Cat Mutiny

I’ve been eating healthier than the average American for years and years. I stopped cooking processed foods thirty years ago when I realized the effect food colorings, preservatives, and additives had on my children’s ADHD and allergies. Eating better wasn’t good enough. Eating well, really well, took effort and discipline.

I struggled with my diet for years in an effort to battle auto-immune disease. I finally discovered what foods fed Candida and that I was sensitive to gluten. I’m sure I have celiac disease, but I have no intention of spending a few thousand dollars to confirm the diagnosis through conventional means. Why should I go through a biopsy when I know every time I eat gluten I break out in weeping sores and suffer from muscle and joint pain? Obviously gluten and I don’t get along.

So I’ve really cleaned up my diet. And because I eat so well and have eaten so well for so many years, processed foods and fast foods don’t taste good to me. The more I eat organic fresh fruits and veggies, the more anything else is second best—a far second. But this is only true because I don’t eat junk foods. The truth is, bad food and junk food, is truly addictive.

Recently our cats have reminded us how cheap bad foods crowd out the desire to eat well. We raised our cats on a clean, raw diet. Their typical fare was Bell and Evans ground turkey mixed with a little quinoa, spinach, carrots, eggs and eggshells, and a few other veggies thrown in. They loved it, so much so, we had to train them not to attack our hands as we lowered their bowls to the floor. Then they growled at one another and at us if we were stupid enough to try and pick the bowl back up.

But our indoor/outdoor kitties started eating junk food. We have a neighbor who feeds her cat regular kibble and leaves the bowl outside. So our cats have started eating out. And now, they have little interest in anything we try to feed them, even plain raw or cooked meat or fish. They sniff at their bowl and reject their food, going so far as to scratch the floor as if they could bury the offensive offering. So we bought a bag of organic kibble and they ate a little, then rushed outside to raid the neighbor’s bowl.

Now their health is suffering. Taz is chronically constipated. Both she and Jazz are copiously shedding for the first time in their lives. Obviously, an intervention is in order.

A recent study showed that rats fed a healthy diet and later fed junk food would rather starve than go back to eating a healthy diet.

This is such a reminder to us about the addictive nature of processed foods. If we give in to our children’s demands to eat fast foods, candy, sodas, and other junk foods—even as a rare treat, we are training their palates. We are toying with addiction. We are making food that is bad for them, deadly for them, a reward.

We deserve the best food. Our children deserve the best food. And so do our pets-100% of the time.

In the same way that modern buildings and appliances are grounded, placing your bare skin directly on the Earth physically grounds you. This grounding prevents a buildup of electricity and any potential interference that may occur as a result of that electrical buildup.

Being barefoot easily conjures the feelings of freedom, peace, and simplicity. What is often the norm for young children, playing outside, is rare for most of us as we age. Would being barefoot on the Earth each day, every day, be worth another go if we were aware of its myriad, seriously powerful benefits?

I’ve always enjoyed being barefoot outdoors. During my college years, roommates and friends would tease me about my diligent practice of sliding off my shoes the second class was over. Walking home barefoot was a true delight from the moment my feet hit the ground, one that I felt intuitively connected to and instantly at ease with, but an experience I wouldn’t completely understand or be able to fully transmit into words until later. Fast forward a few years, load up on more responsibilities, and load down on time spent outdoors sans shoes. For those who are energetically sensitive, this combination can feel near disastrous. I can feel the shift in vibration the second I enter a home from the outdoors, and at times, it can be suffocating, so much so, that for years, I’ve enjoyed sporadic stretches of sleeping outside, nightly.

I began thinking about the difference in the air and ground waves outside versus the waves inside several years before I became motivated enough to dig deeper into its energetic on-goings. The second I did, however, doors began opening (as is the norm when the Universe is nudging you in a certain direction) and information became available that I immediately resonated with, incorporated into my life, and wouldn’t turn away from embracing and sharing for anything.

In the same way that modern buildings and appliances are grounded, placing your bare skin directly on the Earth physically grounds you. This grounding prevents a buildup of electricity and any potential interference that may occur as a result of that electrical buildup. While the practice of grounding is standard in the care and maintenance of current construction, somehow we’ve glossed over applying this understanding to our own bodies. We have, faithfully, been blocking the current from the Earth for years, the precise current, the flow, that we’re designed to be connected to 24 hours a day.

Wearing shoes with rubber soles completely disconnects the Earth’s flow into our body. Most people are physically lodged in a house or office all day, walking on asphalt, all while wearing shoes. This means that many of us are gliding through each day never discharging the buildup of free radicals imperceptibly reverberating around us.

The Earth is a limitless source of free electrons that stream into the body only when it is grounded. This infusion of negative ions from the Earth into the body and the discharge of destructive positive ions is essential for well-being. Excess positive ions in the body are associated with disease and degeneration. Negative ions are associated with vitality, good health, and healing. The more time you spend grounded, the less inflammation you are likely to experience, resulting in improved overall health, a sense of calmness, clarity, and vitality. Jumping into a body of water or simply touching the Earth with bare feet starts the process of these negative ions cascading up through your body clearing out positive ions—simple, free and amazing!

There are crazy, wonderful amounts of research now underway showing that the process of grounding yourself or connecting with the Earth holds collective and diverse benefits for both the physical body as well as mental and emotional harmony.

Mulch over the implications of this awareness for a hot minute. Just touching the bare Earth with your hands or feet actually transfers these damaging free radicals into the Earth, away from your body! While that stream of harmful free radicals shifts out, a stream of electrons shifts in. These electrons restore balance and a rich overtone of tranquility to your entire system—your muscles, tissues, bones, brain pathways. The benefits are wildly attractive. Again, they are free and almost so easy that they can be readily dismissed by those looking for a more complex path to atonement and wholeness.

It thrills me (I just noticed that I’m lit-rah-lee on the edge of my seat right now, I’m that enthused) that this availability, this option, is always there for us, you and I, without costly equipment or supplements. We just have to make the choice to take it, to love it, to allow it to nourish and love us.

Reflecting back to the boundless energy, serene qualities and the quick-healing nature of childhood holds vast insight. Cheers to never outgrowing foot to Earth play!

Editor’s note: If you are stuck inside working on your computer most of the day, here is a good way to get grounded and connect with the earth:

As the debate about vaccine safety intensifies, new laws have been passed to protect the pharmaceutical companies from litigation. No new laws have been passed to protect the victims of vaccine injury. Against rising proof that vaccines are unsafe and linked to autism, ADHD, and other serious outcomes, the same mantra is repeated by government sources—that there is no proof of cause and effect between vaccinations and health concerns.

Now let’s get real. The truth is, risks have always been known and accepted. Every parent who signs a vaccination form and bothers to read it, knows that they are risking their child’s life by agreeing to a vaccination. I will never forget the dread I felt signing those forms. Oh the risk was slight, but my child could contract the very disease I was vaccinating against or encephalitis or another complication. And death? Oh yes, that was listed as a possible outcome. And as this fact was sinking in, the nurse was pushing me to sign, telling me it was perfectly safe. I felt like I was sending my child outside to run back and forth across the street in hopes he would not get hit by a car. After all, the odds were on his side for that risk as well.

When my ADHD child was 3 and I told the testing psychologist I was going to try diet management (rather than the Ritalin he wanted to prescribe) he told me the link between diet and ADHD was nonsense and he had a study to prove it. When diet mnagement worked, with amazing and immediate results, he didn’t want to see the proof or witness the change in behavior. We do not as yet have good solid research to prove a link between autism and vaccines, but all you have to do is speak to a parent of a bright, verbal toddler who, after a vaccination, suddenly lost both speech and normal behavior to know the link is real. It is an dramatic cause and effect, witnessed over and over and over again by parents across the country.

I work for non-profit organizations, writing grant proposals. One of my jobs is to search grant databases, including grants.gov, the site for federal grant opportunities. Today I stumbled across two requests for proposals from the Department of Social and Health Services, grant opportunities to research vaccine safety.

One announcement reads, “This R21 research opportunity invites studies that address scientific areas potentially relevant to vaccine safety such as 1) physiological and immunological responses to vaccines and vaccine components, 2) how genetic variations affect immune/physiological responses that may impact vaccine safety, 3) identification of risk factors and biological markers that may be used to assess whether there is a relationship between certain diseases or disorders and licensed vaccines, or 4) the application of genomic/molecular technologies to improve knowledge of vaccine safety.”

Our government may be continuing to deny the link between autism and vaccines, but at least they are funding research.

It is known from research that healing in the body is regulated by the brain. This has been repetitively upheld by many studies where the desired effect(s) of various drugs have consistently missed the boat in the company of a placebo. That fact that we are in charge of our brain is reassuring.

The healing power underlying a person’s thoughts and expectations has flown largely under the radar and focus in the realm of Western Medicine. So I was intrigued (yet, not surprised) when I stumbled upon an abstract of a study the other day, entitled, The Effect of Treatment Expectation on Drug Efficacy: Imaging the Analgesic Benefit of the Opioid Remifentanil. Researchers discovered, what many people, especially those who are acutely tapped in to the energetics of being are already aware of, that the most influential determining factor to the effectiveness of any drug treatment is (cue intense music) a patient’s own mind.

It is always exciting to me when bridges are built connecting science and spirituality in ways that have great potential to comfort those “let’s see the numbers” folks into nudging paradigms to the side that are no longer serving in the best of ways, and in the following breath, open up minds to an entirely new way of treating disease.

In the study’s abstract, the researchers state: “Evidence from behavioral and self-reported data suggests that the patients’ beliefs and expectations can shape both therapeutic and adverse effects of any given drug. We investigated how divergent expectancies alter the analgesic efficacy of a potent opioid in healthy volunteers by using brain imaging.”

During the study, “positive treatment expectancy substantially enhanced (doubled) the analgesic benefit” of the medication. On the flip side, when subjects were told that they were not receiving painkiller medications, even while they were, the effects proved to be entirely ineffective. In fact, the research showed the benefits of painkillers could be increased or completely canceled by manipulating the subjects’ expectations. Wrapped up in one sentence? Relief is up to the patient.

While this amount of scientific light shed on the subject should have important outcomes for patient care and drug use, there is no money to be made in our present day setup from telling patients that they hold much potential to heal themselves. That written treatment modalities (of any variety) will always benefit from weaving these mind over matter principles into their approaches. There are thousands of examples where whatever is being wined and dined by the mind in a serious and consistent way has materialized. Mind/body medicine is not parallel to some wishful, cauldron-stirring result. It is real, concrete, and increasingly, the only way to get lasting results in a a society that has been built upon stress-laden channels, many of which lack an off switch.

Your Mind Matters!

It is known from research that healing in the body is regulated by the brain. This has been repetitively upheld by many studies where the desired effect(s) of various drugs have consistently missed the boat in the company of a placebo. That fact that we are in charge of our brain is reassuring. The brain carries out its to do list in the form of beliefs, intentions, in the trust of what is to happen, positive, negative, conscious and subconscious, alike. There is no better time than now to realize that we hold (beyond magical) moxie (Capabilities was the word I was really going for. Moxie popped up and I couldn’t turn it down.) when it comes to our path, our purpose….and our healing abilities. It is my sincere hope and intention that we, collectively, continue to migrate toward this (refreshed) and powerful understanding.

The article, The Effect of Treatment Expectation on Drug Efficacy: Imaging the Analgesic Benefit of the Opioid Remifentanil was published in the medical journal, Science Translational Medicine Vol. 3, Issue 70, February 16, 2011. You can find it online at this site, but you will have to subscribe to the read the full article.

Cancel Illness, Order in Wellness. 10 Strategies for Disease Prevention

Reduce Processed Foods

Better yet, entirely eliminate processed foods, sugar, and sugar spiking grains from your diet. Aside from being a poor source of nutrients for your body, many of the above foods create and support insulin issues. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful and effective ways to decrease risk of developing many illnesses.

Eat Real Food

Increase the amount of live and wild foods in your diet. Live food has all of its nutrients, including enzymes, unaltered and intact. Because live foods are whole foods, they contribute to feeling well not only because they decrease the amount of ‘negatives’ that are going into your body, but because they offer more nutrition-wise than food that has been stripped of its nutrients, or otherwise ‘revamped.’ Live and whole foods are fantastic, but taking this a slight step further, the REAL nutritional stars are wild foods! Even the soil that most organic food is grown in these days, has been stripped of many nutrients, leaving far less than intended for the plants to absorb and pass along. A forest, however, has ‘food production’ down with perfection. Due to the continuous cycle of growth and decomposition the soil is rich with health supporting nutrients, and the root systems of most wild plants reach an impressive depth within the soil, pulling up massive amounts of minerals and vitamins.

Get Sunlight

Balance your sun exposure. Spend enough time in the sun each day to normalize your levels of vitamin D. If/when spending time outdoors is not possible, consider mindful supplementation. Vitamin D is a key player in overall health and tests are available from a nutritionally knowledgeable physician if you’re unsure whether you need to supplement.

Balance your Fats

Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats by reducing omega-6 rich oils (cottonseed, corn, vegetable, wheat germ, grapeseed, sunflower seed, soybean, sesame seed, olive and safflower) and including more high quality omega-3 rich foods in your diet (omega-3 rich wild fish or fish oil and flaxseed are two good sources).

Exercise

Cultivate a regular exercise routine. As already written above, controlling insulin levels dramatically drops the risk of health decline. Exercise drives your insulin levels down,  making it very beneficial from a position of prevention.

Sleep Well

Sleep sound. Historically, sleep was thought to be a passive state. Few things could be further from the truth. Sleep is an incredibly active time for both our brains and our bodies, during which we dreamily dive into all varieties of growth and repair processes- a dynamic biochemical orchestration. Sleep certainly affects our physical and mental well-being, and is essential for the normal functioning of all of the systems of our body, including our immune system.

Avoid Environmental Toxins

Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins. Pesticides, household cleaners, chemically laden paints and stains, conventionally grown food, air fresheners, air/water pollution, plastics, body washes and lotions are just a small sample of things that most of us come in contact with on a daily basis that make an imprint on our internal toxin load. Research all products that enter your home and your body and do your best to find healthy substitutes to support your own health, the health of your family, and the well-being of our planet.

Avoid Harmful EMFs

Limit your exposure to EMF produced by cell phone towers, base stations, cell phones and WiFi stations. (Easier written than done with the profuse integration of all the above into our daily lives and routines). There are several protection devices that are now available and can be worn and/or placed in your home to reduce energetic interference.

Get Grounded

Connect with the Earth (A passion of mine! I cannot write enough about this topic and so it deserves an entire, solo-style article. Click hear to readTouching Earth.

Heal Emotionally

Discover techniques to help rebalance your body from emotional energetic blockages. The Center for Disease Control states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions and stress. Neurological short-circuiting can promote a whole host of health problems, including activating cancer genes. While some people might gloss over this factor due to lack of ‘tangible understanding,’ it may be more important than all the other more physical ones listed above, and is very worthy of being addressed.  A couple of energetic rebalancing techniques worth looking into are Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique ( B.E.S.T.) and Emotional Freedom Technique.

Self-treating medical conditions with medicinal mushrooms

Which Type is Right for You?

Whether you want to improve cellular health or prevent the common cold, medicinal mushrooms are available in a variety of species to help you address your health concerns. Certain types of mushrooms have the distinct ability to boost immune health and fight diseases including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and many more life-threatening illnesses. These powerful herbal remedies are one of the primary foundations of alternative medicine, but with so many different formulas to choose from, it can be difficult to know which type best fits your personal health needs. Here’s a closer look at three varieties of common medicinal mushrooms:

Reishi

Ganoderma lucidum, more commonly known as Reishi, is found worldwide and has a variety of active components, including proteins, amino acids, polysaccharides, volatile oils, minerals, vitamins and lipids. These properties make it effective in enhancing the oxygenation of the blood, lowering cholesterol levels, stimulating the immune system, and promoting liver detoxification.

Maitake

This leaf-like, braided polypore fungus contains over 25% protein, various polysaccharides, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids, and sterols that provide potent anti-tumor and immune-regulating effects. It is most highly recognized for its anti-cancer effects, as it provides protection against the harmful effects of chemotherapy, has inhibited breast cancer growth and metastasis in animal studies, and is the subject of ongoing human clinical trials with breast and prostate cancer patients.

Shiitake

This particular mushroom is the source of two well-studied extracts that include lentinan, a cell wall polysaccharide rich in Beta-glucans; and LEM (LentinulaEdodes Mycelium Extract), a protein-bound polysaccharide complex. Lentinan has been shown to be protective against various bacteria, viruses (including influenza) and parasites. Taking this mushroom regularly may help to decrease cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure.

Each of these mushrooms has profound applications that can improve vitality, decrease the growth of fungus and bacteria in the body, and even prevent deadly viruses by boosting your immune system. For more in-depth information about specific medicinal mushrooms and their many health-promoting benefits, I invite you to download a complimentary copy of a Medicinal Mushroom Wellness Guide.

Watermelon

The cooling qualities of watermelon make it wonderful for a quick and easy summer detox staple. Add the delicious factor into the mix, and you’re sailing along with a warm weather cleansing trifecta! With positive effects on the kidney, bladder, heart, stomach, colon, and liver, watermelon works to cleanse (nearly) the entire body! According to traditional Chinese medicine, it cools the energetic channels in the body that are dominated by fire-making. It is therapeutically helpful in cases of urinary tract infections. for those who cannot tolerate high sugar foods, watermelon juice can be fermented (using the same cultures and process as kefir) into a refreshingly fizzy, sugar-free drink.

Sprouts

Sprouts are, literally, bursting with life. Sprouting is the natural process of transforming a dormant seed to a living seed. Grains, legumes, and other seeds that have been sprouted sport an impressive amount of precious enzymes, and aside from being important to digestion, enzymes play a role in the ongoing process of detoxification. Sprouts are rich in plant-based protein and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. To top it all off, sprouts offer an easy way to keep fresh, inexpensive food in your home, year round.

Cucumber

Largely due to faddish, eye-covering cucumber pics strewn about nearly every magazine, few of us are a stranger to the cooling potential of cucumber. Chinese medicine believes that cucumber has a cleansing effect on the blood and clears internal heat from the body, which is helpful for inflammatory conditions…it also believes cucumbers have a soothing effect on the nerves and aid in the treatment of insomnia. While this cooling fruit’s thirst quenching nature makes it a great summer treat eaten alone, it is equally incredible juiced and/or infused into a pitcher of water- in the same way many people do with lemon or lime.

Aloe Vera

There is a reason that bottles of aloe vera gel line grocery store shelves every summer season. if you have ever sliced open an aloe leaf to slather it over a sunburn, you’re already familiar with its cooling savvy. Taken internally, aloe reduces heat and has intestinal stimulating abilities. for this reason, when used mindfully, it can be an effective treatment for constipation. While good quality, organic bottled aloe can be found, it is best fresh, scooped straight from the leaf, with all of its cooling constituents entirely intact.

Purslane

Ahhh…..purslane. ((Love!)) Purslane is a special plant~ rare in its qualities, but not in its findings. it is actually a very common and beneficial weed. What is extraordinarily brilliant about purslane is its omega 3 content- unusual for a land vegetable, as most omega 3 comes from oily fish and micro-algae. Like many of the other hot weather friendly foods, purslane is a contender when it comes to cooling inflammation in the body. it is a potent detoxifier and effectively dissipates internal heat. Make an omega 3 rich meal by adding a handful of purslane- fresh from the yard- into your favorite salad or smoothie.