I want to share with you a mind over matter lesson, because I believe it is important to understand this principle first.
Before you take steps to work on your health, analyze your present state of mind and analyze your attitudes toward the work that lies ahead.
Make up your mind before you even start to take proactive steps that you are going to work from a place of positive emotion and not from negative. If you are residing in a place of fear or other negative emotion, your improvements will be sabotaged.
We’ve all heard the cliche, “What comes around goes around.” For the most part, people that I know believe this. However, we don’t always recognize the power and truth this statement holds for everything in our lives.
Perhaps by now you have heard of the Law of Attraction made so popularly known by the recent movie “The Secret”. If you are not familiar with this, I highly recommend this movie to you.
The basics of the Law of Attraction are as the “comes around goes around” cliche teaches. Dwell on fear and you will reap more fear. Spew hate and hate will come back at you. Give love and unto you love will be given. Set your mind to success and you will find more success.
What you put your mind to whether negative or positive IS what WILL come back to you.
So, again before you start to work on yourself or some other worthy endeavor, if you need it, make the decision to have a heart and mind adjustment for the positive.
I call this making a “sacred shift”.
Continually evaluate whether you have a positive mental attitude. It will make all the difference in your success. This is number one of my natural healing secrets!
The Early Signs
The Early Signs
Irritable Bowel Syndrome also known as IBS and fibromyalgia are increasing health issues for more and more people. IBS has now become a popular sight on t.v. with those infamous drug commercials. If you watch t.v., I’m sure you’ve seen the commercial, the one with the bared bellies.
When I started suffering from IBS and fibromyalgia, I didn’t know or hear anyone talking about it. Now, most people know someone with these conditions or have heard of them. This was not the case 10-15 years ago.
I was only in my early twenties when my body started showing signs of IBS. However at the time, I didn’t recognize these signs as warning signals.
Then, the early signs of digestive distress were only mildly bothersome. I had little health or natural healing knowledge, and so, I only slightly contemplated the bizarre rumblings of my stomach and digestive tract and the increasing occasional stomach ache.
I remember sometimes wondering what it was that I ate that made me so gassy and queezy.
I ate Tums and even had some sort of a prescription for a brief time but neither helped matters. So, I just endured the stomach aches and the embarrassment when my stomach would rumble and make strange noises while I was sitting in a very quiet college class.
Other symptoms arose after college, when I was in my mid twenties. However, I didn’t have any direction for looking into things deeper.
I was tired a lot, but I had been tired in highschool too, so not much thought went into wondering if it was normal or not.
I was really struggling to stay awake during the afternoon. Again, I just lived with it.
Simultaneous to being tired, I was very emotional and cried a lot without knowing why. This was the beginning of my thoughts that perhaps I was experiencing things that weren’t healthy or normal.
Prescription Drugs Causing Problems
One of the things I suspected was the birth control pills I was taking.
I asked a doctor once during a pap smear appointment if birth control pills could affect mood and emotions, but I was told no. In spite of this opinion, my husband, Allen, and I agreed it might be the pills contributing to my unknown sadness, so I stopped them.
I don’t recall how much time passed, but after a brief time we both felt I was better emotionally. This was my first insight into the harm and chaos drugs can cause.
Slowly, I started to become more aware of my body and also started to question whether drugs were really a healthy option. It was becoming apparent to me that drugs were not one of the natural healing secrets.
I had learned a valuable lesson, but I still hadn’t figured out that the tiredness and the digestive anomalies were warning signals or anything to be concerned about.
Running Desperately!
Now, fast forward a couple of years to when I was 26. At that age, I began having episodes of severe stomach cramping after eating.
I began suffering at my job and when the cramping would start, I would have the immediate need to rush to the bathroom. Many times because I was involved in activities with kids or not at a convenient place, I would have to endure it and hold back all that toxic waste that needed out.
These episodes were severely interfering with my happy life, and I began to contemplate more seriously what was going on with me.
It came to a point where eating out was almost impossible for me. Ten minutes after eating at a restaurant, I would be sick with severe stomach cramping, sweating and feeling like I would pass out.
I would tell Allen that we needed to get home quickly. He would drive as fast as he could and would drop me off at the bottom of the stairs to our house so I could run desperately to the bathroom. (We lived on a hill in an old mining town, and we had twenty-nine stairs to climb to reach our house.)
The whole experience was very miserable, so, I avoided eating out.
I believed it was preservatives or something in fast food and restaurant food that was making me ill. This was part of the answer. However, my digestive distress continued to bother me and was then also flaring up with meals I prepared and ate at home.
I grew very weary of the discomfort and inconvenience I was experiencing around eating.
Oh, But I LOVE Milk
Thankfully, at that time, I had a friend suggest that perhaps I had a dairy sensitivity. The notion was foreign to me.
How could milk be making me sick? I loved milk!
I ate 2-3 bowls of cereal a day with milk plus had glasses of milk to drink and of course ice cream and cheese on occasion too.
I was reluctant to believe it, but I was in so much distress that I made up my mind to quit eating dairy.
The results were immediate, and I had a great relief. There was no question in my mind that dairy was an issue for me.
It was right around the time I gave up dairy that capsulated food enzymes were introduced to me. I took these with meals, and I experienced even more natural healing with my digestive health.
Finally, life was getting back to normal! I was experiencing natural healing without main stream medical help, and I was really proud of my improvements.
I was now thinking of having a baby, and so I quit my job working with delinquent and troubled youth. However, I couldn’t quit wondering about some of the boys I had worked with that were Native Americans and how dairy seemed to affect them so negatively too.
One Native American boy in particular had similar symptoms as me, and he consumed milk in large quantities. It was no longer in my control to affect his diet. However, it was the beginning of the connections I would make in understanding natural healing and the importance of not only what we should eat but what we shouldn’t eat.
For quite a while, life seemed great. I had overcome the IBS and was enjoying life with my husband and baby.
Vaccine Injury A Possibility
Before the birth of my daughter, I studied more on natural health and natural healing as it is related to children. I don’t recall now, but somehow, I came across a book called, Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective, by Neil Z. Miller.
This book opened my eyes to how information (including natural healing information) is hidden from the public. I instinctively knew it was the truth. However, I didn’t take the information lightly and I researched the harms versus the benefits of vaccines as much as I could.
With all my research, I made the decision that I would no longer use vaccinations.
I also came across information about the measles, mumps and rubella shot, MMR, and a study that had been done in England. The study found a correlation between the MMR shot and Crohn’s Disease (a more severe case of irritable bowel) which is an inflammatory bowel disorder and affects digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
The information astounded me, because during my second year of college, I was told I needed a booster MMR shot. Several years later, I also received Hepatitis B boosters for my job. Because I didn’t know better at the time, I received these shots. I, to this day feel that the vaccines, especially the MMR, played a role in my body’s sensitivities and to my irritable bowel issues.
This was also the beginning of my learning how to detox the body, because I wanted to clear my body of these injections. I would say this is one of the major catalysts that propelled me to seek out more natural healing secrets.
Scary Symptoms of Fibromyalgia
My daughter, Manning, was 3 years old and I was 30 when I began having symptoms of ill health again.
My body was aching a lot, and my arms would get numbness and tingling in the mornings when I awoke from sleeping. I was severely tired, irritable and had headaches.
I had trouble concentrating and couldn’t do detail oriented thinking or reading tasks for very long. My coping skills were diminished, and I felt overwhelmed most of the time.
Most days it was hard for me to get out of bed.
In addition to all of the fibromyalgia symptoms, I also experienced menstrual irregularities.
The symptoms were scary and concerned me greatly.
More Natural Healing Secrets Learned
By this time, I was a little more knowledgeable about health as I had been to several alternative health practioners, had been reading about health and had good friends who were great teachers to me.
My natural healing journey continued, and I became more proactive in learning about my body and dealing with my issues first hand. It was not overnight success but each step I took got me closer and closer to natural healing and feeling better.
During the time I suffered with fibromyalgia symptoms, I got help from a friend of a friend who was a naturopath. She took a comprehensive evaluation of my symptoms and habits and through that was able to see all my body’s deficiencies.
She set me up on an herb and supplement regimen and introduced me to an extensive all natural elimination diet.
The elimination diet was to see if suspected foods had negative influences on me. By eliminating them for a period of time, I would see if there were changes in my body and emotions. Then if I desired, I could add certain foods back into my diet and see if I noticed differences.
I was familiar with this process, because I had done this with dairy years before.
An all natural diet is eating as close to nature as possible, which means avoiding refined and processed foods.
For example, a meal could consist of raw and or very lightly steamed or sauteed vegetables and small portions of meat that are wild caught or grass fed and not farm raised with grains.
Wild or range fed animals have more essential omega-3 fatty acids in their meat. Our bodies greatly need omega-3’s for many functions. While grain fed animals are higher in omega-6 fatty acids, which are not good for us in high amounts.
Understanding Diet Recommendations
In regards to my diet, my naturopath friend suspected that dairy, refined sugar AND gluten grains, such as wheat, spelt, rye and barley (oats are widely debated) were irritants to me and proceeded to try and get me to eliminate them all.
She advised me to substitute refined sugars with natural sweeteners like raw honey, dates and raisins, but to use in moderation.
For a short time, I tried to abide by the diet recommendations, but it seemed too depriving, and I didn’t stick to the gluten or sugar free part very well.
Looking back, I can see that the lack of understanding about the negative effects of gluten and refined sugar played a large part in my not validating their harms.
I have come to better understand the negative effects that gluten grains and refined sugar are having on our health.
I’ve also learned over and over again that most things worth having come with consistent effort. Good health is one of those things. Since I had not been raised with a natural healing lifestyle, having consistent proactive effort was another lesson and milestone for me.
Harms of Gluten and Sugar
I started seeing unhealthy symptoms in Manning, and because I had been reading many natural healing books and learning on the internet, I recognized that she might have gluten sensitivity. At that point, I started taking it more seriously and learned more about it.
I also noticed the negative effects of sugar on her behaviors and emotions. These realizations were the catalysts I needed to make greater changes for us both.
When we cut back on refined sugar and did our best to eliminate as much gluten as possible, I noticed the differences in her and in myself. With less refined sugar, her behaviors and emotions didn’t fluctuate so wildly.
And with less gluten in her diet, she no longer had a stuffy nose at night so her breathing was much easier, and her skin wasn’t as dry and scaley. I’m sure there were other internal benefits to her that weren’t as obvious to me.
For me, I noticed that I wasn’t as headachey or lethargic. My bowel system was functioning more regularly as well.
Also, when I cheated and did eat something with gluten or refined sugar, my nose and or ears would itch. I’d also get nasal drip and be sniffling a lot. Nasal drip is something I’ve had for as long as I can remember, and I now understand why.
Getting “In Tune”
Overtime, I became more “in tune” with my body and learned that this is an important natural healing tool. I was amazed at this, because I heard friends talk about being “in tune” with their bodies, but I was way “out of tune” and had no understanding how one got this “intuition”.
I’ve now learned keen intuition comes with time and experience paying close attention, listening, watching, and feeling your body’s responses.
Tainted and Sacred Water
Water is a major natural healing secret and a crucial piece to the health puzzle. I learned about the chemicals put in municipal water supplies, such as chlorine and fluoride and the imbalances this creates in our bodies. Because of this, I started learning about healthy water choices and began avoiding dead and chemically treated water.
I have also discovered that nature’s water is much more than many of us realize.
Water use to be a living, sacred element that was honored and protected, as seen with baptisms and natural healing rituals. People use to know that there was great power and energy in water. Now our water is used as dumping grounds, and we don’t respect its innate natural healing abilities to give us what we need.
Fortunately, through all my searching for natural healing answers, I became aware of how much our health is affected by what we eat AND DRINK.
Lifestyle Changes
While I was learning more natural healing secrets, Allen was doing his own learning, and his health was benefitting too. Just as I had experienced less mucus in my body from eliminating dairy, so did he. Arthritic pain he had suffered from disappeared and his blood pressure improved.
He read and learned about raw food diets, juicing fresh fruits and vegetables and cleansing the internal body. We introduced all of these things into our lives and had fun experimenting with all three.
With the cleansing, we did homemade concoctions and herbal remedies. After several cleanses, I experienced more natural healing and body aches went away. I definitely feel cleanses are beneficial in natural healing and in many cases needed before anything else.
Clean Out the Cupboards
Several good friends that I have are very conscious of the household products that they use. Thus, from them, I learned that we are getting toxins on our food, in our products, in our water and in our air. Small daily exposure to these things over time can really add up.
Because I didn’t want these things adding to my health issues, it didn’t take much to convince me to change the products in my home.
Fortunately, I found a great company that sells high quality products at an affordable price that delivers to my door, and so, the change to healthier products has been easy.
Reading Energy for Natural Healing
Another major help to me through all of this was an aunt who introduced me to the science of applied kinesiology also known as “muscle testing”.
Through the use of applied kinesiology, I and others were better able to pinpoint which areas of my body needed addressing and with what herbs and supplements were most beneficial.
When I addressed issues without applied kinesiology, I generally found I was addressing the wrong things WITH the wrong things. Thus, I spent a lot of money on trial and error.
Applied kinesiology is based on the principle that all things are energy. Most of us know this from high school science.
All things have an energy vibration. When we come in contact with things, they either lower or raise our energy vibration.
Through a muscle response you can test whether something makes you weak or strong. These principles are being substantiated by quantum physics more and more.
Applied kinesiolgy for me has been an invaluable tool on my natural healing journey.
Mind, Body and Spirit
Also, in my natural healing journey, I learned that health is not just eating correctly. Health comes from working on all aspects of our being….mind, body and spirit.
In this process, I recognized that negative emotions such as fear and anger will manifest in the physical world if not dealt with.
I’ve also come to learn that the emotions and deeds of our family can be passed down to us as well.
A mother can pass on her distress to her unborn baby, and it will manifest for that child in physical form. This is not limited to mother and child but can go for generations from either or both sides of the family.
One of my greatest lessons has been to deal with and overcome my negative emotions and learning forgiveness in all aspects, especially towards myself.
I must also mention that growing and strengthening my faith in God has been a major part of my health journey too.
Holistic Awakening Needed
I’ve always enjoyed sharing natural health/natural healing information.
My own natural healing journey required me and still requires me to find my own answers. So, it is my wish to save others time and suffering if possible.
For me, medical doctors had no answers, only prescriptions that briefly masked the symptoms but did not bring about healing.
Luckily for me, I learned early that drugs cannot heal the body. They can only treat symptoms, and they generally have very serious side effects.
I also learned early that surgeries aren’t always the answer either.
Our bodies are built with alarm systems, and if we don’t pay attention to them, our health problems become cumulative.
In my situation, this has been evident with the removal of my tonsils as a child. They only took out the alarm that was alerting that I had other issues.
My body was being overwhelmed with toxic substances via food and other environmental toxins.
Now, my body no longer has one of the most needed filters our bodies possess.
Tonsils are the glands that alert the rest of the body as to what is coming into it, and they stimulate important enzyme production.
So, when the organ that is acting like an alarm is taken out, how do we know when there is a fire and our bodies are in distress?
How can we help our bodies heal if we are mislead into thinking we’ve addressed the problem, when really the body has only been silenced and the issue masked?
I’ve seen many friends and relatives continue to suffer by taking the path of medications and surgeries. Thus, it is one reason I’m inspired to share the natural healing lessons that I’ve learned.
Don’t get me wrong, doctors and their staff are needed, and they can do great things, but an awakening needs to happen and the mainstream medical establishment needs to see a more holistic picture of healing.
If the medical establishment can operate without totally being controlled by the pharmaceutical industry, and if it really stands for helping people and not just for the money, then MAYBE people can find true help, natural healing and better health within the mainstream model.
Is There a Magic Bullet?
In summary, so many health issues are due largely to malnutrition and toxic overburden on the body. However, we can’t forget that health/natural healing incorporates the mind, body and spirit.
Through herbal cleanses, herbs, supplements, homeopathics, diet changes, better water, eliminating and working on emotional issues and stresses, strengthening my faith and by believing that these symptoms were temporary, the IBS and fibromyalgia symptoms disappeared one by one, like peeling the layers of an onion.
For me, regaining health has been a journey, and I myself have not found just one magic bullet. We often hear of claims, I know. There are so many facets in which to learn. One facet, I have learned is that one must be proactive and willing to move forward and grow.
Realize that regaining health may not rest upon one magic pill. It may rest on a transformation of you. Without a doubt, “natural healing” does not come from a prescription drug.
Again, one key for me has been using applied kinesiology. It has helped me tremendously in troubleshooting my health issues and creating a natural healing plan, where medical diagnostic tests and doctors failed.
Medical tests can be of great value if used properly. However, I’ve learned to take them with a grain of salt and not to stop looking because the tests failed to give answers. I’ve seen too many people go untreated appropriately, because the tests could not find clues.
Sometimes my inner sense has proved to be right. Listen to your nagging inner voice, even when others don’t collaborate what you think or feel. Ultimately, we know our bodies best. Taking full command of who I am and what my body is going through has been one of the greatest lessons of this whole journey.
Don’t Forget The Sacred Shift
Besides the physical needs of your body, set your mind to living life to its fullest and reach out and investigate those things that will bring you closer to your desired life.
Be willing to reevaluate what you know to be true. It may be some of your beliefs that are holding you back from natural healing and happiness.
Stay proactive, learn from the lessons and be thankful for them, make the “sacred shift” (one of the greatest natural healing secrets) and keep your mind in a positive environment.
Most of all…keep love and happiness in your heart.
I hope you have found this information helpful. It is my own personal experience and is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose or prescribe. Please consult a health professional or doctor when needed. I do not assume any responsibility for the health choices of others.