Retracing the stories of the Greek Gods in MYTHOS by Stephen Fry

“The shattered world was still smoking from the savagery of war. Zeus saw that it needed to heal, and he knew that his own generation, the Third Order of divine beings, must manage better than the first two had done. It was time for a new order, an order purged of the wasteful bloodlust and elemental brutality that had marked earlier times.

To the victors, the spoils. Like a chief executive who has just completed a hostile takeover, Zeus wanted the old management out and his people in. He allotted each of his siblings their own domain, their areas of divine responsibility. The President of the Immortals chose his cabinet.

For himself, he assumed overall command as supreme leader and emperor, lord of the firmament, master of weather and storms: King of the Gods, Sky Father, Cloud Gatherer. Thunder and lightning were his to command. The eagle and the oak were his emblems, symbols then as now of fierce grace and unopposable might. His word was law, his power formidably great. But he was not perfect. He was very, very far from being perfect.” SF 

It was during my grade five year that I was introduced to Greek Mythology.  I remember it sparked something in me that my own religious stories somehow didn't.  I was transported into the stories without needing to embrace them as reality.  They held a beauty all their own and I didn't have to prove or disprove them.  I could just embrace the story.  

My love for myths carried on into my teen years with a love for Hercules, both the animated version and Kevin Sorbo's recreation.  Again the stories came alive for me.  

Now in my fifties and decades removed from my youthful interest in Greek Mythology, I decided that I would go on a journey again through the lives of Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Hermes, Persephone,  Prometheum and a plethora of other deities and their offspring (both divine and human) all thanks to Stephen Fry.  

“You would think that Midas had learned his lesson by now. The lesson that repeats and repeats throughout the story of man. Don’t mess with the gods. Don’t trust the gods. Don’t anger the gods. Don’t barter with the gods. Don’t compete with the gods. Leave the gods well alone. Treat all blessings as a curse and all promises as a trap. Above all, never insult a god. Ever.” SF

What I like about Greek Myths is that they don't hide the stories behind religious dogma.  Maybe that is what happened thousands of years ago, but today, we can enjoy the myths for their story and leave it at that.  That is why they remain beautiful to me.  Stephen Fry does an amazing job of bringing all the stories into one novel so one can just ride along on the journey. 

I was first introduced to Stephen Fry when he guest starred on the TV show "Bones".  He played psychiatrist turned chef Dr. Gordan Wyatt. He has since become an intellectual inspiration for me as I have listened to his Youtube conversations with the likes of Laurence Krauss, Jordan Peterson and Richard Dawkins.  His amazing linguistic abilities makes any conversation with him far from dull.  

“Myths, however, are imaginative, symbolic constructs. No one believes that Hephaestus ever truly existed. He stands as a representation of the arts of metalwork, manufacture, and craftsmanship. That such a figuration is portrayed as swarthy, ugly, and hobbling tempts us to interpret and explain. Perhaps we noticed that real blacksmiths, while strong, are often dark, scarred, and so muscle-bound as to be bunched and alarming to look upon. Perhaps cultures required that the fit, tall, and whole always be taken into the ranks of fighting men and that, from the first, the halt, lame, and shorter male children might be trained in the forges and workshops rather than drilled for battle. Any god of blacksmiths that the collective culture imagined, therefore, would be likely to reflect the human archetype they already knew. Gods of this kind are created in our image, not the other way round." SF

This book is an amazing read for anyone who loves stories and can enjoy them for what they were always meant to be... stories.  Maybe one day, the stories I grew up with in Christianity will one day find their place along side the Greek stories that preceded them and most likely inspired them.  Maybe one day people can read the stories of Adam and Eve, Moses and David and even Jesus, not as a recital of history, but as stories or myths that can inspire us, teach us and help us be better humans... maybe even better humans that the ones that were written about thousands of years before us.  

“Myths, to put it simply and obviously, deal with gods and monsters that can’t be observed or pointed at. It may be that some members of the ancient Greek population believed in centaurs and water dragons, gods of the sea and goddesses of the hearth, but they would have had a hard time proving their existence and convincing others. Most of those who told and retold the myths would have been aware, I think, at some level of their consciousness, that they were telling fictional tales. They might have thought the world was once peopled with nymphs and monsters, but they could be fairly certain that such beings no longer existed.” SF

Changing my life with "THE CARNIVORE DIET" by Dr. Shawn Baker MD

“At this point, it should be clear that I believe nutrition plays a tremendous role in the development, prevention, and mitigation of darn near every common chronic disease. If nutrition affects disease, as I believe it does, then what happens when hundreds of thousands of people try to use a select nutritional scheme to fix a chronic issue. Well, certainly there will be a ton of noise created in the medical community, and there will be an endless supply of bias and plenty of confusing data. Sounds kind of like the system we have in place. Eventually, though, I believe that some signal will rise above the noise, and the cream will rise to the top. People will cast aside that which does not work and will replace it with that which does.” SB

When I changed this blog to highlight transformational reads, I was on a journey to better my spiritual and soulful health.  That journey has taken years to get to a place where I have found some comfort in who I am.  Now I find my interest in reading material has shifted away from deconstruction and deconversion subjects and stories.  Now I am reading about stuff I have put on the shelf for so long.  If the human being is made up of mind, body and soul... It's time that I focus a little more effort on the other two thirds of my identity.  This book is going to address the body third of my story.  

"People make many assumptions about nutrition that are more firmly rooted in belief than in sound evidence."  SB

After three years of a much lower carbohydrate intake, my husband and I have switched to eating animal based products as the main stay of our food intake.  We have become carnivores.  I'm not a big fan of the word "diet", as more often than not, it indicates a temporary change in behaviour.  My husband and I are trying to affect life change with our eating habits.  I'm not interested in dieting as much as I am interested in spending the rest of my days on this planet with less physical pain and more mental awareness.  For us, Carnivore is helping us towards that goal. 

“Remember, protein is used to build our bones, internal organs, muscles, and skin. If those tissues are depleted, plenty of food is necessary to bring them back to normal function. Also, remember that weight loss is not the short-term goal of the carnivore diet; instead, get healthy and stop with the constant anxiety created by day-to-day fluctuations in weight. Just relax and enjoy the freedom of eating."  SB (I added the emphasis!) 

I am almost three months in to "The Carnivore Diet".  It's an adjustment period to what works for me and learning how to listen to my body.  I am grateful to have an husband who loves to make amazing meat either on the BBQ or in our cast iron fry pan.  We have found great meat sources in the way of a local butcher shop and a local organic food store.  We even found a great source of good priced meat from my alma mater, Olds College, in Olds, Alberta.  They host a great meat store supplied with cuts prepared by the Meat Processing students.  

So why meat?  Because it works better for us as an energy source than plants do.  

 

“Given the structure of our digestive systems, humans do have some small capacity to extract a minimal amount of calories from fibrous plants. However, relying on only plants to supply our nutritional needs would be a pretty poor strategy, particularly because our brains are such energy hogs.” SB

The human body is more adequately designed to process meat... where as it struggles to process plants.  Plants are by nature have evolved to resist being eaten.  They have developed defence strategies to make sure they survive as a species.   

“Plants get pissed off when we destroy those particular parts of their anatomy; therefore, they protect those areas with toxic and bitter-tasting chemicals. Indeed, the vast majority of plants are toxic for humans to eat. SB

This is my blog, so I will get somewhat graphic for a moment.  The first great change I noticed after I stopped consuming vegetables was that I was able to poop less often and without plugging up.  Meat and protein is used by my body.  There is much less going out the exit door now.  Ask yourself this... why does corn go out the back door like it came in the front door?  There are some things that the body just doesn't like to use.  Those things get a quick exit and sometimes painful exit.  

"We need fat, protein, and some vitamins and minerals.  We require no other nutrients to live or - I'll argue - to thrive.  We require zero carbohydrates, zero phytochemicals and zero fiber."  SB

There is controversy in this journey like most things I have embraced as of late.  Maybe it's all the money tied up in the sugar industry.  Money affects media, education and information.  It's hard to know what is genuine anymore when the almighty dollar has it's grubby little fingers in every aspect of our world.  The only way is to try something and find out if it works for you.  It may require going against the flow.  

“There are lots of questions and differing opinions about the carnivore diet. The upshot is that you need to do what works for you. For some, this diet will not be a good approach. Some people are so metabolically tied to carbohydrates that they don’t tolerate an abrupt transition, and ultimately it just might not be doable at all. If you have medical concerns or issues, involve your physician. Not all doctors will be supportive of this diet, although there are more and more doctors who are willing to empower their patients.” SB

Sean Baker is a Medical Doctor.  It's why he voice matters.  He's not the only medical doctor to support a low carbohydrate lifestyle.  This may seem like a new idea for most people, but humans have been eating like this since we dwelt in caves.  I am okay with this not being for everyone.  But it is working for my husband and I, so we are committed to continuing and seeing how our lives can enriched by eating what our bodies most desire.  And that for us is found on "The Carnivore Diet" 

I don't miss the carbs.  I don't have cravings anymore. I have discovered satisfaction after eating a good ribeye that my husband so lovingly cooks for me.  I'm not constantly thinking about food.  I still have some issues that need addressing, but I am only a rookie.  But I am thankful for all the help that Dr. Shawn Baker has given in this book.  I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to have a body that will work for them to its maximum potential.  I am glad my husband and I spend three years on low carbohydrate intake before going to carnivore,  but everyone is different.  I wish I had known about this decades ago, but I'm glad I found it now.   

“THE BEGINNER PHASE

How long does the beginner phase last? It can vary, but here are some signs that identify you as an experienced carnivore rather than a beginner:

• Food no longer rules you, and you no longer see food as a form of entertainment. Instead, it’s a deeply satisfying form of nutrition.

• You have no problem passing up a food that was previously one of your favorites.

• You can go out socially and not cave to pressure to eat something just to satisfy someone else.

Nothing other than meat seems like food.

For some people, these signs are evident within a few months. Other people need years to reach all these milestones.” SB

Here are some links on Youtube if you are interested in checking out what Carnivore can offer you. 

Dr. Shawn Baker's Youtube Channel

Dr. Ken Berry's Youtube Channel. 

Steak and Butter Gal Youtube Channel