Is there a God?

Before my son-in-law's grandfather died,  earlier in August 2010, Poppa, as he was called wrote a little treatise exploring the nature of First Causes; he wrote it three years to the exact date he died. I found the essay quite inspirational and I thought others might. Here it is:

"John Humphrys, on the radio recently, challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Chief Rabbi and the senior Muslim Cleric to prove to him that a God existed. Each of them failed in the course of an interview that lasted for half an hour each. All of them said the same thing; that his belief was a matter of conviction and therefore of course not a proof in itself. I am a member of the Church of England and have been for most of my life and in the course of that time I have heard constantly from members of the clergy and the laity views on a host of different subjects. In every case there are disagreements.

If two people disagree on a subject, then obviously one person is wrong. The other one may be wrong too, so the chances are that they will not produce the truth between them.

I started by thinking about the building in which we live. The first thing that I notice is that we know an awful lot about the materials with which it is made. We can discern the shape of itself and its components. We can measure them. We can determine the height, length and breadth, and measure their weight and the temperature. In fact there are countless ways we can measure them. We can do this by using mathematical principles, which are constant, absolutely unvarying, so therefore to everything we can give a very precise description. We know, however, that nothing in the world lasts forever. The mountains for instance were once in the ground. They were pushed into shape by the convulsions of the Earth in earthquakes where portions of the Earth pushed against each other so we got much of it raised, and we call them mountains. As soon as they were formed these mountains began to disintegrate by erosion. They were worn down by wind and rain to a certain extent and materials have been removed by quarrying and mining. Over a long period they were cut up by rivers into great valleys, and some of them were torn apart by volcanoes from the molten interior of the Earth. To take something much smaller, like plant life, it produces a seed, it grows, flowers, produces a fruit, it dies and is no more. If you planted a tree it may grow for hundreds of years but eventually it will die. The material of which it is made will decay and crumble and eventually sink into the earth itself. Living creatures, of which we are one, are born, they have a life and then they die.

On the other hand we also live in a spiritual world, a world composed of thoughts and ideas and principles. These are vague, they are abstract, they have no shape, and they cannot be measured in any way. Things like compassion, pity, justice, mercy, beauty, love, honesty, purity and unselfishness, and the opposites like violence and hate; these are all vague. We cannot define them easily. We can only point to what we think about them with abstract terms such as similes and metaphors and allegories like parables, and yet although, in spite of this, these things are important because they govern our actions on Earth; our behaviour towards each other, towards the environment. We also know that the spiritual world pre-existed long before we did. We have knowledge and ideas, which men have produced in the past, which we still have today which we will pass on into the future, probably with additions of our own. The spiritual world is therefore far more important than the physical world in two ways. Firstly it governs our actions in the physical world and also, because it is infinite, it lasts forever.

I have said that the things we think of in the spiritual world are vague and in the sense that we see them only as if through a fog. We do not see them clearly, but men have arisen who have, themselves, claimed to have had a revelation to be able to see these things clearly. Most of these have also said that there is a Supreme Being who created both the spiritual and the physical world and who rules over all, who is the author of these ideas and he has wishes for the positive ones to be obeyed. They call this Supreme Being God and we call them prophets.

There has always been among men an instinct to pay particular attention to this spiritual world and especially to God. Before the idea of the one supreme God came in they used to ascribe to various physical things they had made, mythical persons with powers, and worship them, so there were many gods. However, now the prophets produced this idea that there was one true God. Many different prophets did this. One of which we have special knowledge is the one spoken of by the Jews. They were all descendents of one man, Abraham, and they worshipped this one true God, Yahweh. Although they believed that God wished them to behave in an atmosphere of love; to show justice, compassion, mercy and all that sort of thing, many of them had disobeyed and alienated themselves from God, and they believed that a Saviour, a Messiah, would come to reconcile them to God. In course of time when Jesus Christ was born many of the Jews believed he was God himself incarnate become a man to perform this reconciliation. They called themselves Christians and they were separated from the Jews. In course of time the Christians disagreed amongst themselves and split into the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church proceeded to reform itself to split into an enormous number of different churches all because of disagreements.

In trying to decide where the truth lay amongst all these different theories amongst the Christians, I decided that one way of approaching the subject would be to consider the words of the various prophets and groups of prophets to determine if they had something on which they all agreed. When one does this one finds that every one of them believes in a principle of love. Not just in the limited sense of between parent and child, child and parent, between siblings and between friends, or erotic love which had to do with the body, the love, which was ascribed to God, is called agape, and has no limits. Unlike any other love it is entirely unselfish, it has no regard for itself, it is all giving. I find that this applies, not only to all the Christian churches that are descended from Abraham, but by a different son, the Muslims also believe in this as well and it is a compelling idea that this all-consuming love, the love of God, is virtually God himself. God is love.

Having decided this, I decided that probably all of the other ideas of the prophets on which they disagreed, could be disregarded because this was the most important, the only important one really. I said that as a member of the Church of England one of its ideas is that living as we do in the spiritual world we have a soul, which does not finish with death on Earth. We will exist in some form into the future. We have no idea what this future could be. There is no way of determining it. Various people have claimed to know. We have pictures in the Bible, for instance, of heaven with the idea of people standing around and singing all the time, or like Dante’s visions of hell with torment and hell fire and so on, and another one of purgatory; a sort of trial period. All these are nothing more than the product of men’s imagination and can be discarded. We simply believe that if there is an afterlife it will be in the presence of God in some form and we can only anticipate it. This may not be true, of course, but if it is wrong then the alternative is that when life on Earth ends, then so far as we are concerned everything is finished, so the alternative to life is simply oblivion and we are no more. It is not to be feared; a deep, dreamless sleep. I have come to the conclusion that there is an ultimate God. He might be called various names, but there is just one God and either there will be eternal life or there will not. In either case we can look forward to it with curiosity but certainly without fear."

All sorts of people, great and small have explored the nature of life and death. Poppa's words are clear and simple. Without too much fuss he arrives at an undramatic conclusion with which its hard not to share his view. Over to you! 

If you have other inspriational words, personally written or inherited from elsewhere, I'd be honoured to read them and perhaps give them an airing on this blog.

Go in peace.

Delacet Herbal Head Lice Solution - Kills Eggs And Nits

Ever since our government stopped funding the post of  "Nit Nurse," schools have seen minor epidemics occur, driving parents to pull their hair out with frustration. Political correctness has worsened the situation, with schools having to follow clumsy protocol when head lice are detected among students.

So, what are these pesky infestations? Head lice are wingless insects. They are grey or brown, have six legs and are about 1 to 3mm in length when fully grown (the size of a sesame seed). Female head lice lay eggs that are smaller than a pinhead and these attach to your hair close to the scalp. The eggs hatch about seven to 10 days later. Young lice are called nymphs - it takes about 10 days for them to become adults and capable of laying new eggs.

The best way to prevent head lice spreading is to check your whole family's heads regularly and treat them as soon as live lice are found. There is no need to treat bed linen, towels or hats with insecticides. They cannot swim, fly or jump and are not caught from objects like the backs of chairs. Head lice don't survive away from the scalp and can only pass from person to person by head to head contact. Pets don't spread human head lice.

The great annoyance is that not all parents regularly treat their kid's hair, so re-infection goes on and on.

Finding the right product is also a mission. My advice is to keep well away from pharmaceutical products, basically insecticides which contain organophosphates, such as Malathion. Would you knowingly put nerve gas or sheep's dip on to your children's bodies? These are poisonous chemicals that can play havoc with the nervous system. 

You may wonder why the government doesn't ban the use of organophospates.  The plot actually thickens. There have been compensation claims by sheep farmers against organophosphates as a requirement to dip sheep in it. If the government agrees to its ban, there would be a great raft of compensation claims by those who have suffered symptoms from their use.

Interestingly enough, the MoD does not yet recognise Gulf War Syndrome as a debilitating condition and veterans who have left the armed forces due to ill-health following exposure to organophosphate insecticides are not eligible to take up disability pensions. A government ban would be tantamount to acknowledging there is a problem with that chemical.

In addition, if the government were to ban organophosphate products, it would have to pay potentially huge sums in compensation to the chemicals industry for withdrawing licences (Marketing Authorisations) that have already been issued. At present, the government's position remains that organophosphate pesticides are safe, if used in line with the manufacturers' instructions. But I wouldn't personally go anywhere near them.

Anyway, Delacet Herbal Head Lice Solution is a brilliant Herbal Head Lice Treatment, which has stood the test. We have many in-store customers who are satisfied with its effectiveness as a treatment for head lice.

Incidentally, Why a comb? When lice hatch they leave empty shells called nits attached to the hair. Nits are white and you may mistake them for flakes of dry skin. Unlike dandruff, nits stick to the hair and you won't be able to remove them with normal shampooing.  With Delacet, combing is not needed but it it is one way of getting rid of the dead eggs, as Delacet kills both the head lice and eggs.

You mustn't feel guilty that you have let your kids down as a parent if you detect nits.  So much mis-information suggests that the spread of nits is to do with unhygienic hair.  A lot of rubbish. Head lice can be found in all types and lengths of hair - having head lice is not a sign that your hair is dirty. They are just as often found living in clean hair. Anyone can get head lice, but they are most common in children aged between four and 11. This may be because of their close contact with each other at school. Girls seem to be more likely to get them than boys.

For some reason, every year there is a shortage of Head Lice Treatment products. That may be in part because the message is getting through to parents to avoid insecticide treatments for nits, as the annoying fact that European Legislation has removed perfectly safe natural products. So, altogether, the market is lacking in as wide a choice as there once was.

So be prepared this school term and stock up on your Delacet Herbal Head Lice Treatment.

To buy Delacet Herbal Head Lice Solution click here, or on any of the links above. If you wish to speak to a customer adviser about this product, you an telephone us on 01208 814500 for further information.

Probiotics, Acidophilus Products and Digestive Aids

Don't quote me, but I think I once read that if the ratio between the good and bad bacteria in your gut is 50%, then you're effectively dead!

Did you know that after the cold, digestive upsets cause more time off work than any other complaint Irritable Bowel (IBS) is no laughing matter. Illness, stress, a poor diet, heavy drinking, antibiotics - good bacteria, probiotics, can help ease symptoms. As well as eating more fibre (fruit, veg and bran), getting exercise, drinking adequate water, looking at food allergens, such as wheat and diary, you an make a difference by taking a good probiotic. In addition to the right food and supplementation, probiotics may help deal with holiday tummys, wind, bloating, constipation and thursh and help cope better with stress. It's a subject well worth reading up on.

At Elixir, we sell a range of products that may help with digestive health as well as a variety of acidophilus or probiotic products.

Click on the following link and visit us at elixirhealth.co.uk or telephone us on 01208 814500 for further information.

Ear Infections…The Biosun Hopi Ear Candle

The other night, a friend and I were talking about how people focus on somethings and not others, willing to dare some experiences but not others. As a result there are lots of potential experiences we could have but dismiss because of some reason or another – and therefore miss out in broadening our horizons. Or saving our necks. Who knows.

This same friend lived for a while in an American city with the most Burgher Kings, and although he passed many of them every day, he hadn’t noticed the food chain. And probably never will, because he dislikes fast food. Fair enough. Burgher Kings are constantly de-selected by his radar. On the other hand, until recently I had never experienced a Biosun Hopi Ear Candle treatment,  but was very glad that I did because it is one of the most peaceful, relaxing things out there. In fact I scoffed at the idea that sticking a candle in your ear could amount to much. Prejudices had to be overcome and it’s mainly that sort of thing we were talking about.

Seeing, but not noticing, goes on all the time in our heads. But it raised the question of what processes are involved in encouraging ourselves or a person to sit up and take notice of anything different of what is part of our natural orb of experience? The older I get the more I think it important to step outside my boundaries and to try something a little different. I think that, in part, allowed me to sample the Biosun Hopi Ear Candle treatment. Life is short, and those lost moments are irretrievable.

The psychologists and philosophers out there can probably answer all my questions, and more. Most of us have a natural dislike of marketing and advertising and can get annoyed with silly attempts to infiltrate our minds with all kinds of gimmicky ploys and tricks. That’s why the best sales people are those who educate us and then leave us alone.

Whatever the mystery of decision-making is, or what enables us to rightly or wrongly discriminate what experiences are good or bad for us, I think it’s necessary every now and then just to go with our instincts and do something a little different.

It’s is, after all, how new doors are opened.

For more information on the Biosun Hopi Ear Candle treatment - Click here.