The 1963 film, The Cardinal, opens with an Irish-American priest named Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tyron) being instituted as a cardinal.
In a series of flashbacks, we see everything that led to this moment. Stephen starts out as an overly ambitious and somewhat didactic priest who, over the years, is taught to be humble by a series of tragedies and mentors. It’s a sprawling story, one that encompasses the first half of the 20th Century and, as he did with both Exodus and Advice and Consent, Preminger tells his story through the presence of several familiar faces. Director John Huston plays the cardinal who takes an early interest in Stephen’s career. Burgess Meredith plays a priest with MS who teaches Stephen about the importance of remaining humble and thankful. When Stephen is in Europe, Romy Schneider plays the woman for whom he momentarily considers abandoning his vows. When Stephen is assigned to the American South, Ossie Davis plays the priest and civil rights activist who teaches Stephen about the importance of standing up for those being oppressed. In the days leading up to World War II, Stephen is sent to Austria to try to keep the local clergy from allying with the invading Nazis. Stephen also deals with his own family drama, as his sister (Carol Lynley) runs away from home after Stephen counsels her not to marry a good Jewish man named Benny (John Saxon) unless Benny can be convinced the convert to Catholicism. Later, when his sister becomes pregnant and Stephen is told that she’ll die unless she has an abortion, Stephen is forced to choose between his own feelings and teachings of the Church. Along the way, performers like Dorothy Gish, Cecil Kellaway, Chill Wills, Raf Vallone, Jill Haworth, Maggie McNamara, Arthur Hunnicut, and Robert Morse all make appearances.
All of the familiar faces in the cast are used to support Tom Tryon and Tryon needs all the support that he can get. Despite Otto Preminger’s attempts to make Tom Tyron into a star, Tryon eventually retired from acting and found far more success as a writer of the type of fiction that Stephen Fermoyle probably would have condemned as blasphemous. Tryon gives a stiff and unconvincing performance in The Cardinal. The entire film depends on Tryon’s ability to get us to like Stephen, even when he’s being self-righteous or when he’s full of self-pity and, unfortunately, Tryon’s stiff performance makes him into the epitome of the type of priest that everyone dreads having to deal with. Tryon gives such a boring performance that he’s overshadowed by the rest of the cast. I spent the movie wishing that it would have spent more time with John Saxon and Burgess Meredith, both of whom give interesting and lively performances.
The Cardinal is a long and rather self-important film. The same can be said of many of Preminger’s films in the 60s but Exodus benefitted from the movie star glamour of Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint and Advice and Consent was saved by an intelligent script. The Cardinal, on the other hand, is a bit draggy and makes many of the same mistakes that many secular films make when they try to portray Catholicism. Oddly enough, The Cardinal received more Oscar nominations than either Exodus or Advice and Consent. Indeed, Preminger was even nominated for Best Director for his rather uninspired work here. Considering the number of good films for which Preminger was not nominated (Anatomy of a Murder comes to mind), it’s a bit odd that The Cardinal was the film for which he was nominated. (Of course, in 1944, the Academy got it right by nominating Preminger for his direction of Laura.) The Cardinal is largely forgettable, though interesting as a type of self-consciously “big” films that the studios were churning out in the 60s in order to compete with television and the counterculture.
Through the Shattered Lens 
How does Reflexology Shiatsu, and acupuncture differ from Western drug pushing medicine?
Western medicine tends to follow the approach known as the “scientific method”. This approach reminds me of Euclid’s 5th axiom of geometry, which limited all reality to “empirical” physical evidence. Utter nonsense. Attempts made throughout history to limit the Gods so some form of physical existence or manifestation! T’NaCH prophesy commands mussar not physical history.
The 19th century concept of germ theory, which posits that microorganisms cause disease, wasn’t fully developed or widely accepted. Pasteur, typically credited with cementing germ theory in the 19th century. But reflexology and acupuncture long preceded this 19th century theory.
Micro-organisms may contribute to many physical ailments. But Asian medical theory does not address this far later theory which so dominates Western medicine practices today. Asian schools of healing focus upon pain and balance, just that simple. Herein defines the measure of Human health. Science, it reminds me of the church guilt trip: He died for you! Numerous disease-bearing organisms in the environment in which we live. A simple rule of classic kashrut, if you can’t see the organism, then you can eat these non kosher organisms.
It seems to me that Western medicine propaganda talks people into feeling sick. משנה חגיגה 2:1 advises against excessive speculation on mystical and metaphysical matters, emphasizing the limits of human understanding and reminding that there are certain things, especially that which is hidden and unknowable, that it’s best to leave aside. The general understanding of the Mishna is a caution against trying to delve too deeply into the unknowable aspects of the world, which can be dangerous or unproductive if taken too far.
Strict honesty requires a person to acknowledge the limits of his knowledge. מסכת סוטה דף מח: מלמד הלשון לתגיד איני יודעה. “Teach your tongue to say: I do not know”. Treating illnesses has a simple rule: the Human body, simply the best doctor. Meditation views the brain stem which sits atop the spinal cord something akin to the maestro of an orchestra. The internal organs produce basic emotions while the Brain stem forms these simple emotions into complex emotions.
Western societies, people place greater confidence in foreign stranger “doctors”, than they do in their own selves. They pop pills from drug pushes with a lamb skin hanging from their walls! Clearly the people living in an industrialized economy have adapted to their environment that Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden never did! Torah commands mussar not history.
This fundamental distinction separates Torah common law from Conservative Judaism statute law religion. The pursuit of righteous judicial lateral courtroom justice which dedicates to make a fair compensation of damages Party A inflicts upon Party B, these common law lateral Sanhedrin courtrooms shares no common ground with any religion of Judaism which dictates halachic religious ritual observances; anymore than the Written Torah as the Constitution of the Israeli Republic remotely compares to the Judaism established by the statute halachic codes of the Yad, Tur, and Shulkan Aruch. In like and similar vein, the divergent paths of healing taken by ancient Asian medicine to Western medicine healing practices.
Asian medicine focuses upon teas and herbs to assist the body to treat and heal itself. This wisdom combines meditation with a fixation of feelings linked to internal organs. Where a person performs meditation upon targeted feelings within his own body. This conscious Mind/Body connection – the best general doctor. Acupuncture does not pretend to supplant the role of surgeons; two completely different disciplines. Let fools waste their time making apples vs oranges comparisons.
The Mind/Body relationship – immensely powerful. Healing treats pain and balance issues. The Aging process directly impacts all generations and societies equally. As the body ages, pains and aches become more pronounced. Some affix anger emotions to the liver. From my personal meditations it seems to me the organ of the stomach generates anger issues, much like a car battery converts water into acids.
How our innards react and respond to one another resembles how people socially interact with one another. Sometimes one innard develops a dislike for some other innard(s). The annals of Jewish history, filled with “self hating Jews”.
Our emotions, they impact and alter endocrine balance, impair blood supply and blood pressure, impede digestion, change body temperature. Emotional stresses cause physiological changes in our innards. Thoughts of suicide not necessary limited to within the brain. As some cars produce more or less pollution from other cars, so too does human metabolism.
All cells within our bodies struggle to remove waste-products. This realization that energy consumption produces wastes, it defines the two legs of Eastern medicine: pain and balance. A body that does not feel pain and enjoys a balanced harmony defines Human health.
All generations live on Earth and have to deal with the gravitational pull of the planets and stars. People who return from months in space can hardly walk. All human beings deal with stress. Some better than others, learn to adapt. Stress, not limited to our physical selves. Rather all cells in our body struggle with stress related issues. Stress triggers our sympathetic nervous system, from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland which impact blood supply to the brain and muscles etc. Our skin, the largest organ making up the innards of the Human body.
The skin serves as the most ideal interchange medium which permits a Man to interact through acupuncture/pressure manipulations, both the nervous and endocrine systems within our body. By contrast Western medicine turns to pill induced chemical reactions to achieve a similar impact. Pill induced chemical reactions bring their side effects.
Acupuncture, like many medical treatments, can also have side effects, though they are typically less frequent or severe than those associated with pharmaceuticals. Reflexology, acupuncture etc works by stimulating specific points on the body, often with the goal of influencing the nervous system, endocrine system, and even other bodily systems. The effects can vary depending on the individual, the type of acupuncture, and the condition being treated.
The areas where needles are inserted may feel sore or tender for a few hours or even up to a day after treatment. Meditation makes a breath focus upon these felt tender points. Acupuncture can influence blood flow and circulation, sometimes causing a drop in blood pressure.
Some people report feeling unusually tired or drowsy after acupuncture. This may be due to the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” system, which can lead to a sense of relaxation and sometimes tiredness. Acupuncture is sometimes used to regulate hormonal imbalances, so the body’s endocrine response could lead to feelings of fatigue as the body adjusts.
Acupuncture can influence mood and emotional states due to its effects on the nervous and endocrine systems. Some people may feel heightened emotions, such as sadness or euphoria, after a session.
This can be linked to the release of neurotransmitters like endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, which acupuncture is believed to stimulate, as well as the way acupuncture affects hormonal balances. Prolonged adrenal stimulation, particularly due to chronic stress or sustained activation of the adrenal glands, can have significant effects on various body systems, including the depletion of certain vitamins and minerals, as well as cardiovascular and digestive health.
The adrenal glands are responsible for producing cortisol, a key hormone involved in the body’s stress response. When stress is chronic or the body experiences long-term activation of the fight-or-flight response, cortisol levels remain elevated. Cortisol plays a role in the metabolism of certain vitamins, particularly vitamin B (like B5, B6, and B12) and vitamin C, both of which are critical for energy production, immune function, and overall health. Chronic high cortisol levels can deplete these nutrients.
Vitamin B: Important for energy production, nervous system function, and red blood cell formation. Chronic cortisol release can increase the body’s demand for B vitamins, particularly during periods of stress. Vitamin C: This vitamin is crucial for immune function, collagen synthesis, and antioxidant protection. Since the adrenal glands themselves also require vitamin C for the production of cortisol, long-term stress can lead to a depletion of this vital nutrient, weakening the body’s defence mechanisms and impairing tissue repair. When the body is deprived of these essential nutrients over time, it can lead to fatigue, immune dysfunction, mood disturbances, and weakened ability to handle further stress.
Chronic stress and prolonged adrenal stimulation (especially high cortisol levels) can have detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. Cortisol can lead to an imbalance in lipid metabolism. Increased fat deposition: High cortisol levels can promote fat storage, particularly around the abdominal area. It also affects the balance of lipid profiles, potentially increasing LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) and decreasing HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol), leading to an increased risk of arteriosclerosis (the hardening of blood vessels).
Long-term high cortisol may impair the function of the endothelium (the inner lining of blood vessels), making it more likely for fatty substances to accumulate on the walls of blood vessels, increasing the risk of plaque formation and cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis. Additionally, cortisol can raise blood pressure by constricting blood vessels, contributing further to cardiovascular strain.
The digestive system is highly sensitive to hormonal fluctuations, especially those caused by stress. Cortisol, being a stress hormone, can directly affect the gastrointestinal (GI) system in several ways. Reduced blood flow to the gut: Chronic stress can divert blood flow away from the digestive system as part of the body’s fight-or-flight response, which can impair digestion and lead to issues such as gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), acid reflux, and even ulcers. Stress can also influence the gut microbiome, potentially leading to dysbiosis (imbalance in gut bacteria), which can contribute to a range of gastrointestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating, and irregular bowel movements.
High cortisol levels can lead to slowed or inefficient digestion. This may manifest as constipation, bloating, and feelings of fullness after eating. Chronic cortisol excess can also impair the gut’s ability to absorb nutrients properly, potentially contributing to nutrient deficiencies over time. Over time, high cortisol levels can promote insulin resistance, which can impair the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar effectively and contribute to metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes and weight gain.
Compare the acupuncture side effect with the chewing and eating of pure Cuban tobacco. Nicotine, the active component in tobacco, can trigger the release of cortisol. This leads to an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels, as part of the body’s stress response. Hence the need to focus upon the felt points with a directed meditation in-hale/exhale breath technique; which switches from one meridian to another, rhythmically back and forth – an essential wisdom of the Reflexology, Shiatsu, Acupuncture experience.
Occasionally, acupuncture can temporarily make symptoms worse before they improve, a phenomenon referred to as the “healing crisis.” This could be due to the body’s reaction as it starts to process changes in blood flow, hormone levels, or nerve activity. For example, some patients with chronic pain may feel increased discomfort before experiencing relief.
While acupuncture – generally considered safe, like any medical intervention, it can have side effects, particularly because it interacts with the body’s nervous and endocrine systems. Most side effects are mild and temporary, such as soreness, dizziness, or fatigue. However, acupuncture’s ability to influence the body’s systems—especially the nervous and endocrine systems—can sometimes lead to emotional or physical responses that require monitoring and adjustment by a trained practitioner.
LikeLike