Shoes, Picking up George Bush and walking the dogs, Struggling with insurance to get treatment

Aloha!

Throwing shoes at a person in the Middle East is a great insult and signifies the target is lower than dirt. I suppose throwing a yellow, Caterpillar Back Hoe at a target would signify the target is lower than dirt and do very real injury to the target.

On my walk today with Mojo and Salena I had a typical monologue with my two beautiful, German Shepherd Dogs. "Hurry up, go potty, good dogs. We get to breathe the fresh clean air together one more day, together, good dogs. How lucky are we to experience icy rain together this morning. Good Boy, Mojo! Way to make a big, steamy. Let me get my doggie poopy bag and pick up poopy. Boy,. Is "the decider" ever stinky, good girl? Best I clean up this mess, good dogs before us three or America is linked to King George and the stink stays on us even after 15 seconds of vigorous hand washing. Let's clean up the poop good dogs.

I have been struggling with my insurance company to get cancer treatment. I am in an HMO type program and not all providers take the insurance so I need to jump through burning hoops soaked in gasoline trying to get providers "pre-certified" so treatment is paid for. It is not like we are developing new technology, building the new technology, and testing the new technology, in order to get humans to the moon by the end of the decade, I am just trying to get health care paid for.

Peace and Love,

Jack "The Comet" Burton

Brundle Fly Hairs Be Gone!, Supreme Court/Fifth Amendment

Aloha,

I had a good visit with my University of California, San Francisco Medical Center docs and nurses on Friday. The 30 or so sutures were removed from the right side of my scalp. It hurt a little. Not as much as a very, very, very, long mountain bike ride but it was not as fun getting the sutures removed but it was fun. Yeah! I get to have sutures removed and practice, long, even, relaxing breathing while a stranger removes sticky, crusty, thick sutures from my scalp! How lucky am I!

I will be starting a new intravenous treatment probably next week. It is a combination of Avastin and CPT-11. The side effects can be severe but then again, Avastin and CPT11 have not met me before. I am optimistic and I am looking forward to getting on my bicycle and whooping up on some cancer and side effects.

Well, you probably read the news about the U.S. Supreme Court reviewing the Bush Administration decision to hold "persons" indefinitely without accusation or trial in violation of the 5Th Amendment, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-scotus-terror6-2008dec06,0,2479002.story. That George W. Coward Bush sure knows how to create more bad guys faster than we can kill the bad guys, http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment05/ .

Peace and Love,
Jack "The Comet" Burton

Happy Thanksgiving!, Appointment, Brundle Fly Hairs, Dogs Dogs Dogs

Happy Thanksgiving!

My follow up appointment with my doctors is not until December 5 and we will find out the recommended treatment at that time. I will als get the "Brundle Fly Hairs" removed from the right side of my head at that time. I have not exhaustively counted them but I have counted twenty seven stitches.

Every day I walk my dogs I tell them audibly how lucky are we to breathe the crisp, autumn air together for one more breath and perhaps we get to pal out togetherfor an entire day. How lucky am I and my dogs (Mojo 11 years old) and Salena (13 years old) to be enjoying the moments we have left together. Attitude is very helpful especially when saying, "I get to pick up Mojo's poop again today! I am so lucky. Good boy Mojo. Good poopie boy!". "Come on boy, let's walk. Power it up!"

Happy Thanksgiving,

Jack "The Comet" Burton

Movie Review, Joy, Update, Dogs, Edward zipper head

Aloha,

I would like to give you all a reason to click on this site. I know I make fighting cancer look as exciting as watching grass grow but your support helps me in this fight.

I watched the movie "Bucket List" with Jack Nickolson and Morgan Freeman with my folks' the other night. The movie deals with some mature topics so I recommend the movie to adults and advise parents to do their parenting and see if the movie is appropriate for your child.

The movie touches on some big questions we answer in life. One of the pearls I took away is, "Have I experienced joy in this life and have I helped others experience joy." My answer is a resounding, "Yes!".

I feel joy walking my dogs to go potty every day. I have a little trick I use on myself for the mundane daily task. I tell myself, "I get to walk my dogs in the sun, one more day, and I get to pick up their potty. How lucky am I? My dogs turn 13 and 11 years old in February and March respectively. I have been fortunate to have learned and retained some very good, dog training, dog care, dog medicine, advice from breeders and dog trainers that I still use. Mojo and Salena and I will work on some of our distance commands like "down stay" and "sit stay" today. German Shepherd Dogs are smart and periodic reminders make them feel good and make these important, life saving, commands reliable.

I need to follow up with my neuro-onclologist before being released back to work. We will be starting a new treatment, that may include poison, (chemo-therapy). I should get the final pathology early this week.

My goal is to keep my body going long enough to help find the cure to this mystery that is Glioblastoma Multiforme (most malignant form of primary brain cancer). I believe we can find a cure. I am reaching for the effortlessness in the effort. I am living strong and believe satisfaction lies in the effort.

I find it funny how one's life can change very quickly. I feel like "Edward Zipper Head" which is a play on the Johnnie Depp movie, "Edward Scissors Hands". I feel good and maybe by living a relatively healthy life style it has helped with the cancer treatments. I get some comfort believing that to be true. I have not been on the bicycle yet but Mojo and I have done a mile plus long walk at a gentle pace. I figure I have my whole life to get in shape for the next Livestrong bike ride which may be this June for me in Seattle, Washington or in San Jose, California. I would like to head out to Austin as well and visit my good friend, Dave McKnight who was so gracious to put me up in his home with his wonderful family, near Austin.

Peace and Love,
Jack "The Comet" Burton

It is great to be home!, The Emperor's clothes, Little things, Final Pathology next week, Partying with Einstein, More Later this week

Aloha!

I was released from the hospital yesterday and went to a good friend's home in Danville, California with my father. We had some excitement as my clothes were lost for several hours. As we were pulling away from Walgreens down the block from the hospital with my brown bag, prescribed drugs, we received a call that my excellent boots, jeans, tie died socks, black leather belt, and shirt had been found! I was stoked!

I had a wonderful surgery and both my neuro-surgeon and neuro-oncologist were beaming and glowing with how well I seem to be healing and fighting this cancerous beasty. The little things are important to me like making my health care workers feel good about their important jobs and having my own clothes.

We should get some final pathology results early next week and I will share. Now this cancer has not been "cured" but maybe I will help unlock the puzzle. I hope we can unlock the puzzle next week but a realistic scenario is for me to keep on tapping into the goodness around me, practicing staying mentally, physically, and spiritually fit, and journeying into the unknown giving my healthcare professionals time to work with all the data and variables.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Albert Einstein

The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible. Albert Einstein

I will write later about my most excellent hospital experience later. I am taking it easy and actively, relaxing my brain. It is good to be in Nevada City with my folks and dogs who were well taken care of while I was fighting cancer in the hospital. I may write a little story about whow the fight is going using allegory and military tactics to describe how I see the battle unfolding. Livestrong! Thank you for the support! It means very much for me and gives me power for the fight!

Peace and Love,
Jack "The Comet" Burton

The art of slow

Aloha!

I am ready! Livestrong!

I enjoyed practicing the art of slow this morning. I gathered post surgery stuff like drugs, pictures, and stuffed animals, Tibetan hope beads, and books. I also filled out an advanced directive and specified all my pieces and parts are well used and have no warranty with them either explicit or implicit. I can get annoyed at tedium but I practiced enjoying putting the little doo-dads together this morning.

Well, I have surgery scheduled at 11 AM Pacific Time and will sign off for now. I will try to get a hold of a laptop after surgery and update people of my conditions. Morphine! I may have a fun post.

Peace and Love,
Jack "The Comet" Burton

MRI Results, Brain Surgery 11 AM PST, Major Tom

Aloha!

I feel good and strong! I am ready and believe I am going to achieve a great result from surgery tomorrow. Here is a lyric from David Bowie's "Major Tom a Space Oddity" about an astronaut I visualize in my MRI ride or even walking my dogs.
"“ am I floating round my tin can. Far above the Moon. Planet Earth is blue And there’s nothing I can do.
Ground Control to Major Tom. Commencing countdown, engines on. Check ignition and may God’s love be with you."

Usually before I have my one and a half hour MRI, I visualize blasting into space on a solo Apollo type of mission. The difference is all of you are in my head and heart so it is a good ride where I practice yogi breathing and meditation. I am flooded with warm, wonderful, memories and feelings and rarely remember that I am in the confining, MRI capsule to search for death. I don't worry about death. I have death by the head and I am pummeling it with a titanium fist. We have this cancer nearly figured out and I believe we will beat it with no side effect to the host, me. I am not resting except to cure cancer because the fish is still on. We still have some more effort but we are living strong! Thank you for the support. It is very helpful for me.

Today's MRI shows that there is increased blood flow to the two areas of interest on the MRI. The MRI indicated another brain surgery is a good idea. Increased blood flow tends to indicate new tumor growth but we are very new into my new clinical trial and the research into primary brain cancer so we could find something out entirely mind blowing through surgery. Tomorrow I am scheduled for a 11 AM surgery. I am ready and I believe that this surgery is exactly what we should do for me as a patient and for primary brain cancer research. I feel strong and believe that we will have a good outcome. I believe we will cure cancer in my body and I will be around for many more decades muddling through this wonderful life. I have all my surgery essentials like, Tibetan Hope Beads, Pictures of Pets, Friends, and Family, and a new, German Shepherd Dog, Puppy stuffed animal.

Perhaps there is another big Deschutes Rainbow in my near future on the end of my 3-weight fly rod? If not a big fish, looking up the Deschutes River Canyon is inspiring.

--Jack "The Comet" Burton
"It takes love, courage or genius to make things smaller, simpler, or peaceful."

Update my Blog Friday, PleasePlease feel good

Aloha,

I may not be able to let everyone know how I am doing Friday but I have a good friend that will telephone many of you. Please update my blog with what you learn from my friend. The update will probably be something like, "Did you get the license plate of that Neuro-Surgeon? Good job in surgery doctor! Ow! I feel like I am healing! Nurse, I would like the Afghanistan, Red Morphine this shot, please. The Pakistani Gold is good, but let's try the Afghanni Red this dose"

If you want to win in life and make others feel good, do not bill yourself as a Ford POS (piece of *&^%) like a grey Maverick or a pink Pinto. Be honest and be cool like a shiny, blue, Mustang, Shelby Cobra, a red, Panterra, or even a blue and white striped, Ford GT40. Imagine you are an electric car that is currently available on the market today that goes zero to 60 miles per hour in about four seconds and has a 150 mile range. We are only at the beginning of throwing away the limited thinking and ways of the past and tapping into the abundance that has always been available to us. We are our future. Please, let us believe in each other.

I am feeling the power, love, strength, courage, hope, stamina, speed, health, skill, and goodness. Please, keep the thought, prayer, energy flowing. I am absorbing and reflecting the goodness. I am having fun with the memories and visualizations that is for sure.

Peace and Love,
Jack "The Comet" Burton

Finish What You Start, Patience and Compassion, Challenge, Sometimes an Adjective

Aloha!

I have been delighted to revisit with some of my martial arts practitioners in the last few hours. The martial arts practice is much of who I am. I have been recalling many of the lessons we learned including, “Finish What You Start.” Maybe I have started curing the deadliest manifestation of primary, brain cancer. I am going to make every effort to cure this cancer and win this fight. Maybe I I am a part of something even greater I can help finish to a good end?

I have found that practicing values like patience and compassion is more fun when challenged. Yes, I have slipped a couple of times in exercising patience and compassion but I found that the practice under difficulty is more rewarding than when given an easy situation. Life is an art and should be practiced.

I was walking Mojo and Salena this morning. Yes! I was able to walk my dogs another day and take them to go potty! I was thinking about precious moments. Sometimes an adjective will mess up a perfectly good noun. All our moments are precious. Moments when patience and compassion are tested are precious. It is fun for me to be aware of the preciousness of each moment. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!! That nice breath I effortlessly inhaled, retained, exhaled, and retained was delicious.

Peace and Love,
Jack “The Comet” Burton

DRI - Dangerous, Rude, Illegal, Yeah!, My Mom is out of the hospital, I am so ready for brain surgery!

Aloha!

If your behavior is dangerous, rude, or illegal, I bid you fair warning. You may be admonished publicly by a strong man with brain cancer. Today I admonished a smoker at a hospital.

This person was smoking cigarettes in a signed, designated no smoking area near the entrance and exit of the hospital. My Dad, my Mom’s nurse, and my mom in a wheelchair were on our way out of the hospital after my Mom's four day stay after we were in a car collision. We were rear ended at high speed on highway 99 Thursday night and Mom basically had a Ford POS Taurus driven up her rear. Mom was hurt badly and has eight fractured ribs. I believe neither my father, my mother, or me have sustained chronic injuries but Mom will be hurting from the ribs probably for some time after I have healed from brain surgery this coming Friday, November 14.

I was hit in the face with a poisonous, noxious, cancerous, dangerous, stinky, cloud of cigarette smoke by this selfish and probably nicotine addicted woman. I asked the nurse to validate we were indeed in a no smoking area. My admonishment of this person’s behavior was audible for at least 30 yards and I did set a dramatic example. I let this woman know I am highly allergic to cigarette smoke and I have brain cancer. I told her, “No Smoking!”. I was somewhat less patient and compassionate than I am with selfish, rude, dangerous, illegal fools but my admonishment was done with candor, honesty, strength, and without regard to the person’s social status, martial ability, age, sex, religion, political association, dress. I learned and my next admonishment of someone’s rude, illegal, or dangerous behavior may be a bit more patient, compassionate, and quiet. However, I may have saved this smoker’s life. Perhaps next time she thinks about lighting up she will think about me and the man she injured with her cigarette smoke who has brain cancer. Perhaps this thought will get her to stop smoking and avoid diseasing the wonderful gift that is the human body. I know this person has good in her.

The woman did not apologize for her dangerous and rude behavior that injured me, but she did immediately throw away her cigarette. I would have called the police. Smokers beware. Dangerous drivers beware. I will not tolerate rude, dangerous, or illegal behavior that injures me, people I love, or innocents. Yes, I will allow the police to do their jobs. Just because other people tolerate rude, dangerous, and illegal behavior that lands my mother in the hospital for four days with 8 broken ribs is not a valid, logical argument for Jack to tolerate rude, dangerous, illegal behavior. I find many people behave rudely, dangerously, or illegally as a matter of their own personal convenience.

I do feel good and I am ready for brain surgery. I will have a nice, uplifting post soon on driving politely that will make you, your passengers, and other drivers on the road feel safe, good, powerful, and beautiful. I will expand on my lesson I learned about patience and compassion at the hospital smoke free zone. I may even pontificate on tolerance and when toleration is not appropriate. For example, I have a high tolerance for pain. Perhaps if I showed more sensitivity or MRI diagnostics were cheaper we would have detected my brain cancer earlier and have had a curative treatment by now.

Another post may be a bit more creative about my blissful walk towards eternity. It appears that post is becoming a bit of a cliffhanger.

I feel I have some fight in my voice and my message is one of hope, cooperation, and love. Courage, strength, power, flexibility, skill, and apreciation for beautiful friends, family, and supporters is the feeling I would like you to share with you and your loved ones. Be good to each other. How lucky am I to have picked a fight with the deadliest form of primary brain cancer. I feel loose, fast, and powerful!

Smiles! Smiles! Smiles!

Peace and Love,
Livestrong!
Jack

Livestrong Update: Non - Cavalier Brain Surgery on November 14 – I Feel Strong

Livestrong Update – Thank you for fighting cancer with me. We ended up raising $3,085 for the fight against cancer. The entire Austin Livestrong Challenge raised something over $3.5 million and I am proud, pleased, and happy with our contribution.

My 90 mile ride was off the pace I wanted to finish in but I showed I finished in 5 hours, 30 minutes and 46 seconds ride time. I have not done much group road riding and never fell into a good pace line so my riding was just about all solo wind breaking.

I had a very powerful feeling of connectedness during the ride and entire event. I feel we are all in this fight together. Thank you for fighting cancer.

I an happy with the biking skills I have learned riding with the Disciples of Dirt mountain biking group. I have not been bicycling training as much as when I was before being challenged by glioblastoma multiforme (most malignant form of primary brain cancer). The grand mal seizure I had in yoga class on July 12, 2008, and brain surgery on August 4, gave me about 30 calendar days and 22 riding days for the 90 mile ride. I practiced mostly breathing, and efficient peddle stroke, muscle memory, and honoring my heart and my brain.

The Austin Livestrong Challenge Ride on October 26 is turning out to be a training ride for my Right Temporal Craniotomy on Friday, November 14, 2008 at the University of California Medical Center, San Francisco. I feel strong. My third brain surgery within a year is inconvenient when training for something like the Cream Puff 100, Mountain Bike Race in early July 2009. I found out on Thursday, November 23 while in the truck with Dave McKnight that brain surgery would be scheduled most likely on November 17 after an MRI on the 14th. When I got back to California I heard from my surgeon and we have decided to put me on a steroid that may clear up swelling or fluid in my brain. The steroid may give us a clearer view with the MRI and then the doctors will do their doctor stuff. How cool! This is my third craniotomy within a year! I feel the strongest and fittest, mentally, spiritually, and physically, for this surgery than my two previous surgeries.

I am strong. I trust my doctors. I have wonderful support. I have two, lovely German Shepherd Dogs I walk daily. How lucky am I! I have been blessed with the opportunity to fight a bad ass disease and we get to use clever, new tactics to win the fight against cancer! We also are using techniques that have been proved by the test of time. As I have said over and over and over again, “Better is the Enemy of Good.”, Voltaire. We are using good how we can and using our creative, open minds, to find a solution to the “incurable” cancer. I am doing my part. I am keeping my being strong as best I know how to and I have humbled myself to listen to my health care givers, supporters, and other advisors. I believe and trust that people know stuff and do have my best interest at heart much of the time. I have learned that the internet has much information that is more akin to what I pick up after my dogs on our walks than actually factual or useful in any way. “A lie told often enough becomes truth” Vladimir Lenin.

I find that mindfully being aware of the fun I am having on my bicycle, how wonderful it is to feel the wind in my hair, sweat on my body, and life in my being distracts me from discomfort. Mindfully varying riding position on long rides helps with riding comfort and riding pleasure as well. Being a yogi, I do have a mantra I use that gets me out of my head and into my body while riding.

Peace and Love,
Jack Burton "It takes love, courage or genius to make things smaller, simpler, or peaceful."

90 mile ride 82 days after brain surgery

Hey there!

Thank you for the contributions to my efforts to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation in the Livestrong Challenge in Austin Texas on October 25, 2008. No worries if you do not contribute to my effort. I believe we are all doing what we can. I would still like your contributions and those of your friends if possible. Less than $900 more dollars and I get a way cool, Livestrong Jersey I will proudly wear training, racing, and curing cancer. Write or call me if you want the link. I would love to talk to you so call my folks house or my cell phone.

I am starting a slightly more elaborate post but I just want to get something out there to you to let you know how I am doing by way of letting you know how my training is going. Today I rode for three hours and 5 minutes up and down the Lake Wildwood California hills. The hills here are steeper than the ride profile in Austin and I believe my body and mind will be in good shape to enjoy the ride in Austin.

What was I thinking when Dave McKnight suggested this ride for me after brain surgery on August 4? I was unable, unauthorized, or my bicycle was unavailable for me to start training on until less than 30 calendar days before the ride in Austin. The ride is 82 calendar days after my brain surgery to remove one peach of a tumor. My bike takes four business days to FedEx to Austin Texas. I may have less than 20 hours of saddle time before my ride in Austin.

What was I thinking? Thank you for the challenge! The training is fun. I am using what I have learned from others and my own personal experience to safely and wisely prepare myself for the ride. Call me and I will let you know some of my strategery. I will finish the ride strong and have a safe and fun time doing the ride. My goal is to live strong and cure cancer. Finishing the ride is a bonus.

The truthiness of the matter is people like Dave McKnight and I have done and can do some very cool things. We both slept in the muddy jungles of Panama, safely jump mastered paratroopers, and safely trained to insert troops behind enemy lines as Airborne Pathfinders.

Peace and Love
Jack "That's not a hill. This is a hill!" Burton

Third Vaccine Visit, Antarctica, Breast Cancer Vaccine, Pink Floyd, Refining the 4 B’s of Health, Thank You

Aloha!

I had my third vaccine yesterday and everything went well. My blood draw went fine. I have not received any information on how well my body is producing antibodies yet. I cannot feel any cancer growing so I believe my antibodies are doing their job and gobbling up any new cancer cells as fast as they can be produced. I feel very good. The vaccine was given in two shots under my right color bone. It felt like two bee stings.

I made a wrong turn on my way to the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF) and ended up in Antarctica. I asked directions to UCSF’s Parnassus campus and the Antartican said, “San Francisco, California and up on the Parnassus hill? Would you like to buy some electric underwear made in ChinaEven those of us down here on this melting block of ice think it is cold in San Francisco, in summer. ? I responded, “Thank you, no.”

Here is some good news about advancement in the treatment of breast cancer from the Washington Post;
An experimental breast cancer vaccine eliminated tumors in laboratory animals and may someday help prevent cancer recurrence or help treat women with treatment-resistant forms of breast cancer.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/15/AR2008091501185.html


I am making some refinements on Jack’s 4 Bees of Health, Brains, Breathing, Bones, and Bowels. I plan on some step by step instructions soon. The book should be in Costco, Amazon, Borders, and this blog soon will have the quick version soon.

Thank you for your support and my effort in the Livestrong Challenge bike ride in Austin in late October. I feel good. My blood pressure was measured at 99/66 and then an hour later to something like at 90/70. I did not write down the second reading after my blood draw and vaccine. Both my pulses were in the low 60’s so I feel pretty good about my circulatory system now.

Richard Wright, Pink Floyd’s Keyboardist died of cancer at 65, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/16/arts/obits.php.

“On the Turning Away” from the “Momentary Lapse of Reason” album by Pink Floyd,

“No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning awayFrom the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?”
Be Well,

Jack Walking Dogs
Is my brain fundamentally sound?

Enemies and the Dalai Llama, Jack’s Paraphrasing, Vaccination Tomorrow, Dog Paw, Time Heals, Still Not Inverted, Aristotle

I am reading a bunch of books now. One of the books I am reading is co-authored by His Holiness The Dalai Lama (HHTDL), “The Art of Happiness”. I am 2/3 of the way through and it is a good book. I am not a Buddhist nor a member of any giganormous religion but I suppose I take a bite from the smorgasbord of Buddhist teaching from time to time.

I will paraphrase from my reptilian, brained, memory what HHTDL has to teach about enemies. An enemy is valuable in that enemies teach patience and tolerance which are two indispensable traits necessary to become fully successful in practicing love and compassion. There is so much more and I highly recommend the book to all as you may be subjected to more of Jack’s paraphrasing soon. Keep an eye out for my synthesis of Voltaire’s and HHTDL’s quotes on “The Enemy”.

Tomorrow I get to go to San Francisco for my third, Jack, Brain, Tumor, vaccination. I feel good and it will be nice to be back in the Emerald City to see the Wizard of OZ for my Scarecrow Brain Treatments. Follow, Follow, Follow, Highway 20 to Yellow Brick Road Interstate 5 to Yellow Brick Road 80, To Highway 24, To Fell Street, To Stanyan, To Parnassus. OK, I missed a couple of roads, but the reindeer know the weigh to carry the sleigh.

“Mojo” has been limping. Because he is a German Shepherd Dog everybody asks about his hips which are OFA (Orthopedic Foundation of America) certified “good”. I say, “he just has a stone bruise or a cut or something I have not found yet in his dog paw. I have been resting him for a couple of days and he is doing well. It is true, sometimes time heals without surgical or pharmaceutical intervention.

I am doing yoga a little more vigorously but I have still not gone inverted.

Aristotle wrote something like, “We are what we practice. Excellence is therefore a habit and not an act.” Practice what you want to be and what you want from life.

Jack

Very Quick Post, Thank you!, Stealing Vs. Policy, I feel good, Walking the Dog

Hi!

This is a very quick post whilst I wait on hold with a big, giant, company trying to steal from a man with the deadliest form of brain cancer, is trained as an airborne infantry pathfinder, Army Special Forces Trained, and has been a martial artist for 21 years. I am not fearful of a big company. I know logic, business, and legalities well enough to crush a big company doing harm to people by design. I believe in Peaceful Resistance and my martial background has only been used for comedic effect in this post and to let people know that I have tremendous resolve to ensure people and corporations behave ethically and legally and do not take advantage of people they perceive as weaker than them.

Thank you for helping me meet and exceed my goal for donations for the Livestrong Challenge for Cancer Research. My training is going well. I will be ready for the ride.

Stealing vs. Policy: When a person nicks a pack of gum or a loaf of bread from a grocery store it is called stealing and the perpetrator may be punished. When a big giant corporation bills an individual improperly it is called policy. I have personally been subjected to many delaying tactics by humongous, rich, companies, designed to make a person give up, and just pay the bill whether the bill is correct or incorrect. Corporations can hide behind the three syllable word, "policy", but theft is still theft. Legally, impact is important and intent does not have to always be proven.

I may sound miffed but I feel good. Mojo and I walked this morning for over an hour. He is a great dog and I tell him that all the time. By praising my wonderful dog, "Mojo" feels good and I feel good. The good feelings feed on each other and strengthen each other. Our walk was great with many turkeys, deer, squirrels, and vultures on our walk.

Peace and Love,
Jack Burton
"Save the Whales!"

Please help me raise $350 for the LIVESTRONG Challenge, Bees!, Disciples of Dirt

Aloha!

I plan on flying out to Austin Texas about October 23rd to visit a good friend I first met at Ft. Kobbe in Panama in 1983. This good man knows me very well and we are still friends after a quarter of a century!

I asked my Dr. for permission and I am getting myself in shape for the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin on October 25-26, 2008. Please Donate here, https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=262612&lis=0&kntae262612=8F5A9955DC954AB0BAD28F5F187EDA26.This is what the “canned” letter looks like from the LIVESTRONG website,

“It’s been five years since I was diagnosed with cancer. When I found out, I was scared, angry and worried for my family and myself. As I experienced treatment, the side effects, the emotional ups and downs, the more I grew determined to beat the disease. I did not want to let cancer take away my health, my hope or my life.

More than 10 million Americans are currently living with cancer, and more than 1.3 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer this year alone. It’s time for us to do something about this. We must unite to make cancer a national priority. The LIVESTRONG Challenge provides us with an opportunity to do just that.

In honor of my own personal battle with cancer and the millions of people affected, I will be riding my bike 40 miles in Austin, TX on October 26, 2008. I have committed to raise at least $250 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation which was founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist, Lance Armstrong, to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.

I know I can do this with the support of friends like you. Would you please consider making a donation? You can donate online at http://austin08.livestrong.org/xxx (use personal webpage here).

Thank you in advance for your time and generosity. I’ll keep you updated on my fundraising and training progress as I prepare for the event.”


Sincerely,”

The minimum I (Jack) need to raise is $350 and I believe we can do that. I am doing the 90 mile ride because it is the longest and merely a training ride for the rides I do with my mountain biking friends in the virtual mountain biking club, the Disciples of Dirt. I do get together with the DOD in reality for volunteer work on National Forest Trails and for some epic, fun, mountain bike rides and races. I have been hammering away at cancer this year and have not been on the trails much for work or for fun. Thank you for your support. My mom is finding me a cheap plane flight and I may have enough miles from going back and forth to UCSF Medical Center from Oregon every month for close to a year now.

Bees! Whenever I start pontificating about politics my parents have learned to let loose bees in my vicinity in order to keep my mouth shut. It is a highly effective technique to get me to stop yakking and start listening. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”, Dale Carnegie.

Peace and Love,
--Jack "It takes love, courage or genius to make things smaller, simpler, or peaceful."

Good News From My MRI Ride and UCSF Medical Center Appointment!, Semi-Inverted, Lance Armstrong Challenge Bike Ride October 24-26, Major Tom

I have great news from my MRI Ride and UCSF Medical Center Appointment! My MRI shows no tumor and just some scar tissue where my tumor was. We started the vaccine and so far I have not suffered or experienced any side effects from it. I feel very good.

I asked Dr. Chang when I can start exercising. She gave me permission to start exercising as if I was a normal human being and I promised to monitor my heart rate and take things easy. I will be practicing yoga more vigorously but I am going to stay away from beneficial fully inverted poses until I speak with my surgeon. I plan on doing yoga in the sun today so I can break a sweat. I feel like doing a shoulder stand but I promised Dr. Parsa I would not until I spoke with him. I will keep the promise.

I received permission to participate in the Lance Armstrong “LiveStrong Challenge” Bike Ride, http://www.livestrongchallenge.org/site/c.frKPI1PAIoE/b.3920225/, in Austin Texas on October 24-26. I have a great friend who lives near Austin who will put me up for a few days and suggested the benefit for cancer ride. I need to raise $250 dollars in donations to participate in the ride along with my $50 registration fee. I will be posting the donation information on this site as soon as I register. The ride is only 90 miles which is almost a training ride for training for the Cascade Cream Puff 100 Mountain Bike Race. I looked at the course and I should be able to do the ride and keep my heart rate below 130 beats per minute and still finish the ride strong. I will be home training on my trainer soon and Mojo and I will do about a 5 mile walk today.




This is pretty much how I feel when I go into my one hour and a half long, head scan MRI’s. For the yogis and yoginis in the audience, I have learned how to practice no handed, alternate nostril breathing while riding in the MRI capsule. The thought of the claustrophobic space of the MRI machine made me think of the beautiful song by David Bowie I thought I’d share with you all. With all fairness to Major Tom, he probably was not riding with 10 milligrams of Valium on board his body on his space ride.
============================
David Bowie - Space Oddity
============================

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you

Spoken:
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Lift-off

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You’ve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare

“This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I’m stepping through the door
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do

Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles
I’m feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much (she knows!)
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear....

“ am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do.?

The lyrics are not as powerful in writing as they are in the wonderful singing of David Bowie and his feeling he demonstrates for the power he has for the words.

Be well,
Jack

Stung by a bee, Going to UCSF, Everyday I am becoming less and less, Wolf, Machiavelli, Reptilian Brain

Aloha,

Sunday I went to a concert in the park and enjoyed a picnic with my folks and a couple of friends. I was sitting in my lounge chair enjoying a piece of chicken and, "Yow!!!!!". I spit out a yellow jacket onto my plate and I had a stinger that felt like a splinter stuck on the left side of my upper, soft palate. Man, did that bee sting hurt! I called out to my mom, "Mom, I just got stung in the mouth by a bee." I dug into my left, front pants pocket and pulled out a Gerber, mini-pliers my ex-girlfriend's parents bought me for my birthday a few years back. I asked my mom if she would mind pulling out the stinger being careful not to damage the good work my wonderful dentist has done in my mouth. My mom had me lay down on my poncho liner and she pulled out the stinger without chipping any teeth or damaging any golden or porcelain crowns.

I am not allergic to bees but I was not sure how the bee sting would interact with the anti-seizure drugs I am taking. I did not want to surprise anyone in case my tongue swelled to the size of a foot ball. My soft palate swelled a little but I was able to breathe just fine. The chicken was good and much tastier than the yellow jacket.

One of my fondest memories I have while being in the woods is when I was fly fishing for salmon in Ketchikan Alaska. I had gotten on the stream just about sunrise and I walked up on a wolf in the wild within about 50 yards. I was able to check him out for about 2 or three minutes before he noticed another angler was using the stream to fish for salmon. He was a little embarrassed that I had seen him first and he scampered up into the forest. The next morning about the same time, I saw the wolf again. This time, he got the drop on me even though I was being careful to be quiet and stealthy. Again the wolf scampered up into the forest but somehow, he seemed satisfied that I had not snuck up on him successfully.

Everyday, in every way, I seem to be becoming less and less of an invalid.

Today I go to UCSF and tomorrow I should find out some information about my schedule for the next couple of months and what transpired in my surgery.

"Never was anything great achieved without danger.", Niccolo Machiavelli

I am living proof that a man can do just fine on only a reptilian brain. Well, at least I am still exchanging O2 and CO2.

Peace and Love,
Jack

Pandora’s Box, Voltaire

Aloha!

I feel good and will elaborate more this week. I want my posts to be fun for you, empowering, and uplifting. Thought and action provoking may be a bonus.

In Greek mythology, ''Pandora's box'' is the large jar (πιθος pithos) carried by Pandora (Πανδώρα) that contained all the evils of mankind—greed, vanity, slander, lying, envy, pining—and hope. Pandora had been given a large jar and instructed by Zeus to keep it closed, but she had also been given the gift of curiosity, and ultimately opened it. When she opened it, all of the evils of mankind escaped from the jar, although Pandora was quick enough to close it again and keep one value inside: hope.

The analogy of Pandora’s Box is that hope was found in the box. The truth is hope was found in the box because hope is everywhere. Hope and Love are within us and everywhere around us in everything and everyone. Seek and find.

"I have only ever made one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it. ", Voltaire

Later this week I will elaborate on how ridiculous my enemy is. My analogy is fun and I had a good gut laugh with a friend creating the analogy.

Peace and Love,
Jack

Dog Training, New clinical trial, Doggie Brain Tumor Hope

Aloha,

A quick post to stay relevant and be fun.

Mojo and I used to do agility dog training and competition and Mojo earned his Companion Dog Certificate from the American Kennel Club. Mojo is a good dog. We are doing a little bit of training while I am healing.

A couple of concepts I learned in dog training is to be interesting to your dog and keep dog training fun. Use what motivates your beloved dog like a cookie or a toy. Training can be fun for you and your beloved dog. I also believe the results will be more stable and consistent for you and your pup. The training you do for your dog can save his life.

I found a new clinical trial that offers hope for doggies and for humans. I am not on that clinical trial and may not be if my clinical trial works. I am taking care of my breathing, bones, bowels, and brains to keep my options open for future treatments. I'll tell you, preparing for another brain surgery is a repugnant thought for me so my thought is I am preparing for a long, hike in the wilderness next Spring to enjoy the spring wild flowers.

Peace and Love,
Jack

Word Salad Tossed With Jack Dressing, Identity, Is it easy to be me?, 100 Beats Per Minute, Jack’s Four B’s of health (Breathing, Bowles, Bones, Brain

Aloha,

Word Salad:Identity, Communication, Esteem, Sustainability, 1 million years, geologic time, galactic time, clean, grandchildren, hope, love, dreams, privilege, profit, environment, ecology, conservation, clean, human, human rights, civil rights, morality Appreciation, Capability, Space and Time Perception, The balance, Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity, Goodness, Paradigms

I am doing something a little bit different today. Above are some words not entirely picked by random. Put the words together for you if you would like.

Who am I? I used to identify with exercise and health. My identity has experienced a transformation since June 10, 2007. That day is the day I experienced a bike wreck and the paramedics report says I was having seizures at the scene of the accident on beautiful, scenic highway 242 in the Oregon Cascades. I broke my back, received a concussion, bruised my lung, lacerated my liver and had road rash and other icky stuff. At least one oncologist believes I had enough brain tumor cells to have caused seizure activity that led to the bike wreck. I believe June 10, 2007 was day one of serious symptoms of brain cancer.

It would be a stretch to consider two brain surgeries, 1 knee surgery three hospitalizations within about a year a picture of health. I promised my Drs. I would not exercise intensely for awhile. Sunday I monitored my heart rate rise to about 100 beats per minute by merely walking my two, beautiful, German Shepherd Dogs, "Mojo" and "Salena", by the South Fork of the Yuba River. I did keep my intracranial pressure low as I worked on some gentle yoga routines for people just getting into yoga or people dealing with injuries.

Esteem could be defined as value but I like the definition of regard or affection. Working on the quantum mechanics level we can help people feel good by establishing our own self esteem. By feeling good about ourselves we put that energy out in the environment and people around us, feel good. It works with dogs and cats too. Practice makes permanent. Practice what you want in life.

Is it easy to be me? Every morning I get up and set my intention for the day, “What am I capable of today?” “What can I do that is fun, today?” “What should I do to heal, today?” “How may I help others, today?” As soon as I wake up, I am in a state of mindful awareness keeping my intracranial pressure as low and regular as is practicable and altering the pressure to keep the breathing system working properly. I use Eintstein's theory of general relativity and especially gravity to my benefit when I can. I do not always do the calculus but the general gist of universal principals is enough. Jack lumps the entire cardiopulmonary vascular system into the breathing system much of the time. Too many systems get complex for me to manage mindfully. Input and output, bowels, is important to me. Maintaining teeth and keeping fresh, natural, healthy foods in my system while keeping unprescribed chemicals such as artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives out of my system is important to me because I do not want my colon, liver, skin, or kidneys distracted from curing cancer. I walk and move generally with thought of proper alignment of my bones. I cannot do activity that I love like intense bike riding, running, or intense yoga but I can walk around. My energy is low but it is fun to feel a rib fall into correct alignment or feel the head of the humorous tuck up into the sweet spot in my shoulder. What good are brains? I believe the brains can help with initiating action to my other systems. The brain is also a marvelous gatherer of information like sight, sound, smell, feeling, and taste. I have been preoccupied with brain stuff lately. I suppose the nervous system is a fairly important system in the human body. Perhaps I will share how to take care of the brains if I figure out how to take care of my brain for myself. Perhaps it is as simple as resting and not over thinking everything? I do practice powerful, good thoughts to pull myself out of my head and get into my body thus resting the thinking bone.

Check out the Center for Disease Control Website, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/index.htm. There are cases of Bubonic Plague every year in the United States and world wide. This is just a factoid I thought was interesting and wanted to share. I read a book on the San Francisco Plague of 1890-1908 or so. I had never heard of this plague. I suppose plague is boring compared to Earthquake and fire. I found the economics, ignorance, politics, science, and efforts fascinating in working the problem.

I want my posts to be relevant and fun for you. My time was wasted by a popular "news" program the other day so I am mindful to give you something you can use if only that I believe I am healing and I am keeping up the good fight against the odds of curing the incureable.

Peace and Love,

Jack

A Tale of Two Brain Surgeries Part I, I Can Pull My Head Out Long Enough

I have had two brain surgeries and I can boast to not have received one cut, scar, suture, bruise, or other mark which may indicate that my head was up my butt at the time.

I believe both surgeries were exactly what they should have been considering what we know and knew of my condition and the state of modern health care.

My first surgery was an emergency and came after three weeks of nausea, vomiting, intense headaches, and seizures which followed a knee rebuild surgery three weeks before. My latest surgery followed episodes of musical hallucinations and a grand mal seizure but otherwise good health, eating, and exercise. This surgery also has been monitoring the development of the brain tumor for 8 months and my first surgery was an emergency dealing with the tumor as a new phenomenon within Jack’s skull.

I attribute no scars on my butt to my ability to pull my head out just long enough to attend to important matters like my own brain surgery. I did make it through knee surgery without incurring scars on my butt as well but if I remember correctly, the head bone is not connected to the knee bone. Do not quote me on that, I am not a physician. The butt bone does get pretty close to the knee bone though.

Peace and Love,
Jack

I played golf and had fun, Word Salad, Socrates, Feelings

I played golf and had fun yesterday. Afterwards I attended a nice Lake Wildwood Men’s club barbecue. The food and company were good. The multiple conversations were taxing on my communication’s processor but I remember preferring to socialize with humans personally and intimately rather than in chaotic, noisy, social settings. Overall my health is good. I am looking forward to scheduling my suture removal from the side of my head and other follow up appointments. My brain, bowels, and bones are working swell and within normal limits although I have all these systems dialed into the relaxation, recovery, healing spectrum of the utilization scale. I can feel my brain heal although the experts will tell you that is not possible. Perhaps the feeling I am feeling is the bone knitting, the skin knitting, the skin sliding along sutures, or even healthy glial, brain cells, saying hello to each other?

Word salad, Appreciation, judgment, consideration, patience, decisiveness, experience, wisdom, could, should, need, want, may, can, has, hope, dream, love, determination, truth, belief, sun, moon, dark, light, masculine, feminine, good, singing birds, grand children, people, teach, learn, absolute, eternal, energy, love, evolution, revolution, stability, fun, excitement, natural, control, grace, win, win, hot, cold, comfort, feeling, much, all, communication, balance, universal, .

I have a couple of quotes I balance from time to time I will share with you today.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”, Socrates

“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They are chaotic, sometimes painful, sometimes contradictory, but they come from deep within us. And we must key into those feelings... This is how new visions begin. “, Audre Lorde

It is a beautiful day! Time to love on some German Shepherd Dogs.

Peace and Love,
Jack

Eight More Years!, Oregon believes in Me!

Oregon has reissued my drivers license until my birthday 2016! I am stoked! Oregon believes in me! I believe I will be enjoying thoughts, feelings, moments, conversations, and activity with this world for many decades to come. The confidence the Oregon Department of Transportation has tangibly shown for our efforts in fighting glioblastoma multiforme inspires me to keep up the fight.

Every day, in every way, I feel good energy spiraling up through my body and healing at the quantum physics and general relativity levels of my being. My folks are great support for me and help in the daily efforts of healing and general living. I am eating well, only taking prescribed medications, resting, keeping my intracranial pressure at safe pressures.

How does one influence autonomic bodily functions? It helps to be a Jedi Knight, yogi, or find out what works for you. I do not recommend medications unless directed by a physician. I recommend in jesting only healthy substances, hydrating properly, resting, and appropriate, daily, activity. The activity can be as simple as putting on one's shoes.


Peace and Love,
Jack

Normality, Life is good, listening to you,

I know I tell people I feel good but I feel I should elaborate on that feeling. To keep this post as empowering for the people I love, I will keep the feeling positive. I am looking forward to normality. Healing the scar and bone up side my head, returning to work and contributing to my work team, fly fishing, bike riding, yoga, people hugging, dog walking, weed pulling, fence post digging, learning to salsa dance. I am looking forward to normality. Life is good.

Is this song written by "The Who" in the rock opera "Tommy" about our role in the universe and how we can open up to grace and the beauty of each other to revel in all the goodness this abundant universe has to offer? There are and abundance of possibilities. Perhaps this song is about a relationship present, past or future for any of us?


Listening to You / See Me Lyrics, “The Who”Tommy:
"See me,
feel me,
touch me,
heal me.
See me,
feel me,
touch me,
heal me.
See me,
feel me,
touch me,
heal me.
See me, feel me, touch me, heal me, heal me, heal me.
Chorus:
Listening to you I get the music.
Gazing at you I get the heat.Following you I climb the mountain.I get excitement at your feet!Right behind you I see the millions.On you I see the glory.
From you I get opinions.From you I get the story.Listening to you I get the music.Gazing at you I get the heat.Following you I climb the mountain.I get excitement at your feet!"

The universe is vast. Each and every one of us are precious and every now and then, we can make our verb tenses apropriate.

Peace and Love, Open to grace,
Jack

Brundle Fly Hair Head, At my folks home

Aloha!

I am not a staple head after this surgery. Dr. Lechter used sutures that resemble "Brundle fly hairs" from the movie "The Fly" with Jeff Goldblum. I feel good. I am sleeping. I am at my parents beautiful home in California.

My yoga is mostly quantum physics and breathing now. I think about you and the goodness that you have brought into my life. That goodness brings positive energy to me and creates more positive energy. On the quantum level of physics, by the "Law of Attraction", like attracts like. I think happy, healthy, loving, healing thoughts and you know what?, I feel good!

I do love sustainable, reusable, clean energy. Thank you for providing me the energy in abundance.

I believe I will put together a more sortid, blow by blow of the surgery for my gentle readers in an upcoming post. The docs did some very cool, brain, surgeon stuff that I think was courageous,skellful and creative. I like the results. I think the surgery has increased my ability to levitate. That has to be good thing doesn't it?

Peace and Love,
Jack

I am on the Internet

I feel good. I have enough peripheral vision to continue the activities I love including one of my favorite act ivitiies which is learning new activities.

Thank you all for your Love, prayers, good thoughts, and good feelings. I am using them to their highest and best use.

Brain tumor surgery hurts. It may not hurt as much as walking across the Isthmus of Panama with boots one size too small but it hurts. I have not taken pain meds today. I did take a walk with my lovely nurse Josephine which felt good. My parents and our family friend Lorrie visited me today.

Be Well.

Peace and Love,
Jack "Banzai" Burton

I am off to see the wizard!, Apropriately Accesorized

Aloha!

I am ready! I am wearing my wooden, Tibetan Prayer Beads a beautiful stranger gave me. I am wearing tie dyed socks my daughter Taylor made me, one of my favorite pairs of boxer shorts, a tee shirt I wore in Paris, a doo rag a friend gave me to hide my stylish hair doo, a pair of shorts I wore in Europe, and a way cool watch a friend gave me for my birthday. I am carrying my Moatengator, miltary unit coin, a piece of art glass, and my knee brace.

As you can see, I am apropriately accessorized for Brain Surgery. I am dressed for success and anticipate a beautiful, good result from surgery. I will do a little yoga, some asana, some meditation, and lots of sweet breathing. Thoughts of you bring smiles to my face and warmth to my heart. I feel good!

Life is good!

Peace and Love,

Jack Sunanju Bonzai Burton
"Look at where you want to go, not at what you do not want to hit."
Keith Codde , "A Twist of the Wrist, a Motorcycle Road Racers Handbook"

Musical Hallucinations, Yoga Grand Mal Seizure, Prepared for Brain Surgery

The recent events that led up to my surgery tomorrow, August 4, 2008, in chronological order are:

July 12, 2008: I had a grand mal seizure in my Saturday morning yoga class after sharing with two of my most excellent Anusara yoga instructors that I was experiencing musical hallucinations. I was trying to “follow” the musical hallucination to see if I could associate the phenomena with a movie or an experience. I have not been able to associate the hallucination with any specific event.

My excellent yoga class took good care of me during the grand mal and had the paramedics get me to the Sacred Heart Medical Center’s Emergency Room.

I have been on seizure medications since July 12.

July 18, 2008: I had an MRI and follow up oncology appointment at the University of California Medical Center. The MRI indicated that the clinical trial I am on is ineffective and that I will be on a new clinical trial with a vaccine made from my own tumor. I am affectionately referring to the vaccine as McKenzie River Valley Jack 2008. I think this vaccine is going to be the silver bullet that will cure the cancer between my ears.

How does one prepare for brain surgery? Do yoga, teach yoga, trail run in the Willamette National Forest with your beautiful 10 year old German Shepherd Dog, “Mojo”, eat natural foods, get rest, and tap into the goodness within us and all around us. There are also a ton of Drs. Appointments, work human resources stuff, and insurance stuff to attend to. I did golf 18 holes with a friend yesterday and made some gorgeous shots. Golf was a great distraction from the thoughts of having someone I just met cracking open my skull and removing pieces of Jack out of my skull.

I would write more but I am fatigued from pre surgery stuff and I am looking forward to relaxing for surgery tomorrow morning.

I do have something to share with you all. My cancer is actually Electroids from Planet 10 by way of the Eighth Dimension. Dr. Parsa is a master of Sinanju and with me being a Jedi Knight, I believe we will enjoy a curative outcome and meet the challenge with love, strength, courage, power, skill, speed, creativity, stamina, and we will have fun curing the incurable.

Jack “Buckaroo Bonzai” Burton
"It takes love, courage or genius to make things smaller, simpler, or peaceful."

I feel good, Thank you, Dentist, Cats, Perfect Practice Makes Perfect, Yoga, Yoda, What is it like?, Pana Jungla, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk

Aloha!

I feel good! Thank you for reaching out and writing and calling me. I used the energy to cure some more cancer and clean up those dead glioblastoma multiforme cells lingering around between my ears. I use the energy to help my normal, “non cancerous”, cells healthy from the chemo therapy.

I went to the Dentist this week and my teeth are clean and healthy. Chewing food is important and after all, mastication is one of the first steps in the digestive process. I just love chewing good food.

I met with Dr. Monticelli my most excellent, Willamette Valley Cancer Center oncologist. My blood work is good and I can now hang out with cats and not be at serious risk of taxoplasmosa.

As is my way, I told Dr. Monticelli about my starting to teach yoga. I could not leave it like that. I associated teaching yoga as a practice with some similarities to the practice of medicine. Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect. Actually that is a way simplified version of practice that I use to teach at a level people with over 20 years of formal education plus continuing education can grasp.

Yoda said, “You must unlearn what you have learned.” As you can clearly see, highly educated people may have a bit of unlearning to do from time to time. I am not making any inferences towards Dr. Monticelli who I respect and love dearly. I just throw the tidbit out there so we can have compassion for the very least of us and for all of us no matter what their education or socioeconomic status may be.

What is it like to have an emergency craniotomy? As I recall it was kind of fun but I do not remember much the week before Thanksgiving 2007. I found my Panamanian Jungle Survival Certificate, Pana Jungla, yesterday in a box of memorabilia. I have more memories of Pana Jungla 25 years ago than I do of the week before Thanksgiving last year. I do not recommend either experience for the non prepared practitioner. The hardest part for me as a brain surgery patient was recovering in the hospital but I had wonderful care from Sacred Heart Medical Center and my family and friends that I was able to tap into. It is kind of a drag trying to sleep with your torso elevated at something like a 45 degree angle. Vomitting is kind of gross too. I do not remember the morphine doing much except for dulling the bone pain in my skull.

Both “Iron Man” and the “Incredible Hulk” are fun movies and more entertaining than I expected. I recommend them if you like Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton. The supporting actors are wonderful in the films as well. Great effects and a better than expected story. The movies may be too violent for some.

Be well,
Jack Burton

Thank Goodness for my folks, The Force Is with Me, Invisible Sun, Basket Case, Hope, I Won’t Back Down, Strength

Aloha from sunny California,

Thank goodness for my folks. Mom and Dad have made dealing with cancer nearly tolerable and continue to help me with life on a daily basis.

The physical, mental, spiritual, financial, and mental aspects of dealing with a hideous disease can seem insurmountable at times. So much so that I need to draw upon the Ancient Texts from a Galaxy far, far, away from a time long, long ago. My teacher Yoda said to me in the swamp of eternal muck, stench, and despair, “For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.” Yes, Yoda has some good insights on life.

Excerpts from “Invisible Sun” from “Ghost in the Machine”, the Police

“It’s dark all day, and it glows all night
I face the day with me head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in
I don’t ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart

There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole days done”

As you can clearly see by my writing, the events of the last year have turned me into a basket case. I wanted to use the Police’s “King of Pain” lyrics in this post but I did not feel clever enough to write,
The MRI shows a new little light spot on my right temporal lobe of my brain today.
The spot could be dead tumor but we do not know for sure.
My current therapy may be working just perfectly to cure the glioblastoma multiforme in my skull.
There is a hopeful technology that creates a virus from my tumor and white blood cells. The virus technology makes sense to me and is being used in a clinical trial.
I have so many good people in my life I want to live for.
I love life and I want to live.
There is always hope if only a fool’s hope.


Tom Petty, “I Won’t Back Down”, Full Moon Fever
“Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
you could stand me up at the gates of hell
but I won't back down

Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
and I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
gonna stand my ground and I won't back down
Well I know what's right, I got just one life
in a world that keeps on pushin' me around
but I'll stand my ground and I won't back down

Hey baby there ain't no easy way out
hey I will stand my ground
and I won't back down
No, I won't back down”

Peace and Love everyone.

I am bouncing off the ropes and feel good. My life and quality of life are good. I do appreciate the help and prayers. I believe having something to live for makes for a beautiful world and by golly, gee willakers, test, test, sibilance, sibilance, I love life and I am looking forward to catching a beautiful rainbow trout and releasing it unharmed back to the river.

The Alarm, "Strength' Lyrics,
Who will light the fire
That I need to survive
Who will be the life blood
Coursing through my veins
Like a river flowing
That will never change
Someone write me a letter
I need to know that I'm still alive
Someone give me a telephone call
I need to hear a human sound
Someone open up a door
And let me out of this place
I've been caged up for oh so long
I don't know if I'm living or dying
GIVE ME LOVE
GIVE ME HOPE
GIVE ME STRENGTH
GIVE ME SOMEONE TO LIVE FOR

Be well,
Jack “Never Quit” Burton

Ancient Texts, MRI Results, Surgery, Gandhi, Wild Mountain Yoga, Thank you Dubya, Seat of the Teacher: Breathe, All You Need Is Love

Greetings from Sunny California!

I consulted the Ancient Texts and learned something or perhaps relearned something. “When in doubt, follow the 3 S’s of Anusara Yoga – Shri, Satya, and Svantantrya. Do what is life affirming, truthful, and freedom-enhancing.” That is more complicated than my decision and action process which is based on who and what I love. What I love is life affirming, truthful, and freedom-enhancing. When doing stuff like teaching yoga I think using the 3 S’s gives focus to my teaching and more clarity to the lessons.

My MRI results were interesting. There is a new image on the results that indicates that we will have an MRI next month when no MRI was scheduled. The image could be showing dead tumor from the radiation treatments in December, January, and February. That is what I think the spot the size of a dime is in the area I received the greatest dose of radiation. The spot could also be showing stuff that gives me the “heebie jeebies” so I will not give any energy to those thoughts. My University of California Doctors are happy with the results of my current treatment. I shared some of my metaphysical concerns with my doctors and what I am feeling is not brain tumor induced but part of the normal human experience.

The spot in my right temporal lobe shown in my recent MRI has me energized to ride my bicycle more and do yoga more. If the spot indicates surgery down the road I choose to be as strong and healthy as possible. I am in good shape now but there are several yoga postures I would like to manifest more beautifully. My latest physical goal is to be able to rest the crown of my head on the soul of my foot while balancing on one leg. Will I reach this goal by my birthday? "Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the result", Mahatmas Gandhi. Jack Burton has a long way to go which is so very cool that I get to experience so much improvement in my balance, strength, flexibility, and determination.

I learned an interesting factoid about my emergency craniotomy surgery that Dr. Frankenstein performed on my brain on November 21, 2007. My surgery was a good surgery but more conservative than if I had the surgery done at let’s say Duke or UCSF Medical Centers. However if I would have had surgery at one of those institutions, there would be a much greater chance now that my eyesight would be impaired. I believe I had exactly the correct surgery for me. Thank you Dr. Frankenshtone. I love my vision and thank you Artemis for going to Canada with me for my Waveform Lasik surgery before the technology was approved by the United States FDA.

I completed my second yoga class in Nevada City, California at Wild Mountain Yoga. The instructors are good and the students are nice. It is fun for me to experience new styles of yoga and yoga teachers. I think my fellow Anusara Yoga practitioners would enjoy yoga at Wild Mountain Yoga. I am experiencing as many yoga instructors as I can now that I am on a path to being a certified yoga instructor. I will probably certify in Anusara because the teaching methodology and practice is gorgeous and feels good to me and has freedom for the practitioners.

Below is a paraphrase of an entertaining article I want to include in this post for my gentle readers, http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/ .

"Thank you Dubya for your embarrassing rejection of science, your refusal to support any climate change initiative, for furthering the war-for-oil agenda, for blocking stem-cell research, for serving all your masters in Big Energy, Big Agribusiness, Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Auto. Thanks for gutting the Constitution and front-loading the courts and trying to hack away at women's rights, gay marriage, privacy rights and on and on.

Because it turns out, inviting all that darkness and corruption and holding back all the energy of progress and change is less about hastening the Second Coming (sorry, better luck next time), and more like pulling back on a slingshot. It just gets tighter and tighter and the pressure builds until eventually you just gotta let go, and then boom — or I should say, Obama.

Maybe King George is exactly what we needed. Maybe Bush's brand of frighteningly inept politicking has been just the right kind of sociocultural emetic to induce a true purge of our congested system, just the thing to finally snap us out of our lethargy. Hell, sometimes you gotta go deep into the darkness to realize just how much you need the light.

So thank you, George, for exemplifying and embodying everything that's wrong with the neocon agenda, for serving as the final death knell of the failed conservative movement, of a once-noble Republican Party that's run out of ideas and has turned bitter and nasty and paranoid.

Thank you, Dubya, for setting the stage for Obama and Hillary. Because the truth is, even as recently as eight years ago, if you'd have asked if we as a nation would be anywhere near ready for a female or black president, it would have felt incredibly premature, a good 20 years off before we could entertain such an idea. But so potent has been the recoil against everything you stood for — the misogyny, homophobia, classism, fear of "the other," of foreigners and minorities and alternative beliefs — that we are ready to be inspired and reinvigorated sooner than anyone thought possible.

Thank you, George W. Bush
Without your dark and spectacular failures, we wouldn't be so ready to leap forward. Kudos!"
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, June 13, 2008

Jack Burton commends Mark Morford on his fairness and restraint in commenting on King George the duly, U.S. Supreme Court appointed President of the United States of America. I think King George should feel what it is like to be in Guantanamo for the rest of his natural life. George can go to jail after his presidency because tricky Dick may be able to do more harm than Mr. Mission Accomplished. What do you think about water boarding and electro shock you spineless, thin lipped, beady eyed coward? I suppose Jack Burton can be a little more divisive that Mark Morford. I feel good about the restraint I used in this post on my thoughts and feelings towards a very despicable manifestation of a human being. I suppose my comments about George "Silver Spoon Up His Butt" Bush has just put my home on the Office of Homeland Security's Threat Level Red. That's OK. I see color and do not typically solve problems with black or white, yes or no, this or that, and with us or against us dogma. I believe in an abundance of solutions to issues and my tool box has many tools I wield skillfully. I suppose that is why I am employed as a problem solver.

Seat of the Teacher:
Take a deep breath and hold briefly at the top of your inhale. Fully exhale and return to your natural breathing rhythm. Notice the bright green new leaves of Spring on the trees. Listen to the songs of the birds and the calls of the crows and Stellar Jays. Are you fortunate to hear the screams of the Osprey fishing? Feel each breath bring new energy and goodness into your being. Direct the goodness to parts of your being you wish to make strong, compassionate, loving, more free, or more stable. Life is good. Breathe.

Peace and Love,

Jack Burton

All You Need Is Love
The Beatles
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time
It's easy.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
All you need is love (all together now)
All you need is love (everybody)
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

Consider All the Possibilities, Valium Induced Magnet Ride on Friday, Baby Blessing, Wild Mountain Yoga

Aloha!

I caught a funny commercial the other day that made me laugh out loud. The commercial was for some bone headed Investment Company or pharmaceutical company and had a slogan something like, “Anticipate All the Possibilities”. This is Jack “No Limits” Burton’s response to obvious misuse of the English language.

No Limits

How may we imagine or predict all the possibilities?
W assist each other realize what is possible.
We show each other a world of infinite possibilities without limitations.

A thousand trillion human lifetimes may only faintly illuminate some of what is possible.
Visualize a beautiful possibility for those you love.
Let us follow our hearts and find divine bliss.

I get to sit in a noisy, clunky, cold, magnet for nearly 2 hours this Friday morning and drop a blue valium. Woohoooo! Oh sure, valium is fun. Actually I hardly notice the valium at all. I basically meditate and practice yogic breathing, pranyama, the whole time I am in the magnet. I will visualize the tumor leaving my body and my brain being healthy.

Two of the most physically and metaphysically beautiful people I know have completed the holy trinity. They are due for a baby in July. I went to a baby shower/blessing for them and it was way cool. I met several people there and had a good time. I gave a one word blessing and the word was “Love”. Of course it took Jack “No Loss For Words” Burton about 5 minutes to set up and deliver the one word blessing to the nearly captive audience of about 40 people. Long Live Love!

While I am in California I got a four day pass to do yoga at Wild Mountain Yoga in Nevada City. My first class was very good. It was a BKS Iyengar style and fun. It is going to take me awhile to accumulate my 200 hours of yoga teaching to become a certified yoga teacher so I am experiencing as many teachers as I can. I have learned something from every teacher.

Peace and Love,

Jack Burton
“Our inability to forget is far more devastating than our inability to remember.” Mark Twain

Honored To Be Placed in the Seat of the Teacher, Laughing, Mom, Rock is Heavy, John F. Kennedy, A Farewell to Kings, Yoga, Ted Kennedy

Aloha!

I taught my second yoga class ever on Tuesday. I am honored to teach about 20 yoga students of varying experience. Teaching yoga is different than practicing. I accomplished my intention for class which is to safely make people feel good, make them aware of their innate strength, grace, power, and beauty and challenge everyone while not overwhelming beginners.

I encourage my students to laugh. I think I was demonstrating half moon pose, tree, standing hand to toe, or a bound side angle pose and I said something like, “Now we will do the other side” which elicited some laughter from some of the students that toppled over in the forest as we were doing some tricky balancing. I think three times I used the line, “Now to make the posture more advanced and bring your practice to the next level, smile.” It was fun and I look forward to teaching my next class.

Mom has been taking great care of me. She is a wonderful roommate, house keeper, cook, gardener, landscaper and friend. We had our first yard debris burn Saturday and the coals lasted until Monday. We burnt allot of yard debris.

My neighbor is selling her home after her recent divorce and has donated some river rock and some rotten wood to me free for the hauling. Rock is heavy.


John F. Kennedy said something like and I am only cleaning up the sexist language in this paraphrase, “Today’s problems will not be solved by cynics and skeptics that are limited by obvious realities. We can build a future from people who dream of things that never were.

I was listening to Rush’s Album, “A Farewell to Kings” the other day and I will share a couple of excerpts.
A Farewell to Kings and Closer to the Heart
When they turn the pages of history will they read of us with sadness,
and the seeds that we let grow.
Cities full of hatred, fear, and lies.
Scheming demons dressed in kingly guise.

The hypocrisies are slandering the sacred halls of truth.
Ancient nobles showering their bitterness on youth.
Can’t we find the minds that made us strong?
Can’t we learn to feel what’s right from wrong?

And those that hold high places, must be the ones to start.
To mold a new reality, closer to the heart.

Yoga is all about expressing goodness and beauty from the heart.

Despite the horrible, sensational, journalism you may be reading about Ted Kennedy, I have hope for a cure for me. Sometimes cancer is cured, even glioblastoma multiforme. It is true that generally doctors talk about treatment rather than a cure because that is the reality for many patients. Fortunately, Jack Burton is not a statistic. Jack Burton is a person with many good people surrounding him for support. I do have and edge on some others afflicted with terrible diseases. I have learned to tap into the goodness that surrounds me which gives me power, courage, strength, speed, and some whacky visualizations about condors and vultures eating dead cancer cells. I may have to send the vultures after cholesterol soon. My cholesterol and triglycerides are all in the healthy, excellent range as last week’s blood test proves. I may just send the visualizations off to other patient’s that may need help after I am cured soon.

Peace and Love,
Jack Burton

Saturday Market, Clean Water, Yoga, Teaching Yoga, Dogs, No End In Sight, I think I am going to be a Presidential Appointee

Aloha!

Saturday Market last week was fun. I hung out for an hour while I was waiting for my Mom’s Amtrak train. I bought Mom a way cool set of earrings made out of recycled materials that will be perfect for the Fourth of July. Mom likes the earings.

I met Judy who is a five year colon cancer survivor at the market. Judy and I know what causes cancer is unclean air, water, and food. So what if there are other factors that may contribute to cancer formation? Are clean air, food, and water things most human beings value? Perhaps the best way to cure cancer globally is to prevent it? I just love inhaling a nice big breath of ionized McKenzie River Valley air while drinking a nice cold glass of my clean well water. I have been eating the food with food in it and not the food with artifial colors, flavoring, preservatives or other artificial food.

I have been taking as yoga classes as I have opportunities to. I am experiencing as many teachers as possible. I have a great admiration for the teachers who teach in the Anusara tradition.

I have taught one yoga class to about 20 people. Next Tuesday I teach my second class. It is my honor to be placed in the position of the teacher. I teach in the Anusara tradition and incorporate much of the Ashtanga teachings when sequencing postures. Next class I am going to walk around and offer individual refinements to students’ postures. I like offering suggestions to students to help them more fully manifest their asana.

My dogs are doing great. Salena is a little stiff in the mornings and on some of our walks but the 12 year old girl looks good and is happy. Mojo is awesome and is always ready to go for whatever. Mom put together a nice fruit plate for my neighbor that has been taking care of my dogs.

I saw a good documentary on the Iraq War titled “No End In Sight”. It documents many of the decisions made and the results of the decisions. One of the decisions mad was the presidential appointment of Jerry Bremer.

Jerry Bremer is trained in the art of culinary cooking and taught cooking classes in Vermont before being called to duty in Iraq[12]. From his extensive travels throughout the world, Bremer has mentioned that his favorite cuisines include French, Middle Eastern, and Chinese cuisines. He is also interested in gardening, and he owns a vegetable garden.

What are the salaries of presidential appointees? Presidential appointees are paid according to the Executive Schedule. There are five salary levels, ranging from $114,500 to $157,000. Of course there is per diem, all expenses paid travel for the appointee and family members, way good parties, etc.

Peace and Love,
Jack Burton

Memorial Day, John F. Kennedy, Strength, Gratitude, Alone with my thoughts, I am not alone, Eugene Riverbend Annex

This Memorial Day, I would like to paraphrase one of John F. Kennedy’s inspiring quotes that give me hope. “The world’s problems will not be solved by people whose horizons are limited by obvious realities that make them cynical and skeptical. We need people who can dream of things that never were.” Kennedy’s wording was good but I think his wording was limiting. Just because something has always been a certain way, does not mean it needs to remain so. Is it better to give up essential liberty for a margin of security? Jack Burton does not do better when better is not good. Jack Burton does good. Guess what, we can have liberty, security, peace and love. We are American. We are citizens of the world. We can dream of and make a peaceful, loving world that has never existed on Earth. I am a veteran of the U.S. Army and I do support the troops. I want to see our military people safe and in fact, every being of the world safe and "free".

I’ll share one other Kennedy quote/paraphrase that I read and then I am off into a more personal, factual, ramble of a blog entry.
“The United States has a special, threefold responsibility:
- A responsibility to our citizens
- A responsibility to the world that are effected by our decisions
- A responsibility to the next generation of humanity”
I was going to paraphrase John Kennedy more but I did not think it was useful and in fact distracted from John's beatiful sentiment.

Foremost, I would like to express my gratitude for my friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, care givers whether they be past or present. Lyrics from a song sang by the Alarm in the mid 1980’s come to my mind. The song is a beautiful, hard driving song and I recommend a listen to those who enjoy the rock and roll genre. Below are excerpts from the song.

The Alarm, “Strength” lyrics from the Album Strength released in 1985.
Who will light the fire
That I need to survive
Who will be the life blood
Coursing through my veins

Someone write me a letter
I need to know that I'm still alive
Someone give me a telephone call
I need to hear a human sound
Someone open up a door
And let me out of this place
GIVE ME LOVE
GIVE ME HOPE
GIVE ME STRENGTH
GIVE ME SOMEONE TO LIVE FOR

Thank you all for the love hope and strength. Thank you for giving me so very much to live for. Oh sure, I may make the effort to survive cancer look easy, fun, sexy, and perhaps even effortless. If you are not laughing out loud, I am in between winces because I have just bit my tongue that was planted firmly in my cheek. I suppose I am feeling a bit of the weight of the scary cancer diagnosis, the emergency brain surgery the day before Thanksgiving, a week in the hospital during Thanksgiving, 33 confining radiation treatments, 1 hour and a half long, clunky, noisy, Magnetic Imaging Resonance (MRI) rides every other month, daily chemotherapy since 3 days before Christmas, and medical bills up the yoohoo.

Being alone with my thoughts 44 miles away from the nearest, lighted traffic signal with only two, elderly, lovely, German Shepherd Dogs to share a roof with can be an unhealthy thing. I have found that too much time to ponder life’s trials allows the mind to wander into unproductive areas of being. Too much time can give the mind time to wander and wonder what is physically going on between a human being’s ears. Is what I am feeling side effects from my powerful medications that could be doing damage to healthy brain tissue? Is what I am feeling cancer growing at an alarming rate? Is what I am feeling damage done by enormous strength? These are probably normal feelings.

However, I have the support of many good people and in fact the universe. I have visualizations of osprey and wolves picking off viable cancer cells and killing them. I have visualizations of condors and vultures spiriting off the dead cancer cells on uplifting thermals of clean, vibrant, nourishing blood. Thank you for the strength. I propose what I am feeling is the strength and power of the universe helping to cure the cancer within my body with good, loving, life force energy.

I am not alone. I asked my mother to come up and stay with me for awhile. Bless her heart, Mom arrived on the Amtrak on Saturday. I was at the Eugene Train Station yesterday to meet her and we walked around the Eugene Saturday Market for awhile. What a cool place the Eugene Saturday Market is. Good organic food, unique locally produced goods and crafts by our neighbors can be bought at the market. It is a good time and I bought Mom a cool pair of earrings perfect for the Fourth of July made from recycled materials that normally would have ended up in a landfill.

I visited a few coworkers at my old job at the Riverbend Annex, in Springfield last week. It was very uplifting for my spirit to see these good, hard working, and talented people again. I hope to make arrangements to visit more with them as a group and as individuals in the near future. Seeing them again, touching, and talking with them was definitely an infusion of viable lifeblood into my circulatory system that benefited from the good energy immediately. My visit with my old coworkers was hastened by my appointment I had with my new primary care physician. I like and trust my new primary care physician. Did I tell you that his assistant is drop, dead gorgeous, errrr……I mean very good at her job? I am going to have a cholesterol panel done soon and we will see if I am able to make a primary care physician assistant appointment.

I have my next subjects for my next blog entry later this week. Fishing, Dogs, Compulsions, Yoga, Yoga Teaching, Eugene Saturday Market, Chainsaw, Saving Trees. I want to end this post so as to not make the post tool arduous for my gentle readers and to enjoy a lazy, Memorial Day with my mom in the beautiful, McKenzie River Valley with my dogs and a short hike along Horse Creek.

Peace and Love,
Jack Burton
“Like I tell my wife, an adjective can ruin a perfectly good noun. I drive as fast as I can see. Power to the VW drivers.”

San Francisco Haight Asbury Trip, Good Friends' Hostel, Life Force Energy, Yoga Class

My trip to San Francisco and meetings with my Drs. and caregivers was great. My Mom made the travel arrangements for me. Mom achieved some wonderful results and made the trip to San Francisco and back in one day easy. Mom and I walked around the Haight Asbury district for a few hours and enjoyed the park and a good meal.

I stayed Tuesday Night at my good friend's home that is 60 miles closer to the Eugene Airport than my home. Mark Clemens affectionately refers to his home as "the hostel".

Thank you for the energy. Sometimes kicking the cancer habit is a walk in the park. Sometimes dealing with everything is a very human experience and is the anti walk in the park. Thank you for the kind words, thoughts, feelings, and help.

I am teaching my first official yoga class this coming Tuesday. It is my honor to be seated in the place of the teacher and I hope to honor all my teachers as I teach. My goal is to make the class safe, fun, and challenging for all practitioners no matter their level or intention they have that day for class.

Peace and Love,

Jack Burton