I was going through the news website and found this video clip of paparazzi “photographing a woman and her child” at LAX, and the write up said this was indicative of our crazy consumer culture. I had to watch and was spellbound to see how people lost their minds. Now I know what they are talking about when they say this is a major problem.

I always wondered what the typical fate of a whistleblower was. Most of us have watched 60 Minutes on TV and know they get screwed royally. But I finally found a study quoted as to what normally happens, and thought it interesting:

A study of 233 whistleblowers was conducted years ago, to explore the effect on one who blows the whistle on a corporation. Their findings:

The average whistle blower is a man in his 40s with a strong conscience and high moral values. I was near the age of 40 when I became a whistle blower.

After blowing the whistle, 90 percent of whistle blowers were fired or demoted. 27 percent faced lawsuits themselves. 26 percent had to seek psychiatric or physical care. 25 percent suffered substance abuse. 17 percent lost their homes. 15 percent experienced divorce. 10 percent attempted suicide. 8 percent were bankrupt. But in spite of all of this, only 16 percent said they would not blow the whistle again.

Source: http://www.henrymakow.com/i_was_a_corporate_whistle_blow.html

Many people ask me how to get started with the white skeleton visualization method. Well, it’s Halloween, so there’s a very simple method: buy some skeleton socks, also called “bone socks.” One of the hardest areas to cultivate in the body is the foot, and these socks have pictures of the bones in the feet that you can use to help with your skeleton visualization so that the chi channels will open to the feet.

http://amzn.to/c2bQEP

Trust me, it will help to have these as a visualization aide. When you’re sitting there watching TV at home, you can just glance down at your socks and remember that you can do the skeleton visualziation at the same time. I wish I had this inexpensive thing when I started. And it’s practical, too.

You can now even buy skeleton shirts, gloves and stockings that will help you master this meditation technique that opens the chi channels through the body and helps raise your yang chi. It’s a lot easier to wear something with a skeleton on it to help you with your visualziation practice. And since it’s Halloween, you’ll have a perfect excuse for wearing them as it’s the seasonal mood. Not just that, it gives you a little bit extra character and something to talk about.

Anything inexpensive like this that can help you get started with cultivation or deepen your cultivation is a plus in my book. Here’s the amazon.com link:

http://amzn.to/c2bQEP

http://www.meditationexpert.com/blog/2010/09/skeleton-socks/

P.S. In my new book coming out soon in paperback, “The Little Book of Hercules,” I go over time and again how important it is to open up the chi channels to the bottom of the feet and how this was emphasized in many cultures and myths, including in the Greek, Egyptian, Indian and Chinese cultures. The story of the crab pinching Hercules’ heel as he fought the 9-headed hydra, the winged sandals of Perseus, the baby Dictys whom Isis held by the heel in order to turn him immortal, the Tao school stories of flying immortals … many stories tell how hard it is to open up the chi channels into the feet, which will extend your longevity. Hence the skeleton or bone socks. Fun stuff too!

Here are some samples: