I, as well as many friends and family, have been living “primally” and following the ancestral health movement for the last four years. We have been realizing similar benefits. I encourage you to look deeper than the wheat belly book alone. The single best reource and place to start is with Mark Sission’s blog.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com

I can confidently say that the clarity of thought and behavior that comes with this lifestyle, especially the profound benefits of intermittent fasting, have improved my ability to live mindfully.

Namaste,
Hal Knowles

I posted the following earlier tonight on facebook. It is relevant to the interview.

It’s not customary to thank people for doing seva. Thank you anyway.

Namaste,
Charlie

Like many, I have collected hundreds of wonderful books over the span of several decades. I purchased some of my books back in the 60′s. I’ve barely scratched the surface as far as reading and, sigh, assimilating the wisdom, knowledge, humor and adventures that are contained in those thousands of pages.

Sitting here, surrounded by my library, I feel inspired to share titles and insights that strike me as being relevant to the discussions taking place by my Internet friends.

In glancing at the book shelves, for a minute or two, one book stood out as being inexplicably significant in forming my perceptions. The title is “THE EXPERIENCE OF NOTHINGNESS” by Michael Kovak. I can clearly remember reading this gem during the late night and early morning hours while I was waiting for diesel tractors at the United Parcel Service “feeder” fuel island.

I didn’t interface well with the work crew at U.P.S. A decade before, I had received a shaktipat initiation by Swami Muktananda while visiting his ashram on the outskirts of Ganeshpuri. Ganeshpuri is located 70 miles from Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. It was built at the edge of the jungle and the base of a sacred mountain. Muktananda’s Guru, Bhagavan Nityananda, had established his ashram in Ganeshpuri years before. Bhagavan Nityananda on Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagawan_Nityananda.

I was a “closet yogi” trying to keep a low profile in a simple job. I would have retired as such had U.P.S. not attempted to fire me for violating a Company Policy that didn’t exist. That’s a story in itself, one that has been recorded on well over 4,000 pages of documents plus a few video tapes.

Back to the books…

I opened “THE EXPERIENCE OF NOTHINGNESS” to a paragraph that I couldn’t resist quoting. The following pertains to everything and nothing, which shouldn’t be surprising given the title.

Charlie

==================================

The Experience of Nothingness
The Source of the Experience
Page 40

“Reporters and newscasters know that if they aim at objectivity, at presenting “the facts” without “editorializing,” they run the risk of giving dignity to nonsense, drivel, and outright lies. What really happened in an event is not, they know, discovered by some neutral observation machine, not even by a camera. Events are not events until they are interpreted by human beings. To present events “without interpretation” or “without editorial comment” is, in fact, to interpret them according to criteria that are not likely to shed light on what the events really were. To list statistics, or outwardly observable happenings, or quotations from witnesses, is to give a very narrow view of the human world. It is to offer interpretation and editorial comment of a very misleading sort. Reality does not come divided into “facts” and “interpretations.”

==================================

The Experience of Nothingness
A Review @ http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331333.Experience_of_Nothingness?auto_login_attempted=true

In “The Experience of Nothingness, “Michael Novak has two objectives. First, he shows the paths by which the experience of nothingness is becoming common among all those who live in free societies. Second, he details the various experiences that lead to the nothingness point of view. Most discussions of these matters have been so implicated in the European experience that the term “nihilism” has a European ring. Novak, however, articulates this experience of formlessness in an American context.

In his new introduction, the author lists four requirements that must be met by an individual in order for the experience of nothingness to emerge: a commitment to honesty, a commitment to courage, recognition of how widespread the experience of nothingness is, and a virtue of will. Novak writes that these principles are what guide self-described philosophical nihilists. But many people simply borrow the nihilistic conclusions without observing the moral commitments to them. For this reason Novak believes that nihilism is fraudulent as a theory intended to explain the experience of nothingness. Nihilism in practice, he maintains, often results in a form of intolerance. “The Experience of Nothingness “is a work that will cause many scholars to rethink their beliefs. It should be read by philosophers, theologians, sociologists, political theorists, and cultural historians.”

Sent from my fone!

0:00 / Charlie Engel Interviewed by Jerry Katz, January 31, 2013

1:0l / Charlie and Spencer in a meadow on Mt. Tam.

2:40 / Steven Doyle, Charlie and Spencer taking a break on the Mt. Diablo Trail in the Shell Ridge Open Space.

4:35 / Charlie, Vaidahi and Teamster friends. Time to repair the fence surrounding Amma’s Rose Garden.

6:29 / Marquel in his package car. Marquel spent countless hours studying in law libraries in order to assist his Teamster brothers and sisters.

7:23 / Roses in Amma’s Rose Garden.

10:04 / The Indian Creek Trail approaching the frog pond from the North. Spectacular, fern covered cliffs just out of view to the left.

11:43 / Spring meadow above the frog pond.

13:45 / Road to magic.

16:03 / A fallen skeleton.

18:12 / Spectacular view of Shell Ridge from Joaquin Ridge.

19:52 / Vaidahi in Amma’s Bookstore with an Amma doll.

21:47 / Lela’s dashboard.

23:41 / Amma’s Sandals

25:21 / Sacred faces.

27:31 / An enchanting encounter with Great Horned Owl Feathers

28:24 / Sikh Gurdwara, San Jose at sunset.

30:26 / Harkirin Khalsa and Snatam Kaur.

32:21 / Harkirin and Jogendra on a North Coast beach.

33:53 / My wonderful friends.

35:47 / Open hearts and roses at Life House care facility.

37:19 / Amma’s youth group prepares to deliver roses at Life House.

38:35 / Good cheer meeting new friends.

40:30 / Roses for the nursing home.

41:54 / The rose crew!

44:04 / Roses in Amma’s Rose Garden.

49:48 / Indian Creek

51:20 / The Mt. Diablo Trail above Indian Creek.

53:14 / Skeleton in the gully!

55:47 / Shamanic Altar.

58:04 / Medicine Drum on Altar.

1:01:00 / Frog Pond. Bench is out of sight on left.

1:02:02 / Spring time view of Frog Pond from bench.

1:03:26 / Charlie having his palm read by Swami Mommy.

1:05:05 / Charlie’s Café with Teamster, Matt Montalvo. Matt rehearsed and consulted with coworkers before representing himself in Federal Court.

1:06:21 / Raven Satellite Totem on my Medicine Drum

1:07:53 / Cliffs near the Secret Slide

1:09:33 / Springtime meadow on the North side of Ginder Gap. “Linda’s Cherry Tree” is the last tree on the right, as the slope begins.

1:10:57 / Dancing Trees on Indian Creek

1:11:50 / The Father Tree

1:14:08 / Shamans Face in Spirit Tree

1:17:57 / Yeti on Secret Slide

1:21:15 / Dragonfly Satellite Totem on my Medicine Drum

1:23:40 / The Contrary Stick

1:25:43 / Dancing Trees

1:27:45 / Spencer on the trail.

1:29:55 / A bounty of roses!

1:31:57 / Back at the nursing home.

1:33:44 / The source of our inspiration.

1:35:24 / Thank you.

Ed Geraty