Aveline Kushi

[Bill]

Hello Everyone,

I have been informed that Aveline Kushi passed away last night around midnight. The KI will make an official announcement tomorrow.

I wish the best to all her family, loved ones, and to all that have been touched by what she gave in order for us to benefit from the truthfulness, goodness and beauty of the natural universe and cosmos.

Thank you, Aveline.

Bill

[backbeat]

why did aveline kushi die of cancer?

[Roy Collins]

Good question. First read a litle more about the cancer that took AVeline's life:

http://www.oncologychannel.com/cervicalcancer/

Then remember that there are numerous other factors that come into play when cancer develops. These can be inherited factors, environmental, lifestyle, age, diet, exposure to cigarette smoke and other carcinogens, stress/trauma, sexual transmission, etc.

Annual pap-smear testing beginning at age 18 helps detect early stages of cervical cancer and early treatment increases chances of mortality. All people and all animal species deveolp various types of cancer -- mainly due to environmental carcinogens, but other factors need to be looked at was well.

Macrobiotics are not fully immune to certain cancers and the cumulative effects of carcinogen exposure PRIOR to becomming
macrobiotic need also be looked at.

It is important also at this time to show respect for any and all people who die, regardless of their lifestyle, beliefs or practices,
and to console the families of those departed. We do not have all the facts, and as I stated when we first learned of Aveline's cancer that it was up to Kushi's to discuss or defend their stance and views on this case as they were closest to her and knwe more of her history than us armchair critics and know it alls (of which I am guilty of playing as well). My feeling right now, however, is to wait for the Kushi response even if this takes some time in coming, as I feel it would be a good lesson for us all.

Please do not buy the myth that macrobiotics can heal all diseases. AS a control factor the diet is super and can modified to meet the demands of most deficences. Our technological age is rife with unseen toxins and social expectations that go against our natural calling. No matter how great our knowledge of yin/yang application and cooking is we have also to live with the reality that human tissue is sensitive and that it can be easily destroyed by cancerous cells, by drugs, alcohol, chemicals, bacteria, viruses, etc. Let us all be humbled by this thought and
learn to embrace the positive input that scientific medicine has
contributed to a world hardened by our own abusive acts upon nature.

I hope this answers your question in part.

In peace, Roy

[jane b]

I was recently in the Berkshires and of course visited the Kushi Institute store to purchase those hard to find macro essential items.


I visited Aveline's grave and I must say I was a little shocked at the location and presentation of her last resting place.

The grave is behind the store's warehouse -- around to the side (see photo's)where you'd expect to find the trash. It seemed a very odd place to me. There is no view from the grave and there are several palces at the Institute that have great views. Of course I don't know all the facts that influenced the placement of the grave -- maybe there were some 9 ki or feng shui considerations, but frankly I was more than a little shocked.

Other than the placement the grave itself hardly seems an appropriate memorial to such a great lady (see close up photo) -- a couple of old cement blocks greet you as you approach, no fresh flowers, no plaque, but again maybe there is some Japanese customs that I am not aware of.

What do others think?

J

[jane b]

Here is the close up -- couldn't attach 2 photo's to the last mesage.
J

[jennifer_t]

You're right, that does seem strange. I'm interested to hear what others think. I'd especially like to hear from somebody familiar with Japanese customs.

Thanks for posting!

Jennifer

[TeresaSA]

Hi,
Will anybody please explain why the wife of Michio Kushi would die of cancer.
When I read the writings of all the people healed from cancer why following a raw food diet see www.hacres.com.
I am not here to advocate a raw food diet. But she dying after a whole life of living the MB way.....please explain to me....
Does this mean that Macrobiotic is NOT the perfect diet?
Wondering, wondering.....just need an answer.
I would like to follow the MB WAY for the rest of my live....
Kind regards,

Teresa

[Ryan]

I'm new to all this, but in perusing a few of these discussion spaces I've been put off by how much these people's cancers are held against them. Cancer seems BIG, and granted that M. Kushi sold literature claiming to be able to help reduce risk, but nothing is certain, not even brown rice and kombu.

To me, and again I'm new here so please, long-time practicioners, chime in--it seems daily practice should come from a place that is sustained positively, which feels right to you and which creates daily energy, and not in self-preservation or fear of organic natural forces over which we are ultimately helpless.

[Bruce Paine]

Teresa,

People die.

And people die of cancer.

Eating a macrobiotic diet does not guarantee that one will never get cancer and or die from it, it just greatly lessens the possibililty of getting cancer.

It's hard to say anything about Aveline Kushi's sickness and passing because I did not know her that well and had not seen her since 1987.

So the most that I could talk about (her sickness and death) would be what others have told me and that is pretty much the same thing as gossip.

One thing I can say about her is that during her life she accomplished many things including written and co-wrote many books (many with her own poetry and illustrations), she taught many people how to cook (and many of her students are famous cookbook authors and cooking teachers), she helped found one of the greatest natural foods stores chains, distributors, introducing many foods such as miso, tamari shoyu, sea vegetables, umeboshi, kuzu, etc. for the first time, a world famous maagazine,and so on and so forth including a world famous schooland healing center that continue after more than 30 years from when it started, and she has directly affected many tens of thousands of people around the world and maybe many more indirectly, plus she has had 5 children, four of which have had a tremendous impact on macrobiotics and the natural foods movement and already one grandchild that is making a big impact on the macrobiotic movement and the list goes on and on so I wsould say that that tiny woman had a very rich and fufilling life all the way up to the time of her passing and she continues to have a positive impact on many people, so to to sit around and gossip and harp about her sickness and death without really knowing anything about her whole life and especially all the facts I feel would be a disservice and a dishonour to her and her family.

If there is some good reason that anyone needs to know what happened to Aveline, I suggest that they contact people that were very close to her during her last years, who unfortunately are not big Internet users and especiallly (I believe) are not members or even visitors of this website.

And in the interim, let's talk about the things that we do know about her in her accomplishments and the efect that she has had on the movement that has touched us in so many ways.

Also, we don't need any one person to live a perfect life for us to find benefits in macrobiotic philosophy and diet, so I suggest that we focus more on how macrobiotics works and how we can use it to improve our health and well being.

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[TeresaSA]

Hi Bruce,

Thank you so much for your e-mail and the patience with a new comer like me. I was just curious and maybe there was something I could learn from. Maybe something her husband said or changed in the diet principles after her dead as we all learn and make improvements.
I respect your request and may this grand lady be in Peace,

Kind regards,

Teresa

[metaperl]

Originally Posted by TeresaSA

But she dying after a whole life of living the MB way.....

I contacted the KI about this and they had some good feedback on this issue. First, she did not truly eat macrobiotically. She liked to eat certain desserts and things that she should not have eaten so much of. Also, when she contracted cancer, she did not tell anyone and so no one could prescribe food as medicine for her.

Feel free to contact them yourself. They were quite forthcoming with responses.

[WonderlandAlli]

(Yes I am aware of the age of this thread.)

I don't think its good to assume that any one diet, method, exercise, etc will give you ultimately perfect health forever. Many scientists agree that cancer is not new, it was just not recognized for what it was and instead was considered the body just being old and giving out.

Rather, I think that it is right to assume that eating a clean diet, and getting exercise, and things like qi gong and meditation will help to prevent developing diseases. But often, people can be genetically pre-disposed to developing cancers and other ailments, and it can also be caused by environmental factors as well. Even just walking down the street being passed by cars, you breathe in toxins. It's inescapable in this world unless you live somewhere rustic where no one smokes and everyone walks to get where they're going with no cars.

And even in that, pollution floats over from other countries, states, cities, in the atmosphere.

I eat and balance my life for wise prevention, not depending on it for a miracle, because I already know that I am genetically predisposed towards cancer. My mother had her uterus removed from strange cysts that managed to be non-cancerous, my aunt (her sister) had breast cancer (and won!), my Aunt's daughter Angel had skin cancer on her shoulder that was removed, I lost a grandmother (Dad's mom) to lung cancer when I was 7, and during my jr high year lost my great grandparents to cancers. I hope that I can lessen my chance of getting it by eating carefully and exercising (I love you yoga!) but I know that I won't rewrite my genetics with it.

What makes it worth it to try at all? When I live in the present, I feel alert, alive, healthy, peaceful, and easily slipping beyond the ego into that loving open and aware state of mind, the glimpses of which inspired writings of heaven and gods world-over. It's that feeling that I prefer to live in, over the tweaked out chattering that comes from too much sugar (Granted I still give in to that now and then though, I'm only human) or the sluggishness that comes with cheeseburgers.

I believe that when people are healed by macro, it is because its so radically different and cleaner from what was already polluting the body. When someone was MB for a lifetime, but still gets it, my only answer can be genetics and environmental causes.

[neon]

When someone was MB for a lifetime, but still gets it, my only answer can be genetics and environmental causes.

The problem is, what eating macrobiotic does mean. There can be as many explanations as many people on this planet. I have read that Aveline wasn't very strict with eating proper macrobiotic, as well as Michio, maybe as well as Patrick McCarthy, who knows - or does anyone really know? Does anyone has good information about their eating habits? Did they adhere the typical macrobiotic food percent proportions? Which is very hard to do constantly and we all deflect to some extent. And the measure and frequency of this extent is the cause of our illness? Did they craved for exact type of foods and were they eating them, even if it wasn't macrobiotic food?

Maybe the macrobiotic is working always right, but we are just average humans and not robots and our bigist problem is discipline?
Just my thoughts here.

I also think a lot about these things:
I am reading about Maya civilization now. They were eating 80% corn, the rest was beans, vegetables, fruits, seeds. They were in 99% contact with the Nature. They were physicaly working, cooking on the fire, no polution in this Age, no radio, mobil signals etc. The life span was 45-65 years. I know it's a nice age. But I still can't understand, how it is, that people in this modern time, eating all the junk food, breathing poluted air, sitting in the office and watching tv at night are living till 70+. It says me something about the possibilities of our body. It can adapt to any kind of food and still be alive for a long time.

Maybe I shouldn't post speculations like these here. Speculations that seems to attack on macrobiotic. But it's not my reason, to attack it. I would like the opposite, to defend and have very good proofs about its advantage. Many friends ask me, how is it that Michio has cancer, that someone eating macrobiotic has passed on at 50 years, that people in the previous centuries were living shorter time than we are today with all the junk foods etc.

[Klara]

Neon,

I think those are excellent probing questions - and gets our brains into gear.

But in the end result, truly what counts most is how you feel with what you're doing, no???? I suppose we all want to learn from others' mistakes and not make them ourselves - but again, we are all so individual, that sadly we just cannot replicate any other person (or maybe that's not sadly, but fortunately) and so we all have to kind of travel along in our own paths and sort of compare notes with each other to see if anything sheds light on our own way.

There are two points often made in these kinds of discussions about others who practiced mb and died in ways we wouldn't have expected. One is we don't know how they would have fared had they not eaten mb. And the other, even more important, is not how their lives ended, but how it was lived.

The point of mb as I understand it is to live a Great Life, whatever that means for you, and for that you do have to look within to see what matters most.

Klara

[WonderlandAlli]

One of my friends jokes that its the preservatives in modern foods that make us live so long >.> I doubt it though, I think it just makes corpses take longer to decay...

Could it also be possible that cancer shows up often in the Kushis' ancestry?