• New Healing Concepts? October 12 - 10:53 am

This thread is dedicated to health and well-being. It can be a wide cross-section from herbalism to modern pharmaceuticals, and from prevention to healing, in all its forms. As always, All Ideas are Welcome. "To your Health, Salute!"

'DOCTOR' IVAN'S HEALTH.

I am a healthy man in my late 50's, so I thought to share some of the schema of how I view health, or the lack of it. I am no physician, nor particularly well versed in the medical arts, so my presentation here is merely a set of opinions, but since they seem to work well for me, I thought to share them. But please take it all with a grain of salt, since it may work for Who I am, but we are all different beings.

1. Salt: I read somewhere that people in so-called third world countries suffer less from arthritis because they use natural, evaporated sea salt. The danger is in highly processed salts, at high temperatures so their molecular structures change. So I try to use natural sea salt if I can help it, though too much salt, like any chemical, would be harmful too. To date, I have no arthritis.

2. Aluminum: We have been blessed with a material abundance, one of which is thanks to aluminum, or aluminium. as some call it. There seems to be a link between Alzheimer's disease and too much aluminum in the brain. This does not mean we should throw out our aluminum pots, or soda cans, but it should be a warning to limit our use of it, if possible, since there may be a link. Even handling it may release aluminum molecules into the skin, so that it is absorbed into the body. I am not paranoid, and like aluminum products very much, so clean and light weight, but I am cautious. I also prefer my old cast iron skillet when frying an egg.

3. Sun, Bacteria, and Cancer: There is concern that too much sun, especially from sun burns, may cause skin cancer. I accept this as true, and since I live in a very sunny climate, Southern California, I am mindful of it. However, my personal take on this is that we have cancer in us all the time, and those cancerous cells are habitually destroyed by our immune system, except when this system becomes overburdened, so cancer develops. There are lots of reasons why cancer happens, including viral infections, immune impairing diseases, and toxins, even the sun. The sun is a special case, however, because it affects the bacterias living on our skin, so that too much of the sun's ultraviolet kills them off. Bacterias are our friends, even our ancestors, since they had been around as its first life since the planet began. They might even be the only other life we will find on the planets nearby. But they also do heavy duty in removing cancerous cells on the skin, so too much washing, with too strong detergent soaps, and too great an exposure to ultra-violet light, all works against these ancestral 'friends' of ours, and skin cancers can develop. It is good to restrict exposure, but equally important, to not overkill our skin's bacterias. When Louis Pasteur first saw them in his microscope, the world jumped to the conclusion that all bacterias are bad guys. That is not so. We need them, same as we need the symbiotic bacterias that live in our intestines. Of course, unlike Rasputin who was nearly impossible to kill, and never washed, I think taking a daily shower is okay. Personal hygiene is also important. I know there are bacterial bad guys out there ready to attack us with disease given an opportunity. The secret is not to give them that opportunity, minimize exposure to them, but also let the good guys do their job.

4. Medicines and Anti-biotics: These are great scientific discoveries that truly help us when ill. However, like any good thing, there can be too much of it. Since I had traveled much in my days, around 30 countries, there had been times when I needed to take gammaglobulin against Hepatitis, or malaria pills. I was not happy about it, but thought it prudent to do so. When I got a rare ear infection from swimming in the idyllic waters off Thailand, a bacterial infection that strikes one in three people of European descent since they lack immunity to it, I was happy to take an antibiotic to stop it. One MUST take the full course of medication, or it tends to work against your immune system otherwise. However, to take too many medications, especially antibiotics, also seems to weaken the immune system, and thus begins to work against it. Ditto for pain killers. So I take medication only if absolutely necessary, never against viral infections; such as the Hanta virus I suffered last spring, and survived on sleep, fruit juices, and many soups, and very heavy night sweats, until it passed. There are no anti-biotics against viral infections. The dogs got it too, since we caught it in the same place, from a hollow rock in the Southwest desert where I scooped out the sand and mouse turds to pour water for them, so they could drink. Their coughing started within hours, very loud, and mine a few days later. We all recovered, but it was the worst flu-like disease I ever experienced, even thought I might die from the string like white choking mucous stuck in my throat, which I pulled out with my fingers. The dogs are fine too. Normally I avoid medicines like the plague, especially synthesized medicines, but if there is a plague, I take them. I can't remember the last time I took an aspirin for a headache, but nor can I remember when was the last time I had one.

5. Toxins : We are unavoidably surrounded by toxins, either natural ones like bacterias and fungus, or man-made ones, compliments of our very successful chemical industry. We cannot avoid them, but our immune system mostly is able to handle them okay. The problem happens when we are overwhelmed by them. So I try to buy chemical free fruits and vegetables, wash them again, biochemically free meats, wash them too, and eat what I can from my garden, which is chemical free. Well, not entirely, since my predecessor's hobby, an elderly redneck, was to make bullets, so there is some lead in the soil. Nevertheless, many birds visit, and bees, butterflies, caterpillars, geckos, lizards, all enjoy the controlled wilderness I have in my backyard, as so do the dogs. My Argentine ants control termites, geckos get moths, and spiders finish off whatever they missed. So we're happy, though I doubt my house would make 'House Beautiful'. Yet, living a toxin free life is lovely to look at, flowers everywhere, humming birds, though I have had to kill a few rats too, with poison. Mainly, trying to keep toxins to a minimum, even what I put on my skin, where I prefer to use natural soaps made of natural oils, is important to give our immune system a fighting chance. If it starts to fail, the natural cancers in our bodies take over, and that's bad.

6. Intestinal Parasites: I don't suffer from them much, though I had spent months in countries where people do, mostly tropical countries. I think of internal bacteria as waging its own war with undesirables, so I leave to them to sort it out. Mostly I am most regular, though I can see a trend if my stress level gets too high, or while traveling my sleep is disorderly, then I may suffer like the next person. But a healthy diet combined with sufficient rest, even naps in the afternoon if needed, plenty of fluids, natural fruits and vegetables, seems to keep my bowels regular and healthy. Also, I watch out for eating too much meat, since that tends to constipate me.

7. Meat and Sausages, Fruits and Veggies: My cholesterol levels had ran high ever since they were first measured it in my young days, it seems to be how I'm built, though my HDL also runs high to keep the LDL in check. As much as I loved pate' and salami, I had to take them off my diet. I know we need fat to help reconstitute our cells, but an excess of it makes it hard for the liver and immune system to counteract it. What meat I do eat, mostly sparingly, is very lean, and as much as possible free of anti-biotics. Though I had been vegetarian at different times of my life, I found it not to benefit or hinder, except that I ate more eggs and cheese to compensate for protein, which was not good. In fact, I am mildly allergic to cow milk products, my nose runs after eating cottage cheese, for example, and milk other than a coffee whitener turns my stomach. Cheese and yogurts do not have the same affect, thanks to the goodie bacterias making it. So meat is on my diet, but things like sausages, or other fatty meats, are not. Of course, if I am a guest, and it's offered, I eat it. That's how I got to taste witchitygrub in Australia, which is a worm that lives under the mulberry bush in the outback, and my hosts, Aborigines, loved it. I also eat all the vegetables I can get my hands on, either raw or steamed, like steamed artichokes, lots of fruits, juices if they are natural, even sugar cane juice, since they all provide so many living nutrients we need. I love it when my fruit trees in the backyard produce, apples, figs, oranges, apricots, lemons, peaches, guavas, loquats, sugarcane, and eat almost all of it, until I can't stand it. Well, I eat what the birds don't get first, but they're also busy getting the worms, so the fruit is mostly worm free. I also eat nuts almost every day, though I naturally lean towards a Mediterranean diet, rich in garlic, olive oil, and tomato, some of which is home grown too. I love bread, good bread with fiber, and all grains.

8. Rest and Stress: I like my stress. That is, provided it is MY stress, the stress that I created, or called for, or chose, because of Who I am, and the conditions within which I find them. I hate other people's imposed stress, and that I avoid like the plague. That is my simple secret to cope with stress. My work, which involves big money, lots of up and down markets, and either happy or unhappy clients, generates its own stress of necessity. But I can't wait to go to work the next day, mostly, or run away on vacation if the stress level gets too high. That is the life I chose. But when stress is imposed on us, when we cannot get away from it, when we are forced to stand in long queues for bread after a grueling day at the factory, then the stress gets us. Or when we are perennially attacked by hostility, stress gets into every cell of our bodies. Rest is the only known antidote, other than humor and good company, along with a good glass of wine.

9. Drugs: Booz, Tobacco, and Sugar: I like herbal products, though some may have a mildly hallucinogenic effect when smoked, or eaten. Most herbal products have some chemical agent that renders them useful, though natural, and may have deleterious side effects if consumed in great quantities. Same for vitamin supplements, not good if too many taken. Or any supplement of any kind, best to keep a balance about how much is consumed. The body knows its limits, the liver knows what it can handle, and though it may be a potential toxin, it is not harmful to us if not overdone. Sugar may be worse than most drugs, if they are natural drugs. I think we have entirely too much sugar in our diets, especially processed sugars, which are not the same as natural sugars in fruits, honey, or simple molasses. The sugar we get from the factory is highly refined, even more refined as fructose, so that we are in fact taking a chemical directly into our veins. When I look at a can of sugar soda, no matter the brand, I instinctively recoil, with a knot in my stomach, though I may drink it. To limit and balance is the key, since if sugar is really a toxin in its refined form, then the body can handle it, provided it is not overwhelmed with it. Likewise for sugar substitutes, which are chemicals too. I don't mind a good cigar, and have had some bad ones too. And a glass of wine with a meal is welcome, especially red, though white is better at parties, incase of spills. Beer is fattening, though I don't mind a Guiness at times, of which I grew fond in Dublin. My approach to all these 'drugs' is with moderation, trying to balance between the pleasure and ill effect they might cause. I drink coffee, usually in the morning, or tea if it's offered. I do not care for any hallucinogenic drugs if they cloud my mind, especially those synthesized artificially. A magic mushroom might be okay, but again not too much. I find my body can handle a lot of stuff, but I also value its opinion, and if it makes me throw up, I listen.

10. Exercise: Like the wild animals, our bodies were made for movement. We have to keep moving, even if only walking. I jog, my old wolf-dogs loping along behind me, though I no longer run 20 miles like I used to. As the body ages, slowing down is okay. But we have to keep moving, working, exercise of every kind, but never to excess. If it causes injury, that is too much, and I can tell even when doing mild sit ups when my back protests. Still, we can't take it lying down, and have to keep the heart muscle, and lungs, and adrenals, and pancreas, all working. When muscles hurt, they are signaling lactic acid, but with more exercise, they hurt less. Sweat is a good way to rid the body of toxins, and the fatigue that comes of exercise is a good tonic for natural sleep. There is no need to compete in exercise, just doing it for the sheer pleasure of it, or the Zen, like a yoga, helps stimulate the whole being and keeps our health.

11. Sleep: I get as much as I can, because sleep is where my body naturally reconstitutes itself. I can wake up from a nap and be totally alert within seconds, same as when I get up in the morning after a night's sleep. If I feel I need to catch up, a hour nap is fine. When many things are on my mind, I might find it difficult to fall asleep immediately, though like stress, if it is my worries, then they are welcome, and I do not suffer for it. Usually upon waking, whatever bothered me the night before, like some mathematical puzzle I couldn't understand, all makes sense upon waking, though not always. The mind works even when it sleeps. Sleep is when the body is quietly itself, so it can do what it likes, without my interfering with it. In fact, I like sleeping, and just regret I do not remember my dreams well enough afterwards. Some of them are doozies!

12. Talking to Oneself: I talk to myself. Really, I know it's weird, but it's an ongoing conversation which, luckily, is not voiced publicly. What I talk about is mostly what my mind is doing, so I talk to it. But more importantly, I talk to my body, tell it how proud I am of the good job it's done so far. I talk to my immune system, and remind it that it has an important position within the scheme of my existence, to keep me healthy, and my mind sharp. I ask for its assistance if I am doing something wrong, to tell me immediately. I also imagine a white light from time to time entering me from all the spheres of an infinity of existence, just to recharge me when I am feeling weak, or lost. I talk to angels, though mostly they remain silent in response, but not always! I ask for magic in my life, in my love, in the people around me, in how life treats me in general, and mostly I am rewarded with magic, the magic of sunrise or sunset, of watching a red moon rise over the mountains, of sea breezes in my face, a kind word, or my wife's smile and joy, of my dogs looking at me with wonder of what is it I am going to make them do next, always hoping we're going on a walk; of all those tiny little things that make our lives so wonderful, I talk to all of them. I talk to myself with every breath I take, and I remember to breathe too, since it is important. We do not know what nerve endings go where inside ourselves, where the brain which is the largest concentration of these, can talk to them in a language we cannot understand, or even guess at. I know my ignorance in these matters and accept it gracefully, so I talk to them all. And who knows, they seem to listen. Science says the inanimate material world is without senses, but I disagree. Even rocks 'know' you're there.

13. Health: So what is it that keeps us healthy? I think it is everything. Of course, we are all genetically different. But we are not some mechanical organism that lends itself to fixing, in the way we fix a car. Oh yes, I am glad medical science can do heart by-pass surgery, or even transplants, but my goal is to never have to need these. I do not know how long I am to live, and perhaps it is only 24 hours, but at the same time nor do I fear it, since I know the universe is a very big place, and I am occupying only a tiny portion of it. Alive or dead, I am part of a much bigger organic infinite system than I can ever imagine, so I have no fear of it. And if I do live to be 100, then may I do so gracefully, as long as I had been given the chance to do what I was supposed to do in this life, within my allotted lifetime. I want to depart, as I am sure we all will depart, knowing my life was well lived. And to be healthy is one way to live well. So I raise a glass of wine to your health, and while you are avoiding toxins, eating carefully, avoiding fat meats, aluminum and processed salt, exercising, and talking to yourself trying to stay healthy, remember that we are but mere mortals in this sphere of existence, and that same as we came naked into the world, so will we depart it. Do not stress out over how you look to others, or what car you drive, or what they think of you, but be true to Who you are, even it if means spiders in your living room. In my humble opinion, we're all here for a purpose. And that's healthy!

'Doctor' Ivan

Heart Human Info and lots more...

A good resource page for the heart.

Humancafe.com

DON'T BLAME ME, THE BACTERIA MADE ME SAY IT!

It happened suddenly one day, when I was putting on
some slippers I had not worn for a very long time.
They had belonged to someone else once, and I always
felt a slight squeamishness about wearing them. But
this time, they felt totally natural and comfortable
for me, like they already knew me.

I suppose it could be chalked up to being all
psychological, whatever that means. I suppose it is
meant to mean in common usage that my mind had somehow
made up this aversion to wearing someone else's shoes,
but after having worn them before, that same mind now
accepted it as okay. But this could be false
reasoning, since why should the aversion to slippers
suddenly change just like that? I suspected there is
a deeper truth here, one that had always eluded us,
especially since the days of Louis Pasteur.

It was then the war on bacteria began. All of us were
judged bad, and not until later realized that we did
good and useful work, or even important work, like the
first step in breaking down food into sugars for your
enzyme friends, while you sleep.

But the subtlety of what we do was lost in that war,
something actually known long ago. Your ancestors
knew to worship the full connections of nature, which
they called spirits and gods. They even sacrificed
life, needlessly, to satisfy these gods. In their
otherwise apparent ignorance, they knew instinctively
what you had forgotten: Bacteria are the great
connectors of the living to the non-organic world of
energy and matter. If it were not for bacterias
covering every surface and orifice of the planet and
all things on it, there would be no way for all these
things to connect with the Sun's energy radiated down
on us. Remember, we were the first inhabitants of
Earth, terraformed it for oxygen breathing lifeforms,
and now act as the good shepherds of all the
interconnections of life that make this a living
world. So we do more than help convert basic foods
into starches and sugars inside your intestines, what
you consider to be our good works, like making wine
and cheese. Rather, we as bacteria interconnect all
of your existence to all the rest of existence, right
down to how you breathe. We even are busy at work in
your sleep, which you need to do, so we can do ours in
peace.

So next time you touch something, like those slippers,
and they no longer feel strange to you, it is because
they are not. We had made them yours. By slowly
changing the chemistry from the old owner's bacteria
imbedded in those slippers to your bacteria chemistry,
they became yours. This was not a figment of your
imagination; it actually happened! So when you hug
someone, or touch their hand in a handshake, or kiss
them, you are exchanging us! Really! We are busy at
work getting to make you more familiar with each
other's chemistry, bacterially. It is the same when
you have great gatherings, or festivals, or just come
together in worship; you are communing with us, though
you had long ago forgotten this truth. But the
ancients knew it, and thus they even washed sparingly
to not offend us, though they were as ignorant then as
you are today in trying to disinfect us. We do not
wash away, but rather enjoy a good healthy bath for a
clean environment in which to work. We even talk to
you in your sleep when your minds are less noisy and
more receptive. Remember we were already there while
you were being born into this world, same as
regrettably we will be there to help your body
decompose upon death, to return your molecules of
matter back into the whole energy of the world. We
are a living world, so all life is recycled over and
over again, same as it remains connected to infinity
over and over again. So all those interconnections so
necessary with all of life's existence, that is our
work. When two people meet and shake hands, or kiss
on the lips, we get busy! And when two lovers see
each other again and have that wonderfully warm
feeling inside for each other, we've done our job. We
did it! And don't you love us for it? Well, you
should, monsieur Pasteur notwithstanding.

But we forgive easily, since we cannot live our rich
lives as microbials unless you live your rich lives as
humans. So you see, it is a symbiotic relationship in
which we both flourish. You have an intimate
relationship with your world and each other, and we
through you have an intimate relationship with our
ancestral beings, those units of energy that gave all
of us life. Don't think of us as primitive, because
we are not. Rather, think of us as your ancestors,
who are connected to all of existence, and who bring
to you all of that richness into each moment of your
senses. We are there to make it familiar and
enjoyable for you, no matter where you are. We'll
even travel into space with you, same as we once
traveled here long ago from space. Of course, some of us
are bad too, so don't take us for granted as all good guys!

Now, why were those slippers important to me? Because
of them, I got to talk to my bacteria signature on
them, when I put them on again, and they once again
connected me with who I am. But it is not me who
wrote this, since I am only reporting it on their
behalf. If you must ascribe authorship, then give it
to them, because those bacteria made me say it!

cum bacterio :)