Zenconomics

Silver Bullion Sales Soared in 2014

The continuing appeal of silver for investors led to record sales of U.S. American Eagle Silver Bullion coins last year, topping the previous milestone established just the previous year.

The U.S. Mint announced that 2014 sales of American Eagle Silver Bullion coins reached 44,006,000 ounces. The robust sales performance was primarily driven by a resurgence of demand in the fourth quarter last year. To that point, December sales of the American Eagles Silver Bullion coins were up 104% year-on-year.

Sales of the American Eagle Silver Bullion one-ounce coin dramatically outpaced those of the one-ounce American Eagle Gold and Platinum coins last year. Moreover, based on 2014 U.S. Mint sales figures and annual average metal prices, Silver Eagles eclipsed Gold Eagles’ sales by 59%.

Introduced in 1986, the 99.9% pure American Eagle Silver Bullion coins have experienced strong demand in recent years, with sales climbing sharply since 2008 and occasionally reaching levels where demand exceeded supply. As a result, the U.S. Mint was forced to stop selling the Eagles on several occasions last year as demand swelled, instituting a policy to allocate available American Eagle Silver Bullion coins to its authorized purchaser distribution network.

Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) reported healthy demand for its silver bullion products last year, ending on a high note having sold all 1 million of the Mint’s Bald Eagle coins from its new Canadian Birds of Prey 99.99% pure silver coins series. The RCM said its flagship Silver Maple Leaf Bullion coin continues to generate solid customer interest.

Australia’s Perth Mint reported that while total silver sales were down 13.5% year-on-year, largely due to a sales tax increase in Europe, there was an increase in buying as the price came off through the second half of the year producing 20.8% higher sales over the first half.

Investors’ support for silver was not just limited to bullion coins. Investment in silver-backed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) grew by 1.1 million ounces by the end of December last year. Although a modest gain of 0.2%, when compared with the 8.8% decline in gold ETFs last year, it is clear that silver ETF’s remain a popular investment vehicle. Early indications for physical bar demand are down in 2014 for both silver and gold, however.

While American investors continue to demonstrate support for silver, demand for the metal also increased through the year in India, where silver imports climbed 13% to an estimated 212 million ounces in 2014, setting a level of imports that surpasses the previous record volume of silver imports posted in 2013, according to analysts at GFMS Thomson Reuters. Silver has benefitted from increased Indian demand due to uncertainty surrounding government import policies impacting the gold market.
Silver has historically been an attractive and affordable precious metal and provides investors an excellent opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio.

The Silver Institute is a nonprofit international industry association headquartered in Washington, D.C. Established in 1971, the Institute’s members include leading silver producers, prominent silver refiners, manufacturers and dealers. The Institute serves as the industry’s voice in increasing public understanding of the many uses and value of silver, and also creates programs across various platforms that benefit the white metal. For more information on the Silver Institute, or silver in general, please visit: www.silverinstitute.org

Taking Charge of Your Family’s Natural Wellness

by Andrea Candee – ICPA.org:

“Self empowerment” is the buzz word of our time. Yet, many feel disempowered when it comes to the care of their family’s health. Integrated medicine, taking the best of all worlds, is a sensible, responsible approach to healthcare. Here’s more from Andrea Candee, author of Gentle Healing for Baby and Child.

Trying Herbs

Grandparents recognize this as the health care approach of their youth: administer natural remedies at home unless the situation requires more professional help. Perhaps this is why grandparents seem to be the biggest purchasers of books on natural wellness for children, offering it to their adult children for the care of the grandchildren.

Turning to the health food store or even the kitchen pantry, and given a medical diagnosis, a parent educated in medicinal herbs can return a youngster to health or soothe discomfort until seen by the family care provider. And what better way to empower a child about their own wellness than to engage them in their healthcare, creating an awareness that will stay with them for their entire lives. They learn that taking care of their bodies preventatively is every bit as important as consulting a doctor when they are sick.

Statistics indicate that 75 percent of children have at least three ear infections before the age of six. Most of us either have or know a child who repeatedly suffers from what we have tacitly come to accept as a common childhood illness. Doesn’t it make you wonder why, with all the advances of modern medicine, children seem to suffer from ear infections more, rather than less than they did even 20 years ago?

Some children respond well to antibiotics; others are put on a round robin of antibiotic treatments (sometimes for years); and others still require surgery. A study reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that children given antibiotics for ear infections were two to six times more likely to develop a recurrence than children who did not receive the antibiotic treatment.

I am not the only one asking the question: What long-term effects do antibiotics have on developing immune systems?

“We found that, in the case of ear infections, sometimes the prescribed medicines created other problems and occasionally didn’t even cure…We have had the opportunity…to observe how effective, gentle and well tolerated these (herbal) remedies are in children.” (Larry Baskind, MD, FAAP, Riverside Pediatrics, Croton on Hudson, NY; excerpted from the foreword of Gentle Healing for Baby and Child [Simon & Schuster] ).

First Signs of Ear Discomfort

I recommend the following courses of action at the earliest signs of ear discomfort:

• Limit the intake of sugar. Processed sugar is a challenge to the body and feeds fungal, parasitic, and bacterial infections. Reduce fruit juice intake by diluting with water. Learn how to use echinacea, an invaluable immune system support found in health food stores, at the first sign of infection. Colds usually wind up in the ears of children predisposed to weakness in this part of their body. If you can prevent a cold from blossoming, you will have prevented another ear infection from developing.

• If a cold does take hold, you may choose to introduce an herbal decongestant.

• Add garlic to your child’s diet. Garlic is naturally anti-bacterial, as well as anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-parasitic. A fresh clove can be chopped into mashed potatoes or put on toast with butter.

• If infected fluid has settled in the ear, and there is no perforation of the eardrum (check with your family practitioner to be sure of this) add a drop or two of anti-microbial garlic oil in each ear, along with a drop or two oil of mullein flower. Mullein flower is well known for its anti-inflammatory, decongestant action in the ear. The easiest time to administer ear drops is when a child is sleeping.

• If there is pain in the ear, add a drop or two of St. John’s Wort oil. Its ability to calm nerve sensitivity may help to diminish the discomfort.

• For many children, chiropractic adjustments have been instrumental in preventing recurrent ear infections. If there is a misalignment in the spine affecting nerve and muscle function, chiropractic adjustments could help by enhancing proper drainage and function.

Don’t be afraid to implement all of the above protocols even if your child is on an antibiotic (To maintain the integrity of the intestinal tract, if your child is ever on an antibiotic, be sure to provide your child with a good source of probiotics). When a parent is informed and courageous enough to take charge of the situation, I have seen even the most chronic ear infections turned around—indeed eliminated—from the child’s life.

View article references and author information here:
www.pathwaystofamilywellness.org/references.html

Ear Infections

Van D. Merkle, DC Says:

1. Become informed about Prevnar vaccine (PCV7), also known as the pneumococcal strep vaccine, or ear-ache vaccine. The literature does not support its use.
2. Avoid ALL dairy products, sugar, and congestive type foods.
3. Try Monolaurin, an immune system enhancer.
4. Echinacea: 3/day. For infants 4 months to 25 lbs use 1 echinacea per day; open the capsule and put in food or water.
5. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to be of great benefit.

Management of Acute Otitis Media Summary

1. Nearly two thirds of children with uncomplicated ear infections recover from pain and fever within 24 hours of diagnosis without antibiotic treatment. Over 80% recover within 1 to 7 days.
2. More than 5 million cases of acute ear infections occur annually, costing about $3 billion.
3. The report points out that in other countries otitis media is not always treated with drugs at the first sign of infection. Rather, in children over the age of 2 years, the norm is to watch and see how the infection progresses over the course of a few days.
4. The report notes that in the Netherlands the rate of bacterial resistance is about 1%, compared with the US average of around 25%. 1

What Causes Damage to the Ear and/or Ear Infection?

Ear Wax: “During more than 25 years in pediatric medicine, I have never seen a case of permanent hearing loss as a result of ear infection…Parents and doctors can be responsible for injury to the ear canal and the eardrum because of the efforts to remove wax from the ear. It is inadvisable for you or your doctor to use ANY kind of instrument to remove wax forcibly from your child’s ears, even a cotton swab.” – Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD

The best was to remove ear wax is by inserting a few drops of hydrogen peroxide into the ear twice a day for 2 or 3 days. Let the peroxide remain in the ear for several minutes and then rinse the ear with gentle bursts of water from a syringe.

Pacifiers: Pacifier use was found to cause a 40% increased risk of ear infections in infants, as well as higher rates of tooth decay and thrush, according to Dr. Marjo Niemela and associates from the University of Oulu in Finland. Pediatrics September, 2000;106:483–488.

Don’t Drink Your Milk!: Ear specialists frequently insert tubes into the ear drums of infants to treat recurrent ear infections. It has replaced the previously popular tonsillectomy to become the number one surgery in the country. Unfortunately, most of these specialists don’t realize that over 50% of these children will improve and have no further ear infections if they just stop drinking their milk. This is a real tragedy. Not only is the $3,000 spent on the surgery wasted, but there are some recent articles supporting the likelihood that most children who have this procedure will have long-term hearing losses. http://www.mercola.com/article/milk/no_milk.htm

“The most common culprit [that causes ear infections] is cow’s milk, in its natural form or as found in infant formula. It causes swelling of the mucous membranes, which interferes with the drainage of secretions through the eustachian tube. Eventually infection results because of the accumulated secretion.” – Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD

What About Antibiotics?

Although more antibiotics are prescribed today for children’s ear infections—and for longer periods of time—in the US than anywhere in the world, several recent, independently financed studies have found that for the vast majority of ear infections, antibiotics are little more effective than no treatment at all. http://www.mercola.com/2001/jan/14/whistle_blower.htm

Experts say the routine use of antibiotics against pediatric ear infections produces little health benefit while contributing to the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, and recurrent ear infection. The article evaluated the results of seven different studies conducted over the past 30 years. They found that while antibiotics were linked to short-term decreases in the duration of pain or fever in patients in a few (but not all) of the studies, no long-term (more than six weeks) benefits are reported. All seven studies concluded that children recovered from ear infections at roughly similar rates, regardless of type of treatment. JAMA November 26,1997;278(20):1643–1645

When Is Tympanostomy (Tubes in the Ears) Justified?

“In all my years of practice I have never seen a case in which a punctured ear drum did not heal itself. The principle justification for the procedure [tympanostomy] is to prevent hearing loss, which is no justification at all. Controlled studies have shown that when both ears are infected, and a tube is inserted in only one of them, the outcome for both ears is almost identical. Meanwhile the procedure itself carries many risks and side effects. Justified as means of preventing hearing loss, tympanostomy can cause scarring and hardening of the eardrum, resulting in hearing loss.” – Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD

Prevnar, Pneumococcal (Strep) Vaccine Does NOT Prevent Ear Infections and Has Major Side Effects

Abstracted from lecture by Erdem Cantekin, PhD, Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh at the Second International Vaccine Information Center Conference September 9, 2000; Washington DC.

Prevnar is a new vaccine against pneumococcus. This is the most expensive routine vaccine to date. The wholesale cost is about $58.There are over 90 different strains of pneumococcus. The vaccine only has 7 strains assumed to be the common ones, but this is an uniformed experiment at best as there is no way to know if this will be covering all of the strains.

The FDA approval states the drugs is ONLY approved for invasive cases of pneumococcal disease such as bacteremia and meningitis. It is NOT approved for ear infections. This is most peculiar as it is commonly recognized that bacterial meningitis is primarily seen in adults not in infants for which this vaccine is recommended. The HMO trial in which Prevnar was approved had no placebo group. The control group received another experimental vaccine for mennigococcus. This was the ONLY trial that was done to establish the safety and efficacy to recommend this vaccine for every newborn in the US.

Just how well did the vaccine work in the HMO trial? In the first 17 cases of bacteremia it worked perfectly. However it was NOT effective for any cases of ear infections. If Prevnar could have stopped this or even reduced this problem it would have been great. But that is not the case. The FDA data from the HMO trial and that in Finland showed that the prevention benefit is less than 4%. The efficacy claims of Prevnar in ear infections and pneumonia remain unproven.

What About Adverse Side Effects of Prevnar?

The children who received Prevnar in the trial were:

• 4 times more likely to have seizures
• 4 times more likely to have stomach problems

Also, significantly more children who had been given Prevnar developed asthma. There was also one death in the Prevnar group and none in the other. Prevnar also alters the developing immune system. Additionally it will put selective pressure on the pneumococcal strains and has the potential to change the natural pattern of strep infections.

Over one trillion dollars of health care system are under the watchful eyes of the FDA, CDC, and the NIH. These three pillars of our public health care system have become to be more and more controlled by “expert panels” advisory committees. Such experts dictate policy and control the complex biomedical system. They directly influenced taxpayers health and wealth. However there is a huge conflict of interest as most of these experts served the special interest groups who profit in their decision. Many are in financial relationships with various manufacturers and are registered as their paid speakers or as some people might say paid lobbyists.

In Summary…

Ear infections will not cause permanent hearing deficits, and mastoiditis is so rare a condition that most contemporary physicians have never seen a case. Conventional treatment with antibiotics, other drugs and the surgical procedure known as tympanostomy is no more effective than the body’s own defenses in dealing with the problem.

Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn’s Recommendations for Earache

1. Wait 48 hours before you call your physician.
2. Relieve the pain with a heating pad, two drop of heated olive oil (not hot) inserted in the ear canal, and the appropriate dose of acetaminophen if the pain becomes unbearable.
3. If the pain persists after 48 hours, see a doctor—not to treat infection, if that’s what it proves to be, but to rule out the possibility of trauma or the presence of a foreign body.
4. Don’t allow your doctor to use an instrument to remove wax from your child’s ear, and don’t try to do it yourself.
5. If your doctor examines your child and finds a viral or bacterial infection, question the need for antibiotic use. If he finds a foreign body, let him remove it, but again question the need for antibiotic use. If your child has a self-inflicted injury to the eardrum, your pediatrician may refer you to an ear and throat specialist. Be suspicious and question the need if he recommends surgical treatment or antibiotics. In all my years of experience I have never seen a case in which either was necessary.
6. If your child has chronic, recurrent middle ear infection, it is probably because of allergies or the antibiotics he was previously given. If your doctor recommends tympanostomy, don’t permit it without obtaining a second opinion. This procedure has replaced tonsillectomy as the favorite of pediatricians, but there is no reliable scientific evidence that it will do any good, and there’s considerable evidence that it may cause further harm.

Article originally posted at ICPA.org.

Employing the Infinite Banking Concept

submitted by jwithrow.

Yesterday we examined the merits of the Infinite Banking Concept. Today let’s look at some IBC strategies to build capital and mitigate inflation.

If you combine the Infinite Banking Concept with a fundamental asset allocation model you have the makings of your own personal central bank. If one were so inclined, just like a central bank, one could establish tangible reserve requirements and use the policy’s ever-growing capital base to purchase tangible assets. Your job as Chairman would be to continuously acquire assets based on your allocation model as your central bank’s capital base grew in size to maintain your specified reserve ratios.

The possibilities with this strategy are endless!

The hardest part of employing the Infinite Banking Concept is being patient enough to capitalize your policy over the first several years until the policy becomes self-sustaining.

Imagine a world in which more people take control over their financial destiny by using the Infinite Banking Concept as an integral part of their financial plan. This strategy has the power to mitigate the boom-bust cycles created by the Federal Reserve and the fractional-reserve banks because people employing the IBC strategy would not have much need for traditional bank financing.

The power of the Infinite Banking Concept can truly be unlocked if families were to implement this strategy generationally. For example: what if parents were to set up IBC policies for their children as soon as they were born?

The IBC policy would have the opportunity to grow for twenty years or more, and the next generation would automatically have a large pool of capital available to them upon their maturation into adult-hood. This pool of capital could be used to finance specialized education or to start a business with no student or bank loan necessary.

The child would also receive a substantial death benefit payment down the road when the parents were to pass on from this world. That death benefit could then be used to set up larger IBC policies for future generations so the family’s pool of capital would continuously grow over subsequent generations. Every single one of your children and grandchildren would have access to a significant pool of capital to help them build self-sufficiency and resiliency.

Talk about an individual revolution!

A generational implementation of IBC in this way could gradually transfer the power of the purse away from governments, central banks, and Wall Street and back into the hands of individuals where it belongs. This would cause the financial sector to shrink tremendously, which would free up capital for more productive purposes across the board.

You see, the financial sector doesn’t really produce much of anything. It is more like the money changers of old in that the financial sector does little more than temporarily warehouse capital and then move it around, siphoning off small fees at every stop along the way. The financial sector certainly plays a very important role in a developed economy, but that role should be much smaller than what it is today.

So how do we know that the IBC strategy will survive the Great Reset? The answer is that we don’t know anything for sure.

But life insurance companies have a built-in inflation hedge as they can charge higher premiums to new customers on an ongoing basis as the currency loses value. Additionally, if the currency were to completely collapse, it is highly likely that life insurance companies would re-value their policies in terms of a new currency or maybe gold (we should be so lucky). Also, if you operate your personal central bank wisely and use your capital to purchase precious metals and other real assets, then you have a currency hedging strategy already in place.

Hopefully this chapter has done the Infinite Banking Concept justice, and you can see why we think it is a powerful tool for individuals disciplined enough to devote the time and resources necessary to capitalize a policy.

Symptoms Are Not the Problem

by Susan M. Brown, D.C. – ICPA:

I’ve had people say to me “I know you don’t want to hear about my symptoms, but…..” Enough people have said it lately that I thought an explanation of my view of symptoms was in order. It’s not that I don’t want to hear about symptoms or that you can’t tell me what they are, I just view them so differently.

The current view of health holds that if we have symptoms, we are sick and if we are without symptoms then we are healthy. And so much of modem health care, especially that which is medical in its approach, is geared toward ridding the individual of their symptoms. Some of the sickest people are symptom free. They just don’t feel anything. Their bodies are so impacted with toxins and stress and injury (emotional and physical) that they have shut down. So lack of symptoms does not necessarily prove to be a healthy individual. As the reverse can also be true. A person with symptoms is not necessarily “sick”.

Now at first, ridding the system of symptoms seems like a wonderful, noble thing. At least until you start to consider how the body functions. Many of the symptoms people experience are actually signs that the body is healing and stopping those symptoms can inhibit the healing process. For example, a normal fever rise is the body’s first line of defense against infection. Temperature goes up, which increases the body’s activity and signals the immune system to ‘turn on”. When we take something to decrease the temperature it compromises the body’s natural healing response.

When we ingest something that the body considers to be toxic, nausea and diarrhea are healthy responses. When a joint is injured the body gives us pain to let us know to be careful, to avoid using it and re-injuring it. It swells to provide a natural splint to the area to protect the injured joint and gets hot as the body increases the circulation to repair and heal the injured tissue. The runny nose we get at the change of seasons is the body sluffing off the old respiratory lining, much like the trees sluff off their leaves and animals sluff off winter coats.

Every symptom our body lovingly gives us is a message. The body can only speak to us in two ways, pain or pleasure, discomfort or comfort, ease or dis-ease. The words it speaks to let us know it is working or not working are what we have defined as symptoms. A heart that aches after years of abuse will signal us with chest pains. A stomach will flare up with an ulcer to let us know that we have let life get too stressful, that it is too much to bear. Our pulse will race with the anxiety forcing us to face the fears that have built up in our bodies.

When symptoms occur, when our body is trying its best to communicate with us, do we listen to what it is trying to say? Or do we just try to shut it up, quite down or stop the symptoms. Do we ignore the body’s only voice and try to “shut it up” like putting our hand over the mouth of a screaming child. If our intention is just to stop the symptoms, then we miss the gift. It’s not that I don’t want to hear about the symptoms, it’s that my intention is not to treat them or silence them, it is to acknowledge them with something far greater than talking about them.

My purpose and intent is to turn on the power of the body so that it can heal, and can integrate the experiences of life. Sometimes when the body is in flow with life it has no symptoms and sometimes it does. Sometimes we feel great, sometimes we feel the process of healing happening and sometimes we feel our body telling us that a change is definitely in order.

Life is a process not an event and so is healing. When your body is speaking, listen to what it is saying, acknowledge it and answer it. Educate yourself as to the processes of the body so that you can help it to heal and understand the messages it is giving you. I think the body’s wisdom will amaze you and if you both listen and respond, the conversations you have will surely enlighten you.

Article originally posted at ICPA.org.

The Infinite Banking Concept

submitted by jwithrow.

Before you can see why we believe so strongly in the Infinite Banking Concept (IBC) you must change the way you think about life insurance. The purpose of structuring an IBC participating whole life insurance policy actually has nothing to do with life insurance itself. Whole life insurance policies, when structured correctly according to the Infinite Banking Concept principles, are powerful vehicles for warehousing capital. This is what we are primarily interested in.

Typical IBC policies are structured such that 40% of the premium paid supports the base policy and 60% of the premium buys additional paid-up insurance. The large amount of premium going to purchase additional paid-up insurance serves to both grow your insurance policy (add to the death benefit) and it builds cash value much more quickly than standard whole life policies.

Your life insurance cash value is simply equity in the policy; it is not physical funds in an account. This gives life insurance cash value advantageous tax and legal treatment and it largely shields the cash value from creditors, plaintiffs, and corrupt government departments.

To illustrate this legal advantage think about what would happen if someone were to win a civil suit against you. The first thing that they would come for would be your bank accounts. The court could then force you to liquidate any investments in a standard brokerage account to pay the plaintiff’s claim and your capital base could be wiped out very quickly.

The court could not make you liquidate your life insurance cash value, however, because it is just equity in the policy. The primary way to access the cash value is to borrow against it and the court cannot force you to do this in the same way the court cannot force you to borrow against your home (domestic cases between spouses may be different as the court may determine one party to have an ownership claim already).

Now the court could enable the plaintiff to take an assignment of the life insurance in the amount necessary to satisfy the claim, but this would only pay out in the event of your death. Meanwhile, your cash value would continue to grow uninhibited and you would still have access to that capital at any time for any reason.

In addition to legal shelter, it would be much more difficult for the government to change the tax laws regarding life insurance cash value than for qualified retirement accounts. Qualified retirement plans (401k, IRA, etc.) are creatures of the tax code – these plans were specifically created within the IRS legal structure.

Life insurance, on the other hand, has been in existence for centuries in some capacity. The first American life insurance company was founded in 1787 and many life insurance companies that are prominent today were founded in the early-to-mid-1800’s. Contrast this with the IRS which was not unleashed on America until 1913.

While it is impossible to eliminate risk in this world, building capital in whole life insurance policies based on the Infinite Banking Concept is a way to mitigate legal risk and IRS risk, especially when compared to qualified retirement plans.

So now that we know our cash value is relatively safe from those who would steal it from us, let us examine the capital building merits of the IBC strategy.

Your cash value grows in two ways: when you pay the premium, and when the life insurance company pays a dividend. Paying premium into the policy guarantees that you will have a specific cash value at specific intervals in time.

Your life insurance agent can run illustrations for you depicting the cash value at the end of each year and this value is contractually guaranteed as long as premiums are paid. The guaranteed cash value illustration enables you to know, to the exact dollar amount, what your minimum cash value will be in a given year. This illustration depicts the cash value established by your premium payments (base+paid-up additions) and the figures assume that a dividend will never be paid.

Your agent can also run non-guaranteed cash value illustrations that estimate cash value based on the assumption that the company will continue to pay dividends at the current schedule. The non-guaranteed cash value illustration depicts the same contractual figures as the guaranteed illustration with the addition of annual dividends based on the current dividend rate. Dividends can add substantially to the cash value of the policy over time.

Whether or not dividends are actually paid out depends upon the company’s annual death benefit costs and investment performance. Mutual life insurance companies pay a dividend every single year unless they are in serious financial trouble and every single policy holder will receive a dividend if one is issued. Dividends are small in the policy’s early years, but can become quite substantial in the policy’s later years.

For example: we have an IBC policy illustration that estimates a dividend in the amount of $1,659 in year 5 of the policy and it estimates a dividend of $21,076 in year 25 of the policy. And just for fun: the dividend estimate is $69,951 in year 40 of the policy.

This same illustration depicts a guaranteed cash value of $17,288 and a non-guaranteed cash value on $17,667 after year one. After year five the guaranteed cash value is $95,936 and the estimated non-guaranteed cash value is $101,192. Year 25 depicts a guaranteed cash value of $804,112 and a non-guaranteed cash value of $1,048,247. And just for fun again: the guaranteed cash value after year 40 is $1,511,993 and the non-guaranteed cash value estimate is $2,662,316.

This illustration is based on an annual premium of $24,000 with 40% of that supporting the base policy and 60% buying additional paid-up insurance.

The point is you can generate an internal rate of return within the policy itself. This rate of return will be conservative and it will not wow you, but guess what? There is absolutely no risk to principal
whatsoever. This is huge!

This strategy allows you to know exactly how much capital you will have available to you at any particular point in the future so long as you keep making the premium payments. Once the policy is big enough you can also take policy loans to make the premium payments if need be. In fact, capitalizing a policy for as little as five or six years could be enough for policy loans to perpetually support the premium going forward.

The primary risk with this strategy is that the life insurance company could fail at some point in the future. This rarely happens, however, because mutual life insurance companies are very conservative organizations, unlike the Wall Street firms. The prominent mutual life insurance companies in operation today have survived the Great Depression as well as the crash of 2008. And they didn’t need any bail-outs or subsidies, either.

One reason for their strong financial history is that mutual whole life companies do not have shareholders. Accordingly, these companies do not need to resort to excessive risk taking to try to constantly pump up their stock price. Instead, the policy holders own the company and they are quite happy with a conservative risk appetite.

Additionally, the stronger life insurance companies in the industry have historically done a good job of taking over a failing company on the rare occasion when this has happened. In this scenario, the stronger life insurance company assumes all outstanding contracts of the failed company so as to maintain the conservative reputation of the industry.

Hopefully the power of the Infinite Banking Concept is starting to become apparent to you. Tomorrow we will look at some ideas on how to employ the IBC strategy as well as how you can mitigate the inflation risk inherent in standard life insurance products.

Flu Fears and Fantasies

by Stephen Marini, PHD, DC – ICPA:

The grand fantasy for MedImmune was the billion dollar blockbuster vaccine, FluMist. $25 million marketing dollars attempted to create national demand for this miraculous new vaccine. The financial reality struck when $60 million less than anticipated revenues from this vaccine was realized. Perhaps people were a bit fearful of the listed adverse effects such as the spreading of live virus for 21 days after receiving the “mist”, getting the flu from the vaccine, Guillain Barre syndrome, and the warning to individuals with health issues, especially anyone on immunosuppressives like steroids, to avoid anyone so vaccinated for 3 weeks.

Isn’t it a coincidence that the media hypes up this tremendous flu epidemic in the beginning of flu season just when the drug companies dream of a mass demand for flu vaccine. Goes to show that epidemics can be created on demand without the epidemiologic support. What a great idea to shop at Walmart and get your Flumist. Even folks not intending to pay the $60 to $70 for the vaccine could just breathe in the cloud of live viruses unleashed in the store. It won’t take long for that horror fantasy to be listed as a dangerous biohazard. But neither the cheaper flu shot or the FluMist contain the Fujian strain of flu virus that will cause influenza this year, a fact the advertisers and the media have not mentioned to the consumers.

We have learned that cell mediated immunity rather than humoral immunity, the form induced by the vaccines, is necessary to become immune to the flu virus. Humoral immunity induced by the vaccines is conducive to a chronic ongoing infection rather than immunity. Permanent immunity to a specific viral strain and better versatility to respond to future variant strains of flu result from acquiring the natural infection. Nature intends for us to generate a predominantly cell mediated response to externalize this viral infection and become immune. The drug companies intend to generate a predominantly humoral response that may reduce the severity of the infection, providing the vaccine and the bug going around are pretty identical, but at the price of internalizing the infection to a chronic state. Of course the lack of response versatility generated by the vaccines necessitates getting the vaccine every year for protection. The main prevention against the flu virus as well as the plethora of other flu-like viruses is good hygiene. Hand washing with hot soap and water is a must, especially in public places. Alcohol prep pads and the waterless hand disinfectants which contain alcohol also work well. Parents and teachers need to instruct children in hand washing and not sharing food, drink and utensils.

If you or the children get the flu or any other cold virus, cellular immunity needs to be up to the task. We have also learned from psychoneuroimmunology that imbalances in an individual’s spirituality, emotions from stresses etc. as well as interference within the nervous system from subluxations, somatic and visceral dysfunctions etc. can have a drastic effect on the T cell conductor of the cellular response leaving us vulnerable to viral infection. Avoid the “too much stress, and too little rest” scenario. Kids need less time in front of the game boy, computer, television and more time exercising to remain healthy. Quiet times for reading, meditation go long way to restore balance to many body systems, especially the immune system.

Routine antioxidant use helps protect T cell function. Up your daily amounts of the 4 aces, Vit. A,C,E,S (selenium) and Zinc. Grape seed extracts, berries, certain teas, and even dark chocolate provide natural antioxidant protection. Sugar and caffeine on the other hand are suppressive to the immune system and are to be avoided. Immune stimulating support can be acquired from Astragalus, Ligustrum, Andrographis paniculata, and mushroom extracts such as Host Defense and Immune Enhance. I am skeptical of products such as Bovine Colostrum and Transfer Factor that claim to increase immunity. The increased immunity may be directed to life on the dairy farm and pastures but not human environments.

Homeopathic nosodes and preparations to assist the body in externalizing infections have also proven effective against flu. Standard antibiotics have no effect on virus infections and may generate unhealthy imbalances if used during viral infections.

Herbal supplements with anti-viral capability are garlic, especially if used raw, Isatis, Oil of Oregano, St.John’s Wort, Osha, Turmeric.

Keeping one well hydrated, especially when fever is present, is essential. Good hot chicken soup with perhaps some black mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, or whatever your cultural background finds helpful. Adequate hydration may be a challenge in a child with a sore throat. Making ice pops out of the sport water drinks is a good strategy to keep kids hydrated and in electrolyte balance. The sport waters are preferable to the high sugar Gatorades and the like. Children are very susceptible to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Some signs of dehydration that may call for immediate medical attention are: marked reduced urine output, dry mouth and nasal membranes, rapid heart beat, poor skin pliability, unresponsiveness, listless etc.

Put a humidifier in the bedroom to keep nose and throat membranes moist in order to protect them against germs and irritants. Adding herbs and essential oils such as thyme, fenugreek, eucalyptus, lemon, tea tree, lavender and sandalwood to the humidifier or infuser helps when you are sick. A hot bath with wrapping herbs such as wintergreen, eucalyptus, lemon grass, juniper and bath salts in a bath bag is another great water therapy when sick.

Living in harmony with our environment, being attuned to our bodies, and eliminating interferences within our spirit-mind-body are the recipes for converting the fantasy of health and well being to vibrant reality.

Article originally posted at ICPA.org.

The Art of Listening

by John W. Travis, MD, MPH – ICPA:

Since most of us spend more than half of our time in communication as a listener, we should be experts at it by now.

If you are, though, you are the rare exception. Most people listen passively, planning what they are going to say next, or they listen partially, jumping on the first few words they hear and extrapolating the rest. It is no wonder that communication often lacks energy and leaves people feeling drained, bored, joyless, angry, depressed, or helpless. In many conversations there is little actual communication. Poor listening is usually at the root of the problem.

Dynamic listening is more than simply hearing. And it is easy to confuse the two. Think about this distinction in the realm of music. You probably hear music of some sort almost every day—as background to a TV show or in the supermarket. Even if you are not consciously aware of hearing it, this music creates a mood. Rarely will you attend to the lyrics or dance to the rhythm of this kind of music. Now contrast this with your behavior at a concert, a symphony, or a dance. In these circumstances, your body is turned in the direction of the band or orchestra. You may experience an emotional rush as you allow the music in. You may involve your body with it, starting to sway or hum along, or to clap in time. When the music ends, you applaud or stand up and shout. Now you are listening dynamically.

Imagine giving that kind of attention to another human being— involving yourself actively in what they are saying. That’s what it means to listen rather than merely to hear. Active listening forms the basis of strong interpersonal relationships. It encourages interaction with another, rather than the assumption of a passive role, like people usually take with doctors, teachers, and other experts. Active listening allows you to step inside the other person’s shoes and see, hear, and feel the world from their perspective. With that advantage, miracles can happen between you and others.

Good listeners are made, not born. They are made by their willingness to observe the volumes that are spoken between the lines in ordinary conversation. Good listeners, for instance, “hear” a clenched fist or a look in the eye as much as they hear someone’s words. Good listeners are patient and nonjudgmental. They acknowledge other people’s views without immediately trying to correct them or help them. They assume that the speaker is the expert about themselves, and become a witness to the speaker’s process of self-discovery. Good listeners aren’t satisfied with partial data and don’t presume to know what another person means. Good listeners ask questions to clarify meaning and paraphrase what they heard to be sure they understood what was said. Good listeners are an active presence. They look at you, smile, nod their head, or give other appropriate forms of nonverbal feedback. (Too much of this, however, can be a sign of trying to please without really listening.) A good listener can be a very good friend.

Barriers to Good Listening

The first step in any process of change is to become aware of what you are presently doing. You are probably not aware of the barriers you habitually put up to block good communication. Look over the list below and identify any barriers that you use.

Evaluating and judging. Are you so busy criticizing what the other person is saying
that you don’t hear them? There is nothing wrong with using discrimination, but it is more helpful to defer judgment until you fully understand what the other person is talking about.

Interrupting. When you don’t allow the other person to complete a thought, you are not listening. Many people interrupt because they are impatient. If you find yourself losing the train of a conversation because the other is talking excessively, ask for a summary and then continue to listen.

Jumping to conclusions. It is easy to mentally fill in the details of what another person is saying and then to assume you have understood them. People often take everything they hear personally, which is one of the main reasons for misunderstandings that lead to breakdowns in relationships. You can remedy that tendency by checking out your assumptions first.

Selective listening. People tend to hear what they expect to hear, need to hear, or want to hear and block out the rest. For example, if you have been feeling a lack of confidence in yourself lately, you might hear everything that is said to you through a filter of “I’m no good.” Or you might tune out everything that is critical, unpleasant, or negative because it is too threatening to hear right now. Keep in mind that everybody uses some form of selective listening. Get to know your form of selectivity and observe your tendency to block listening with it.

Advising. You may think that you have to answer every question asked and solve every problem. Not true. The other person may simply be thinking aloud, asking rhetorical questions, or just looking for a supportive presence. In fact, as you share your advice, you may actually be disregarding what the other person is saying. Let others specifically ask for help or advice. Otherwise, just listen and be there. One valuable way to encourage people to solve their own problems is to ask how they would advise a friend with a similar problem.

Lack of attention. Do you let your mind wander frequently in conversations, giving in to other external noises and distractions or to your own daydreams or plans? Often it is helpful to be up front about it—admit your temporary lack of attention to the person speaking; explain that you are sleepy, anxious, or whatever. If boredom is the problem, though, remember that the more involved you become in the conversation, the less boring it may be. Ask questions. Ask for examples. Summarize what you hear the other person saying. If all else fails, tell the other person honestly that you need to leave or get back to what you were doing. Good listening need not be a matter of silent endurance. Good listening is an active process.

Toward Dynamic Listening

Consider which of the listening barriers cited above you practice. When do you most frequently use them? With whom? Why? Choose one listening block that you would like to chip away. Who would you like to practice better listening with? Under what circumstances?

Determine to watch yourself throughout your next interaction with that person, noticing how easily you fall into your habitual patterns of passivity or nonlistening and/or how well you implement your new active listening behavior. Make a tally sheet for yourself of how many times in that conversation you blocked communication, and how many times you broke through the block with active listening. Write about your experience to help clarify it for yourself.

Remember, you cannot change another person, but the quality of your relationship can be improved if you practice active listening.

Article originally posted at ICPA.org.

Subluxations

by Keith Wassung – ICPA:

Central Nervous System

The limbic system is the area of the brain that maintains homeostasis and the hypothalamus is perhaps the most important part of the limbic system. It is the “brain” of the brain and is the single most intricate and amazing part of the brain. The hypothalamus controls homeostasis in the brain by way of feedback. The combined neurological and endocrine function of the hypothalamus allows is to play a prominent role is the regulation of numerous body functions.

The main function of the hypothalamus is homeostasis, or maintaining the body’s status quo. Factors such as blood pressure, body temperature, fluid and electrolyte balance, and body weight are held to a precise value called the set point. Although the set point can migrate from day to day it is remarkably fixed.

To achieve this task, the hypothalamus must receive inputs about the state of the body, and must be able to initiate compensatory changes if anything drifts out of range. The Hypothalamus constantly receives millions of nerve messages from complex areas of the rest of the Nervous system including the nucleus of the solitary tract, reticular formation, the retina, the circumventricular organs, the limbic and olfactory systems, sense organs, neocortex, osmoreceptors, as well as numerous touch receptors.

“The hypothalamus receives signals from all possible sources in the nervous system, thus, the hypothalamus is a collecting center for information concerning the internal well being of the body, and in turn, much of this information is used to control secretions of the globally important pituitary gland.” 11

This input into the hypothalamus allows it to regulate and integrate heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, digestion, emotional responses, behavior, sex drive, body and skin temperature, appetite, thirst and body fluids, sleep cycles, metabolism, and much more. The effectiveness of the hypothalamus is directly proportional to the functional capability of the nervous system to send and receive nerve messages and especially to maintain the integrity of those nerve messages as they travel along the spinal cord.

Spinal Cord & Nerve Interference

The spinal cord is both a cable and a switchboard. As a cable, it connects the brain with the rest of the nerves in body. As a switchboard, it coordinates muscle movements, reflexes and other activities under its direct control. The spinal cord is actually a direct extension of the brain, composed of the same kind of nerve cells, nerve fibers and supporting glial cells as those of the brain. It is also protected by the same three coverings (the meninges) and the same fluid (cerebral spinal) that house and protect the brain.

The spinal column is composed of 24 movable vertebrae. The spine is straight when looked at from the front or the rear. When viewed from the side, the spine forms a series of geometric curves or arcs. When the spine is in its optimum structural position, the nervous system is protected, and the integrity of nerve impulses traveling to and from the brain is at an optimum level. This is when the control system of the body can best achieve homeostasis.

Because the vertebra are moveable, they are also susceptible to certain stresses and forces which can cause them to lose their proper position. This leads to stress in the vital nerve system. This condition is known as a “vertebral subluxation”. Subluxations interfere with the normal flow of nerve impulses and can cause either an increase or decrease of nerve activity. Other references in the scientific literature which describe subluxations are: spinal lesions, nerve dysfunction, dysponesis, nerve impingement, neuritis.

Hormonal imbalances can be the result of either too much or too little glandular activity. Spinal Nerve interference and its resulting decrease in function may be a significant cause of endocrine dysfunction and hormonal related health problems.

“Lesions of the hypothalamic input region may produce a variety of symptoms, including diabetes, insipidous, obesity, sexual dystrophy, somnolence, and loss of temperature control” 12 Correlative Neuroanatomy & Functional Neurology

“Studies have shown that more than fifty percent of hyperthyroid patients have damage to the pathways in their nervous system” 13 Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

“Research at the A.T. Still Institute showed that spinal lesions resulted in pathological changes in the blood, urine, and tissue fluids. Spinal lesions of the atlas and axis ( C1& C2) were associated with abnormal function of the pituitary which resulted in abnormal hormone secretions. 14 Still Research Institute.

With few exceptions, hormone deficiency or hormone excess is the result of pathologic manifestations in the neural pathways that supply the hypothalamus. 15 Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine

Causes of Vertebral Subluxations

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by any force or stress to which the body is unable to adapt. Examples of this would include automobile accidents, work related injuries repetitive motions events, sports and recreational pursuits, poor posture, poor bending, lifting and sleeping habits, and various types of chemical and emotional stress.

The body can adapt to the stress as long as the nervous and endocrine systems are capable of responding normally. All types of stress can not only cause vertebral subluxations, but it creates a viscous cycle in which the body can no longer adapt to stress as a result of a compromised nervous system.

Chiropractic

The purpose of Chiropractic is the detection and correction of vertebral subluxations which is accomplished by physically adjusting the spine. This restores the nervous system pathways to an optimum level of function, which maximizes homeostasis and the body’s inherent healing ability. Chiropractic is not a treatment for disease, nor do Doctors of Chiropractic claim to cure disease. Chiropractors simply remove nerve interference from the spine, and with a restored nervous system, the body is able to restore and maintain its own optimum level of balance.

Research studies as well as tens of thousands of case studies done in Chiropractic clinics have demonstrated that the correction of vertebral subluxations improves neurological function and health and allows the body to recover from a wide variety of health conditions, including many endocrine disorders.

Article originally posted at ICPA.org.

How to Insulate Your Portfolio from the Fed’s Financial Destruction

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
How to Insulate Your Portfolio from the Fed’s Financial Destruction

January 16, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P opened at $1,992 today. Gold is up to $1,267 per ounce. Oil is back down under $47 per barrel. Bitcoin is checking in at $210 per BTC, and the 10-year Treasury rate opened at 1.72% today. Famed Swiss economist Marc Faber went on record at a global strategy session this week saying he expected gold to go up significantly in 2015 – possibly even 30%.

Yesterday we examined the Fed’s activity since 2007 and we noticed $3.61 trillion dollars sloshing around in the financial system that didn’t exist previously. Then we put two and two together and realized the answer was four… not five as the mainstream media claims. We came to the conclusion that the entire financial system is now dependent upon exponential credit creation out of thin air and that financial destruction cometh once the credit expansion stops.

Today let’s discuss some ideas for insulating our balance sheet from the ongoing financial crisis and the inevitable crack-up on the horizon.

The first and most important thing to understand is the difference between real money and fiat money. The Fed (and other central banks) issue fiat money at will – created from nothing. Dollars, euros, yen… none of them are real money; they are all fiat. These currencies do not represent real work, savings, or wealth and they certainly are not backed by anything of substance.

Most of these currencies exist as digital units out in cyberspace but if you read one of the paper notes in circulation it is completely honest with you:

”This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.”

That means central bank notes are really good for paying debts but that’s about the extent of it.

All of these currencies depreciate over time in terms of purchasing power because they have no intrinsic value and their supply is unlimited. Even when a currency is “strong” as the U.S. dollar is currently, it is only strong measured against other currencies. Measure the dollar against your cost of living and you will see the real picture.

The point is we can’t trust central bank money.

Which leads us to the first way to insulate your portfolio from the Fed’s carnage: convert fiat money into real money – gold and silver. Gold and silver were demonetized in the late 60’s and early 70’s and the establishment has been downplaying their significance ever since. But there is a reason every central bank in the world still stockpiles gold. Gold and silver have been money for centuries and that is not going to change in a brief fifty year time span. Maybe one day cryptocurrencies will take the torch from gold and silver but that day is not today.

It is wise to maintain an asset allocation of 10-30% in physical gold and silver bullion. Precious metals will skyrocket in price measured against fiat currency as the Fed’s financial destruction plays out but in reality they are just a store of value. Precious metals will skyrocket in price only in terms of the fiat currency that is depreciating so dramatically.

Energy and commodity stocks, especially well managed resource companies, stand to boom as the monetary madness plays out as well. This is not a long-term strategy, however, so any gains captured during the commodity boom should be converted into hard assets or blue-chip equities after they have finished falling in price. There is enormous risk in the stock market so equities should make up a smaller portion of your asset allocation: 10-15% perhaps.

Despite everything said about fiat currency above, cash should still make up a large percentage of your portfolio; probably 20-30%. Cash loses purchasing power over time but it is still the primary medium of exchange so it is necessary to remain liquid. Ideally you should keep 6-12 months worth of reserve funds in cash and any cash above that threshold can be used to acquire assets as they go on sale. And plenty of assets will go on sale when the credit expansion stops.

The remainder of your asset allocation should be in real estate, provisions, other hard assets, and anything else that improves your quality of life. With all of the unjust systems and institutions to contend with it is easy to forget most of us are far richer than the wealthiest individuals living at the beginning of the 20th century. We have central heating and air in our homes, reliable auto travel over long distances, affordable air travel to anywhere in the world, way too much entertainment, cheap access to the internet which opens the door to all manner of information/commerce/entertainment, pocket-sized computers that double as telephones, and many other modern comforts that would be considered futuristic luxuries by the wealthiest of the wealthy one hundred years ago.

After properly aligning your portfolio to weather the Fed’s financial storm, focus on aligning your life to maximize fulfillment, purpose, and peace of mind. After all, your most valuable asset is time and time cannot be measured in financial terms.

More to come,

Joe Withrow
Wayward Philosopher

For more of Joe’s thoughts on the “Great Reset” and the fiat monetary system please read “The Individual is Rising” which is available at http://www.theindividualisrising.com/. The book is also available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions.

Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Congress

by Ron Paul – Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity:

Since New Year’s is traditionally a time for resolutions, and since the new Congress convenes this week, I thought I would suggest some New Year’s resolutions for Congress:

1) Bring the troops home — Congress should take the first, and most important, step toward ending our hyper-interventionist foreign policy by bringing our troops home and closing all overseas military facilities. The American people can no longer afford to bear the cost of empire.

2) Pass the Audit the Fed bill — The American people deserve to know the entire truth about how the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy benefits big-spending politicians and financial elites while harming average Americans.

3) Repeal the PATRIOT Act and rein in the National Security Agency — It is approaching two years since Edward Snowden revealed the extent of the NSA’s unconstitutional spying. Yet Congress still refuses to put a leash on the surveillance state. Congress should take the first step toward restoring respect for the Fourth Amendment by allowing Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act to expire.

4) Shut down the Transportation Security Administration — Treating all American air travelers as criminal suspects and subjecting them to intrusive and humiliating searches does nothing to enhance our security. Congress should shut down TSA and return responsibility for airline security to the airlines. Private businesses can effectively protect their customers and employees if the government gets out of the way.

5) End all corporate welfare — Federal programs that provide subsidies or other special benefits to politically-connected businesses cause economic inequality, distort the market, and waste taxpayer money. It also makes political and moral sense to cut welfare for the rich before cutting welfare for the poor. Congress should start dismantling the corporate welfare state by killing the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Congress should also reject legislation proposed to benefit one industry or individual, such as Sheldon Adelson’s Internet gambling ban.

6) Repeal and Replace Obamacare — Many Americans are losing their insurance while others are facing increasing health care costs because of Obamacare. Repealing Obamacare is only a first step. Congress should both repeal all federal policies that distort the health care market and restore a true free market in health care.

7) End police militarization — The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August brought the issue of police militarization to the center of national debate. Congress must end all federal programs that provide military equipment to local police forces.

8) Shut down the Department of Education — It is no coincidence that education in America has declined as federal control over education has increased. Congress should de-fund all federal education programs and return control over education to local communities and parents.

9) Allow individuals to opt out — A positive step toward restoring a free society would be allowing individuals to opt out of Obamacare and other federal mandates. Young people should also be granted the ability to opt out of paying Social Security and Medicare taxes in exchange for agreeing to never accept Social Security and Medicare benefits.

10) Allow state governments to opt out — If Congress lacks the votes to end the war on drugs, repeal Obamacare, or roll back other unconstitutional federal programs, it should at least respect the rights of states to set their own policies in these areas. Federal prohibition of state laws nullifying Obamacare or legalizing marijuana turns the Tenth Amendment upside down.

By adopting these resolutions, Congress can make 2015 the year America begins reversing the long, slow slide toward authoritarianism, empire, national bankruptcy, and economic decline.

Article originally posted at The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.