understanding.  However, this message from my father leapt instantly from sight and sound to a negative and false certainty that eventually nearly cost me my life.

Major depression recurrent severe is the diagnosis given me by several doctors.  On multiple occasions, negative perceptions have outweighed hope, and suicide crossed my mind.  In January 2011, a barely restrained death wish ripened into a suicide attempt.  

No one knew the level of hopelessness this major depressive episode was creating.  Truth be told, neither did I.  A vigorous effort at stuffing and denying emotions made sense.  Hesitancy to reach out for support did also.  After all, I learned so long ago that it is wrong to be sad, even worse to express sadness, and no one will be there to wipe my tears if I cry.

“She’s just a crybaby.  Stay here.”

My father physically, verbally, and emotionally abused my mother.  On the day he did not allow me to go to her, all I had wanted to do was wipe her tears.  Until that moment, it was permissible to love her.  Then it was not.

I learned to ignore my mother when she spoke.  My father encouraged me to resist when she asked for help with household chores.  He whispered secrets like he was planning to leave, she would be going to the “funny farm” soon, and she did not satisfy him sexually.

Violence was out of sight at first.  Regular assaults moved into common areas like hallways and at the dining table.  I witnessed constant fighting.  His explanation for his behavior was she made him do it;   every problem blamed on her demeanor, personality, words, and existence.

Home was not safe.  Neither was the car.

Going places with my father meant hearing his verbal attacks on women.  He commented on their bodies, disrespecting even my teachers and other women in authority.  He built into me a fear of being female, self-hatred, and another core belief.  Women are worth what men say they are worth.

“She’s just a crybaby.”

Until the age of 49, I kept emotions at a distance.  Two oaths made as a teenager provided shields:  never trust anyone, and never cry.  Ignoring the world of emotions meant words like stress and self-care did not apply to me.  Happiness, sorrow, grief – nothing was felt without guilt because having emotions was wrong.  No one saw those tears that insisted on rising.  

After the massacre at Columbine High School, reporters announced therapists and counselors were arriving on the scene.  While America reeled in shock at senseless murder, I stared at the television confused and embarrassed for the victims’ families.  How was it acceptable to mention emotional needs in public?  Why would they say that aloud?

If I wanted to reach out, I did not know how. Efforts to do so failed because how can one explain feelings she does not recognize? False honesty, rationalization disguised as good intentions, directed interactions with friends. Fear owned my social life. Some said I was aloof.  

“… crybaby. Stay here.”

Perforations in my resolve caused addiction, depression, self-injury, and self-righteousness. Skin-deep loathing leaked out into passive aggressive side comments and immature reactions. Inevitably, decades of rebuffed emotion exploded into an uncontrollable force.

Acute loneliness grew muscles and knocked out pretense.  Major depression twisted pain into despair, severing any leftover will to survive.  Ironically, trying to end my life was the catalyst to experiencing it at all.

Immediately following the suicide attempt, therapists and doctors asked questions for which there was no reply.  Are you safe?  (Well, my windows and doors are locked, so I guess I am safe.)  How is your mood?  (What am I, a child?  I do not have moods!)  How can you help yourself today?  (Uh… what?)  

A litany of foreign words and concepts left me feeling ignorant and fearful.  Unused to emotive terminology, I parroted back what it seemed they wanted to hear.  Nervously and vigilantly, I waited for signs of dismissal; as soon as they saw how stupid I was, they would throw me out.  

Yet no one did, and trust grew.

Adam Levine made a comment on the televised singing contest “The Voice”.  He remarked that emotion is why we have music.  Again, I was stunned.  Not only was he openly speaking of emotions, he was endorsing them.  The guilt I had carried for responding to music lifted.  It was actually good to feel.  People do so intentionally.

Over time, more discoveries freed my heart.  “She’s just a crybaby” was a lie.  My mother deserved to have her tears wiped away.  “Stay here” was unfair.  Empathy merits nurture, not death.

The part of me that ceased thriving over 50 years ago resurrected.  I love purely.  It is a privilege leaving the couch to wipe anyone’s tears away.  Striving to live in complete honesty has brought forgiveness, recovery, self-care, and freedom.  Openness and humility guide my work.  I am learning how to have friendships.  Healthy strategies divert difficult emotions to positive action.

Therapists and doctors were right – it feels better to feel better.

It feels better to feel.    

"The future is female," Hillary Clinton declared on February 6 in her first video statement since President Trump's inauguration. But what about the past?

While the women's suffrage movement first began in the 1840s, women did not earn the right to vote in the United States until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. To venerate some of these pioneers, the Metropolitan Museum of Art recently placed 300,000 imagesof public domain works in Creative Commons, many depicting the lives of American women well over a century ago. 

In honor of Women's History Month, here are 10 such images you probably haven't seen before:

1. Two Men, One in Military Garb, and a Woman, Seated Around a Table (1860s)

 2. A Woman and Eight Carpenters Posed Outdoors (1880s)

3. Philadelphia Sunday Press (1895)

4. Card 2, from the Girl Baseball Players series (N48, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes (1886) 

5. Native American Women and Horses by Teepee in Camp (1880s-'90s)

6. Native American Woman in Camp with Racks of Drying Meat (1880s-'90s)

7. Miss Nan N. - Indian Festival (1900s)

8. Regena (1912)

9. The Spanish Gypsy (1912)

10. This is a dear old lady (1917)

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Last week—following criticism from bipartisan Congress members, citizens, press, and advocacy groups like the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit that seeks to eliminate cruel, wasteful and unnecessary taxpayer-funded animal testing—the U.S. Department of Agriculture began to reverse course on its unjustifiable animal welfare database blackout. It started by restoring documents about government and other animal laboratories. This is a crucial resource, but we’re still fighting systemic government transparency failures about $15 billion in wasteful taxpayer-funded experimentation on dogs and other animals.

Months before the recent USDA purge—a scandal first exposed by WCW—we released "Spending to Death," a report documenting cruel and unnecessary government dog experiments, and a troubling abundance of secrecy about the practice and what it costs.

As reported in the Washington Post, we used the now-notorious USDA animal welfare database to reveal that agencies—including Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health and others—subjected more than 1,100 dogs to experiments in 2015. The USDA data indicated that this number had increased from the year before, and that one quarter of these dogs were subjected to experiments involving pain and distress. These basic figures are not available elsewhere, so it’s encouraging that USDA is in the process of restoring access to these documents. For non-federal animal laboratories, the database also includes evidence of any abuses documented by government inspectors, which can be grounds for losing taxpayer funding.

However, beyond the animal use numbers on the USDA site (which notably exclude mice and rats, who comprise 95 percent of animals used in laboratories), other publicly-available details about how dogs and other animals are used are scarce. It is estimated that across the nation, federal agencies are funding the abuse and death of tens of millions of animals in laboratories every year.

We did triangulate some information to determine that government agencies are purchasing months-old beagle, hound and mutt puppies and subjecting them to abuses including forced heart attacks and tick infestations. But overall, with very few exceptions, the agencies using tax money for painful and deadly dog experiments fail to disclose what they are doing, how much they are spending, the purpose or the outcome. In many cases, it appears agencies intentionally omit or obscure information to prevent scrutiny.

Our top recommendation in the report: "Provide Transparency."

A beagle confined in standard caging in a U.S. laboratory awaits his eventual torture and death. Federal agencies subjected more than 1,100 dogs to experiments in 2015 alone. An estimated 100 million animals are tortured and killed by agencies across the nation each year. (image: White Coat Waste Project)

Thankfully, we attracted the attention of Congress. Citing our work, a bipartisan group led by Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Dina Titus (D-NV) asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of systems for public disclosure about federally-funded animal experiments. In their December GAO request, they wrote: "Such transparency and accounting deficiencies prevent assessments by Congress and the public of the cost-efficiency and effectiveness of what we estimate to be a multi-billion-dollar government enterprise."

A companion letter to the GAO from Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stated:

Transparency about federal spending on animal research is especially critical given some evidence suggesting that such research is often wasteful and inefficient. ... Government transparency and accountability are cornerstones of our democracy. The public has a right to know how federal agencies spend their tax dollars and whether this spending improves American lives. Congress must also have access to this information in order to assess the effectiveness of government programs and prevent waste, fraud and abuse.

For instance, since 2000 there has been an interagency government program charged with facilitating the reduction and replacement of expensive and inaccurate animal testing for chemical toxicity with more efficient alternatives like cell-based tests and computer models. However, the 15 federal agencies that participate in the program do not report how many animals are used in tests they conduct or require, so there is no way to measure the progress of this important effort. Even the head of the program recently stated, "We need a way to measure success quantitatively."

To address this problem, earlier this month bipartisan Congress members introduced the Federal Accountability in Chemical Testing (FACT) Act. With over 30 Republican and Democratic cosponsors, the common-sense bill improves existing biennial reporting requirements so that agencies must include the number of animals they use, their species, and for what tests.

A WCW review conducted in support of the FACT Act uncovered unnecessary, multi-million-dollar government tests that involve poisoning animals with massive force-fed doses of herbal supplements sold for sexual dysfunction, cosmetics ingredients and even components from green tea and french fries.

As members of Congress expressed in their requests to GAO, transparency about taxpayer-funded animal experiments is critical to identifying waste and abuse.

The NIH laments that 90 percent of drugs that work in animal tests fail in humans because they are dangerous or ineffective. In the agency’s current Strategic Plan, it writes, "animal models often fail to provide good ways to mimic disease or predict how drugs will work in humans, resulting in much wasted time and money while patients wait for therapies." Still, 47 percent of the agency’s $32 billion budget is spent on animal experiments.

At an NIH lecture last year titled, "Inefficiency and Waste in Biomedical Research," the former President of the American College of Epidemiology reported that as much as 87.5 percent of biomedical research—especially animal experimentation—is flawed, redundant or completely unnecessary.

This is clearly cause for a serious reappraisal of research funding decisions. Yet, when we asked via a Freedom of Information Act request, NIH could not even determine what other federal agencies it funds animal experimentation at.

Americans may disagree on many things, but this isn’t one of them. A recent Lincoln Park Strategies poll of 1,100 voters found that a supermajority—73 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Democrats—want more transparency about taxpayer-funded animal experiments.

USDA restoring its animal welfare database is a start, but major reforms are still needed to ensure transparency and accountability about billions in wasteful government spending for outdated and unnecessary experiments on dogs and other animals.

Visit FACTact.org to urge Congress to support the bipartisan Federal Accountability in Chemical Testing (FACT) Act (HR 816) to increase transparency about government animal testing.

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Looking around, there seems to be a dearth of grown-ups in our culture. We put a premium on seeming cool and hip and will spend inordinate amounts of money to retain our youthful looks. Meanwhile, being known as “mature” has become something to avoid entirely, as it signifies you’ve become a boring, stogy old coot. As a result, we’ve got a lot of folks in our society who are adults by merit of their chronological age, but don’t appear or act as such.

But what if growing up doesn’t mean you have to be boring and lame? What if becoming a grown-up is actually a really rebellious act?

That’s the argument my guest today makes in her latest book. Her name is Susan Neiman and she’s the author of Why Grow Up? Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age. Today on the show, Susan and I discuss why becoming a grown-up has gotten a bad rap, how our culture — including smartphones — infantilizes us, and what the Enlightenment thinkers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Emanuel Kant can teach us about how to become a grown-up. Susan then goes on to share ideas on what you can do to feel more like an autonomous adult and why embracing that role is such a subversive thing to do.

Show Highlights

• Why “grown ups” get such a bad rap, and how culture makes growing up seem depressing
• Are one’s young adult years the happiest and best time of their life?
• How society infantilizes us
• How traveling can help you grow up
• The trivial questions and choices that drain our mental energies, and the questions we should be focusing on instead
• The common idea of what it means to grow up
• What growing up actually means
• Why becoming an adult is a problem of the Enlightenment
• How Kant and Rousseau influenced the ideas of adulthood
• Parenting tips from the Enlightenment novel Emile that will lead to a flourishing adulthood
• Some brass tacks tips for what you can do to become a grown up
• Why you need to re-examine what it means to be an adult
• Why should people grow up? What do they stand to benefit?

Resources/People/Articles Mentioned in Podcast

• Why Growing Up is Hard to Do (But Why the World Still Needs Adults)
• You Can’t Return to Eden
• The Rise of Shadow Work
• Good News! Your Life Isn’t Limitless
• The Paradox of Choice
• The Churchill School of Adulthood
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Emile by Rousseau
• Immanuel Kant
• Gas Station TV
• Malala’s challenge to the world’s militaries

Why Grow Up? is a fun and enlightening read. If you’re tired of the cultural messaging that growing up means becoming dull and boring, you’re going to love the subversive thoughts of Susan Neiman. You’ll actually be excited to become a mature, autonomous adult after you’re done reading it.

Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!)

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Download this episode.

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The post Podcast #280: Why Growing Up Is a Subversive Act appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

Wampanoag people working at the Plimoth Plantation share their ancestral history with visitors year-round. But you don't have to visit the Massachusetts museum to hear firsthand about what Thanksgiving means to them. 

In August 2016, Plimoth Plantation and PACTV collaborated on the new documentary People of the First Light: Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective. The film shares how the Wampanoag continue to educate and inspire Americans to rediscover history. 

"The Wampanoag tribe, who hosted the first Thanksgiving, are people who have been [in America] for 12,000 years," John Brown, material culture specialist at the Plimoth Plantation, explains in the film. And many Wampanoags are still living in the very same area.

"This my ancestral land, I have my grandmother's teaching in my culture, my traditions are still here," Shirley High-Rock, an educator at the Wampanoag Museum, says.

Nearly every part of the modern Thanksgiving traces its roots to the 19th century, when American author Sarah Josepha Hale pushed Abraham Lincoln to designate it as a national holiday.

But for the Wampanoag, "Thanksgiving was every day. Anything that you did well—whether you fished, whether you hunted, whether you cut down a tree—you always gave thanks for what the Creator had given us. [But today] we really don't celebrate it; it's more or less [that] we recognize the ones we've lost in the past," explained Darius Coombs, director of Wampanoag and Algonkian research at the Plimoth Plantation. 

"For us it was just [about] sustaining life," added Melissa Costa, site supervisor at the Plimoth Plantation. 

There's very little historical recollection of what happened on that day, but the Wampanoag people view the original feast as nothing more than a political dinner. 

"What happened in the past was that Thanksgiving was was not truly Thanksgiving for us from a historical perspective," Brown said.

Plimoth Plantation is closed on Thanksgiving. However, the Mashpee Wampanoag Museum, located in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, is open until 4pm.

"On that day, actually, I'm here at the museum and most of their staff workers are here [too]... so we educate the public about that day," Coombs said.

Museums are the best resources for learning about Thanksgiving, according to the Wampanoag people. 

"We kind of specialize in Thanksgiving here at Plimoth Plantation, so this is a fantastic place to come to," Coombs said.

Watch: "People of the First Light. Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective"

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There was a time you'd think nothing of seeing young kids puffing on candy cigarettes. Parents would even hand them out on Halloween. Smoking was KOOL. "Just Like Daddy!" one candy ad promised. Hershey Corporation started the trend a century ago when it began hawking chocolate smokes, and by the 1920s, companies such as World Candies and Necco were selling a chalky white version. You could also get skinny bubble gum cigs in white paper tubes. Bonus: Blowing on them produced a little puff of gum-dust smoke.

Big Tobacco often looked the other way as its names and logos popped up in candy aisles around the nation. "Not too bad an advertisement," a lawyer for Brown & Williamson once conceded to a candymaker. Some tobacco execs even supplied art specs for use on candy packaging, notes Stanford historian Robert Proctor, who painstakingly details the industry's evildoings in his 2012 book, Golden Holocaust.

It paid off, too: In a 2007 study that surveyed 25,000 people, researchers at the University of Rochester found that respondents who consumed candy cigarettes as kids were roughly twice as likely as those who hadn't to report that they later became smokers. When tobacco companies eventually grew sensitive to negative PR and began policing their copyrights more aggressively, confectioners responded with a wink: "Marboro," "Winstun," "Kamel," "Lucky Stripe."

One state, North Dakota, actually outlawed candy cigarettes from 1953 to 1967, but federal lawmakers who tried the same were no match for Big Tobacco's friends in Congress. In the end, didn't matter. Following the massive tobacco settlements of the 1980s, which included restrictions on advertising and product placement, smoking became way less cool and candy cigs slowly disappeared from most stores on their own. You can still buy the fake cancer sticks online without the recognizable logos. Now they're just "candy sticks."

Here’s the seventh in my series of 1980s survey mixes, which are moving backwards in time from 1989 to the start of the decade. These compilations are designed to give more context to the music of the ‘80s, and give a sense of how various niches and trends overlapped in this cultural moment.

I can’t tell you how nice it is to get out of the mid-’80s after spending months focused on that period for the past few surveys. The early ’80s have a very different vibe, and are much more rooted in elements of disco, new wave, and punk that have aged better than the cheesy extremes of the mid-80s. There’s a lot of great stuff going on in this set, and I think when this project is complete, this will end up being one of the most listenable surveys.

Thanks to Paul Cox, Chris Conroy, Chris Ott, and Rob Sheffield for their help in compiling this survey. All of the previous 1980s surveys are still available: 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984. The 1982 survey should be ready sometime in the middle of June.

DOWNLOAD DISC 1

Michael Jackson “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” / New Order “Blue Monday” / David Bowie “Let’s Dance” / Human League “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” / Eddie Grant “Electric Avenue” / Stevie Nicks “Stand Back” / Loose Joints “Tell You (Today)” / ESG “My Love for You” / Liquid Liquid “Cavern” / Herbie Hancock “Rockit” / Run-D.M.C. “It’s Like That” / Prince “Little Red Corvette” / R.E.M. “Pilgrimage” / U2 “New Year’s Day” / Echo and the Bunnymen “The Cutter” / The Smiths “This Charming Man” / Spandau Ballet “True”

DOWNLOAD DISC 2

Madonna “Borderline” / Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers “Islands in the Stream” / The Isley Brothers “Between the Sheets” / Mtume “Juicy Fruit” / Talking Heads “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” / Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson “Say Say Say” / Huey Lewis and the News “Heart and Soul” / Billy Joel “Uptown Girl” / New Edition “Candy Girl” / Naked Eyes “Always Something There to Remind Me” / Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” / “Irene Cara “Flashdance…What A Feeling” / Yazoo “Nobody’s Diary” / Cybotron “Clear” / The Cure “The Lovecats” / Culture Club “Karma Chameleon” / Ludus “Breaking the Rules” / Cocteau Twins “Sugar Hiccup” / Siouxsie and the Banshees “Dear Prudence” / Sonic Youth “Making the Nature Scene”

DOWNLOAD DISC 3

Styx “Mr. Roboto” / Yes “Owner of a Lonely Heart” / The Police “Every Breath You Take” / Elton John “I’m Still Standing” / Genesis “That’s All” / Bob Marley “Buffalo Soldier” / X-Visitors “The Planet Doesn’t Mind” / G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid “Play That Beat Mr. DJ” / Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force “Renegades of Funk” / Gwen Guthrie “Padlock (Larry Levan mix)” / Beastie Boys “Cooky Puss” / Vanity 6 “Nasty Girl” / Pat Benetar “Love Is A Battlefield” / ZZ Top “Sharp Dressed Man” / Suicidal Tendencies “Institionalized” / Circle Jerks “Parade of the Horribles” / Bad Brains “Big Takeoever” / Minor Threat “Out of Step” / The Minutemen “Sell Or Be Sold” / Bauhaus “She’s In Parties” / Einstuerzende Neubauten “Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.”

DOWNLOAD DISC 4

Lionel Richie “All Night Long (All Night)” / Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” / Def Leppard “Photograph” / John Cougar Mellencamp “Pink Houses” / Elvis Costello “Shipbuilding” / Tears for Fears “Mad World” / Depeche Mode “Everything Counts” / Laid Back “White Horse” / Shriekback “Lined Up” / The Fall “Eat Y’self Fitter” / Weird Al Yankovic “I Love Rocky Road” / The Replacements “Color Me Impressed” / The B Boys “Rock the House” / Kurtis Blow “Got to Dance” / King Sunny Ade “Synchro System” / Shalamar “The Look” / UB40 “Many Rivers to Cross” / Bob Dylan “Jokerman” / Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble, and The Edge “Snake Charmer”

DOWNLOAD DISC 5

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five “Scorpio” / Rammellzee Vs K-Rob “Beat Bop” / Orange Juice “Rip It Up” / The Fixx “One Thing Leads to Another” / Fun Boy Three “Our Lips Are Sealed” / Kajagoogoo “Too Shy” / Grace Jones “My Jamaican Guy” / Don Carlos “Spread Out” / Black Uhuru “Big Spliff” / Daryl Hall and John Oates “One On One” / Marianne Faithful “Blue Millionaire” / Oingo Boingo “Good For Your Soul” / Jeffrey Osborne “Stay With Me Tonight” / James Ingram & Michael McDonald “Yah Mo Be There” / The Motels “Suddenly Last Summer” / The Kinks “Come Dancing” / Stray Cats “(She’s) Sexy + 17” / Tracey Ullman “They Don’t Know”

DOWNLOAD DISC 6

Quiet Riot “Cum On Feel the Noize” / Mötley Crüe “Looks That Kill” / Big Country “In A Big Country” / The B-52’s “Legal Tender” / Public Image Ltd “(This Is Not A) Love Song” / The Glove “Punish Me With Kisses” / Laura Branigan “Deep in the Dark” / Killing Joke “Let’s All Go (To The Fire Dances)” / Sparks “Lucky Me, Lucky You” / Air Supply “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” / Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack “Tonight I Celebrate My Love” / Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton “We’ve Got Tonight” / Emmylou Harris “Like An Old Fashioned Waltz” / Bryan Adams “Cuts Like A Knife” / Red Rockers “China” / X “The New World” / Jonathan Richman “That Summer Feeling” / Paul Simon “Train in the Distance” / Randy Newman “I Love L.A.” / This Mortal Coil “Song to the Siren”

DOWNLOAD DISC 7

Metallica “Hit the Lights” / Dio “Rainbow in the Dark” / Billy Idol “Rebel Yell” / Greg Kihn Band “Jeopardy” / Class Action “Weekend” / Malcolm McLaren “Double Dutch” / Lex “Fourteen Days” / Olivia Newton-John “Twist of Faith” / Rufus & Chaka Khan “Ain’t Nobody” / David Joseph “You Can’t Hide (Your Love From Me) (Larry Levan mix)” / Chaz Jankel featuring Laura Weymouth “Whisper” / Whodini “Magic’s Wind” / William Onyeabor “Good Name” / Robin Gibb “I Believe In Miracles” / Shakin’ Stevens “Cry Just A Little Bit” / The Call “The Walls Come Down” / Pink Floyd “Two Suns in the Sunset”

DOWNLOAD DISC 8

Kraftwerk “Tour de France” / Duran Duran “Union of the Snake” / Wham! “Club Tropicana” / Michael Sambello “Maniac” / Peter Schilling “Major Tom (Völlig Losgelöst)” / Heaven 17 “Temptation” / XTC “Wonderland” / Liliput “Yours Is Mine” / Dub Syndicate “Drainpipe Rats” / Ministry “Work for Love” / Lou Reed “Legendary Hearts” / Pulp “My Lighthouse” / Tom Waits “In the Neighborhood” / Journey “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” / Jonzun Crew “Pack Jam” / The Rake “Street Justice” / African Head Charge “Timbuktu Express” / Marshall Crenshaw “Whenever You’re On My Mind” / Madness “Tomorrow’s (Just Another Day)” / Violent Femmes “Blister in the Sun” / Bonnie Tyler “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from James “Uncle Buzz” Surwilo. 

Several years back, I wrote a piece for the Art of Manliness about having to make the painful decision, then act on that decision, to euthanize our dog, Buddy. The epilogue to that story is that we adopted Danni, who is now closing in on two years old. The operative term here is adopted, not purchased, as I acquired Danni at an animal shelter, rather than buying her from a breeder.

Danni is a mongrel, as every one of the long line of dogs I have cared for or owned have been since my childhood. The first, Mizz, was a street urchin from a dodgy neighborhood who my father coaxed into the car, but subsequent mutts were all sprung from various humane societies or dog pounds near where I lived at the time. My mother was no great animal lover, tolerant of dogs at best, and between her ambivalence and both my parents’ blue-collar conventions, the notion of paying good money to get a recognized breed of dog was completely off the table.

It’s an attitude I’ve carried into my own adulthood, for more reasons than one.

The High Price of Gilded Pooches

If a dog has a job to do — herding sheep, chomping drug dealers, or retrieving waterfowl — I certainly can see the desire for a particular breed. And some folks greatly appreciate the appearance of a certain breed; for instance, the proud and noble German Shepherd or the larval Pug. But if the dog’s occupation is to weigh down the living room rug, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then really, what’s in a pedigree?

Every so often I’ll read the local freebie newspaper’s classified advertisements for purebred puppies and I am staggered by the price. I just took a glance a minute ago, and puppies from two different breeds are being offered for $800 each. I do live in the long-ago dreamland of 50-cent cups of coffee and dollar-a-gallon gas, but $800 for a dog? Maybe if it came with a 24-carat gold collar. Otherwise, no thanks.

I’m not going to insinuate that these breeders are not on the level, but busts of puppy mills occasionally make the news even here in Vermont — a state that has both an officious government and a well-earned reputation for neighbors helping — and “spying” on — neighbors. This governmental and social nosiness is bad if you sneak a recyclable can in the trash, but good for sniffing out disreputable dog sellers. So if dog mills are happening here, I have to believe that this sort of nefarious behavior is even more common in other parts of the country where the laws and social fabric are looser. There is no justification for this kind of canine criminality, but it doesn’t take an accountant to understand why puppy mills exist. Think of it: say, eight puppies in a litter, priced at $800 each. That’s a pretty good return on the short-term rental of a stud dog, some deworming medicine, and a few shots. Other than cleaning puppy poop, the bitch does all the work until the pups are ready to go.

The cost of a premium pooch isn’t only extracted from the owner’s wallet either, but from the mutt who gets passed over and left in the pound as well.

No doubt there is data available on the sheer number of dogs in animal shelters, the percentage of them who are adopted, and the unfortunate, and depressing, percentage of dogs that are euthanized. But not having facts to support a conclusion has never stopped anyone from sermonizing on the internet, and it’s not going to stop me! You see, I’m of the mind that purchasing a full-bred puppy for looks or to make an impression has simultaneously sentenced a “pound hound” to death.

Let me explain why, by sharing a little more about how I came to acquire Danni.

Springing Danni from the Big House

A year and a half ago, my best friend Mike and I decided on a couple-day road trip that would take us from his home in rural Virginia to the coal country of West Virginia. The idea was to do some hiking in the hills and hollers, and to poke around some coal mining ghost towns. Also, unbeknownst to my family back in Vermont, I had a notion to come back with a pup from our travels.

On the final day of our West Virginia excursion we detoured miles up a back road to the county animal control center. It appeared, as half-expected, as a long, one-story building placidly set up on a hill, with an entrance on the left and individual kennels extending to the right. When we entered the office, Mike and I were greeted by many meandering cats, constant muffled barking, and a potent odor. The first words out of the harried woman behind the counter were “We can’t accept any more animals!” When I replied that I was looking to adopt a dog, I thought that she was going to kiss me. The assistant said that we could step down the interior passage, which had small dogs and young puppies in the first room, then dogs in kennels on both sides of the hallway beyond the puppy room. Then we could walk outside and look at the dogs in the exterior kennels running down both sides of the building. After that, there were two outbuildings down below holding even more dogs up for adoption. We were free to wander around, and if I saw a pooch that I liked, one of the workers would go fetch him or her, and I could take the prospective adoptee for a stroll.

Neither Mike nor I were prepared for what we experienced. The puppy and small dog room was stacked floor-to-ceiling with small wire cages, like you’d see lab animals in, each holding numerous little mop-haired dogs or just weaned pups. Dozens and dozens. Afterwards we walked down the interior hallway, where every kennel was occupied, with me scanning left and right for a dog who fit my subjective criteria and caught my eye. Only we were being assailed by a chorus of nonstop, deafening barking in a very confined space, which almost made the overpowering odor forgettable. We made it to the end of the hallway and back, but hurriedly, as all our senses were being overloaded. If we couldn’t wait to get out of there, I can’t imagine how distressing it must be for those dogs subjected to the constant resounding noise and confinement.

Next Mike and I circumnavigated the perimeter of the shelter, to view the 60 or so dogs whose kennels faced the outside. And we quickly learned, as if being caged wasn’t upsetting enough to these dogs, the shelter was located next to — very next to — a shooting range, which was going full blast at the time.

Two dogs, one on each side of the exterior kennels, caught my attention in the few seconds that I spent scanning the occupant behind their chain link door, and I made a mental note of the cage numbers, before proceeding down to the two outbuildings. The first stop was a storage building improvised to hold more small dog cages. The second stop was a garage that was pressed into service to hold even more dogs. This situation I found most upsetting. The 20 or so dogs in the enclosed garage were housed in travel crates scattered in no particular order over the floor. Even with the light on, the cages only allowed a bent over, two-dimensional peek at a face, and of course the dogs were howling in that confined space. It just seemed as if these were the forgotten ones, not well represented for patrons, and it was hard to imagine any of them being adopted.

I should make it clear at this point that I have nothing but respect and compassion for the organization that runs this particular shelter. My impression was favorable at the time of my pup’s adoption, observing the small, dedicated staff struggle to simply feed the internees and keep some reasonable level of cleanliness. Since then I have been periodically visiting the shelter’s website and now appreciate the lengths that they go through to raise money to sustain their operation and to see their charges adopted. But the facility is overwhelmed with dogs and cats, treading water against a regional culture that sees no value in spaying or neutering (and, we were told, an overzealous county dog catcher). The facility was simply housing many times the number of animals that it was designed for, or that the staff should be expected to care for.

By the time Mike and I left the garage, we were thoroughly overwhelmed by what we were seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling. While I was dutifully walking by every cage or kennel, I was on sensory overload, my eyes long glazed over, my head spinning. I could see the grieved look on Mike’s face too. I was expecting a dozen, maybe two dozen dogs to choose from. The selection process would be pleasant and unhurried: take a few prospects out for a walk, a couple of belly rubs, a little pondering, maybe a second test walk, not too different than buying a car. Instead, I had to choose between hundreds of dogs of every age, size, and variety, all in a desperate situation with immense odds against them. We trudged back up to the office — as chaotic and cacophonic as before — and asked to see two dogs, if we may. I had no preference at the time, but for whatever reason I said, “One is in kennel 735,” and that dog was fetched first by the attendant.

Duchess — as she was introduced — was about six months old, smallish, skinny as a rail, black and white, with those droopy ears and puppy dog eyes that melt my heart. She was friendly and affectionate from the initial greeting, without being timid or overly energetic. We took her down to a little pond, maybe 50 yards away. She was interested in us, not so much her freedom from confinement, and walked on a leash well. No obvious red flags. How could I put her back in a cage, walk the other dog, then have to decide between the two and forever wonder the fate of the dog that I didn’t choose? I couldn’t, so in less than three minutes, the decision was made: Duchess was going to Vermont with me.

The shelter staff was thrilled to have a quick and happy ending — and no doubt to free up a premium space. From my recollection, adoption from a Vermont shelter meant much paperwork needed to be filled out, fitness-for-adopting interviews conducted under glaring light, and character references checked. It made the background check for joining the CIA seem effortless. And it’ll cost you a couple hundred bucks to spring that mutt. In this West Virginia shelter, only my scantest personal information was requested and a checkmark indicating that I was a living, breathing human. The standard adoption fee of $20(!) was waived, as the person who reluctantly relinquished Duchess and her sister (whom Mike and I unknowingly walked by at some point) sponsored their adoptions. Consequently, Duchess could cost nothing, although I made a sizable donation.

My new dog climbed into the truck with Mike and I, and together we headed back to her new home in the Green Mountains.

Consider Getting a Pound Hound

It’s likely that many $800 pedigreed dogs are great dogs, but there are so many orphaned and abandoned dogs out there looking for a home, I think it’s immoral to breed more for profit or status. And why pay for a dog’s unconditional love when you can get it — nearly — for free, and do a genuinely good deed in the process?

By adopting Danni — formerly Duchess — for no money and little effort, a dog’s life was saved. Perhaps not just hers, but also the shelter dog that was moved from the oppressive garage to the relatively palatial and conspicuous kennel #735.

Danni has returned the favor many times over. She has pretty amber eyes, a wet nose, a perpetually wagging tail, and a perennially empty belly. She is universally considered “sweet,” a sentiment that the neighborhood dogs, and even cats, would share if they could. The command “speak” befuddles her, but Danni greets me when I come home each day for lunch as if I had been gone for a month, and I react as if I had been.

If any AoM readers are considering acquiring a dog, I recommend the local shelter as the first stop. Somebody there will assuredly steal your heart, just as Danni’s stole mine.

Causes, Symptoms, Effects, and Treatment
Trauma. The word brings to mind the effects of such major events as war, rape, kidnapping, abuse, torture, or other similar assault. The emotional aftermath of such events, recognized by the medical and psychological communities, and increasingly by the general public, is known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Now there is a new field of investigation that is less familiar, even to professionals: emotional or psychological trauma.

What is emotional or psychological trauma?
The ability to recognize emotional trauma has changed radically over the course of history. Until rather recently psychological trauma was noted only in men after catastrophic wars. The women's movement in the sixties broadened the definition of emotional trauma to include physically and sexually abused women and children. Now because of the discoveries made in the nineties known as the decade of the brain, psychological trauma has further broadened its definition.

Recent research has revealed that emotional trauma can result from such common occurrences as an auto accident, the breakup of a significant relationship, a humiliating or deeply disappointing experience, the discovery of a life-threatening illness or disabling condition, or other similar situations. Traumatizing events can take a serious emotional toll on those involved, even if the event did not cause physical damage.

Regardless of its source, an emotional trauma contains three common elements:

it was unexpected;
the person was unprepared; and
there was nothing the person could do to prevent it from happening.

It is not the event that determines whether something is traumatic to someone, but the individual's experience of the event. And it is not predictable how a given person will react to a particular event. For someone who is used to being in control of emotions and events, it may be surprising – even embarrassing – to discover that something like an accident or job loss can be so debilitating.

What causes emotional or psychological trauma?
Our brains are structured into three main parts, long observed in autopsies:

• the cortex (the outer surface, where higher thinking skills arise; includes the frontal cortex, the most recently evolved portion of the brain)
• the limbic system (the center of the brain, where emotions evolve)
• the brain stem (the reptilian brain that controls basic survival functions)

Because of the development of brain scan technology, scientists can now observe the brain in action, without waiting for an autopsy. These scans reveal that trauma actually changes the structure and function of the brain, at the point where the frontal cortex, the emotional brain and the survival brain converge. A significant finding is that brain scans of people with relationship or developmental problems, learning problems, and social problems related to emotional intelligence reveal similar structural and functional irregularities to those resulting from PTSD.

What is the difference between stress and emotional or psychological trauma?
One way to tell the difference between stress and emotional trauma is by looking at the outcome – how much residual effect an upsetting event is having on our lives, relationships, and overall functioning. Traumatic distress can be distinguished from routine stress by assessing the following:


If we can communicate our distress to people who care about us and can respond adequately, and if we return to a state of equilibrium following a stressful event, we are in the realm of stress. If we become frozen in a state of active emotional intensity, we are experiencing an emotional trauma – even though sometimes we may not be consciously aware of the level of distress we are experiencing.

Why can an event cause an emotionally traumatic response in one person and not in another?
There is no clear answer to this question, but it is likely that one or more of these factors are involved:

• the severity of the event;
• the individual's personal history (which may not even be recalled);
• the larger meaning the event represents for the individual (which may not be immediately evident);
• coping skills, values and beliefs held by the individual (some of which may have never been identified); and
• the reactions and support from family, friends, and/or professionals.

Anyone can become traumatized. Even professionals who work with trauma, or other people close to a traumatized person, can develop symptoms of "vicarious" or "secondary" traumatization. Developing symptoms is never a sign of weakness. Symptoms should be taken seriously and steps should be taken to heal, just as one would take action to heal from a physical ailment. And just as with a physical condition, the amount of time or assistance needed to recover from emotional trauma will vary from one person to another.

What are the symptoms of emotional trauma?
There are common effects or conditions that may occur following a traumatic event. Sometimes these responses can be delayed, for months or even years after the event. Often, people do not even initially associate their symptoms with the precipitating trauma. The following are symptoms that may result from a more commonplace, unresolved trauma, especially if there were earlier, overwhelming life experiences:

Physical
Eating disturbances (more or less than usual)
Sleep disturbances (more or less than usual)
Sexual dysfunction
Low energy
Chronic, unexplained pain

Emotional
Depression, spontaneous crying, despair and hopelessness
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Fearfulness
Compulsive and obsessive behaviors
Exaggerating (especially when others chronically disbelieve them)
Feeling out of control
Irritability, angry and resentment
Emotional numbness
Withdrawal from normal routine and relationships


Cognitive
Memory lapses, especially about the trauma
Difficulty making decisions
Decreased ability to concentrate
Feeling distracted
The following additional symptoms of emotional trauma are commonly associated with a severe precipitating event, such as a natural disaster, exposure to war, rape, assault, violent crime, major car or airplane crashes, or child abuse. Extreme symptoms can also occur as a delayed reaction to the traumatic event.

Re-experiencing the Trauma
intrusive thoughts
flashbacks or nightmares
sudden floods of emotions or images related to the traumatic event

Emotional Numbing and Avoidance
amnesia
avoidance of situations that resemble the initial event
detachment
depression
guilt feelings
grief reactions
an altered sense of time

Increased Arousal
hyper-vigilance, jumpiness, an extreme sense of being "on guard"
overreactions, including sudden unprovoked anger
general anxiety
insomnia
obsessions with death

What are the possible effects of emotional trauma?
Even when unrecognized, emotional trauma can create lasting difficulties in an individual's life. One way to determine whether an emotional or psychological trauma has occurred, perhaps even early in life before language or conscious awareness were in place, is to look at the kinds of recurring problems one might be experiencing. These can serve as clues to an earlier situation that caused a dysregulation in the structure or function of the brain.

Common personal and behavioral effects of emotional trauma:

substance abuse
compulsive behavior patterns
self-destructive and impulsive behavior
lashing out
uncontrollable reactive thoughts
inability to make healthy professional or lifestyle choices
dissociative symptoms ("splitting off" parts of the self)
feelings of ineffectiveness, shame, despair, hopelessness
feeling permanently damaged
a loss of previously sustained beliefs

Common effects of emotional trauma on interpersonal relationships:

inability to maintain close relationships or choose appropriate friends and mates
sexual problems
hostility
arguments with family members, employers or co-workers
social withdrawal
feeling constantly threatened

What if symptoms don't go away, or appear at a later time?
Over time, even without professional treatment, symptoms of an emotional trauma generally subside, and normal daily functioning gradually returns. However, even after time has passed, sometimes the symptoms don't go away. Or they may appear to be gone, but surface again in another stressful situation. When a person's daily life functioning or life choices continue to be affected, a post-traumatic stress disorder may be the problem, requiring professional assistance.

How is emotional trauma treated?
Traditional approaches to treating emotional trauma include:

talk therapies (working out the feelings associated with the trauma);
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) involves changing one's thoughts and actions, and includes systematic desensitization to reduce reactivity to a traumatic stressor
relaxation/stress reduction techniques, such as biofeedback or breathwork; and
hypnosis to deal with reactions often below the level of conscious awareness.

There are also several recent developments in the treatment to emotional trauma. Depending on the nature of the trauma and the age or state of development at which it occurred, these somatic (body) psychotherapies might even be more effective than traditional therapies. Some of the new therapies include:

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming)
Somatic Experiencing
Hakomi
Integrative Body Psychotherapy

EMDR THERAPIST NETWORK

Men seem to be drawn to combative athletics and physical jobs. Violent sports like mixed martial arts remain male dominated, and 85.5% of active duty military members are men.

Statistics also show that men are more likely to commit violent crimes than women. These violent crimes range from assault and battery in a barroom fight to straight-up homicide.

Why is it that men are more prone to violence, whether recreationally, vocationally, or criminally? Many academics would argue that it’s solely a matter of social conditioning — that men are violent and aggressive because society teaches them to be violent and aggressive.

But other researchers from the fields of evolutionary biology and anthropology suggest that while social conditioning may have some influence on male behavior, men are in many ways biologically and psychologically wired to fight.

In a 2012 paper entitled “The Importance of Physical Strength to Human Males,“ a group of academics from the fields of anthropology and evolutionary psychology compiled research from several domains that suggest that evolutionary and reproductive pressures in our distant past nudged males in our species to develop a propensity for risk taking and violence, as well as physical traits that would be valuable in violent confrontations. The features researchers think are the result of selection for fighting are those which testosterone turns on and grows — e.g., think of the way the surging testosterone in an adolescent male during puberty increases the size of his musculature and capacity for upper body strength.

Because the competition for resources and reproductive success was much more intense among males than females, being bigger, stronger, and more adept at fighting provided a big advantage for men.

Basically, the argument is that much of what makes men different than women can be chalked up to males’ need to fight other males.

The fields of evolutionary psychology and biology are often very speculative, and it’s impossible to say that X traits definitely developed for X reason. For example, there are researchers who say that the structure of the human hand developed to allow us to make a fist and punch each other better, while others say its structure evolved to allow us to make and use tools. The intersection of biology, psychology, and sociology is quite complex, and boiling down who we are to a simple matter of evolution would be short-sighted and reductionist.

Those caveats aside, the speculation is certainly fascinating to entertain! Just because you’re wired to fight, doesn’t mean you’ve got to become a full-time fisticuffer, but you might look for ways to scratch that primal itch. Plus it’s just cool to look in the mirror at your naked body in the morning, and realize that your unique features were designed for combat. You’ve got warrior DNA. It’s certainly good motivation to get to the gym and not let traits thousands of years in the making go to waste. Honor your ancestors!

Next time you’re giving yourself a look over, contemplate these features that may have been made for combat:

1. Faster mental rotation and spatial visualization. Could come in handy in a fast-changing dynamic like a fight. Researchers have made connections between play fighting and spatial visualization. Recent research has shown that women can close the gap with training, but it appears men have an inherent predisposition to this trait.

2. Broader shoulders. Allows for more forceful punching and throwing. Broader shoulders also served as a deterrent to would-be aggressors. They signaled “Don’t mess with me, I can pummel you.” Because of their signaling ability, anthropologist Richard Wrangham has said that broad shoulders “are the human equivalent of antlers.”

3. Greater upper body strength. Useful in punching, grappling, and throwing weapons (rocks, spears, etc.).

4. Larger lung capacity. Useful in high-intensity, cardiovascularly-taxing activities like fighting.

5. Stronger/denser bones, specifically in the arms. Useful in inflicting more damage on an opponent. Stronger bones mean you’re less likely to experience fractures during hard physical challenges. Greater bone strength is due to increased testosterone levels in men.

6. Faster reaction times. Quicker reflexes. Useful in avoiding punches, projectiles, and other aggressive attacks.

7. Thicker, stronger bones in the jaw, face, and neck. Stronger, thicker facial and jaw muscles and bones allow for better absorption of the energy of a punch, lessening the possibility of a broken jaw or concussion.

8. Larger hearts and higher systolic blood pressure. A larger heart and a bit higher systolic blood pressure can better pump blood to muscles during a strenuous activity like a fight. Of course, having too large a heart and too high blood pressure can be dangerous to cardiatric health.

9. More accurate throwing and blocking. Useful in throwing rocks, spears, fists, etc. in a fight as well as avoiding incoming rocks, spears, fists, etc.

10. More efficient heat dissipation/larger sweat capacity. Increases endurance during physical activity, particularly if that activity takes place in dry and extremely hot weather. While women have overall higher heat dissipation due to their decreased body mass, men’s heat dissipation is more efficient when you take into account their overall larger size.

11. Greater muscle mass and higher muscle-to-fat ratio. More muscle = more strength. Strength is certainly something you want in hand-to-hand combat.

12. Larger circulating blood volume and more hemoglobin in the blood. Increased oxygen efficiency that could come in handy while battling another. Men also have higher circulating clotting factors compared to women which leads to faster wound healing.

13. Thicker skin. Possibly aides in the prevention of wounds that may occur during physical combat.

14. Taller. Enables you to punch with more force. Punching downward rather than upwards allows you to punch with 200% more force. Taller men thus have an advantage in a fight.

Illustration by Ted Slampyak

This is the third in my series of 1980s survey mixes, which are designed to give more context to the music of that decade. Most versions of ‘80s history focus on specific niches and canons, but mostly ignore or write off parallel and overlapping cultural trends. My goal in doing this project is to highlight all the different things going on from year to year, to better understand the original context of familiar songs and to highlight a lot of the music that has faded from cultural memory. Here are the mixes for 1988 and 1989.

1987 may be the greatest year of the ‘80s – the sheer number of enduring classics in this set, particularly on the first disc, is staggering, and I think a lot of the aesthetic of “80s-ness” in music today is largely rooted in the music of this year. This isn’t to say everything is perfect, but I think it’s safe to say that blockbuster pop and “college rock” are both at their pinnacle in this year. There’s also a lot of top-quality cheesy pop music in this year, and a good number of songs that you may not recognize in terms of artist/song title, but will probably be like “oh, they play this all the time at the pharmacy” when you hear it.

Thanks to Paul Cox, Sean T. Collins, and Chris Conroy for their assistance in putting this set together. I’m going to pause this project in December for the 2015 survey set, and resume it again in mid to late January with the 1986 survey.

DOWNLOAD DISC 1

U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” / INXS “Need You Tonight” / George Michael “I Want Your Sex” / Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” / Michael Jackson “The Way You Make Me Feel” / Prince “U Got the Look” / M/A/R/R/S “Pump Up the Volume” / Sly & Robbie “Boops (Here to Go)” / Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam “Head to Toe” / Terence Trent D’Arby “Wishing Well” / T’Pau “Heart and Soul” / Aretha Franklin featuring George Michael “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” / Def Leppard “Pour Some Sugar On Me” / Swing Out Sister “Breakout” / Erasure “Victim of Love” / The Fall “Hit the North” / Eric B and Rakim “I Know You Got Soul” / LL Cool J “Going Back to Cali” / Suzanne Vega “Luka”

DOWNLOAD DISC 2

R.E.M. “Finest Worksong” / The Cure “Just Like Heaven” / Depeche Mode “Never Let Me Down Again” / Belinda Carlisle “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” / Fleetwood Mac “Everywhere” / Eric Carmen “Hungry Eyes” / Pet Shop Boys “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” / ABC “When Smokey Sings” / Kool Moe Dee “How Ya Like Me Now” / Run-D.M.C. “Christmas In Hollis” / Joseph Cotton “No Touch the Style” / Jody Watley “Looking For A New Love” / Madonna “Who’s That Girl” / Squeeze “Hourglass” / The Smiths “Girlfriend In A Coma” / George Strait “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” / Bruce Springsteen “Brilliant Disguise” / Rosanne Cash “If You Change Your Mind” / Cabaret Voltaire “Don’t Argue” / The System “Don’t Disturb This Groove”

DOWNLOAD DISC 3

Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” / Richard Marx “Don’t Mean Nothing” / Rick Astley “Never Gonna Give You Up” / Debbie Gibson “Only In My Dreams” / Tiffany “I Think We’re Alone Now” / Kim Wilde “You Keep Me Hanging On” / Club Nouveau “Lean On Me” / John Cougar Mellencamp “Cherry Bomb” / Just-Ice & KRS-One “Moshitup (1-800-Suicide)” / Public Enemy “Public Enemy No. 1” / Nitzer Ebb “Join In the Chant” / LeVert “Casanova” / Skinny Puppy “Addiction” / Starship “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” / Atlantic Starr “Always” / They Might Be Giants “Don’t Let’s Start” / Los Lobos “La Bamba” / Billy Idol “Mony Mony (Live)”

DOWNLOAD DISC 4

Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” / Motley Crue “Girls Girls Girls” / Aerosmith “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” / Sinead O’Connor “Mandinka” / Midnight Oil “Beds Are Burning” / Biz Markie “Nobody Beats the Biz” / MC Shan “Kill That Noise” / MC Shy D “Gotta Be Tough” / Dana Dane “Nightmares” / Icehouse “Electric Blue” / Johnny Hates Jazz “Shattered Dreams” / New Order “True Faith” / Reese & Santonio “Bounce Your Body to the Box” / Echo and the Bunnymen “Lips Like Sugar” / Bl’ast “It’s In My Blood” / The Bangles “Hazy Shade of Winter” / Robbie Robertson “Broken Arrow”

DOWNLOAD DISC 5

Penguin Cafe Orchestra “Perpetuum Mobile” / Sonic Youth “Schizophrenia” / Sisters of Mercy “This Corrosion” / Anthrax “I Am the Law” / Candlemass “Dark Are the Veils of Death” / XTC “Dear God” / The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl “Fairytale of New York” / Heart “Alone” / Pink Floyd “Learning to Fly” / Sting “Englishman In New York” / Tom Waits “Way Down in the Hole” / Frankie Knuckles “Baby Wants to Ride” / Fat Boys featuring the Beach Boys “Wipeout” / Exposé “Let Me Be the One” / Laura Branigan “Shattered Glass” / Buster Poindexter “Hot Hot Hot” / Public Image Ltd. “Seattle” / King Missile “Sensitive Artist”

DOWNLOAD DISC 6

Pixies “Caribou” / The Grateful Dead “Touch of Grey” / 10,000 Maniacs “Like the Weather” / The Replacements “Alex Chilton” / Dinosaur Jr. “Little Fury Things” / The Jesus and Mary Chain “April Skies” / Game Theory “Dripping with Looks” / Siouxsie and the Banshees “This Wheel’s On Fire” / Pulp “I Want You” / Whitesnake “Here I Go Again” / Bob Seger “Shakedown” / Ice-T “6 ’N the Mornin’” / Too Short “Freaky Tales” / Conroy Smith “Dangerous” / Phuture “Your Only Friend” / Derrick May “Nude Photo” / Was Not Was “Walk the Dinosaur”

DOWNLOAD DISC 7

Coldcut “Say Kids (What Time Is It?) / Kaos “Court’s In Session” / Schooly D “Saturday Night” / Spoonie Gee “The Godfather” / Beastie Boys “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” / Suicidal Tendencies “Possessed to Skate” / Testament “C.O.T.L.O.D. (Curse of the Legions of Death)” / Dag Nasty “Trying” / Spermbirds “Americans Are Cool” / Blasters “Just Another Sunday” / John Hiatt “Thank You Girl” / Lou Gramm “Midnight Blue” / F.R. David “Don’t Go” / Reba McEntire “The Last One to Know” / Marianne Faithful “As Tears Go By” / MX-80 “We Will Bury You” / Bongwater “His New Look” / The Embarrassment “Wellsville” / The dB’s “Think Too Hard” / The Wedding Present “Anyone Can Make A Mistake” / Love & Rockets “No New Tale to Tell” / Dolly Parton, Linda Rondstadt, and Emmylou Harris “To Know Him Is To Love Him”

DOWNLOAD DISC 8

Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” / Maxi Priest “Some Guys Have All the Luck” / The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu “All You Need Is Love” / Red Hot Chili Peppers “Me and My Friends” / Rhythim Is Rhythim “String of Life” / Eurythmics “Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)” / Blue Mercedes “I Want To Be Your Property” / Admiral Bailey “Kill Them With It” / E.U. “Da Butt” / T La Rock “Lyrical King” / Marshall Crenshaw “This Is Easy” / Wire “Ahead” / Hüsker Dü “Could You Be the One?” / Big Black “Bad Penny” / The Bats “Sir Queen” / Lyle Lovett “If I Had A Boat” / k.d. lang “Angel With A Lariat” / The Housemartins “Five Get Over Excited” / Lloyd Cole and the Commotions “From the Hip” / The Go-Betweens “Right Here” / Aztec Camera “Somewhere In My Heart” / Celtic Frost “Mesmerized” / Rollins Band “Do It”

“We see it every day, in the news and in the media, confrontations between people with mental illness and authorities,” the narrator begins as a crying woman is seen strapped to a gurney in a jail surrounded by a half-dozen police. The scene shifts to a city sidewalk where police surround and beat a man. “Or people with mental health issues find themselves being run into a dysfunctional prison system without getting the appropriate care.”

That is the start of a new short video series by Brave New Films, This is Crazy: Criminalizing Mental Illness, that underscores a somber and overlooked reality: that police and jails, not trained social workers and treatment, are America’s frontline with the untreated mentally ill.

“More than half of all suspects shot and killed by police were suffering from mental illness—this is crazy,” said Robert Greenwald, president of Brave New Films. “Over 300,000 Americans in prison today have a mental illness diagnosis… This three-part series calls on the critical and immediate need for the treatment of mental health through a public health system, not the barbaric criminalization of it.”

The series opens by focusing on what happens when law enforcement is not trained to recognize and deal with people with mental illness. It underscores that training police officers in crisis intervention is the most cost-effective solution. But most departments don’t use it.

“In the worst cases, these encounters end in tragedy,” the narrator continues, as a Black man who has been shot in the back lies on the ground, badly bleeding. “Or people with mental health issues find themselves run into a dysfunctional prison system.”

The film continues with the story of Becky, a Black woman who tells her story of unexpectedly slipping into mental illness, starting with hearing voices and other auditory hallucinations. She recounts losing control, threatening a woman she didn’t know, and was charged with felony harassment and jailed. A month after she was released, she tried to commit suicide. Becky soberly tells the camera that all she needed was treatment for her illness, including taking medication.

But as the filmmakers note, there are more than 356,000 people with mental illness in jails and prison across the country, versus 35,000 in state hospitals. The jailed and imprisoned might consider themselves lucky in a macabre sense, because as the film continues viewers see a stream of TV news reports where police killed mentally ill people.

The solution, the film’s on-camera experts say, is training police to take control of difficult situations without resorting to violence—such as knowing how to identify people who are mentally ill, how to talk to them without escalating to a confrontation, and calming a situation so the ill person can get help at a treatment center and not a jail.

As the film points out, police have become the most frequent first responders to untreated mental illness. “More than half of all suspects shot and killed by police suffered from mental illness,” it notes, adding that treatment programs cost a fraction of jailing a person.

But, as New York City psychologist Dr. Sahar Khoshakhlagh—who was accidentally hit in Times Square when police shot at a mentally ill man—told the filmmakers, “because the NYPD have not had the training to work with people with mental illness, they can’t differentiate a person with mental illness with someone who’s actually trying to hurt someone.”

Meanwhile, there is no mystery about the better approach needed.

“If I had been diverted to a mental hospital, I wouldn’t have a felony on my record,” Becky said. “And I would have immediately gotten treatment. Because when I did get treatment finally, when I got medication that worked, I came out of the confusion.” 

Brave New Films’ Greenwald asks viewers to post a link to the video on the various presidential candidates’ Facebook pages so “we can call on them to come out for humane police trainings, not more tasers and abuse for mentally ill people!”

 

 

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Back in 2013 when I published the results of my testosterone-boosting experiment, I got chided by many commenters for recommending a diet high in cholesterol and fat. According to them, I was promoting a dangerous diet that would lead to heart disease and obesity, despite the fact that I also published the results of my blood test which showed stellar cholesterol numbers.

I don’t blame these guys for their criticisms. Like me, most of them probably grew up during the 80s and 90s when it was an article of faith that diets high in cholesterol and fat would result in heart disease and other health problems.

But everything most everyone knew about cholesterol has turned out to be wrong. (And that includes me and what I thought was a conclusive link between this lipid molecule and testosterone!)

In truth, cholesterol isn’t a bad guy. He’s just misunderstood. And today we’re going to share everything you need to know about Mr. Cholesterol and offer the real dope on this right old molecular chap.

The Benefits of Cholesterol

Without cholesterol, you would die.

Simple as that.

That’s because cholesterol is the raw material your body uses for a whole host of functions. For example, did you know that the membrane of all your cells consists of a good amount of cholesterol? Without it, we’d be gelatinous blobs because our cells wouldn’t have any structure to them.

Besides keeping us from melting into puddles of goop, cholesterol also provides the following benefits:

Sex hormones are made from cholesterol. Testosterone — the hormone that puts hair on your chest and makes you strong like bull — is made from cholesterol. And it’s not just T. Estrogen, and the sex hormones needed for female sex traits, are made from cholesterol, too.

Because cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone, a common side effect found among men taking statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) is a drop in libido as well as an increase in erectile dysfunction. Several studies have confirmed the connection between lowered cholesterol levels and lowered testosterone levels.

So is the inverse also true? Will increasing your cholesterol consumption increase your testosterone levels? During my testosterone-boosting experiment, I assumed the answer was yes, which is why I wolfed down eggs and red meat for three months. However, after researching more, I haven’t been able to find a single study on whether or not increasing dietary cholesterol will indeed increase T levels, which is truly surprising. Researchers know that the Leydig cells in your testicles — the cells that create testosterone — have extra cholesterol requirements compared to other cells. Yet where they get that extra cholesterol isn’t entirely clear. Leydig cells can create their own cholesterol for testosterone when overall levels are down; however, when Leydig cells are forced to do so, T levels begin to drop. So perhaps dietary cholesterol fills the gap? (Note: one study has shown that olive oil allows Leydig cells to absorb more cholesterol, thus resulting in increased T levels. Be generous with that olive oil on your salad!)

Tim Ferriss experimented with increasing his T levels by ingesting large amounts of cholesterol — in the form of a shake made from whole milk and four raw eggs — right before he went to sleep. His personal experiment resulted in increased T levels in the mornings after he had drunk the shake compared to the mornings when he hadn’t. Yes, it’s an n+1 experiment and doesn’t have the authority of more rigorous studies, but it’s an interesting result to consider.

Bottom line: increasing dietary cholesterol may or may not increase T levels. (If you know of a study that has looked at that question, I’d love to hear about it!) But regardless of whether or not it does, eating a diet low in processed carbs and high in protein, which is also a typical byproduct of trying to ingest more cholesterol, may have other health benefits. This includes weight loss and muscle gain — effects which do conclusively raise your T.

Vitamin D is made from cholesterol. “Vitamin D” is actually a misnomer because it’s not a vitamin, but rather a hormone. And just as cholesterol serves as the precursor to sex hormones, it’s also necessary to the production of the hormone Vitamin D. Whenever the cholesterol in your skin is exposed to sunlight, particularly UV-B rays, a chemical reaction occurs which results in the production of Vitamin D3. Sure, you can take an oral supplement to get the same result, but if your body can make it free from just cholesterol and sunlight, you might as well take advantage of it.

Our bodies use Vitamin D for a variety of important functions such as immune response, regulation of calcium and phosphate, inflammation reduction, and even gene expression. Increased levels of it are associated with better mental and emotional health as well as increased testosterone levels.

So what are you waiting for? Put that cholesterol to use by catching some rays.

Bile acids are made from cholesterol. That steak you ate last night had to be broken down so your body could use it for nutrients. Bile acids play an important role in that breakdown process. And yep, bile acids are made from our handy friend, Mr. Cholesterol.

Cholesterol is vital for brain health. Your brain is filled with cholesterol. Not only does your noodle use it to make new neural cells, it’s also used to maintain their integrity and facilitate cellular communication by helping form the myelin sheaths that coat the cells.

Studies have found that low cholesterol levels (around 160 mg/dL or less) are linked to memory loss, depression, and aggression. Research has shown that cholesterol may play a role in the effective release of neurotransmitters; without it, your brain just can’t make all the cellular connections it needs to maintain its sharpness and vibrancy.

If you’re looking for a quick way to up your cholesterol intake to maintain a healthy brain, eat the brains of other animals. No, really. Apparently noshing on squirrel brains mixed with scrambled eggs is a thing. That’s a cholesterol mega-dose right there.

Cholesterol may help fight infections. Research has shown an inverse correlation between cholesterol levels and infections — the lower your cholesterol levels, the greater your vulnerability to getting sick. So how does cholesterol fight infections? Studies suggest that LDL (the so-called “bad” cholesterol — more on LDL below) plays a role in stimulating our immune system to fight off infection. When cholesterol levels are low, there’s a decrease in the production of certain antibodies.

Why Cholesterol Got a Bad Rap

If cholesterol provides so many health benefits, how did it get such a bad rap?

It was a mixture of bad science and politics as usual.

Back in the 1950s, Ancel Keys, the scientist who created the K-ration for WWII soldiers, noticed that well-fed American business executives had high rates of heart disease, while malnourished individuals living in post-war Europe had lower rates of it. Keys hypothesized that the American diet — which was filled with high fat, high cholesterol foods — was responsible, and he concocted a study to prove it.

His famous “Seven Countries” study was one of the first longitudinal studies to test the effect of diet on health. Keys examined saturated fat and cholesterol consumption in seven countries (hence the name) and found a seemingly perfect relationship between rates of heart disease and rates of cholesterol and saturated fat consumption. His data showed exactly what he had predicted it would.

Right away, other researchers questioned the validity of the study. A British doctor named John Yudkin was particularly skeptical. Yudkin had done similar research and found several countries that had above average intake of saturated fat consumption but low rates of heart disease. Yudkin, along with other scientists, basically accused Keys of cherry-picking the countries in his study in order to prove his conclusion. They argued that it wasn’t cholesterol and fat that caused heart disease, but rather increased sugar consumption that was the true culprit.

But because of Keys’ role in developing nutrition standards for soldiers during WWII, he had tremendous political clout with congressmen, agency bureaucrats, and the media. Encouraged by the results of his study, Keys began to lobby heavily for the U.S. government to recommend low fat, low cholesterol diets. In 1977, Senator George McGovern, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, published dietary guidelines based on Keys’ research that would radically change how Americans ate. The guidelines called for a diet low in fat and cholesterol and high in carbohydrates from vegetables and grains. The USDA issued guidelines recommending only 300 mg of dietary cholesterol a day. Which isn’t very much. Just two whole eggs contain 374 mg of cholesterol.

The result was a boom in food products marketed as “Low Fat” and “Heart Healthy.” Low-fat Snackwell cookies, cholesterol-free margarine, and non-fat potato chips lined the shelves of grocery stores. Americans replaced natural foods that had been common fare for centuries with these lab-produced, factory-made products. They stopped eating eggs and butter, switched from whole to skim milk, and gave up on bacon.

What’s more, pharmaceutical companies jumped on this bandwagon and created cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. Statins work by blocking a substance your body needs to create cholesterol. Doctors began prescribing these drugs by the boatloads to any patient who walked in with higher than normal cholesterol levels.

But a funny thing happened.

Despite the fact that more Americans were eating low-fat and cholesterol-free foods, heart disease rates and obesity continued to climb. What gives?

Well, come to find out Yudkin and his colleagues were right. It wasn’t cholesterol and fat that caused people to gain weight and get heart disease; it was sugar and processed carbs. And guess what food manufacturers often replaced the missing fat with in their “heart healthy foods”? Sugar and processed carbs, of course. And that cholesterol-free margarine? It was made from hydrogenated vegetable oil that created trans fat, a type of fat that actually is linked to heart disease and stroke.

Those supposedly heart-healthy diet guidelines from the 70s were wreaking havoc on the circulatory systems of tens of millions of Americans.

And all those statin prescriptions? They worked wonderfully at lowering cholesterol…but probably a little too wonderfully. Many patients began complaining about symptoms like memory loss, depression, increased infections, erectile dysfunction, and lowered testosterone levels. Researchers discovered that in many patients, statins lowered cholesterol levels so much that the body wasn’t getting enough of the cholesterol it needed for healthy functioning.

Thankfully, in the past few years, we’ve regained some sanity when it comes to fat and cholesterol. Recent research has confirmed what scientists 60 years ago knew. It’s not dietary cholesterol and saturated fat that causes heart disease, it’s sugar combined with other lifestyle factors — like stress and being sedentary — that promote inflammation.

Consequently, government agencies and health organizations are backtracking on their stringent dietary cholesterol limits. In fact, earlier this year, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee issued a draft document stating that dietary cholesterol plays little or no role in heart disease and that most folks probably shouldn’t worry about how much cholesterol they’re eating. While the panel doesn’t issue official guidelines, agencies responsible for food guidelines usually adhere very closely to them.

When it comes to statin prescriptions, many doctors are now using much more discretion. Instead of prescribing them to anyone with above average cholesterol levels, doctors now only do so for high-risk heart disease patients. Who’s a high-risk patient? Basically, those who already have existing heart disease.

How Your Body Gets the Cholesterol It Needs

Your body produces about 80% of the cholesterol it needs during the day; the other 20% comes from food.

About 20% to 25% of the cholesterol that your body produces is created in the liver from fatty acids. Other places where your body manufactures cholesterol include your intestines, adrenal glands, and reproductive organs.

When you consume foods with cholesterol, your body uses it. If you consume a lot of cholesterol, your body will just decrease the amount that it produces itself. If you don’t consume much cholesterol, your body will simply increase the amount it produces on its own. So even if you eat all the bacon and eggs you can stomach (like I do), your overall cholesterol levels will probably stay about the same (as mine have).

Genetics, not diet, seems to play a larger role in your overall cholesterol levels.

Beyond Good and Bad Cholesterol: HDL and LDL Cholesterol

Cholesterol is transported in the blood attached to carrier proteins. These cholesterol-protein combos are called lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are typically broken up into two groups based on their density: high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL).

For years, researchers and doctors have called HDL “good cholesterol” and LDL “bad cholesterol.” While that’s roughly accurate, recent research has given us a much more nuanced look at HDL and LDL cholesterol. For example, not all HDL is good and not all LDL is bad. Below, we break down everything you need to know about these two groups.

HDL Cholesterol. The reason doctors call HDL “good cholesterol” is because HDL removes the so-called bad LDL cholesterol from the body. HDL does this by transporting cholesterol away from the body’s tissues and back to the liver where it’s turned into bile and excreted out of your body. HDL is what gets rid of excess cholesterol in your body and prevents build-up in your arteries.

Because HDL is your body’s cholesterol garbage truck, the more you have, the better. Recent research suggests that your HDL should be more than 60 mg/dL.

While HDL as a broad category is good for you, recent research has shown that not all HDL is the same. There are two subtypes; one is good for you, the other not so much. HDL-2 particles are large, buoyant, and provide the most protection from the build-up of LDL cholesterol. These particles are also anti-inflammatory. HDL-3, on the other hand, is small, dense, and possibly inflammatory. So while you want a high overall HDL number, you’ll want to have more HDL-2 than HDL-3 in your system. Newer tests can suss out the difference between the two, and researchers are developing therapies to target lowering just HDL-3. However, for most folks, you don’t need to worry too much about the two sub-types. Just knowing your overall HDL will do.

To increase your HDL levels, get plenty of exercise, don’t smoke, and increase your consumption of healthy monosaturated fats that you’ll find in foods like olive oil, avocados, fish, and nuts.

LDL Cholesterol. LDL is considered “bad” cholesterol because it can build up in the arteries, blocking blood flow. Unlike HDL that transports cholesterol away from body tissue and to the liver, LDL delivers cholesterol to the body after the liver produces it.

While our body needs the cholesterol that LDL delivers, too much of it could create health problems by building up in the arteries. Consequently, researchers and doctors recommend that folks shoot for an LDL that’s lower than 100 mg/dL.

Just as with HDL, not all LDL is the same. There are two types of LDL particles. One is terrible for you and the other only causes problems when it’s oxidized. LDL-A is a big, fluffy molecule that won’t cause any harm to your system so long as it’s not damaged by oxidation, which occurs when free radicals attach to the LDL. When this happens, the cholesterol converts to plaque. Researchers believe LDL-A levels play little or no role in heart disease or other circulatory problems.

LDL-B, on the other hand, is the bad kind. It’s a small, hard, and dense molecule that causes your arteries to harden. While you should focus on lowering your overall LDL levels, you’re better off having more LDL-A and less LDL-B. Blood tests can measure both of these.

To lower your LDL levels, get rid of excess body fat and increase your HDL levels with the lifestyle suggestions above. Research has shown that increased consumption of saturated fat can help decrease the amount of LDL-B particles in your system.

Lp(a): The Alpha Wolf Cholesterol Particle. While HDL and LDL levels get the lion’s share of attention, there’s a third type of lipoprotein that likely has more of an influence on your risk for heart disease than both HDL and LDL levels. Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is a very small, yet highly inflammatory particle that promotes the blood clotting that can lead to coronary heart disease and stroke. Lp(a) is so patently bad for you, cholesterol expert Dr. Stephen Sinatra calls it the “alpha wolf cholesterol particle.”

Lp(a) isn’t a problem in low amounts. In fact, it serves a useful purpose in that it helps repair and restore damaged blood vessels. The problems start whenever your body has to use Lp(a) frequently to perform this function, as often happens when folks have chronic inflammation.

Most cholesterol blood tests don’t measure Lp(a) levels so if you want to know yours, you’ll have to ask for a test that specifically measures it. Ideally Lp(a) levels should stay below 30 mg/dL. Lp(a) levels are primarily determined by genetics, so if you have a family history of early arterial diseases, you should get your Lp(a) levels checked.

The current recommended treatment for high levels of Lp(a) is 1-3 grams daily of niacin, also known as Vitamin B3. When you take niacin at such high levels, you’ll experience what’s called a “niacin flush,” a harmless yet uncomfortable reddening and warming of your skin. To manage the flush, start off your niacin supplementation at 100 mg and very slowly increase the dosage.

Give It to Me Straight Doc: Is It Okay to Eat Cholesterol?

First, I’m not a doctor, I just play one on TV. And by TV I mean online.

With that said, based on my research on the current studies out there about cholesterol, most folks can wolf down Ron Swanson-amounts of cholesterol without increasing their levels or putting themselves at risk for heart disease. A very small percentage of the population has genes that cause their cholesterol levels to rise significantly when they eat diets high in it. These folks will need to watch their cholesterol intake. To find out if you’re what scientists call “hyper-responsive” to cholesterol, you’ll need to take a test with your doctor.

What goes for cholesterol goes for fat as well. Research has found little connection between heart disease and fat — both the saturated and unsaturated varieties. You do want to stay away from trans fat, though. That’s the man-made fat that has been shown to cause heart disease and other circulatory problems. Keep your foods as whole and natural as possible.

Now you know there’s no need to keep old Mr. Cholesterol at arm’s length. Invite him in for a bacon and egg breakfast and tip your hat to his brain-boosting, infection-fighting, possibly T-raising ways.

Want to share your thoughts on this article? Send us a tweet or join the discussion on Facebook!

Transcript Michele Rosenthal is an award-winning PTSD blogger, award-nominated author, founder of HealMyPTSD.com, popular keynote speaker, post-trauma coach, host of Changing Direction radio, author of Before the World Intruded: Conquering the Past and Creating the Future and also Your Life After Trauma: Powerful Practices to Reclaim Your Identity, plus a former faculty member of the […]

“I find that many of my clients were in fact cognizant of odd, disconcerting behaviors/attitudes that their exploitative partners were reckless enough to reveal (or incapable of concealing). They may have even felt troubled by them. But in their intense need to want the relationship, and the partner, to be the elusive fit they so hungrily sought, they found ways to suppress their uneasiness: to ignore and/or minimize the significance of these signals; and rationalize the alarms their instincts triggered.” (powercommunicating.com)

Here’s a video to help you identify, communicate and get your emotional needs met in your marriage or primary relationship:

I’ve talked about these 6 things, to help you get your emotional needs met by your spouse or partner:

1. Identification of your feelings and needs by being specific.

2. Identification of barriers to communicating your feelings, such as fear, people pleasing, an unavailable partner, children, etc.

3. Making your approach right is everything: speak from your vulnerability, not focusing on your partner and her deficiencies, setting a time to sit down and talk

4. Appreciate the “negative cycle,” and its effects in getting your emotional needs met: the vicious cycle of behaviors, thoughts and feelings that create conflict in your marriage.

5. Recognize and don’t stuff, hide or run from your feelings.

6. Meeting your own emotional needs when your partner can’t: creating presence through direct contact with your emotions in the here-and-now.

The post Getting Your Emotional Needs Met appeared first on Phoenix Men's Counseling Blog.

Why are men (generally) more violent then women? Why are men (generally) drawn to competition and achieving status? Is the idea that masculinity means having courage and strength just a complete cultural construct or is there a biological underpinning to it?

Well, our guest today makes the case that we can look to our closest animal relatives, the Great Apes, to find answers to these questions. His name is Dr. Richard Wrangham and he is a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University. He’s also co-author of the book Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence. Though the title may make the book sound like an anti-male screed, it is in fact an objective exploration of the biological and anthropological roots of male violence in both primates and humans.

In today’s podcast, Dr. Wrangham and I talk about what we can learn about human masculinity from chimpanzees and other apes. We discuss what male humans have in common with male chimps and how male chimpanzee behavior can provide insights into the origins of human systems like patriarchy.

Show Highlights:

• Why chimps and humans are the only species in the animal kingdom that purposely kill (not just harm) their own kind
• What a chimpanzee murder looks like
• How male chimps band together in small gangs to kill male chimps in competing communities
• The importance of male-bonded groups in both chimps and humans
• Evolutionary theories that may explain why male chimps and male humans engage in male-bonded violence
• Why human patriarchy has a biological and evolutionary underpinning and isn’t purely a cultural construct
• What we can do with these insights from chimps
• And much more!

Demonic Males is a fascinating book and provided a lot of useful insight in my series about manhood earlier this year. I just scratched the surface of this book in my conversation with Dr. Wrangham, so if you want to delve deeper into this topic, pick up a copy.

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 This is the healthiest route following divorce. On the progression path, you can learn to deal with the difficult feelings that are inevitable when a marriage dies. Like death, grief often accompanies the end of a marriage, so recognizing and dealing with the grief as it comes up, and all the feelings associated with it, is essential.

Sadness, pain, anger or rage, loss, betrayal – all are quite normal responses to the end of a marriage, and it’s important to be aware of what those experiences are for you when they arise in you. Be aware of your feelings, and of your avoidance responses to get rid of those negative feelings. There is no one “right” way to deal with divorce, but you have to learn what’s best for you. Seek out support from loved ones, friends, or others who have gone through divorce themselves. Don’t rush yourself into finding a new partner, or to dating. Take the time you need to fully heal yourself back to health.

People who progress well through the end of their marriage learn to take care of themselves, emotionally, psychologically, physically and generally. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t hardships and pain, because there will be both. But, those people have the fortitude and endurance to see it out, and deal with what’s to come, usually come back to their fuller selves at some point down the road.

They have the momentum to deal with the difficult decisions and hardships that inevitably come, like deciding on parenting plans, splitting the assets, or dealing with the permanent end of a marriage (and often friendship). Seeking out counseling is helpful for those dealing with divorce, so you may want to consider making that a part of your healing plan if you’re dealing with divorce. Remembering that there is an end to the pain, and life can go on, is important to remind yourself when the dark days come.

The post The Three Paths After Divorce appeared first on Phoenix Men's Counseling Blog.

When you discover you've been cheated on you feel a range of emotions -- shock, anger, hurt, just to name a few -- and often at their extremes. At some point everyone shifts from feeling to thinking and wants to know how do cheaters feel. Is he or she feeling any pain like I am?

If you're a partner who's been cheated on you're going to have a lot of questions. One type of question is going to be 'how' -- How do cheaters do it? How do cheaters feel? How do cheaters live with themselves?

As a counselor who specializes in working with men, I've counseled a lot of men who've cheated. It's important to note that it's not always men who cheat, and so I've also helped many men who've been cheated on too. Regardless of who cheated, my work gives me insight into learning what many cheaters feel.

Before I explain if cheaters have any regrets, let's look at something that has a big impact on how they feel. Below is a Google+ post I wrote about keeping promises. Click the Read More button after the first 2 lines so you can read the full post and then I'll share how it's connected to cheaters and their feelings.

So how do cheaters feel? Some feel really bad, others not so much. But no matter how much guilt or remorse a cheating person expresses outwardly, everyone feels it inwardly to some extent.

A common ability of cheaters is to separate themselves from their feelings and consciousness. In order to continue to act in a way they know is wrong, cheaters tell themselves lies – she deserves it, he doesn’t love me anymore anyway, I deserve to he happy (true, but not in this way).

All of us have ways our minds can justify wrong behavior. In order to cheat you need to get pretty good at doing this. These are the cognitive tricks cheaters use, but we all do too.

A developing trend in our society today that's making it easier to cheat is the acceptance of broken promises. Making promises just doesn't have the shame and consequences associated with it that it used to have. As our society makes it more and more acceptable to break a promise, it makes it easier and easier for anyone to cheat with very little guilt or remorse.

I've found that most cheaters really do have a conscience. Many people who cheat didn't set out to do so. A lot of time cheating just develops out of one bad decision followed by another bad decision. Before the person knows it, they're cheating. Once they've crossed that line, it's easier to justify it in your mind, keep on cheating, and enjoy the ride while it lasts, more than it is to admit the mistake and face the consequences.

If you've been cheated on it's important to recognize that your feelings may be different than your cheating partner's. However, that doesn't mean your partner doesn't have negative feelings about cheating -- they'll probably just not show them. Burying feelings is how cheaters live with themselves.

The majority of men, and women, who cheat aren't bad people. They've just made a series of bad decisions. If you've been cheated on you might think I'm being too kind here. But the truth is the majority of cheaters do feel bad about cheating. Now about one of the toughest questions, do you leave a marriage after an affair?

Was this post about how cheaters feel helpful? Get notified each time there's a new post by signing-up on the right side of this page, or follow me on Google+ where I post relationship and self-improvement tips just like this several times a week.

If you can’t see your problem, it doesn’t exist, right? At least it might not to you, but it might to the rest of the people in your life. It’s hard to take ownership or responsibility for a problem if you don’t know that it even exists. Choosing to “own” or be accountable for yourself and your actions or behaviors is a difficult thing, especially when you’re used to downplaying or shuffling off responsibility on the rest of the world.

Bills, mortgages, parenting, household planning, 401K planning – all require some level of taking responsibility if you want a certain outcome. Dealing with your personal problems is no different. If you continue to push off responsibility for yourself, the effects will accumulate and will come back to present problems for you later on: a struggling marriage, loss of friendships, poor mental health, job problems, feeling stuck, living with regret, etc.

So, what are some examples of not assuming responsibility for your personal problems?

• Not being open to making the changes that are causing your spouse or your marriage problems
• Having poor physical or emotional well being because you aren’t responsible for your health
• Blaming outside forces for job unhappiness, and staying stuck in a bad situation without leaving or changing your situation
• Blaming others for their personality deficits that keep you stuck in a bad state; carrying that “if they only change” mentality, which will get you nowhere
• Holding onto past successes to keep yourself stuck in the present; wishing things will return to better times in the past, or mentally living in the future without doing anything about creating that future

Not blaming others, or outside forces, for your problems or woes is one way to start. Men I talk with blame their parents, or their spouses, or their employers, as a way to continue to stay stuck in their current unfulfilling environment. They think that “If this person or situation would change, then I would be happy,” which is false thinking. People won’t change on your watch, and the longer you hold out for them to change so you can be happy, the more time you waste in your life.

Victim mentality goes along with the idea of blaming others. Sometimes, people get so attached to the victim identity that it’s too difficult to give it up. They might get certain benefits from it, like feeling sorry for themselves, gaining pity from others or comfort in knowing that their situation is secure – even if it’s uncomfortable. Taking a risk to do something different, or to look within oneself, sometimes is the harder route, and the less attractive one, because it requires work and challenging oneself.

Chronic negativity is also a deadly killer to taking responsibility. If you’re constantly negative, you can’t see possibility or hope of a different outcome.You get stuck in myopic thinking – only seeing one limited route to take in your situation. Negativity destroys the ability to take responsibility, and doesn’t allow us to get to the heart of the matter, whether that is fear or terror that holds us back from being accountable and taking that action.

You are the driver of your life, and your outcome. No one else can dictate to you these things unless you allow them to. Taking responsibility for your life means growing up into full adulthood, something a lot of people unconsciously have a hard time doing.

How can you take more responsibility for yourself? Start with these questions:

1. Am I unhappy with my situation? What prevents me from making a change?
2. What exactly is in my control in helping myself through a difficult challenge? What’s not?
3. Do I blame others for my situation, rather than look inside of myself for the origins of my problems?
4. How do I live carelessly? Are there areas of my life where I can take more responsibility?
5. In my love life, how do I fail to take responsibility? What would my significant other say about me?
6. Do I live with an “it is what it is” mentality, never challenging that core belief to create alternative outcomes for myself?
7. In my work, am I happy or fulfilled, and if not, what barriers am I responsible for changing to get there?

Taking more responsibility for ourselves, our problems and our lot in life reduces some sense of powerlessness about a cold and indifferent world, whose forces are conspiring against us. If we can see that we can change our own outcome, or have more power over it, then we might be able to pry ourselves out of a stuck state. This takes time, and courage to look at our role in the situation.

The post On Taking Responsibility appeared first on Phoenix Men's Counseling Blog.

My foster sister is in prison. Her four children see her briefly once a month, as part of a 368-mile round-trip that takes up their entire Saturday. (Before she was transferred last month, the trip measured 404 miles). She has missed so many milestones and special events in her children's lives: first days of kindergarten, Christmases, birthdays, Halloweens, first school dances. More than three percent of American children have a parent behind bars; so many that even Sesame Street thought to address the issue in a heartbreaking video and a recent initiative. With Mother's Day upon us, I have to wonder: As kids grow up, what's it like when the person they love most is locked away?
 

When we fall in love it's mainly our heart that we follow, not our brain. For some of us this flawed strategy works out and for others it doesn't.

Yet after we've been married awhile we all discover that we didn't marry quite the person we thought we married (i.e. Prince Charming isn't always so charming). This can mean that we know all too well our partner's imperfections and our brain stops us from following our heart again ("I'm Out of Love").

So how to fall in love with your husband all over again when your brain says 'not so fast' isn't easy. The following Google+ post will begin to show how. Click the 'Read More' button after the first 2 lines to read the full post.

The secret to a successful relationship is using our heart and brain -- not one or the other, but both. This goes for when we're first falling in love, when we're in a relationship together, and when we want to fall in love all over again. It's the beginning answer to how to fall in love with your husband all over again.

The reason so many wives struggle with falling in love with their husband again is that they're using too much of their brains. They're doing what they did at the beginning of the relationship, just in reverse. At the beginning they used too much of their heart and not enough of their brain, and now they're using too much of their brain and not enough of their heart.

To fall in love with your husband all over again after you have history together requires exercising more heart, like compassion, understanding, and love while simultaneously using less brain, like memories, fears, and self-protection.

Note that I did not say using no brain. I just said less brain. So many partners can't muster any love for their partner because they're allowing they're brains to block it. And some of the reasons for this are listed in the previous paragraph.

Here are a couple of tips on how to begin to fall in love with your husband all over again:

• Forget the Past. Okay, completely forgetting the past isn't really possible. However, you can stop yourself from allowing your past history with your husband to influence how you see your him today. Too many partners hold on too strongly to the past and prevent themselves from falling in love again.
• Focus on the Present. Part of the way we forget the past is by focusing on the present. Who is your husband now? That's who you're going to fall in love with. Be honest with yourself about how your husband has changed for the better, even if it's only in really small ways.
• Work at Seeing Him for Who He is Now, not who he's been. This is hard to do after you've been hurt, but is a necessity if you really want to fall in love with your husband again. It's easy to see all the things you don't like, so try to look for some things that you do like.

Obviously, if your husband hasn't changed the things that caused you to fall out of love with him it's going to be really tough to fall in love again (When He Doesn't Love You Back). But if he's making an effort to change himself, you can help the falling in love again process by using your heart more than your brain (other ways to fall in love with your spouse all over again).

How to fall in love with your husband all over again isn't easy, unlike falling in love the first time. Our brains are very powerful, but so are our hearts. When you use both properly you can rekindle the love and keep it burning.

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Our First CD is out! INTERNATIONAL METAL ALLEGIANCE is the name of our FREE Digital CD Compilation in collaboration with ONLINE METAL PROMO www.onlinemetalpromo.com. The CD features 35 full tracks of exciting heavy metal from around the world. Featuring up and coming bands and establishedhard rock and heavy metal artists from across the globe all gathered in this crushing CD. Download the full CD including artwork in high audio by clicking here! 

CD Track list, bands and songs 

1.All Angels Massacre (USA/CHI/BRA/SWE) Song: All Angels Massacre Debut Single: All Angels Massacre (2014) Website: http://www.allangelsmassacre.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllAngelsMassacre

2.Archetype (USA) Song: The Dark Mirror CD: Without Fear (2014) Website: www.archetype1.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/archetypemetal

3.Armory (USA) Song: Inner Sanctum CD: Empyrean Realms (2013) Website: http://www.armorymetal.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/armorymetal

4.Arrows of Agony (USA) Song: The Escape Previously unreleased Song (2014) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArrowsOfAgony

5.Blood of Kings (USA) Song: Starvation CD: Starvation (2013) Website: http://bloodofkingsmetal.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloodofkingsmetal

6.Cage (USA) Song: Planet Crusher CD: Science of Annihilation (2009) Website: http://cageheavymetal.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cageofficial

7.Cobra (PER) Song: To Hell CD: To Hell (2014) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CobraPeruHeavyMetal

8.Death Dealer (USA/AUS) Song: Curse of the Heretic CD: War Master (2013) Website: http://www.deathdealer.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deathdealerband

9.Diamond Lane (USA) Song: Kiss The Ring CD: Terrorizer (2014) Website: http://diamondlanerocks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiamondLane

10.Dire Peril (USA) Song: Astronomical Minds EP: Astronomical Minds (2013) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/direperil

11.Empires of Eden (AUS) Song: This Time (featuring vocalist Steve Grimmett from Grim Reaper) CD: Channeling The Infinite (2012) Website: http://www.empiresofeden.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empiresofeden

12.Enceladus (USA) Song: Ethereality EP: Time in a Dream (2013) Website: http://www.enceladusband.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnceladusOfficial

13.Factor Hate (FRA) Song: Raise Your Hands EP: The Watcher (2013) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/factorhate

14.Fortaleza (MEX) Song: Ninguna Eternidad Como La Mia CD: Fortaleza Oculta (2012) Website: http://www.fortalezaoculta.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fortalezaoculta

15.FUKA (CHI) Song: En Guerra CD: En Guerra (2013) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fukarocks 

16.Hellion (USA) Song: The Black Book CD: To Hellion and Back (2014) Website: www.hellion.us

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hellion.Official

17.Hellscream (USA) Song: VII (Seven Sins) CD: Made Immortal (2013) Website: http://hellscreamband.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hellscream/138670759608363

18.Ignitor (USA) Song: Heavy Metal Holocaust CD: Year of the Metal Tiger (2012) Website: http://ignitorband.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IGNITOR.METAL 

19.Lady Beast (USA) Song: Lady Beast  CD: Lady Beast (2012) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lady-Beast-Heavy-Metal/179141995430791

20.Lords of the Trident (USA) Song: Chains of Fire CD: Chains of Fire (2011) Website: http://lordsofthetrident.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lordsofthetrident

21.Maligno (MEX) Song: Shine CD: The Funeral Domine (2011) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/malignodoom

22.Maxxxwell Carlisle (USA) Song: Visions of Speed and Thunder (Featuring vocalist Fang from Lords of the Trident) CD: Visions of Speed and Thunder (2014) Website: www.maxxxwell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maxxxwell-Carlisle/140880930907

23.Midnite Hellion (USA) Song: The Morrigan 7” Single: The Hour of the Wolf (2013) Website: http://www.midnitehellion.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midnitehellion

24.Mindmaze (USA) Song: Mask of Lies CD: Mask of Lies (2012) Website: www.mindmazeband.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mindmazeband

25.Ravensthorn (USA) Song: Lord of Chaos CD: House of the Damned (2002) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ravensthorn

26.Rivied (JAP) Song: Which Do You Want CD: Re-Birth (2014) Website: http://www.rivied.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rivied

27.Sinister Realm (USA) Song: World of Evil CD: World of Evil (2013) Website: http://sinisterrealm.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SinisterRealm

28.Skinner (USA) Song: Sleepwalkers CD: Sleepwalkers (2014) Website: http://www.skinnermetal.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skinnermetal

29.Station (USA) Song: Don't Take Heaven Away From Me EP: Wired (2013) Website: www.stationband.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stationnyc

30.Stu Marshall (AUS) Song: The Hammer CD: The Hammer (2014) Website: http://www.stumarshall.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stu.marshall.5

31.Tales of Pain (MEX) Song: Lost Memories CD: Into The Labyrinth (2013) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tales-of-pain/139613849406379

32.Victorius (GER) Song: Lake of Hope CD: The Awakening (2012) Website: http://www.victoriusmetal.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoriusmetal

33.Warbreath (CHI) Song: Hell Fire CD: Gates of Beyond (2013) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WarbreathOfficial

34.Witchcross (USA) Song: Bad Trip CD: Witchcross (1993) Website: http://witchcross.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WitchcrossU.S.DoomMetalband

35.Zephaniah (USA) Song: Avenger of Souls CD: Songs from the Book of Metal (2008) Website: http://zephaniahband.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/zephaniahmetal

EVOLUTION ROCK METAL PODCAST SOUTHEAST ASIA