Adopt a Highway for Heaven

by Evans Johnson-Kerrville, TX

Michael Landon, move over. We've found our highway to heaven.

Down here in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, members of several blessed families have turned to roadside beautification as a means of community service.

Seeking a path to provide a tangible means for unity among blessed members newly linked via the Family Federation for Unification and World Peace, members of six San Antonio-area families get together, get dirty and get recognized.

In exchange for an organization's commitment to clean both shoulders of a road at least four times a year for two years, the state erects signs giving credit where credit is due.

In Texas, the Adopt-A-Highway project is run by the Department of Transportation. Their local offices supply safety flags and vests, trash bags and trash-bag collection.

So, one Saturday in July, a dozen parents and children from a trio of nearby families stooped to conquer the corruption of Farm-to-Market Road 480 for three hot and humid hours. The results: 16 huge bags of trash and two miles of very clean, verdant countryside.

I don't know if other states sponsor similar programs. Down here, the message is clear: "Don't Mess With Texas." Participating families here are those of Evans and Louise Johnson, Ken and AnneMarie Morgan, Greg and Kyoho Jones, Bill and Maura Sanders, Peter and Beatriz Steeghs, and Mario and Connie De La Cruz.

September 1995

What's Your Investment Style?

by Garry Barker

When you invest, do you tend to "swim against the tide," always taking a point of view that is opposite from your counterparts? If so, you may be a contrarian investor. Conversely, do you always check the asset value or book value of a stock to determine if it is attractively valued? That could mean you're a value investor. Consider the following investment styles. Which is closest to yours?

* Contrarian. The contrarian buys stocks that others shun. Such stocks often have low price/earnings ratios, are usually in an out-of-favor industry, trade close to book value, and have small institutional ownership. According to contrarian opinion, when people say the market is going up, it means they are fully invested and have no additional purchasing power. To the contrarian, this means the market is at its peak. When people are predicting a decline, the contrarian believes that they have already sold out and thus the market will go up.

* Cyclical investor. A cyclical investor buys stock in companies that will benefit from a change in the economic cycle. Earnings of these companies go up and down with changes in the business cycle and so these stocks are often valued on "peak" earnings-or the amount the company can be expected to earn at the peak of the business cycle. Examples of cyclical industries are housing, automobiles and paper.

* Growth investor. This individual chooses stocks that have potential for above-average earnings growth in the future or that have long histories of above-average growth. Over time, growth stocks tend to outperform slower-growing companies. However, such companies tend to reinvest earnings into the company and thus pay little or no dividends.

* Income investor. Stocks that have moderate dividend yields and prospects for dividend growth appeal to this investor. A steadily growing dividend reinvested into additional shares of a high-quality stock can compound returns nicely.

* Value investor. Seeking value, this individual buys stocks that appear inexpensive based on the assets the company has today. This investor's theory is that if a company can earn just average profits on its net assets, then its share price should rise closer to its net assets per share. When the stock market is at high valuations, value investors often become contrarians.

Which style is yours?

Possibly your investment philosophy reflects a mix of styles. The more you know about yourself, the better prepared you are to set financial goals and work toward them. Your financial advisor can help you determine what investments may be suitable for your style, investment objectives and risk tolerance.

Information and data in this report were obtained from sources considered reliable. Their accuracy or completeness is not guaranteed and the giving of the same is not to be deemed a solicitation on Dean Witter's part with respect to the purchase or sale of securities or commodities.

The Powerful Spiritual Leader Arrives

by Pedro J. Chamorro

This is reprinted from La Prensa (Managua, Nicaragua), July 5, 1995, as translated by Nina Makarova

Sun Myung Moon, the head of the Unification Church, the multimillionaire and anti-communist, was received yesterday by President Chamorro.

Yesterday morning the head of the Unification Church, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, his wife Hak Ja Han Moon, and an important delegation of his Movement "The Association For The Unity of Latin America" (AULA) visited President Chamorro as a part of a tour of 20 Latin American countries.

Before Nicaragua, Rev. Moon and his spouse visited 13 countries: Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Guatemala, where they were received by seven presidents; among them were: Menem (Argentina), Sanguinetti (Uruguay), Guasmosy (Paraguay) and Leon Carpio (Guatemala).

After visiting Nicaragua, Rev. Moon and his wife will continue their intense tour and visit Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Bahamas, Guyana, Surinam and, finally, Venezuela.

AULA has the purpose to form unity of Latin American countries through spiritual and technical training of its people, which could enable those countries to cooperate with other more developed countries, such as the United States, promoting at the same time the transferring of technologies and big Asian capital.

According to the thesis of Moon, who claims to have a divine mission, there are two forces to bring world peace: mental power and economic power.

Moon, a Korean resident in Washington, has been promoting unity in every direction, starting with the unity of family, the unity within Christianity and Protestantism and the unity of Latin American family.

In the 1980s Moon was considered to be the main anti-communist in the world because he promoted Christian values and opposed atheism, which is the base of Marxist philosophy.

Before the collapse of the socialist bloc, Moon was received in Moscow by Mikhail Gorbachev. He warned him that without faith in God his vast empire was doomed to demolish. And it happened, indeed.

His presence in the United States has been questioned by the most liberal circles and in one case he was imprisoned and put on trial. Moon defended himself, saying that the court case was political and racist and was aimed to destroy his anti-community philosophy.

Moon talks about the spirit of positivism because [the economy cannot develop successfully if] the spirit is sick. Supporting his thesis, Moon points to the United States which is powerful economically but not spiritually, and this is the reason for such social problems as family breakdown, the increase in drug abuse and crime. Moon and his wife are parents of 13 children.

According to his words, in order to deal with this loss of values in the North American society, Moon has invested many millions of dollars in the conservative newspaper The Washington Times which, he said, will soon reach national level.

Moon admitted that the newspaper brought him economical losses, but he said that soon this situation would be changed and The Washington Times would beat other papers, those most liberal but with long traditions, such as The Washington Post and The New York Times. Then he announced that he would start a new paper, to cover Latin American issues, especially economy (something like The Wall Street Journal).

On their part Moon and his group are planning to make large investments into Latin America, following the pattern of his impressive success in Korea, which enabled Rev. Moon to dedicate himself to spreading his philosophy throughout the world.

During his meeting with President Chamorro and later with Minister Antonio Lacayo, Moon emphasized the necessity of Latin American unity. He mentioned that traveling from one country to another felt like being still in the same nation. God created the world without borders. Moon did not specify if he had concrete plans to invest in Nicaragua.

Yesterday night Moon and his wife arranged a banquet in El Olof Palme with 150 persons attending, and a presentation of his philosophy followed by an hour and a half discussion on the topic "True Family and I."

Reprinted from American Neighborhood.

The Lymph System

So far I focused on the digestive, eliminative, and circulatory systems and the need to cleanse them from the accumulation of toxic materials that are a by-product of our polluted environment and even more so of our harmful eating habits. Most Americans have problems with these systems and are more readily able to accept the fact that cleansing these systems is necessary. On the other hand, how many of you know the function and value of your lymph system?

About the only time most Americans pay attention to the lymph system is when they have an infection and the lymph nodes in the neck start to swell or when they hear about breast cancer and the fact that many times lymph nodes are removed together with the cancerous breast. Last year, the nation's attention turned to the plight of Jackie Kennedy who died from Lymph cancer. Still, the public was left with no clear idea about how to protect themselves from problems with the lymph system. Therefore, when I emphasize that beside the digestive, eliminative and circulatory systems we also need to cleanse our lymphatic system, I have very good reasons for saying so.

What is the lymph system anyway and what does it do?

Some scientists call it a second circulatory system, or human garbage system, because lymph, the fluid that circulates through the system, comes from the blood and returns to the blood. In this way the lymphatic fluid not only nourishes vital organs but also removes harmful substances from throughout the whole body. We may think of our blood vessels as tightly built, but actually water, proteins, and other materials constantly seep out of tiny blood vessels called capillaries into the tissues surrounding it. There the fluid bathes and nourishes body tissues. If there was no way for this fluid to return to the blood, the tissues would become swollen. Most of the extra fluid seeps into capillaries that have low fluid pressure, the rest returns by way of the lymphatic system. Lymphatic vessels, like blood vessels, are found throughout the body.

Along those vessels, at many places are lymph nodes. These bean shaped bumps are from 1/25 to 1 inch long and are of great importance in fighting infectious diseases. Inside of them are large cells, called macrophages, that absorb harmful matter and dead tissue. In addition, the lymph nodes produce lymphocytes, white blood cells, that defend the body against infection. These lymphocytes in turn produce antibodies that either destroy abnormal or foreign matter or make it harmless.

Why do lymph nodes swell?

During an infection, the lymph nodes that drain an infected area swell and become painful. The swelling indicates that the lymphocytes and macrophages in the lymph nodes are fighting the infection and working to stop it from spreading. This system works well if our body is in good working condition but trouble begins when the lymph system becomes blocked, or when the flow of lymph slows down appreciably, a condition called Lymphostasis.

What happens when you flush your toilet even though the drain is backed up? Well, you know. In the body, when fluids build up and can't be carried away by the lymph system, pressure builds up, sometimes to a point where it has definitely been implicated in congestive heart failure. Lymph channels in the lungs become hard and stiffen, and so does the left ventricle on the heart, the part that pumps oxygenated blood to body tissues.

In fact, Gerald M. LeMole (Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, Deborah Heart & Lung Center, N.J.) states: "We feel strongly that Lymphostasis is a critical factor in generating atherosclerosis (hardening). First, the cardiac lymphatics are responsible for carrying away cholesterol from intercellular spaces. If the lymphs are blocked, the cholesterol can't go anywhere. It stays in the artery walls too long, thus contributing to atherosclerosis."

Dr. LeMole continues to say that "this is consistent with the fact that in 90% of coronary atherosclerosis postmortem exams show scarring, inflammation and blockage of lymph."

What can you do about all this?

First of all let's be aware of one major difference between the circulatory and lymph system. The circulatory system has a pump to move the blood along-the heart; the lymph system does not! Lymph circulates through the system and therefore moves through the lymph nodes because of physical activity. Exercise, deep breathing, massage, even skin brushing are the means of keeping the lymph flowing as it should. At times we can observe the lymph system cleansing itself when we see our bowel movement being slimy or when we cough up phlegm during a cold, flu or allergy attack.

Maybe you are surprised by this bit of news, but at least you can see from a different angle why I am encouraging you to do all these things.

Furthermore, where does much of lymph pollution come from? From the blood. And the health of our blood stream in turn is affected by what happens in our digestive and eliminative systems. Lymph drainage however is never sufficient to carry off toxins that may be pouring into the lymphatic system via a stagnant bowel holding five or six meals before elimination takes place or from a bowel pocket holding a mass of putrid material which is being reabsorbed into the body. That is why practicing proper food combining in addition to regularly taking your ginseng tea and cleansing your intestinal tract is of such great importance for the well-being of your lymph system.

So give your lymph system all the help it needs and deal with sickness and disease before they even have a chance to develop!

Next month I will explain what proper food combining means and why indiscriminately mixing food groups causes many health problems.

Until then, God Bless you and be well.

The Difference Between Men and Women

I recently was favored with the anonymous gift of a book entitled Love for a Lifetime by Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. Dr. Dobson is a thoughtful Christian writer and speaker, always worth listening to. He has written a number of well-regarded books, and this volume is no exception.

One of the chapters in Dr. Dobson's book deals with the differences between men and women. Focusing on the area of sexual relations, Dobson recounts a survey conducted a number of years ago by Ann Landers, who polled her largely female readership on the question whether they would be content to be "held close and treated tenderly" regardless whether there was intercourse or not. 70% of the respondents replied affirmatively and some added rather sharp comments. I quote some of these not to be sensational but simply to point out the need to enhance family life in our nation:

From Chicago: "I don't want either his tender words or the act...the only word I would like from him is `good-bye', but the bum won't leave."

From Texarkana: "Yes. For years I hated sex and felt used. I was relieved when my husband died...."

From Westport, CT: "I vote yes. My diabetic husband hasn't performed for ten years, but he never bothered to satisfy me when he was healthy. His illness was a blessing...."

From Kansas City: "I am 55 and vote yes. The best part is the cuddling and caressing and the tender words that come with caring. My first husband used to rape me about five times a week. If a stranger had treated me like that, I would have had him arrested."

Obviously this is a small sample and not reflective of many good and wonderful marriages. But I feel that even one such marriage must cause grief in the heart of God, as well as in the hearts of the marriage partners. And of course, the reality is that there is not one such marriage but probably hundreds of thousands in our nation alone.

Such realities call us to two undertakings: First of all, in our own marriages and families, we must find the ways to go beyond the standards reflected in the comments that are quoted above and cultivate within our own relationships the true love-the mutual sensitivity, the bond of friendship and shared intimacy-of which Father so often speaks.

Secondly, we must recognize that there are profound needs in the larger world for marital growth and healing. To the extent that we as parent figures in our communities can position ourselves to nurture people in meeting those needs and fulfilling the ideal of love in their own relationships, we will be able to fulfill our tribal messiah missions. Let us be mindful then of the profound need that permeates our nation and of the great resource that we have in the Divine Principle and Father's teachings in addressing that need.

In asserting that Divine Principle is a great resource, I think first of all of the conceptual vision that Divine Principle offers for family life (i.e., the family as related to God's divine purpose, the ideals of the four realms of heart, three great kingships, etc.) and secondly of the internal guidance that True Parents have provided for the fulfillment of that vision (i.e., investment, service, God- centeredness, mind-body unity, etc.).

Let us be confident, then, that we have something really great to offer the suffering individuals, couples and families in our nation. And let us put ourselves in a position to make that offering. As we relieve the suffering of others, we relieve the suffering of God.

Sunrise at End of Spiritual Journey

by Bruce Grodner-Camp Sunrise, NY

I was very fortunate recently to be a part of the end-of-the-beginning of a young man's spiritual journey that started in earnest six years ago.

In July 1989, while Brian Mead was in the Navy, he asked God for a wife who would help him in doing God's will. From this day forward he knew that he had to remain pure. Only time would reveal how difficult this would prove and how close he would come to breaking that promise!

His service in the Navy took him to the war in the Persian Gulf where he repaired electrical systems for naval aircraft. In November 1992 he was honorably discharged.

After his return from the Navy, the desire to get close to his father would take him to places that would be spiritually very dark, and his relationship with God became distant.

Over the past few years his life seemed to be narrowing down, while God and the spiritual world were preparing him for something he could only dream about. For most of his life he contemplated the coming of the Messiah. For the last six years he was caught by the idea of being alive at the time of the Messiah-little did he know how close he was.

In May 1995 he was instructed by God to sell everything and head south. He went out to buy essentials for this journey on the Appalachian trail, following God's instruction. Brian obeyed, but not without deep thought and some reluctance. God reminded him "to trust and He will provide." On a number of occasions he was without food and, seemingly out of nowhere, there would be apples or beans left by other campers. Carrying his 70-pound pack up and down the mountains in the heat of the day, a cool breeze would continuously remind him of God's presence and give him the strength to continue on his journey southward.

On the 21st day of his trek, he arrived at Harriman State Park. His nose was so sensitive that half a mile away he could smell people barbecuing their food. He said, "God, I'm so hungry in more ways than one." He felt it was time to sell his fishing equipment and to buy food. He met a park ranger and asked if he had any interest in purchasing his fishing gear for $25.00. The ranger bought it, knowing it was the Christian thing to do. Brian asked where the nearest grocery store was. "Well, you could go either back 8 miles in the direction you came from or 17 miles in the direction you're heading." Brian didn't want to go back, but going forward 17 miles at this point was a bit much. The ranger looked at the weary traveler and had another idea. "I know a religious camp I'm sure would give you a meal." "I'm a God-fearing man," Brian said. Then the ranger drove him to Camp Sunrise where he would meet Debby Grodner and Tom Corley. Brian felt so appreciative to eat and to share details of his journey.

I have always felt that there is no accident when people mysteriously arrive at the camp, and Debby knows my feelings well. Brian described Debby upon meeting him "as a kid waiting to open a Christmas present on Christmas Day." "You have to wait to meet my husband; he's not here, but he'll be back soon." Debby said. I knew from the first words we shared that he was really prepared by God.

Brian was so grateful for food, hot shower, and a chance to hear a brief overview of the Divine Principle presented by Andy Compton. He said, "I don't eat for free," and was so eager to help; his skills were abundant. He felt so much like family so quickly that everyone was happy and wanted to hear his story.

I listened to bits and pieces of his life; to my amazement the scars of his past were not evident at all-his suffering and abuse as a child in 14 foster homes. God had guided him to forgive those who hurt him so deeply, and to go forward and fulfill his own responsibility-to help others along the way.

He has completed a 2-day and 7-day workshop and two Blessing seminars, and now awaits the matching. With an absolute conviction, he has purchased his suit and his ticket to Korea because he knows this is the moment when God has promised to give him this eternal gift.

I am deeply grateful for allowing us at Camp Sunrise to be part of the end-of-the-beginning of Brian Mead's spiritual journey and to see a young man's dream come true.

Separate Church from State?

by Haven Bradford Gow

A professor of government at American University, Dr. Greg Ivers tells us in his new work To Build a Wall: American Jews & the Separation of Church and State (University Press of Virginia): "Although consensus on the proper constitutional boundaries between religion and the state remains elusive, there has been no shortage of efforts by organized interest groups, whether religious or secular, to influence that relationship through active involvement in Supreme Court church-state litigation. Moreover, the Court has promulgated in clear and convincing terms that religious organizations possess rights equal to those of their secular counterparts to participate in public affairs."

In the 1970 case of Walz v. Tax Commission, the Supreme Court pointed out that "adherents of particular faiths and individual citizens have (the) right...(to) vigorous advocacy of legal and constitutional provisions." In other words, as Dr. Ivers makes clear, "Far from engaging in a departure from the intent and text of the First Amendment religion clauses, the Court thus recognized through constitutional adjudication the enumerated right of religious organizations to advocate their views on politics and public affairs in the public square, both to advance the interests of their constituencies and to engage the broader debate within the polity."

"The separation of Church and State" is the terribly misused and misunderstood phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to a group of Baptists. This phrase has been misused by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the American Jewish Congress, to grossly mislead the American people regarding the thinking of the Founding Fathers concerning the proper role of religion in public life.

Jefferson's phrase clearly has been taken out of context, for right after saying in his letter that "the First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between Church and State," Jefferson quickly added that "the wall is one directional. It keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will never be separated from the government."

Yet, anti-religious groups have used the phrase "separation of church and state" to argue for the extirpation of religion from American public life. Thus, as social critic Frederick Mohl of Sarasota, Florida, points out, "In the name of church-state separation, Christmas and Easter have been dropped from public school calendars. Christmas trees and Yuletide carols are banned in school as well along with menorahs marking the Jewish festival of Hanukkah...; the Ten Commandments have also been barred from public schools and other government venues."

According to attorney Mathew Staver, author of Faith and Freedom (Crossway Books) and executive director of Liberty Counsel (Box 540774, Orlando, Florida), many students in the public schools have suffered a loss of their right to religious freedom and right to freedom of expression (religious expression). For example, a 4th grade student Joshua Burton brought his Bible with him to school so he could read it during free time; but school authorities confiscated his Bible and told him not to bring it to school with him again.

Amber Johnston-Loehner wanted to distribute religious literature to her friends at the public school she attended; but the principal took the literature from her, scolded her and then threw the literature into the garbage, saying, "I will not have religious literature on my campus."

At her public school, Jennifer Green spoke up for the religious freedom and free speech rights of students who wanted to pray at graduation; she had to endure the vehement hostility of school authorities who branded her a "trouble-maker."

Clearly, then, religion and religious freedom are coming under vicious attack in the United States today. To rectify this disheartening state of affairs, we must return to the original thinking and wisdom of our Founding Fathers, who recognized that our nation was built upon a Judeo-Christian moral and religious foundation. Consider:

*John Adams: "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people."

*Benjamin Franklin: "Whoever will introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity will change the face of the world."

*George Washington stated: "Take away religion, and the country will fail."

*Patrick Henry declared: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly...that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Was America built upon a Judeo-Christian moral and religious foundation? Did the Founding Fathers have a favorable attitude toward religion and religious freedom? From their graves, and to their everlasting credits, our Founding Fathers answered both questions with a firm and resounding Yes.

Mr. Gow is a columnist who has published more than 1,000 articles and reviews in 100 magazines and newspapers.