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Mirror, Mirror: Aggression Towards Another is Reacting to a Trait You Don’t Like Within Yourself

Filed Under: ADVICE COLUMN, EATING HEALTHY, FDA, GMO FOODS, GOVERNMENT, HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS, HUMANE EATING, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, THE TRUTH, WENDY ZANGARI, WENDY'S WRITING by Ready For The Shift — Leave a comment

5, April 2014

~By Wendy Zangari

Do you talk to strangers? You must, either online or in a store, at work or through friends. We all interact with strangers, sometimes even daily. What are other people’s reactions to what you say, whether it be about the weather, politics, work, society, etcetera? Does it depend on the place, situation or online area (social media) in which these thoughts were exchanged?

Perhaps, but what gives strangers the right to be rude? Do people become rude and aggressive when they don’t know what to say and you have stumped them? Do they get upset that they don’t understand what you are saying and take it out on you? Do they have preconceived notions as to what your concept is about and won’t listen to your thoughts? Do they feel as though you are telling them how to eat, live, and breath? Do they feel because they will never meet you that they can talk to you any which way they want?

I get these types of reactions from people all of the time, it’s rare to get someone engaged in conversation with what I like to speak about. Not too many people are well versed in the many subjects that Greg and I are interested in, which includes a lot of world politics attached to those subjects. These controversial subjects make some people really uncomfortable! What makes people react in such ways?

It is because in my case, if you are talking about GMOs, people can take that as you are saying that they are poisoning both their bodies and their family’s bodies. They get defensive because they feel as though you are attacking them, no matter how nice you say it. If you are talking about vaccines, same thing, people get defensive because you are basically saying that they are hurting themselves and their children. Who wants to admit you are hurting yourself and your family? No one!

So we have to understand that people can react to you in any which way they choose, but it always comes down to “What hurt them deep down inside, by you saying what you said?” We are a reflection of each other and as soon as we realize that the better off we will be. For instance, you are a mirror for me If I don’t like how you are behaving, it is because it is a trait within myself that I don’t like. Plain and simple! Or is it?

The people we are in relationship with are always a mirror, reflecting our own beliefs, and simultaneously we are mirrors, reflecting their beliefs. So… relationship is one of the most powerful tools for growth…. If we look honestly at our relationships, we can see so much about how we have created them.
-Shakti Gawain teacher, author (b1948)

Can someone feel empowered and say whatever they want to another whether or not it hurts them, lets say on Facebook, because they are a friend of a friend and will never meet you in real life? Does this give them the right to speak to you in such a way that emits aggressive behavior? No, it does not. However, do they even know why they are upset at what you just said? If we looked at our behaviors and asked ourselves “Why is this person making me so upset by what they are saying?” or “What is it in regards to what they are saying that triggered emotional anger?”, it is something within ourselves that we do not like. No one likes looking in the mirror only to notice a flaw in your being!

For instance, I was talking about GMOs on a picture of Oreo’s that was posted on Facebook. The person posting the picture does not eat GMOs, so I knew that this was to evoke a conversation on her Facebook wall and I dove in gently to the person who commented, saying that they would eat them everyday. I said:

“Do you know about GMOs? If you don’t here is a good website to become familiar with them. http://www.gmofreepa.org/faqs/ I hope this helps.”

I think that was gentle enough. Even when they said they did in fact know about GMOs, I said:

“Awesome. Wasn’t sure if you were aware of the hidden ingredients in Oreos though. The Sugar, Canola oil, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, Soy lecithin and Chocolate are all GMO. That is almost all of the ingredients.

Original Oreo cookies contain enriched flour, sugar, high oleic canola and/or palm and/or canola and/or soybean oil, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, leavening, cornstarch, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin, and chocolate.”

So she said: ”So I tell you I know, yet you insist on telling me anyway. You’re one of those people who tell people what’s in hot dogs even tho they know what’s in them. So again, I know. Ill have a few extra Oreos tonight:)”

I was categorized into a group of people that help other people eat better, imagine that? Apparently they did not want my help, but I just find these types of reactions completely rude because I do not know how much they know about GMOs and their hidden ingredients. So she assumed I knew what she knows as far as GMOs go. Not everyone knows everything about them and my job is to educate people on them, but every once in a while I get this kind of reaction to subjects I talk about, especially GMOs.

So I ended the conversation by saying: ”Just trying to help and wasn’t sure if you were aware of everything that GMOs are in or what the hidden ingredients are. Sorry for helping out a fellow human. I will make sure to never help out another human again. See how ridiculous that sounds? Just as ridiculous as you having an Oreo cookie just to throw it in my face about GMOs.”

So this person would rather hurt themselves then embrace the information I gave them. Perhaps it was too fast to just jump in and talk about GMOs, but I thought I was being as nice as possible without judgement, plus it was on one of my GMO Free PA Volunteers Facebook wall. She wanted to create a conversation, I suppose, but those types of conversations, I am noticing, never end well and people end up walking away angrier then the moment they walked into the conversation. I stopped commenting right after my second comment, it wasn’t worth talking to someone who is going to come at me with rage. Nothing good comes out of rage!

However, to analyze why this happened and how this persons’ reaction came about, is very simple. She thinks either I am judging her without even knowing that I don’t judge, just observe, or she thinks that I am shoving it down her throat, which I also didn’t do, I first gave her a link and when she knew about GMOs, my thought is that she may not know about hidden ingredients, so I wanted to show her to help her, but it wasn’t received that way. So either way, I will not be able to rationalize with this type of person and unfortunately I will walk away, even though I know that they eventually will be harmed by the toxic chemicals in the foods they are eating. To me it’s sad that they know about them and yet refuse to help themselves eat better. It’s like knowing you have a source for clean water and not taking any and yet you need it to survive.

Whenever we react to someone else’s comments and we react with negativity, aggression, pompousness and anger: it’s because we don’t like what we see in the mirror!

Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times. Some people are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.
-Sydney J. Harris

Perhaps you are talking to someone who is a racist, they say something out of line in regards to the person behind you being of color, you get upset and outraged. Could this be because at one time you were a racist and feel bad you behaved like that? Could it be that you experienced racism in your own household growing up? Could it be because you were teased as a child for having frizzy hair and were called names relating you to African Americans?

There is a reason it offended you and it is usually because we experienced these feelings growing up or in adulthood and didn’t like how it felt. In the end, it is always because of our own emotional baggage that we get upset at situations or others.

Another example is if someone says “Everyone should eat healthier” and someone replies “Who are you to tell me what to do?”. Could it be that they reacted this way because growing up they were told what to do without having any choice? Could it be that they were always eating healthy food and they were never allowed to have junk food? Could it be that they have low self esteem from authority figures constantly telling them how to be, live life, and do things?

Any of these could be the answer, but it always comes back to you and why you reacted the way you reacted based on your own life experiences with others.

Take a look at yourself every once in a while and ask yourself, really ask yourself why you are reacting to something, the way you are reacting to it. You might be surprised that it has nothing to do with the other person, but it has everything to do with you!

“It is when you lose sight of yourself, that you lose your way. To keep your truth in sight you must keep yourself in sight and the world to you should be a mirror to reflect to you your image; the world should be a mirror that you reflect upon.”
― C. JoyBell C.

© 2014, Ready For The Shift. ™ Wendy & Greg Zangari, All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy and redistribute these articles on the condition that the content remains complete and in tact, full credit is given to the author(s), and that it is distributed freely.

Tags: ANGER, BEHAVIORS, CHEMICALS IN OREOS, DEALING WITH ANGER, DEALING WITH ARGUMENTS, GMO FOODS, GMO OREOS, GMOs, HEALTH, HELPING THE WORLD, HELPING THE WORLD EAT GMO FREE, OREOS, REACTING TO A TRAIT YOU DON'T LIKE WITHIN YOURSELF, WENDY ZANGARI'S WRITING

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When Can Genetic Engineering Be A “Good Thing”?

Filed Under: AGRICULTURE, CANNABIS, EVOLUTION, FANTASTIC GARDENING, GMO FOODS, GREG ZANGARI'S WRITING, HEALTH, MEDICAL INDUSTRY, MEGA CORPORATION, MONSANTO, PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY, THE TRUTH by Ready For The Shift — Leave a comment

3, April 2014

~By Greg Zangari

As most of my network of friends and acquaintances know, I am not a proponent of cross-species genetic engineering, due to the lack of long-term safety studies (90 days or longer), which include at least testing 2 to 3 generations of progeny. This way, you can isolate any side effects including tumors, allergens, etc., found in the current generation, as well as to see if there is an inherent transferable defect, which may ultimately pose a threat to humans, animals, or the environment.

Cross-species genetic engineering is when they take a gene from one species like a frog and place it in another species like a Florida Orange. In this example it was done, in order to stop a bacterial infection in the oranges called “greening”. I personally don’t think this type of engineering is good for the environment, humans or any animal who might eat them.

If oranges were supposed to pick up certain traits of this frog, it would be able to happen in nature. (Read: Genetically Modified Oranges With A Side Of Frog Genes) Personally, I’ve never seen a orange hopping around and making “ribbit” noises have you? Could anything ever make me Pro-GMO?

Would I reconsider cross-species genetic engineering if adequate, long-term safety testing was done? As much as I don’t think it’s a good thing, I would have to look at it on a case by case basis. However, I still don’t think it’s fair that farmers have to buy new seeds each year. It’s never been that way in the history of agriculture. Farmers have always been able to save their seeds. Perhaps it wouldn’t bother me as much if the GMO seeds weren’t infertile after one generation which forces you to buy anew.

Jerry Rosman, a pig farmer and seed dealer since 1974, started using GMO feed in 1997. Everything was fine until the 2000 “vintage” feed came out and that’s when he chose a GMO variety from a different company – Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready/BT Corn. That’s when he started noticing infertility in 80% of his pigs. Within 12 months of using this feed, this farmer went bankrupt.

These types of “side effects” would not have happened without adequate, long-term, safety testing. Most, if not all safety studies, sponsored or run by the chemical seeds companies, only do safety testing for a period of 30 to 60 days. Many disease states will not be seen in animal testing unless you test for 90 days or longer. If you’d like to hear more about the case of Jerry Rosman, you can see more in the video below.

In the High Times article quoted below, Vancouver-based research company, MediJean, is currently attempting to create individual, hybrid strains of cannabis, that are targeted to a specific disease state or states.

“According to reports, MediJean is currently experimenting with about 224 marijuana strains in an attempt to breed a selection of high-potency varieties, which can then be used to treat a broad range of debilitating ailments, including cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.”

However in this case of MediJean’s efforts, I approve of genetic engineering. Why? As long as the genetic engineering is done without toxic, mutagenic, chemical means, genetic engineering used in the same species, in my opinion, speeds up evolution. Why in this case do I think speeding up evolution is a good thing? It can take several generations of plant hybridization/cross-pollination, to obtain the final result(s) that you’re looking for.

Using cannabis as an example, you’re looking at 12 to 16 weeks of development, including pollen exchange, then replanting those seeds and then “hope” it moves you closer to your goal. Using traditional means of trial and error cross-pollination, it would take years.

Using traditional cross breeding, you take the pollen from one variety then rub it on the other, then wait to see if you get the result you want. Now what if you had a plant with purple leaves that worked for MS and one that had green leaves that also worked for MS, but just a little better. When we cross-pollinate, we find that we brought the MS-helping trait over, but we also brought the purple color too and let’s say we didn’t want the purple color because it brought over undesired traits. We would then have to do something to breed that purple color out by only breeding together plants with the least amount of purple color. This may take generations until we get that shade of green we wanted in the first place.

Using genetic engineering for the purpose of hybridization, we can take only the gene(s) that aid in MS symptoms and not the genes for the purple color. In fact, they can take genes from several different varieties and try to splice them into one potent MS-specific variety. So in the case of speeding up evolution using gene splicing as a way of hybridization, this will bring cures to market much more quickly and at less expense.

Using genetic engineering in the way I defined above, you can be verified that the plant you end up with, carries the genetic traits of several breeds, that are custom-tailored for one specific illness to a range of illnesses. There are so many people in the world that would benefit from this miracle plant if the genetic engineering is done in a heart-based, compassionate manner, and not one created for mega-profits – like we see in the agri-biotech businesses.

Let us know your thoughts on genetic engineering by commenting below.

To learn more about GMOs in our food supply visit: GMO Free PA

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Earth Hour 2014: RFTS Is Participating, Are You?

Filed Under: AWAKENINGS, EARTH HOUR, EVOLUTION, FAMILY, GREG ZANGARI'S WRITING, HUMAN RIGHTS, ONEWORLD, THE TRUTH by Ready For The Shift — Leave a comment

29, March 2014

~By Greg Zangari

When we were looking for a meaningful launch date for Ready For The Shift (RFTS) in 2011, we chose the date of that year’s Earth Hour event, which fell on March 26th in 2011 and annually occurs on the last weekend in March. As Wendy and I are strong supporters of sustainability, we believe change would occur more quickly and in a more positive direction, if we stop using fossil fuels for our power/energy needs. This worldwide dip in power usage around the world is noticeable and creates a strong message to the power players in control of the world’s energy supply.

Earth Hour was started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 as a local event, but grew bigger and bigger each year. Although plans were made to make Earth Hour a national event in Australia, international interest was sparked and each year more countries jumped on board. Now, just 7 years later, 154 countries are involved!

The Earth Hour event has gone way beyond just a display of saving or changing the way(s) we use and create energy; the world’s people have taken it to the next level. In today’s world of crowd sourcing, individuals, organizations, corporations, small businesses and countries, are raising funds to move the world in a more positive direction. Some countries are taking the estimated amount of money saved within a country during “Earth Hour”, and have parlayed the funds into environmental action for the good. Take a look at some of the projects on the Earth Hour site, where they are listed by country in this section labeled Earth Hour Around The World.

“You know, that when we started Earth Hour, we wanted it to be something different. We wanted it to be about hope, not fear. We wanted it to be “street party”, not “street protest.” And we wanted it to inspire that sense of common purpose. And we somehow achieved this, it was amazing!” – Andy Ridley

Andy Ridley, CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, discusses the event at TEDxWWF in June 2013:

Earth Hour has gone from a one city event in one country, to one in which 150+ countries, in 4,000 cities around the world, participated last year. It’s become a launch platform for many environmental challenges and issues. You can check out the projects and commitments people have made on the Earth Hour Crowdsourcing page. As you saw in the video, it can be as simple as the little boy who said he would give up chocolate for a week if 20 of his neighbors “greened” their apartment balconies, or the group that’s raising money to create a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef and how it’s being effected by climate change. In Uganda, they are raising money by turning off the lights, in order to turn on the lights for 600 homes without power!

The inspiration and motivation that a simple thing like turning off your lights for an hour can make, is mind-blowing. Tonight, from 8:30PM to 9:30PM, please turn off your lights. Turn off as much power as you can. Today, even toasters have LEDs and LCD panels which draw current – unplug them. When I lived in England for work in the late 90s, I noticed that most of the wall outlets/power points, all had discrete switches to turn them off. At night, instead of unplugging all of your small kitchen appliances, all you needed to do was flick the switch. How come we don’t have that in the USA? Just a simple item like a powered outlet would save so much energy!

Think of something fun to do during that time tonight. Light some candles and have a romantic dinner. Talk about how life must have been without electricity and appreciate what we have now. Once we all care, the world with shift in a more positive direction.

Tags: AWAKENINGS, EARTH HOUR, EARTHHOUR, EVOLUTION, FAMILY, GREG ZANGARI'S WRITING, HUMAN RIGHTS, ONEWORLD, THE TRUTH, YOURPOWER

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Can You Believe RFTS Has Been Online For 3 Years?! Thank You For Sticking Around!

26, March 2014

PRESS RELEASE: 26 March 2014, Chester, PA.

READY FOR THE SHIFT TURNS THREE!

On March 26th, 2011, during the day of the Earth Hour celebration, Ready For The Shift was launched. Originally slated to raise the awareness of some open-minded friends, sharing stories one never or rarely hear about on the mainstream news, imagine their surprise when they started getting contacted with questions and ideas, criticisms and comments, and requests for assistant/guidance from all over the world! Within a few months they were being read in all 50 United States and over 175 countries! RFTS was created as Greg & Wendy’s gift back to the Universe for the blessings that have been bestowed upon them, especially throughout their hardship since 2009. Now they don’t know what other planets or civilizations in the Universe (or Multiverse for that matter) can tap into the Internet, so although it was their intention to give back to the Universe, it’s the Earthlings whom are fortunate enough to have an Internet connection who will benefit – and by Earthlings they mean any sentient species with an Internet connection. <wink>

When this site was started, Wendy had been suffering with fibromyalgia and a host of other inflammatory disease symptoms and Greg had been in bed about 3 years straight for 23 hours per day, only leaving the house for doctor’s visits and surgeries, due to his now, permanent disability. Around the same time they had lost hope in the medical industry because they were basically told that there was nothing else that could be done for them. That was when they took their health back into their own hands. Wendy started searching for supplements and Greg started looking for ways to detox from heavy metals and fluoride that’s been accumulating in their bodies for years.

At that time, they started learning more and more about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that most of our food supply was being made with and that most of our livestock were eating. After a few months of taking the supplements and adding a chelating agent (liquid Zeolite) to their daily routine, they started to feel better. Wendy was able to do just a little bit more and Greg was out of bed at least a few hours per day. The supplements were working!

They included meditation into their repertoire which allowed Greg to get off the SSRI he had been prescribed 7 years earlier. By July 2011, Wendy decided, that even though they were living off of disability pay, to throw out all of the products in their cupboards that contained GMOs. It was all or nothing. Little by little they started restocking everything with GMO-Free or Organic in substitute of what they used to eat.

They found out that they could go to Trader Joe’s to get most of the food they ate, using health food stores, co-ops and farmer’s markets for the rest of their provisions. The food seemed more nutritious because they ate less than before and felt better. The best part was that they were spending less money on this combination of non-GMO and Organic food than they were at the big chain markets like Giant/Pathmark/Acme/Safeway! Sure it took a while and a lot of will power to stop eating the easy-to-make processed food and the fast food and the diet aspartame containing beverages, and they made a few mistakes along the way by not carefully reading ingredients labels; but over time they learned what to avoid.

They started trying to cook more from scratch and because they both felt a little better, more cooking was done. They learned about antioxidants in their foods and applied what they learned in order to reduce inflammation even more – like using Turmeric to reduce pain. There was however a side effect – weight loss. About a year after they started taking supplements and shopping at a new market, Greg had lost about 50lbs and Wendy lost around 35lbs. Due to the weight loss, Greg was able to stop the diuretic (“water pill”) he had been taking since 1994 for his high blood pressure.

Early one Spring morning in 2012, Wendy said, “Greg, I didn’t tell you, but I started some flower seeds, which lead to starting some vegetable seeds and now they are getting so big they need to go into the ground and I have no idea what I’m doing.” In the time it took for Wendy to get that request out, Greg got a huge smile over his face, got dressed and said, “Let’s go!” Just the thought of starting a garden, reminded Greg about starting a garden with his Dad, after years of watching both of his Grandfathers grow amazing gardens with lots of variation, so Greg was able to learn about different types of plants. As Wendy had already bought Greg a comfortable sling chair for outside, which kept pressure off his back, he was able to sit in the chair and till the soil, one shovel at a time. Since Greg couldn’t get low to the ground, Wendy did all the planting and weeding. Greg took on the job of watering the garden and they both harvested which brought so much joy!

: Watermelon, Cukes, Squash and Corn. Trellises built by hand by Greg and Wendy. June 2012

: Tomato, Peppers and Herb Garden. July 2012

They were pretty proud of what they had done, so they had even bigger plans for 2013! Little did they know that spending so much time barefoot in the sunshine would bring them both so much pain relief! So much pain relief that Greg was able to take Wendy out for her 40th Birthday Celebration on June 30th, at an Italian bistro in West Chester, PA called Nonna’s. As an added bonus, two of Greg’s bandmates from his band from the early 90s, “Daze of Change”, were playing in Nonna’s lounge. What a reunion it was!

: Greg looking after Wendy as she was really enjoying the Margarita’s! June 2012

: Greg hanging out with his old bandmates now playing in “The Vince Brown Band”. With John Dolceamore (left) and Vince Brown (right).

Although it was a long winter in 2012, starting with the death of Greg’s mother, adopting a very sick kitten, Wendy getting a severe dog bite on her dominant arm, one of their cats getting sick and another one of them dying – and let’s not forget the dead water heater (all this from mid October to mid December 2012). Between all of the emotional pain, let alone the physical pain, it didn’t allow them to do much at all. That’s horrible, what else could go wrong? In January 2013 the washing machine died and Wendy got tendinitis from wringing out the wet clothes, and that lasted for a good six weeks.

Then, one miraculous morning in March of 2013, about 3 weeks after weaning herself off her last of many ineffective Fibromyalgia medications (Cymbalta), which at that point was doing absolutely nothing but giving her side effects, she sat up in bed, turned to Greg and said, “I can’t believe it, my Fibromyalgia is gone! No pain anywhere!” Wendy hoped and prayed that this wasn’t a temporary thing, but she stayed positive, just knowing what her body was telling her. Wait a minute! Is Wendy saying that after two years of being on supplements and about 20 months after changing her diet to non-GMO foods, that this “we can’t find a cure for this” Fibromyalgia was gone?

Around that time in March 2013, due to the weight loss and Greg getting close to his “normal” weight, he was able to stop taking his ACE-inhibitor (high blood pressure medicine) – the last prescription drug he was on besides those used for his pain! Well that’s not all! Greg lost another 55lbs in that year and Wendy lost 70lbs! Both losing over 100lbs each, JUST FROM CHANGING MARKETS, CUTTING OUT FAST FOOD AND ASPARTAME? See for yourself! Also, stay tuned for Wendy’s upcoming book discussing GMOs, Vaccines and how she cured her Fibromyalgia!!

: Wendy and Greg after losing over 100lbs each.
Spring 2013. Click to Enlarge.

Because Wendy had extra energy and Greg was looking for any excuse to get more sunshine/pain relief, they decided to more than double the size of their garden, trying to use up every square inch of space available, that received at least 6 hours of Sun per day. More space means more food and they weren’t kidding! Three varieties of tomatoes, three varieties of Bell peppers, Mammoth Jalapeno peppers, Ichiban eggplant, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, two varieties of cucumbers, three varieties of lettuce, two varieties of spinach, carrots, string beans, broccoli, cauliflower, watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberries. With more food than they could use, they gave much to friends, family and they have partnered with a local homeless shelter (CityTeam), delivering them fresh organic produce and helping them to find community garden space in the City of Chester.

: Greg, tilling the soil prior to adding compost. May 2013

: Wendy, preparing to make rows and plant seeds. May 2013

: Greg, checking out the new side garden plot on the Summer Solstice. June 2013

: Just a sampling from the first harvest. July 2013

Since they decided to focus on health in 2013, and though there was much to choose from, they thought they could do the most good putting their efforts into mandatory GMO labeling, since getting rid of GMOs made such an impact on their lives – physically, emotionally and spiritually. So on May 25th, 2013, Greg and Wendy headed off to West Chester, PA to join the “March Against Monsanto”. Finally they were talking the talk and walking the walk! While at this rally, a member of GMO Free PA, heard Wendy trying to pump up the crowd and asked her to consider being a chapter leader of their newly-formed non-profit.

: Wendy protesting at the March Against Monsanto in West Chester, PA. May 2013

: Greg telling the crowd the dangers of Aspartame and other GMOs. May 2013

: Both young and old made an impact at the March Against Monsanto. May 2013

Within a matter of days, Wendy was the new GMO Free PA, Delaware County Chapter Leader and Greg has been Wendy’s Number One volunteer. On June 23rd, they volunteered for their first event, at Maysie’s Farm Conservation Center, located in Glenmoore, PA, a wonderful CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm owned by one of GMO Free PA’s co-founders, Annmarie Cantrell and her husband Sam Cantrell.

: Great GMO Free and Organic Food, great local music and wonderful people made the event at Maysie’s a success! June 2013

: Wendy and Greg taking a break at the Maysie’s Event, after Wendy was helping direct traffic and Greg was working at the GMO Free PA table.

They couldn’t believe their lives had changed so much and that there was such a major reduction in their pain, so much so that by the Summer of 2013, Greg was able to cut down his narcotic dosage by about a third, which was a real win for him! As Summer of 2013 continued, Greg and Wendy became more involved with GMO Free PA.

: No space was available at Chester Park’s 4th of July Celebration. Since they live around the corner from the park, much of the foot traffic has to walk past their house to get there, so Wendy and Greg set a table up in front of their house! July 2013.

: Greg, educating consumers at the Upper Merion Farmer’s Market. August 2013

Once GMO Free PA found out Wendy designed web sites as a hobby, they asked her if she would find a host and get to work. Wendy put in about 100 hours and within a couple of weeks, 75% of the web site was done. Since then, much content has been added and Pennsylvania’s GMO Free PA web site is one of the most comprehensive and educational websites in the GMO Free coalition! Way to go Wendy! Go visit the GMO Free PA web site and check it out for yourself!

: GMOFreePA.org web site screenshot.

On the last day of October 2013, Wendy and Greg were finally able to save enough money, to have a mini overnight vacation to celebrate their 9th Wedding Anniversary. They went to Lancaster County PA and they stayed at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast in Mount Joy, PA called “Rocky Acre Farm“. They had a wonderful time touring the farm, hanging out with the cows, goats, chickens and lots and lots of farm cats! They were in Heaven. While there, they went into Lancaster City, to eat at John J. Jefferies, a wonderful farm-to-table restaurant.

: Rocky Acre Farm, Mt. Joy, PA. October 2013.

: Rocky Acre Farm Dining Room. October 2013.

: Roast Chicken over a terrine of mashed pumpkin, beets and potatoes. At John J. Jefferies, Lancaster City, PA. October 2013.

: Greg and Wendy celebrating their 9th Wedding Anniversary at John J. Jefferies. October 2013.

Although they were only gone for less than 24 hours, they came home to find Wendy’s “healing cat” named Spirit, paralyzed from the waist down. Since their vet was closed, they went to the closest local emergency veterinary hospital. They were told that Spirit had a blood clot lodged in his lower aorta. They had no choice but euthanasia. Their happy celebration turned to sadness in a matter of minutes. Only 2 hours after they arrived home, Spirit was laid to rest.

: Rest In Peace, Spirit. He touched everyone who entered the house. He is dearly missed.

: When Hope Veterinary Hospital returned Spirit’s ashes, Greg and Wendy were overjoyed by what was also included; a cast of Spirit’s paws. January 2014

Shortly after Spirit’s passing, wanting to get themselves out of the doldrums and to give their minds something else to do besides thinking about facing another Winter of pain, Greg purchased Rocksmith 2014, as Wendy expressed an interest in learning to play the bass guitar and Greg wanted to improve his chops since he hadn’t seriously played guitar for years. They cleaned up some of the instruments in Greg’s studio and jacked into the Xbox360. Within a matter of a couple of weeks, Wendy went from Zero to 60 and Greg was even impressing himself! What a great teaching tool this was! Check out the video of Wendy playing Fender Squire Precission Bass on a portion of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”, below the picture of Greg playing his Gibson Les Paul Custom 1957 Reissue and sporting his “Eat Bertha’s Mussels” t-shirt!

Wendy On Bass. November 2012

Greg On Guitar

In November, the Delaware County Chapter of GMO Free PA started their monthly chapter meetings (see Press Release at PR Log) at Media-Upper Providence Free Library in their County Seat of Media, PA. During their meetings, with Wendy at the helm, they teach about GMOs, show documentary films and invite guests who discuss GMO Labeling and Sustainability.

: Greg and Wendy pose with Media-Upper Providence Free Library Director, Brandi Grosso, also an advocate for Mandatory GMO Labeling and the person responsible for donating the library’s meeting space. Behind them is a wall of information about GMOs and food safety that Ms. Grosso created for GMO Free PA’s Delaware County Chapter Meeting launch. January 2014

During their January Chapter Meeting, PA Senator Daylin Leach (D-17th), author of Senate Bill 653 (SB653), “An Act amending Title 3 (Agriculture) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in food protection, further providing for food safety.” Senator Leach discussed his viewpoint on why mandatory GMO labeling is needed and gave us an update on the progress of the bill through the PA Senate.

: Wendy, Greg and meeting attendees pose for a photo-op with Senator Leach at the January 2014 GMO Free PA Delaware County Chapter Meeting. Media, PA. January 2014

Just when they are ready to start posting more actively on RFTS, the kitchen waste pipe breaks. So until they raise $1000 to get it fixed, dishes are washed in a basin with the water poured in the backyard, because the powder room toilet is running very slowly and doesn’t flush completely. As they start saving up for that repair, Greg woke up early one morning, smelled smoke and realized their oil-fired boiler (heater) was smoldering. Their 30 year old heater finally died, right during the coldest polar vortex to hit southeastern PA in years. They mobilized and set up four space heaters, with excellent safety ratings, to try and keep the house warm. Although the 1st floor powder room hot water pipe was frozen for a few hours, they were able to get the pipe warm enough using a heating coil on the pipe itself. Now it’s a matter of hoping they can find someone to lend them $7,000 for a new heater, before next Winter sets in.

When you look at the RFTS Archives, you’ll find that over the past 3 years online, the number of articles they posted dramatically declined. Although they posted over 400 articles in 2011 you’ll only find 325 remaining, as once they changed their beliefs, they stood in their truth and removed over 100 articles from their site, so they wouldn’t inadvertently lead people in the wrong direction. In 2012, Wendy and Greg posted 102 articles, two of which were written by their good friend Zooey when she shared her astrology reports from her web site, “Return To One“. After taking their supplements, especially with Greg being able to get out of bed, they spent much less time posting to RFTS.

During 2013, they only posted 34 articles with almost of dozen of those being Zooey’s astrology reports and two of them from their good friend Kurt Mendonca, host of the Facebook Page “All Roads Lead To The Truth“. However, as you can see above, while dedicating themselves to GMO Free PA and their organic garden, it didn’t leave them much spare time for RFTS. Then in January, just when Wendy is ready to come back to seriously dedicate some time to RFTS, their waste pipe and home heating system broke, which is why besides this one, you’ll only see one other post on RFTS in 2014.

So where do they go from here, don’t they miss RFTS? Of course they do and they have worked out a schedule to not only come back, but to open a secondary web site. All we can tell you at this point is that it will cover interesting news and new/hidden technologies and will include a weekly podcast with Wendy, Greg and perhaps some guests, for interesting roundtable discussions. They feel so blessed having the opportunity to hold meaningful discussions with and call themselves friends of people like whistleblower and assistant to Warner von Braun, Dr. Carol Rosin, author Robert Schwartz, world-famous New Zealand numerologist Peter Vaughan, abductee Stan Romanek and his wonderful wife Lisa, Intuitive Astrologist, Global Alchemist and Cosmic Mythologist Laura Magdalene Eisenhower and whistleblower of the DARPA childhood time travel black project Project Pegasus, Mars jumproom traveler during his young adulthood, founder of the Mars Anomaly Research Society and 2016 United States Presidential Candidate, Andrew D. Basiago, to name a few. Stay tuned! Congratulations to Ready For The Shift on their 3rd Anniversary! Thank you for continuing to visit! Much, much more to come in 2014!

: Happy New Year, 2014!

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Happy New Year 2014! Resolutions, Do You Have One or Two or Three?

Filed Under: EATING HEALTHY, EVOLUTION, FANTASTIC FOOD, HEALTH, RECIPES by Ready For The Shift — Comments Off

8, January 2014

To all of our readers;

We wanted to wish all of you a happy new year! This year is a year of “Getting In Shape”. Since we have been eating better, we both lost 100 pounds a piece and now, well, our fat cells have turned into somewhat saggy skin cells. So, we are finally ready to get in shape, we tried yoga, but it has been difficult to do with Greg as well as with my aches and pains I still get just from not being in shape.

So here we are in 2014 getting ready to tune our bodies up to the max, it is no different than cleaning out your drain pipes in your home so that they are in tip top shape. Our drain pipes need clearing along with the skin from those drain pipes. Okay, who is kidding who? We are revamping our drain pipes to brand new ones!! New skins and all!

I looked and found some really comprehensive chair yoga exercises that were simple to do, so we are getting on that band wagon next week because well, this week we are hurting from the cold weather and it seems if I move one way or another, I just hurt myself.

We are also going to be cooking more from scratch. We have already baked our first loaf of bread, albeit it was wheat and quite heavy and not as good as I had anticipated, we are continuing to try. We have also made cookies from scratch, pancakes and waffles from scratch. Do we really need to buy pancake and waffle mix? We have all of the ingredients in our cupboards. Just look!

Pancake & Waffle Mix:

1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Easy right? I thought so, plus you have all of those ingredients in your cupboards and refrigerator. Who would have thought? Are you going to buy pancake mix again?

You want to bake your own bread. It’s simple (However it does take 3 1/2 to 5 hours total time)!

2 cups water (Between 100°F and 110°F to activate yeast)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon or packet active dry yeast
6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon salt
(cornmeal to sprinkle on baking sheet)

(Directions to recipe are located here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/tips/yeast-bread-primer.html)

There are a lot of steps, but it is well worth it when you make bread once a week for the family and you know what you are eating, most importantly!

So these are the types of things we are doing this year and we are extremely excited to be saving money on food because we are doing this. It’s amazing to see the creativity come out of you after you just made everything from scratch too, so you can sit back and be proud that you aren’t contributing to buying GMO ingredients. Just do yourself a favor and buy cane sugar and sea salt as well as organic or non-GMO cornmeal. I also bought the yeast at a specialty nut shoppe so it is not Fleischmann’s, which has Ascorbic Acid in it, which is a lab synthesized version of Vitamin C, it also wipes out good bacteria or probiotics in the gut. Use Active Dry Yeast and make sure it has only yeast in it.

Okay so now you know how to make bread, pancakes and waffles from scratch. It’s not that hard and our grandmothers use to do it! They probably even made their own butter, which is also easy and something else we need to try as well as making our own ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard among other condiments we could save money on by making ourselves.

This is what we strive for, self sufficiency. A way to make things easier on us as a society and a way to make life a little less stressful with more money in your pocket and not someone else’s.

Life is hard to begin with, why should we stress about needing things when we can make them at home with all of the things you currently have?

And if you don’t know what you can make with what you have, add your ingredients from your cupboard one at a time to this website and find out what you can create! http://www.supercook.com/ You will be surprised!

Happy New Year and I hope that 2014 brings all of you much happiness, love, and success in your endeavors.

We would love to know what changes you are going to make for the New Year!

Tags: EATING HEALTHY, EATING WELL, EVOLUTION, FANTASTIC FOOD, GETTING HEALTHY, HEALING, HEALTH, HEALTHY EATING, NON-GMO RECIPES, RECIPES

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Mirror, Mirror: Aggression Towards Another is Reacting to a Trait You Don’t Like Within Yourself

~By Wendy Zangari

“Do you know about GMOs? If you don’t here is a good website to become familiar with them. http://www.gmofreepa.org/faqs/ I hope this helps.”

I think that was gentle enough. Even when they said they did in fact know about GMOs, I said:

“Awesome. Wasn’t sure if you were aware of the hidden ingredients in Oreos though. The Sugar, Canola oil, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, Soy lecithin and Chocolate are all GMO. That is almost all of the ingredients.

Original Oreo cookies contain enriched flour, sugar, high oleic canola and/or palm and/or canola and/or soybean oil, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, leavening, cornstarch, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin, and chocolate.”

So she said: ”So I tell you I know, yet you insist on telling me anyway. You’re one of those people who tell people what’s in hot dogs even tho they know what’s in them. So again, I know. Ill have a few extra Oreos tonight:)”

Whenever we react to someone else’s comments and we react with negativity, aggression, pompousness and anger: it’s because we don’t like what we see in the mirror!

Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times. Some people are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. -Sydney J. Harris

There is a reason it offended you and it is usually because we experienced these feelings growing up or in adulthood and didn’t like how it felt. In the end, it is always because of our own emotional baggage that we get upset at situations or others.

Any of these could be the answer, but it always comes back to you and why you reacted the way you reacted based on your own life experiences with others.

Take a look at yourself every once in a while and ask yourself, really ask yourself why you are reacting to something, the way you are reacting to it. You might be surprised that it has nothing to do with the other person, but it has everything to do with you!

“It is when you lose sight of yourself, that you lose your way. To keep your truth in sight you must keep yourself in sight and the world to you should be a mirror to reflect to you your image; the world should be a mirror that you reflect upon.” ― C. JoyBell C.

When Can Genetic Engineering Be A “Good Thing”?

~By Greg Zangari

If oranges were supposed to pick up certain traits of this frog, it would be able to happen in nature. (Read: Genetically Modified Oranges With A Side Of Frog Genes) Personally, I’ve never seen a orange hopping around and making “ribbit” noises have you? Could anything ever make me Pro-GMO?

In the High Times article quoted below, Vancouver-based research company, MediJean, is currently attempting to create individual, hybrid strains of cannabis, that are targeted to a specific disease state or states.

“According to reports, MediJean is currently experimenting with about 224 marijuana strains in an attempt to breed a selection of high-potency varieties, which can then be used to treat a broad range of debilitating ailments, including cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.”

Using cannabis as an example, you’re looking at 12 to 16 weeks of development, including pollen exchange, then replanting those seeds and then “hope” it moves you closer to your goal. Using traditional means of trial and error cross-pollination, it would take years.

Let us know your thoughts on genetic engineering by commenting below.

Read more about MediJean in the High Times article: http://www.hightimes.com/read/lab-develops-odorless-weed

To learn more about GMOs in our food supply visit: GMO Free PA

Earth Hour 2014: RFTS Is Participating, Are You?

~By Greg Zangari

Andy Ridley, CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, discusses the event at TEDxWWF in June 2013:

Think of something fun to do during that time tonight. Light some candles and have a romantic dinner. Talk about how life must have been without electricity and appreciate what we have now. Once we all care, the world with shift in a more positive direction.

Can You Believe RFTS Has Been Online For 3 Years?! Thank You For Sticking Around!

PRESS RELEASE: 26 March 2014, Chester, PA.

READY FOR THE SHIFT TURNS THREE!

Happy New Year 2014! Resolutions, Do You Have One or Two or Three?

To all of our readers;

I looked and found some really comprehensive chair yoga exercises that were simple to do, so we are getting on that band wagon next week because well, this week we are hurting from the cold weather and it seems if I move one way or another, I just hurt myself.

Pancake & Waffle Mix:

1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Easy right? I thought so, plus you have all of those ingredients in your cupboards and refrigerator. Who would have thought? Are you going to buy pancake mix again?

You want to bake your own bread. It’s simple (However it does take 3 1/2 to 5 hours total time)!

2 cups water (Between 100°F and 110°F to activate yeast)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon or packet active dry yeast

6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 tablespoon salt

(cornmeal to sprinkle on baking sheet)

(Directions to recipe are located here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/tips/yeast-bread-primer.html)

There are a lot of steps, but it is well worth it when you make bread once a week for the family and you know what you are eating, most importantly!

This is what we strive for, self sufficiency. A way to make things easier on us as a society and a way to make life a little less stressful with more money in your pocket and not someone else’s.

Life is hard to begin with, why should we stress about needing things when we can make them at home with all of the things you currently have?

And if you don’t know what you can make with what you have, add your ingredients from your cupboard one at a time to this website and find out what you can create! http://www.supercook.com/ You will be surprised!

Happy New Year and I hope that 2014 brings all of you much happiness, love, and success in your endeavors.

We would love to know what changes you are going to make for the New Year!

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Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times. Some people are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.
-Sydney J. Harris

“It is when you lose sight of yourself, that you lose your way. To keep your truth in sight you must keep yourself in sight and the world to you should be a mirror to reflect to you your image; the world should be a mirror that you reflect upon.”
― C. JoyBell C.

Read more about MediJean in the High Times article:
http://www.hightimes.com/read/lab-develops-odorless-weed