Gentle Winds

Nature's Remedies - Gall Bladder Flush

2011-04-16T11:07:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I was relaxing after a long day, minding my own business when I had a gall bladder attack. My side and back ached and felt like it was on fire, my right arm and hand hurt, my left knee ached, my right jaw hurt like someone had punched me and my right elbow ached. All of this from a tiny little gall bladder attack.

On to the cabinet for the Gall Bladder Formula that I always keep on hand just for this moment. I took about 8 capsules and the event died down. I was able to sleep until about 2 a.m. when another wave hit me. Once again, the herbs from the GB formula calmed it all down. The herbs in this wonderful formula stop the spasms and the cramping and include Oregon Grape Root, Ginger, Cramp Bark, Fennel seeds, Peppermint Leaves, Wild Yam Root and Catnip leaves.

Wonderful that these all come in one capsule and I don't have to keep the herbs on hand to make the formula. The Federal Government is in the process of taking our rights to all of these natural remedies away from us in the interest of the pharmaceutical companies who want all of us on drugs so the stocks make them more money.

But for now the capsules are on hand and I was able to make it to the next morning when I began the gall bladder flush recommended by Hulda Clark. I've been doing the flush for about 10 years now and each time the stones that come out of the gall bladder number in the 100's but it works and I don't have to worry about surgery.

The Gall Bladder Flush can be a one to three day flush. Just fast on fruit all day, apples, applesauce, pears, peaches, any kind of fruit. Then at night mix 4 ozs. of fresh lemon juice and 4 ozs. of pure (not blended) olive oil together and drink it down. Then lie on your right side for about 20 minutes while the olive oil moves through the gall bladder. Then sleep however you like for the rest of the night. The stones come out in the toilet in the morning and look like green peas, generally. Flush ended. All is well until you need another cleanse.

"The world won't end, it will be transformed." Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha

Dichotomy of Worlds

2011-04-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

"I am always doing things I cannot do - that's how I get to do them!" Pablo Picasso

Saw this quote on Emma Eker's twitter and loved it so I wanted to share it.

I'm feeling restless and think that it must be Spring moving in my blood. I'm being challenged these days and a few days ago I felt I was losing control so I took a Bach Flower remedy to get over the feeling and now I'm back to normal. Funny how flower essences can bring you back from the edge in seconds.

Life has been good and I give great appreciation for all of my experiences. This lifetime has been about healing body, mind, spirit and emotions as well as relationships. The term "healer, heal thyself" has applied to everything and I believe the dichotomy of worlds moving along in time/space continuum has application here. What I mean by that is that while Western Medicine grows powerful through the media and grants and money, there is a mindfulness growing along side it that speaks of natural healing and how effective it is, although not being allowed into media unless it is through the pharmaceutical companies. How many ads do you see about natural products on television that are not regulated or owned by the drug companies? Ever wonder why? Could it be that the drug companies are losing out on a lot of money? Something to consider.

What drew my attention to the control that the media has over us became apparent one morning. A friend called to make me aware of a news show where mutual interests would be highlighted. I tuned into the show only to be disappointed when, at the moment the man was going to speak of Iridology and how it was used, the broadcast went to a 20 second commercial. When the commercial ended the scene went to the people in the newsroom, all looking like deer in the headlights. All evidence of the natural healer and his Iridology charts had disappeared. Someone didn't want you or me to know about Iridology. I wrote a letter expressing my outrage to the news show.

Before our eyes, literally, the natural ways are being erased from the consciousness of the people who appear to pay no attention and give it no mind except for a few who are aware of what is happening. Yet, often people call or write expressing a desire to learn more about natural healing because they are aware that drugs aren't what are needed. They want to know how to go about healing naturally but feel overwhelmed at the amount of information needed for that to happen.

For that purpose I have begun to teach natural health and healing in a fun and relaxed atmosphere through what I call "Learning Spa" days or events. Through a Learning Spa you can learn about natural ways to treat common colds, flu, aches, pains, infections, etc., with natural essences, oils, massage, Reflexology. Amazing how many natural remedies are in our possession that we don't know about.

The thing is, you don't have to have a prescription for every malady that crosses your path. The only reason you are sick is because you think you have to be a victim of a virus/bacteria/fungus/parasite. In my early years as a student of natural health, I thought I had to be sick, too. Then something told me I didn't have to be sick and I gave myself permisson to take more control of my own health. If you knew that there was something that would give you more power over a cold or a flu than you think you have and that you could exert that power over that virus in an instant, saving you down time, time out of work and time out of your daily lives, would you want to have that information and take more control? It's up to you. The only reason you are sick is because you don't know how not to be.

"The World won't end, it will be transformed." Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha

Silent Nights

2011-04-04T12:07:00.000-04:00

People have been talking about it for years and now we’re seeing the effects of not living in harmony with the earth. The biggest events of the millennium have already happened and are happening and we sit here helpless as we watch the effects of our actions destroying life in and around water, along with the water itself.

What’s it going to take to stop the madness?

The other ‘event’ taking place is Monsanto’s assault on the food supply. Crossing DNA of insects and fish with the DNA of plants; something called GMO. Genetically Modified Organisms.

A few years ago I had a “Bug” company come to spray around the house for ants. The big black ants that are the same as having termites. The ants rained down out of the garage, dead. Problem fixed. We kept the “Bug” company for a few years. They would come to spray twice a year and we didn’t think much about it or how it would affect the area around us. A few years passed and then one night, instead of the cacophony of night sounds that lull me to sleep, there was complete and total silence. No insects humming. No frogs croaking. Complete silence.

I just about went crazy. I live for the summer night sounds.

I ‘journeyed’ to find out what had happened to my beloved frogs. When I entered their domain in the other world the frogs had their backs to me. I was desperate and filled with sorrow. I couldn’t imagine what I had done to make the frogs so angry. I poured out my heart to them and told them I was so sorry for hurting them. I love the sounds of the frogs all around. I am never happier than in the Spring when I first hear the awakening of nature and the rebirth of the mother after the long winter.

As I spoke to them, one by one, the frogs began to face me and then they were all around me and then they were all over me. I thought they would never forgive me, but they did. Relief and joy filled me. I waited for them to come back immediately but it actually took about 2 years for them to repopulate the area around my house. Now the night sounds are back and all is as it should be. The frogs and all the other insects and creatures are safe and happy and sing their joy. At night I am once again carried into journeying by the voices of the natural world.

So no matter what, I won’t spray deadly poison around the house outside or the grass for fear of driving the frogs out of my life again, or the crickets and don’t forget the bees. People wonder what has happened to the bees. They are the first sign of a world out of balance. I’ve been seeing more and more bees the last few years and I intend to keep it that way.

I’ll find more natural methods to deal with home invasions of insects and keep my area free of deadly chemicals that eradicate the natural world. I am not helpless. I am discerning. I make choices that make a difference.

"Come my beloved children and let me tell you a beautiful story." Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha

My First Love

2011-03-11T11:47:00.000-05:00

The best thing I remember about Jack, my first love, was how he smiled at me. Not only was he the handsomest guy in school, he was smart. When he smiled at me his face would light up and his eyes would shine as though he was looking at the most special person on the planet. I felt special when Jack smiled at me. His smiles made me smile and when I was smiling I was very happy.

On mornings when there was no school, Jack would look for me out his window. He lived next door to me and at night we would find each other in the bedroom window and say long-distance ‘good-nights’ to one another. When he would see me come outdoors he would hasten to walk with me and make sure that I wouldn’t step in the muddy puddles left from the rain. If he saw one he would guide me around the puddle so I wouldn’t get my shoes wet. If there were other obstacles in the way he would run and take them off the walk for me.

Jack never hesitated to tell me how much he liked me. He was sincere and very trustworthy. Never once did I catch him looking at other girls. If I was around, Jack was always with me and very attentive. He held my hand and wouldn’t sit before I did. He was quite the gentleman!

At school, Jack would always find me and ask me to sit with him at lunch. He would always make sure there were extra napkins and a clean table at which to eat. He would always share what he had with me and I with him.

I just loved Jack. We got along so well. We never argued about anything that wasn’t important. He could be a rascal at times and tease me, but not incessantly or in a mean way. He and I were a pair and everyone knew that Jack was in love with me and I with him. Our first kiss was so sweet, and for me, quite unexpected! Jack leaned in to what I thought was a whisper, but instead, he kissed me real quick on the cheek. I turned all red and didn’t even know why!

It broke my heart when Jack moved to Florida with his family. He didn’t know how to tell me at first and then one day he just came out and said he was moving away. There was great sadness that day for both of us. When Jack moved away shortly thereafter I never felt so alone. That whole year I thought of Jack and how much I missed him.

For awhile I thought I’d never get over Jack leaving and how I could get to Florida to be with him once again. I talked to my mother about it but she couldn’t see any way that I could be with Jack again. At least not for awhile. But she said that someone else would probably come along and she was right.

In my second year of school I met Damian. He was the handsomest guy at school and he was really smart. We were both 6 years old and he was crazy about me. I loved Damian, but I would never forget that Jack had been my first love.

"The dynamic laws governing time bring a story into being. In other words, when a time loop is created, the world we commonly and uncommonly experience as “out there’ arises both in our minds and in what we believe is objectively shared reality.” Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha

Most Popular Sayings

2011-03-04T09:59:00.001-05:00

Have so much to do today just don't know where to begin. Make a list and check it off. Things get done with lists. No matter what, always take time to read or listen to something that is inspirational. Only takes about 10 minutes to do and you have a quick pick me up if you need it.

Recently, I purchased a book from Borders called "The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said", selected and compiled by Robert Byrne. Of course it is a matter of opinion of who said what best. But a lot of the sayings are entertaining, at best. Here are a few sayings from the book, perhaps you would like to judge for yourself if they're the best things anybody has ever said.

"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" Harry S. Truman

"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you" C. G. Jung

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died" Erma Bombeck

"I'm so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here" Stephen Bishop song title

"I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch" Gilda Radner

and

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his"
General George Patton

Well, there you have it. Some of the "best things anybody ever said".

Perhaps the book title should read, "most popular" in the title.

Oh, well. I guess some of them are really funny and they deal so well with life. I come from a different ilk when I think of the best that anyone has ever said. I like to hear what Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha says (one of my favorites is "If you're going to be a bitch, be the best bitch you can be") and the Dalai Lama: (one of my favorites is: Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly) and Padmasambhava the Lotus Born Buddha because they inspire and make me want to be a better person and do more with life.

Maybe I should write a book.

Inter-Terrestrial Visit

2011-03-03T10:56:00.001-05:00

Many years ago while at an intensive with Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha in N. Carolina she introduced us to an 'other-worldly' place. We went to this place as a group and it was very real walking along the dark pathway lined with foliage and mist. We all got to the destination and Grandmother let us explore and go our own way until the time that she called us back.

My path took me to what looked like a large underground cavern filled with shrouds of billowing dark, feather-light material that moved with the wind currents. Among these curtains stood two very tall, very slender, fully covered to the floor by thin capes, 'beings' - the likes of which I had never seen before. When I looked up into their faces all I could see were the huge almond shaped eyes and my own reflection looking back at me through them.

These beautiful beings were very loving and gentle. They greeted me with a 'welcome' and then took me in behind the billowing, flowing curtains and bade me rest. I don't remember any more than that except that I went totally blank, thinking and remembering nothing. When I awoke I felt different, more refreshed. On the return trip, I noticed that these beings floated beside me as I walked back to the place we met, and they never spoke, but communicated to me through their thoughts that I was invited back anytime I felt I needed to be rejuvenated.

I walked along the pathway intent on finding my way out and back to the group when I felt myself pulling someone or something as my arm stretched out behind me. I had no idea why I had picked up this extra baggage nor what it was until I looked behind me and saw one of the people who was in our group. I was literally dragging her out of this place! She was not looking at me - she was looking behind her and reaching out to some unseen force beyond my sight, while she appeared to be totally unaware of me.

Still, I felt the pull as I hauled her out of there, all the while thinking she would be lost if I were to let go.

Later, when we were walking along the beach to go back to our hotel, I caught up to her and asked her what had happened to her down there. She was wide-eyed in her response. "I saw my brother down there and I wasn't leaving!" I asked her if she knew how she had gotten out of there and she said she didn't have any idea.

Until that moment I wasn't sure that my experience with these Inter-Terrestrial beings was real. Many years later I once again thought of them and in need of rejuvenation of mind, body, spirit and emotions I revisited that long ago place and found the IT 'beings' once again. I spent the whole night in their care and awoke with a rejuvenated spirit, zest for life and something else which I haven't as yet identified. I'll update you when I find out what it is.

Manifestation

2011-02-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

Many years ago while taking a college psych course, the instructor asked that we think about ourselves and write down three sentences that describe who we thought we were, then asked everyone to tell what we had written.
I had written down something I'd read many years ago, because it described hu-man so well.
The three things were:
I am all that I have ever been
I am all that I can be
I am - becoming

When I decided to manifest a different lifestyle I was in my forties. I had been in secretarial work since I was 17 years of age. I knew that I was no longer anyone's secretary because I needed my own secretary. Clearly, I had grown. So, while working full time I decided I would go back to school for massage therapy training. When I let it be known what I wanted to do, suddenly my world was full of opposition.

"You won't make any money"
"Stay in your job, it's safer"
"What will you do for health benefits?"
"You'll never use it"
Were just a few of the comments that came at me from different sources, including my dad who had worked hard all his life. I knew he meant well, and that he wanted what was best for me, but he had never stepped outside of a 'job' and into his own creativity.

I remember just looking at the people that directed their negative comments at me, knowing I would rise above it all because I absolutely and with intent and focus knew that I wanted to change my life. There was absolutely no one that could stop me from doing what I wanted at this point in my life. And, indeed, no one would.

So I began school, which, after graduating high school and some college courses, nothing serious, was quite a challenge. Most days I remember thinking one thing in particular, "WTF am I doing here!!!???

But nothing would change my resolve. I gave up a social life of any kind for two years and poured over physiology and anatomy books. No more working for anyone else. No one telling me my job may not be there next year. No one telling me I had to punch a time clock. No one telling me when I could have a vacation. No one telling me how much money I could make. I only looked at the end result.

I remember Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha saying that no one could put a worth on anyone else's life. If a person wanted to ask for a certain amount of money for themselves, how could anyone say they weren't worth that much?

I wanted to set my own hourly rate and decide my own worth. A person's self-worth depends on how big their thoughts are or can become. My self-worth thoughts took time to grow but they are definitely growing.

After graduating massage school I wrote an article that appeared in the local paper and immediately had 30 people every week for months on end. Talk about manifestation! I quit my day job and immediately opened shop and have had a wealth of clientele ever since. I had found my calling. My life changed. I intently focused what I wanted and got it. Yayyyy!

Now my thoughts are that I want a whole lot of money but don't want to work hard for it. I do believe I'm growing once again and age can't be a factor in growth. As Rumi says, "Lovers don't finally meet somewhere, they exist in each other all along". Well, if lovers exist within each other, then certainly good fortune and wealth exist in us all along, also.

I'm counting on it. I intend it. I expect it to be so. And so it is.

Synchronicity

2011-02-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered about Synchronicity? I experience it a lot in my business. Synchronicity may be explained as "an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated".

The first time I ever experienced 'synchronicity' was many years ago, sitting in my office waiting for my first appointment with one person when the person in the second appointment slot of the day showed up. Puzzled, I checked my calendar to make sure I hadn't made an error. Sure enough, I hadn't. This person wasn't supposed to be there until 2 hours later. I explained the 'error' as my fault and explained that another person was in this time slot and that I was waiting for her.  Then I looked at my watch and said, "hold on, the other person is a little late, why don't you stay until she shows up and we can chat." So we did, but the other person never showed so after a little while I just replaced this person's appointment and worked with her. I was happy I had reconcidered and not sent her home.

After she left, the other person that I had been waiting for showed up in the time slot of the other person. Coincidence or just a switch of names? I couldn't be sure, however the day worked out perfectly.  The next time this happened I knew it wasn't just me making an error. Also, if someone calls to reschedule an appointment, it is likely that someone who needs that appointment more will call to schedule something.

I've had occasions when I'd think of a person only to have them call me later in the day.  That happens so often I just smile when I begin to think of a person. They always call within a week or so. When I tell them I was thinking of them they can't believe it and just laugh.

I was out to visit a friend and we had a nice brunch. Later, I was thinking of her and just called to say how much I enjoyed our visit. She said, "Oh my God! I was just thinking of you! You're really beginning to freak me out!"

Many years ago, while working with my Elder, Grandmother Parisha, she said that saying the name of a person sends out a vibration that that person picks up. Names carry a vibration and connects you to them instantly.  Whenever you want someone to call you, just say their name. I've worked with this for many years. When I would think of someone I would call them. They would comment on just having thought of me, either to call me or to get in touch with me later.

Be assured that when you are thinking of someone they are most likely thinking of you also.

Being the Balance

2011-02-03T09:44:00.001-05:00

Many years ago while working for the Pathology department of a major hospital, one of my duties as secretary to the Director of the Autopsy department was to put the names of all the newborn babies that died in the black book. These little ones were nameless and were simply known as 'baby boy' or 'baby girl'. What set them apart was the date and time of birth and death. They were the still born babies. Babies who, for whatever reason, came into this world for the shortest of time, possibly took just a breath or maybe not any breath at all. There were many of these entries of babies that never were, filling pages and pages of the Black Book.

Each of us has the ability to make a difference in what is happening around us, even if it appears to be in the smallest way possible. Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha, many years ago, when I asked her why so many babies are born dead, gave a simple but eloquent explanation which I will reiterate in my own words:

She said in so many words, that "Every person, every being that comes into this earth walk, comes for a reason and that is to leave their imprint, their pattern, in the earth. Not all come for a long time. Many are born and live long lives. But there are many who come for just the shortest of times just to leave their pattern in the earth. These are the messengers. Each child that comes in and dies shortly after being born or who are still-born comes with a message and they keep coming until their message is heard. They are like a flower that blooms, opening its petals and leaving its scent, then closes up, withers and dies. Whenever you encounter one of these messengers, give a prayer of thanks for their time here. When you do, they will know their message is received and there will not be so many of them with messages trying to be heard."

I took Grandmother's explanation to heart and daily, while putting their nameless names into the hospital's Black Book I would say "Thank You" to each and every one of them.

One year passed before a nurse came into my office. Her job was to count the stillborn babies in the book, something she did once each month. This time was different. After counting the names of the little ones she turned to me and said, "The numbers of still-borns have been dropping consistently for the last year, and no one knows why."

I remembered the baby I lost back in 1978. Grandmother's message had affected me profoundly because I remembered saying "Thank you" to my little one. Before I lost this boy-child, I had a dream wherein I saw a boy being born to me in a breach position. I waited to see his face but, before I could, the dream ended. Shortly after having this dream, I became pregnant and lost this baby in my fourth month. The message did not escape me but it took me a while to get it. The message this child left with me was that life is precious and not one minute of it can ever be wasted because there are many souls who desire to live this life that don't have the chance to be here or have the opportunity to carry out whatever they came here to do. The death of my baby brought me out of a severe depression and I was grateful for the message. I got it. I had simply said, "thank you".

Laughter as Medicine

2011-01-28T10:35:00.000-05:00

Years ago while working in a hospital's pain management facility as a massage therapist, a woman came to see me whom I'll refer to as PJ.

The moment I began to work with PJ I knew there was something amiss, due to the presence of tears and unusually high anxiety. Not easy to miss.

So began an unusual relationship. Within a few minutes it was obvious that PJ was very disturbed and unhappy. Relationships. What else? She considered herself too old to do anything about her situation (late 60's, early 70's). Doomed and Scrooged.

I reminded her of Scrooge who thought he was too old to change. She didn't get the anology. I could tell she was borderline indifferent, a state of mind one may move into at any time that is the opposite of love, letting nothing in that is positive and closing the heart forever, thereby entering into a state of mind that is extremely difficult to get out of. I knew I had to do something.

I remembered words of wisdom from Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha during my time with her. She always said, "As a medicine person you will have to do anything it takes to bring balance to a situation. If you don't know what to do, call on me and just get out of the way."

I called out to Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and all the Grandmothers and Grandfathers to help this woman. Then I just got out of the way.

I found myself saying something shocking to PJ. I couldn't believe that I'd said it, but I did. I only know it was way dirty and it even shocked me but I can't remember what it was. Anyway, PJ's reaction, being totally shocked, was to laugh. So I said something even more shocking. Honestly, now, I don't even remember what I had said to her. The whole conversation was a blur and I couldn't tell you later what it was that I'd said to her, not even minutes after I'd said it. That is how spirit works when you get out of the way.

I was on a roll. Shocking epithets issuing forth as though someone had turned on a faucet. Within moments, PJ was transformed. She was roaring with laughter! For the next 45 minutes, PJ rocked and rolled on my table with laughter. It never occurred to me that people may be in the outer office wondering what was going on inside my room. PJ and I were having a ball. She was now crying tears of joy whereas she came in all miserable and sad.

Laughter heals the soul. It had been a long while since PJ had laughed. The sadness and the weight of the world, she carried. The joy and the longing for love, she missed. Her heart was heavy with dread because she kept looking back at what life had been. Instead of looking forward to what life can be. Many people look backward and it never is a benefit to do so. You can drive yourself crazy looking back. It is always better to look ahead.

I gave PJ the name of a counselor and her card to make sure she wouldn't forget. PJ said she'd definitely go to see her and she made another appointment with me because she loved the whole session and also the massage. She said she felt better than she had in years but she knew she had a long way to go. Each time PJ came in she would laugh and laugh. She came back for awhile and then I didn't see her again.

Later, I spoke to her counselor, there at the hospital. I asked how PJ was doing and the counselor said she was coming along but she always cried. "Hard Case". I told her of my time with PJ and how I could get her laughing. She just looked at me, incredulous. "YOU GET HER LAUGHING??? How do you do that?"

All I could say was, "I don't know.....I just call on spirit and get out of the way."

On Being Intuitive

2011-01-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

I've been in the company of very intuitive people for over 25 years now. It always made me feel like there must be something wrong with me because I wasn't as intuitive as they were. When I say 'intuitive' I mean that the people I kept company with could just look at you and 'see' you. Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha is one of those people. There have been a few others but Grandmother was the one with whom I kept the most company.

Whenever anything would happen that would be considered an 'intuitive' moment for me, I would push it back or put it in the background thinking that it wasn't enough, that I had to be able to 'see'. To me, nothing would ever be as intuitive as 'seeing' energy. When I finally did 'see' something, however, I realized I didn't know what I was looking at. So being intuitive is all relative.

My intuitive moments always came in an instant and left the same way. Intuition doesn't hang around when it strikes....it moves in and slaps you upside the head (as hard as a whisper) and moves on before you can form a question mark like the ones you see over the heads in cartoon characters.

Intuition strikes when you least expect it. Like the time I took that teaching job when my intuition told me not to and it turned into a disaster. I was surprised that it was disastrous because my intuition didn't shout at me not to take it, it just said, 'no'. I would think that if something was going to be a disaster, my intution would be waving red flags and canons would be going off in the background and I would be seeing little dead bodies everywhere.

Over the years I've had to get the sense that intuition is extremely subtle and in order to feel the subtlety of intuition you have to be open and ready all the time when it comes calling. And make your decisions based on how quickly it comes through your space and touches you with its essence.

There are times when I'm not that quick.

I may not always be that open.

I'm not that ready.

Life is interesting, all the time.

I've had to develop a very subtle way to check what I'm intuiting. It works quite well and connects me instantly with what it is that I'm intuiting. No one can see the process. It can be used virtually anywhere, at any time, and in all situations. Look for it on my website as an e-book, coming soon.

But, I'm still learning and each day is a new and eye-opening experience for me because I'm actually the one teaching intuitive development classes so I know that there are others like me who are also not that quick, open, or ready. As a matter of fact, I've met some people who don't appear to understand that they're human and capable of being intuitive.

That has made me feel a whole lot better about myself.

The Mayan Calendar

2011-01-26T09:16:00.000-05:00

Way back in 1994 or maybe it was 1996, Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha introduced a group of us to the Tzolkin, a 260 day Mayan Calendar. I was enthralled. I immediately began to use the symbols and glyphs associated with the calendar. The glyphs, of which there are 20, are what Grandmother called 'mantuas'. The glyphs work with us as we work with them and draw us into the 4th dimension when we meditate with them and use them daily.

The Tzolkin calendar is alive and dimensional, as I would soon discover.

While looking through a newspaper I ran across a two-page advertisement about a holistic fair in Cleveland. I immediately began scanning the faces that appeared on the page to find out who the speakers and presenters of workshops were. One face literally jumped off the page at me, one I didn't recognize. I looked closer at him and read his name - Christopher Emmer. He was from Hawaii and he was doing a presentation and readings using (of all things!!!) the Mayan Calendar. I just knew I was supposed to go talk with him. I was so excited!

At the fair I found Christopher sitting at a desk waiting for his next appointment. I booked my appointment with him and returned later. I sat down and he immediately looked at something in front of him and said, "you're supposed to be here". I said, "I know" very nonchalantly. He said, with emphasis, "no, I said you're SUPPOSED to be here." I got up real close to his face, looked deep into his eyes and said, "I KNOW".

He put all his regular books away and brought out some other books and said, "well, you need a whole different set of books!" He then gave me a very in-depth reading using the Mayan calendar symbols and glyphs. It was wonderful and I felt a very pleasant connection with Christopher. I later found that he had something of mine before we even knew each other. After speaking to him, I told him my Akbal glyph was missing and he said, "how odd, I have two Akbals in my deck! One of them must be yours!"

Christopher later went on to give a presentation on the dimensional quality of the Mayan glyphs, which I attended. While meditating as a group on one of the glyphs I found myself in a wormhole that dropped me smack dab in the center of the Universe, hanging out among the stars. The Calendar presented me with this wonderful gift and for my trust and for showing up and I was ecstatic! I love the Mayan Calendar!

In his book, The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness, Carl Johan Calleman gives in-depth information on the waves of Consciousness that have opened us to knowledge of the evolutionary wave of the Galactic Underworld. Each of the evolutionary waves that have changed our spiritual consciousness came to do just that....evolve us spiritually. I found this wonderful, thought provoking book through reading Barbara Hand Clow's book, The Mayan Code - Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind.

Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha gave us wonderful teachings on the Mayan Calendar, of which she has such an in-depth understanding I just want to take her head off and dump what she knows into my own head to make it easier and faster for me to take in all the implications of the calendar......Grandmother says to get off the Gregorian calendar because it is a calendar of hoplessness...it is a linear calendar and we are not a linear society. Everything on this planet spirals, as does the Mayan Calendar. If you look at a flower or a bird's nest or the rings of a tree trunk or a bee's nest, even our DNA!....everything in Nature spirals. Portal days - spiral. When we move through a portal it is much like moving through a wormhole where we meet ourselves coming and going. Everything in Nature is circular and cyclical.

Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha also said something which stuck with me....I may not remember her exact words, but I know I have them written down somewhere in my 25 plus years of notes from her teachings, she said that, if we want to heal the rift between male and female that keeps us from understanding the (opposite) sexes, then get off the Gregorian Calendar and use the Mayan Calendar which will teach the men how to understand their feminine or spiritual qualities as it will teach the women about their male qualities.

Somehow, I find great peace in that prospect.

Natural Health Options

2011-01-25T10:16:00.001-05:00

Waking up to sunshine in Ohio is a rare event. So when we get sunshine we are energized and thankful, we smile and want to take in as much of the glorious rays as we can get. Seriously, there are times when we can go for weeks without sun. It just makes us more appreciative when it shines!

What I love about my day is that every hour is a surprise. I never really know what will happen from moment to moment. I take it as it comes and sometimes just bask in the way spirit moves in and out of the journey through space/time continuum.

I find that when I plan my day with exuberant optimism things get very interesting. I just never know how things will happen or how my plans will be fulfilled.

The people who come here are delightful, interesting, talented, generally stressed, always looking for ways to become....more relaxed, healthy. I have truly wonderful people and relationships with them.

On Tuesday evenings here a few of us gather to share natural health information and ways to prevent disease with natural health options. There are a whole lot of ways to do that. We deal with energy therapy which may include everything from Quantum Touch, QiGong, Reiki, Touch For Health meridian therapy, Meditation, Nuwati, Theta healing, and others. Then we talk about things like sound vibration therapy using crystal bowls and tuning forks and rattles and drums. Have to be careful because the dogs are around!

We also talk about crystal healing and massage and reflexology. The medical devices I work with are also discussed and everyone has a turn trying out the tools used to balance pH and oxygenate the body.

If it's herbs and supplements you want to learn about, there are hand-outs on what to do for all kinds of acute and chronic conditions so you can read about herbs and teas and essential oils for healthy living.

We also talk about the Bach Flower emotional remedies and how to use them for yourself and your children and pets. Safe for all members of the family.

There's a lot of information that comes from other sources, such has Hydrogen Peroxide therapy which was sent by Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and the liver flush which was a Hulda Clark remedy. I know since I've begun using the Hydrogen peroxide on my gums that the diverticulitis issues I had have all gone away. It's been over a year now since I've had any pain. I am way grateful for that information! Goes to show, it's all connected! And it was the liver flushes from Hulda Clark that I began using way back in 1998 to help me get rid of the Lupus along with vitamins and minerals and other supplements.

Considering the health care options we're being offered by the established medical community, as many of us have discovered, it pays to have a working knowledge of natural health options to draw upon.

Give and Take of Relationship

2011-01-24T12:21:00.000-05:00

Over 20 years ago, a group of us gathered in a suburb of Cleveland on a weekly basis. We always had a sacred pipe ceremony on Thursday evenings, what Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha would call "holding the gate".

After pipe, we would also have teachings there, as it was in this setting that I first began to study as a medicine apprentice with Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha.

At the time, I was married to a control freak who thought I could be controlled. It turned out that I couldn't because I would always listen first to what my spirit would tell me to do. As a result of following my heart, my relationship suffered.   How could anyone consider that they can come between a person and what their heart is telling them? Yet, he would persist with threats of break-up and at times, violence, which he never carried out. It never mattered to me...I always did what was in my heart.

I have always tried to maintain a relationship while working with a spiritual elder and mentor but it has not always been easy for anyone living with me to understand what I was doing, or learning for that matter. How do you explain some of the things I'm writing in this blog to someone who is a born-again Christian? It simply did not compute with him. This would make me very sad because he would just push me further and further away, never trying to understand the dynamics of the give and take of relationships or the 'allowing' that goes with the word 'love', or the growth that comes with learning. It never occurred to him to join me in learning the ways of spirit. It simply was not his nature to think outside the box in our relationship.

One day while Grandmother Parisha was teaching at The Center in Cleveland she looked at me and said, "Merida, you could fill this room with your tears. I've seen many women break under the pressure that you hold for yourself."  The sadness that I felt and held onto was making me ill. Holding onto emotion has never made the situation better but perhaps it is the way I try to make up for the guilt that I have always felt while learning and doing this healing walk and taking my time away from my family. Working and traveling and learning with Grandmother for the last 25 years was a passion that consumed me and fed my spirit, which nothing else seemed to be able to do. After studying with Grandmother and her teachings everything else seemed weak and watered down.

Now, years later, the fires I have walked through in relationship have hardened coal into diamonds and it seems that the experiences with the men whom I have chosen as relationship 'mirrors' have brought me to where I am now. I've lived with men who were either the children of alcoholics or alcoholics themselves. Not growing up with chemical dependency-related issues - I never recognized patterns that are well-documented in people with chemical dependency.  I do now, though. So it was with the knowledge gleaned from living the life that I am able to recognize what others are going through.

NJ came in for a consultation. "I don't know exactly what it is that you do, but from reading your articles in the paper I just knew I had to come in and find out. My stress is making me hurt, especially through my arms and chest. I have relationship troubles with my husband and daughter and am at wits end!"

Well, that sounded familiar to me. NJ had no idea how to communicate her feelings so I encouraged her to read Dr. James Dobson's books. Dr. Dobson is a parenting and relationship expert whom I turned to when my daughter was very young. I found his books in the local library and they worked wonders for me and I've passed his name on to others.

I encouraged NJ to talk only about her own feelings and never place blame or judgement on her family.  "Talking about how you 'feel' let's them know you're not attacking them and no one can deny you your own feelings. So say something like "I feel that you're moving further and further away from me because I don't know how to communicate with you."   This was an entirely different concept for NJ who then told me I should give classes on all of this. I told her that people wouldn't come because I don't have PhD after my name and that I was in divorce court (again!) and didn't need to be giving anyone any classes.

She said the counselors she's gone to don't give you anything to work with. They just let you drone on and on about your problems without giving you anything of use to make the situation better. I told her about Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha and 'becoming the mirror' and how to mirror back what is happening in relationship. She kinda-sorta got the message but it does take some training.

Years ago, someone told me to go to counseling. I said, "By myself? Why? There are two of us involved. How can one person in a relationship go to counseling?   If you're in a relationship and the other half won't go to counseling with you to figure out your problems in the relationship, then it must be time to end the relationship and the only counselor you need is a counselor at law."

Although it was a difficult decision to end this marriage I felt great relief when I finally initiated the process. I feel I've grown through both marriages and no longer need what is being reflected back at me from outdated mirrors. I'm off to bigger and broader horizons and looking forward to it!

Journey To Old Oraibi

2011-01-21T05:48:00.002-05:00

I remember traveling out to the Land of the Hopi with Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha back in the late '80's. We went with her to study shamanism, never imagining what would transpire because we were all so innocent. Just our innocence was protection from evils, which we learned were only imbalances that could be balanced. In those days I was very spiritual but had little earthly materials so I listened when Grandmother said, "Never become so spiritual that you're no earthly good".

Grandmother knew the people in the Hopi community. "Hopi" are the Native Americans known as "the little people of peace". When we arrived on the mesa known as Old Oraibi a young Native woman met us. She was the one that would guide us and show us the village. We went into the sacred place known as a Kiva which is built into the ground. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiva. This room is built for ritual and sacred ceremony. Grandmother Parisha explained to us that the floor of the Kiva is sprinkled with cornmeal but at the end of the ritual, no footprints can be seen in the corn pollen on the floor.

While we were traveling through the village we went to the edge of the mesa which is protected by a 4 foot wall so you don't just go wandering around at night and fall off the edge. I was one in a group surrounding Grandmother, and we stood and marvelled at the scene far below and out beyond. It was certainly a long way down! There was a very small, sickly looking bush up against the wall. I noticed a group of Hopi men about 40 yards away, standing by a dwelling. They were looking in our direction and just milling around.

Grandmother was talking to us and teaching when we all saw a brilliant red and black coral snake appear by the sickly looking bush on the wall. We all stepped back to allow room for the snake knowing there was no place for it to go. At that moment a Raven began calling from the opposite side of the mesa and it caught Grandmother Parisha's attention. She turned to look at the Raven and in that instant she doubled over, as if in pain. The Raven had been calling a warning.

Also in that moment, the snake disappeared. No one could see where it went, and we all knew that there was no place for it to go but over the edge. No holes in the ground either. Grandmother was definitely in pain and, taken by surprise, she still stood but looked as though she could use something to sit down on and get off her feet. There was nothing. I saw the look on the Native woman's face who was acting as our guide. She was in a state of panic. She turned and ran as fast as she could back to one of the dwellings. Long braids flying.

Grandmother explained that she had been hit in her abdomen by the snake. This was a form of sorcery, most likely attributed to the men we had seen standing by the dwelling. She felt movement in her body and knew she had to take care of the situation. We completely surrounded her and walked back to our vehicles to go back to the hotel. My emotions fluctuated between fear and anger, which Grandmother recognized. She smiled and said the damage could be fixed and would become a teaching for all of us. I marvelled once again at her wisdom and her courage.

When we returned to the hotel it was dark. We were in our rooms when the lights in the complex went out. All of them. The whole place had shut down because there was no power. It stayed that way for about an hour.

Later, we all gathered with Grandmother who appeared to be herself again. She held a large crystal in her hand and gave a teaching on sorcery. The spirit of an old sorcerer had been called forth to do ill to her and she'd had to pull it from her body which pulled power from the circuits, causing the black-out. The spirit of the sorcerer was caught in the large crystal she held in her hand. She said that if one of us had been between her and the snake, she would have taught us about extraction. Just for a moment, I was crazy enough to be sad that it wasn't me who had been hit by the snake! I wanted to learn everything she could teach.

She taught that there was nothing but love and compassion and, resting in that, she sent the spirit of the old one back to the grandmothers and grandfathers who stood waiting to take the errant sorcerer back to themselves. At that, she released the spirit of the old one from the crystal, from which arose a puff of smoke.

Journey to Mojave Desert (Part 4)

2011-01-20T17:07:00.000-05:00

While in Death Valley National Park, Grandmother PaRisHa wanted to take us to Scotty's Castle to sort of round out the trip. We got there and parked in the lot and we all got out of our vehicles.

I just stood in the parking lot and for some reason, didn't want to leave the lot or the car. I wasn't at all sure why I was feeling this way so I just stood there. Grandmother looked at me and made an encouraging remark to catch up with the others. I just looked at her, still not wanting to move.

I finally did, however, and caught up with one in our party. All the other members of our small group were already walking the grounds. For me, Scotty's Castle was just eerie and gave me an all over bad feeling, as though there were many ghosts there that weren't happy. Even the people walking around didn't act happy or cheerful but were sober and very quiet. There were outdoor stairs taking you up to verandas that overlooked the grounds and I didn't even want to go near those. Everything had an eerie feeling to it. It didn't even feel right to walk up to the doors with windows and look in at the rooms. Someone asked me if I wanted to see into the main house and I didn't want to go near the door! Spooky to the max!

Finally, I went to the restroom, had my picture taken under a tree, then went to the gift shop and stayed there for the rest of the trip.

Later, Grandmother PaRisHa told us that there were many souls that were wandering the place. She did a whole teaching around those spirits and ended by saying how she wanted to teach us how to release the spirits of those people. When we cleared Scotty's of spirits many of us saw that, along with the spirits of many people, there were also the spirits of animals.

No wonder I didn't want to leave the parking lot!

Journey to Mojave Desert (part 3)

2011-01-19T16:46:00.000-05:00

Continuing the Journey from the Mojave Desert in Northern Arizona on to Death Valley, we spent a day going to the Racetrack Playa. Before we left for the trip to the Playa some in the Group or Grandmother Parisha herself had two stories to share.

One was of a man who had stayed at the same hotel where we were all staying. He had been told before going out hiking that he needed to sign himself out of the hotel and sign himself back in upon his return. His journey took him out to the Playa where he spent the afternoon. Or so he thought. On his return trip he ran into two Park Rangers who asked his name. He told them and the Rangers said they were glad he had been found. He said, "what do you mean, "found". I was only gone for an afternoon." The Rangers looked at one another and said, "come with us". They took the man back to the hotel and showed him the book with his signature and the date where he had signed himself out to go on his 'afternoon' trip. The date was 3 days later.

The Rangers said that there have been many people who have taken trips to the Racetrack Playa and have never been seen nor heard from since. They told this man they thought he was going to be one of them. The man was absolutely amazed.

Another person, a man I think, said he went to the Playa, found a rock to sit on so he could draw and before he climbed up on the rock, he took off his shoes. When he went to get off the rock, his shoes were about 15 feet away from the rock. The rock had moved with him on it and he never felt a thing.

We got to the Playa mid-afternoon. Many of us walked out to the Bandstand, a group of rocks in the middle of the flat expanse of hard-packed mud. Time moved quickly and it was time to go as dark was upon us. Most of the people had already returned. We were sitting in our cars waiting for one other. It was now dark. Grandmother PaRisHa sent someone out to get the one person whom, we could tell, was just walking across the expanse from the rock back toward the vehicles. She said she thought she had only been out there for 15 to 20 minutes when in fact about 2 hours had passed.

I breathed a little easier once we got back to the hotel.

Mojave Desert Journey (cont'd)

2011-01-18T11:42:00.000-05:00

The first day in the Mojave Desert in Northern Arizona on the Western side of the Grand Canyon ended with the big black sky filled with billions of tiny points of light and one larger moving light with two smaller lights moving eratically away from it.

I wish I could say I slept soundly but I couldn't sleep. I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to the sound of coyotes howling in the distance and then moving very near my tent. They were sniffing around our tents and camp. To hear the sound of coyotes and know that nothing really stood between them and us but a piece of thin fabric was a little 'un-nerving'.

Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha had heard them and she came out of her abode and sat all night at the campfire to let them know they were not welcome. When I saw her there I wanted to go out and keep her company. I've always enjoyed her wisdom and her laughter and just being around her is like a healing balm to the soul; but I was so tired and needed to sleep because I knew the coming day would be full.

And it was. I remember the wind had picked up and blew so hard it felt like being hit continuously with sandpaper. We all gathered early and said morning prayers and had breakfast. Each day was different and fun and full of teachings. We lived quite simply with nature and the elements. We visited the Grand Canyon and traveled and learned and laughed and worked together for several days.

Then we traveled to Death Valley and stayed the remainder of our days there. We went to what is known as the Racetrack Playa which you can read all about here: http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/july/stories/race1.html
On the way we stopped on roads that had just recently been washed out because of all the rain. At one point we stopped and everyone was picking up the beautiful stones that made up the terrain. We saw big cat footprints and Grandmother warned to stay close to the vehicles because a Mountain Lion was in the area. While we were picking up stones I saw Grandmother Parisha looking out toward some hills in the distance. I looked in the direction she was looking in and saw rain in the distance. It looked as though the clouds of moisture were moving up from the earth but I wasn't sure of what I was looking at. Later she said the moisture was moving up away from the earth and back to the clouds because we would be traveling there and it would be impossible to travel those roads in the condition they were in, so the Grandmothers and Grandfathers were preparing the way for us by making the route accessible.

Later, when we were traveling the 26 mile dirt road into the Playa, we stopped and spoke to a man in a jeep who had just ventured the rocky, slippery dirt entrance. He said he didn't know how we got back to the Playa, as the terrain was so covered with water from the recent rains. He said it was amazing that we were able to get to the Playa at all.

Journey to the Mojave Desert

2011-01-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Our journey to the Mojave in Northern Arizona began with me dropping a 50 pound suitcase on my foot. It was then I learned why I needed the walking stick I decided I didn't need when I saw that I had one on my journey into spirit to see what the trip would bring, weeks before the trip began.

Is any of this making any sense??

Anyway, we got to the camp site which had been cleared of brush and anything else 'desert' so we had a clear spot to put our tents. Good thing I brought an air mattress and pump. The rocks were big and the air mattress was a good choice for the terrain. The first day we were there turned into night quickly because we arrived late so many of us were setting up tents in the dark. The night sky was like nothing I've seen before living in the Eastern State of Ohio all my life. Generally there are trees blocking the night sky in every direction in Ohio. Not so in Arizona! In the desert, you can see for miles in all directions because there's nothing to block the view. It's all flat and wide open.

We set up camp, built a sort of gathering/kitchen/eating area with plastic poles and tarps. We each had an outdoor chair we picked up at the local five and dime and there was electric that we could hook up to. Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha was orchestrating the proceedings and all was ordered and move fast as there were many hands working.

At one point, after all was set up and people were just milling around, I looked into the night sky toward the south. Stars were abundant and so clear. Something caught my eye amongst the tiny points of light and as I watched I could see a satellite moving from West to East. Then, right in the area of the satellite making its slow crawl was another, slightly larger point of light moving North that caught my attention. As I watched, two smaller lights appeared to break from the larger light in totally opposite directions and literally skipped, erratically, across the night sky. They didn't go in straight lines away from the main point of light, they skipped as a stone skips across the waters of a pond, jig jagging from the larger point of light in two opposite directions.

I was relieved that they were so far away and not headed in our direction....

I brought this to the attention of Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha who was sitting close by. She and others began to watch the skies and she replied that, indeed, there was much 'activity' this night.

More to come.

A Journey to the Mojave Desert

2011-01-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

Traveling with Grandmother PaRisHa is always an extraordinary experience. In the 25 plus years that I've known her it never ceases to amaze me that so much can happen in her presence.

Several years ago a group of us packed up and headed West to Arizona where we spent days and nights camping in the Mojave desert. It was with a lot of apprehension that I made the decision to go because, if truth be told, I don't like creepy crawly things such as the big three: scorpions, any kind of spider - especially ones as big as tarantulas, snakes - especially poisonous snakes.

So weeks before I made the decision to go sleep on the desert floor with all these critters I journeyed into the other worlds to see what would await me. This is akin to time travel because it took me into the future to see what I could see.....and this is what I saw:

I saw a lush, flowering, wet desert as though it had recently rained. I saw myself with my medicine walking stick and wondered why I would think to bring that with me. There would certainly be no real need for it and it would be a burden to carry it on the plane with me. I decided to leave the walking stick home where I thought it belonged. I noticed that we were camping in an area that was cleared of brush and leveled out. I saw that the creepy crawlies stayed to the outer reaches of the camp, as though out of respect for our being there. I saw this through their eyes and from their viewpoint in the desert. I knew in that moment that I would not encounter any of the things I disliked most and felt better about going on the trip.

As the day of my departure grew near, Grandmother PaRisHa sent emails from our desert destination saying that she had already set up camp. She said that when we got there we would be able to see the desert in all its flowering glory because it was raining there. Someone had been employed to come out and clear a section of the desert where we would be camping to make it easier for us to move around. So much of what I had seen in my journeying had already come to pass, before I even got there!

After arriving in Arizona, and while taking my 50 pound suitcase off the back of the vehicle in which we were traveling, I dropped the case on my foot. This was why I had seen myself with a walking stick. It took my foot about 5 days of the trip to heal back to where I could walk without assistance from a stick that someone had gleaned from the desert floor, since I didn't have mine with me.

I never did see any creepy crawlies walking around during the whole trip, something for which I was very grateful.

More to come.....

Holy Mole'!

2011-01-13T12:09:00.000-05:00

Emails and the internet are indispensible to us in Winter. Here in Northern Ohio we don't get out as often as we would if we lived in the warmer sunshine states so our outreach is limited to on-line chats and emails. That's ok by me, though. I have quite an outreach through my website and facebook along with lots of emails. I regularly meet new people through these mediums as well as keeping up with old friends and acquaintances.

Another way I've met new people is through dance and fitness training. Living in the country on country roads is not the best place to walk or ride in nicer weather and near impossible in the winter months. Never having liked exercise for the sake of exercise I've signed up for Zumba, the latest craze in dance fitness. Salsa, merengue', cha-cha, ariba!! Ondole'! Holy Mole'! I must be crazy!! Just to move and learn new steps keeps the interest and excitement up and the hour goes fast when you're having fun.

Of course I can't kick like the tall, thin younger girls in the front row who can keep step perfectly with the instructor. They look like they could join the Rocketts on Broadway! I can't even move upper body in time with lower body! But who cares!? Not me and certainly no one else.

Strength training...now that's a challenge! I go religiously now. When I say 'religiously' I don't mean that kneeling is one of the prolonged postures that I stay in. Although I had to get an extra padded yoga mat because my knees needed more cushion. I remember the time I fell off the exercise ball and pulled my diaphragm muscle. Until then, I hadn't a clue that the diaphragm muscle could be 'pulled'! It created a sensation much like a hernia but was easily remedied.

Zumba three nights a week along with strength training on the 4th night is getting me out of the house and away from work. It is also helping me meet new people.

I have a tendency to hibernate in Winter. Ok....I have a tendency to hibernate all year long. Good thing Grandmother PaRisHa is consistent in her attempts to push me out of my shell. She's always saying "Get Out and Reach Out!" It's working. I feel less like a bear these days.

The Body Human

2011-01-11T15:21:00.000-05:00

What could be more interesting than the human body? There is much mystery to the workings and the systems and their interaction. Perhaps few have ever fully figured it out. Then you add all the outside influences like viruses and bacteria and fungus and yeast. Then on top of that you add foods and liquids. Then you experience emotion and how that affects the health of the human body. It's all such a wonderful, enthralling mystery that makes the mind want to solve it. Then, see what can happen when you add spirit to the mix.

Spirit is the ingredient that changes everything. It is the one thing that can change something, anything, in an instant. Spirit is not contained in a box, with rules and instructions attached. Spirit is chaos and out of chaos comes order. Or so I'm told. Or so I've experienced.

TL came in with bent shoulders, fighting against gravity to be able to stand up straight. "My shoulders are turning downward and my head is too far forward. I have to fight every single minute to keep my head up straight! It's exhausting." I suggested we try Nuwati healing. She asked what it was and I told her it was a method of moving into the Theta brain wave which is in tune with the 7th dimension where healing comes from. Then I make a command for healing and just watch what happens. She said she would try anything.

Before the actual healing began I told TL that once the command for healing was made to just trust what she was feeling in her body and to just move with whatever was happening. "Don't fight it, whatever happens to your body, don't fight it". She agreed and the session was begun.

I asked permission and she willingly gave it. The command for healing was made and my eyes were closed as I moved into the Theta brainwave. Immediately, TL's spinal column was before my eyes in a lateral view. It just sort of popped out at me and turned sideways as thought it were on a TV screen. I watched as her whole spinal column adjusted itself from the sacrum on up to the 1st cervical in a matter of seconds. Then the view changed and it appeared to me as though I were looking at it from the front of her body, from a prone position. Then, it disappeared back into her body.

I opened my eyes. TL sat with eyes huge. Something had happened. She explained that the moment I gave the command her head began to tilt backward and she was very much afraid and found that she was fighting the backward movement. Then she remembered what I'd said and stopped fighting. She relaxed her head as it went backward, seemingly on it's own. She said it went so far back that she was beginning to think it was going to go too far when all of a sudden it stopped and she was able to raise her head with no problem.

When TL left she was standing straight up. She no longer had to fight to keep her head up.

I remembered Grandmother PaRisHa's words when she taught us about Nuwati. She said to trust it, trust that Spirit knows what it's doing and just get out of the way. She knew how powerful healing can be when you put your trust in something bigger than yourself and just let it work through you. At the time I wasn't sure I knew what she meant but, with experience comes knowledge, then wisdom. I'm so grateful I learned from one so wise.

Intelligence In Nature

2011-01-10T11:33:00.000-05:00

Listening is a skill many people do not have. I used to be one of them, however, since my whole career centers around hearing what people aren't saying, I've had to develop my listening skills and continually fine tune them, which is a career in itself.

Many years ago I went to a psychologist who put me through a battery of tests answering questions that seemed innocent enough. She said the tests would identify which career path I would excel in because it would indicate where my innate/inherent abilities were the strongest. Turned out at the top of the list was psychology. Go figure.

Back in the day I was interested in psychology and even began some classes therein, however, as with anything typically Western medicine, it did not hold my attention. I still do not regret having dropped the classes in psychology, although, there are times when I think I may have gotten farther in the social order. I've always been an outsider where anything 'medical' is concerned because I love the feel, freedom, openness and the order of the natural world.

When I was a child I would walk through the woods, enjoying the peace, solitude and beauty of the plants, rocks that I would find to sit on when I would tire of walking which were next to pools or ponds where I would watch the tadpoles and listen to the frogs. There is order in nature and a profound peace.

There is also intelligence.

While standing next to a beautiful flowering bush one fine sunny summer day out in the deep woods a voice, not so much 'out there' as it was 'inside my head but very succinctly not my voice' reached out and said, "hello". I was stunned for a minute. Where had that greeting originated? I knew it was not 'my' hello and the feeling was of the plant by which I was standing, pulling me in, sort of trapping my whole attention. It was preposterous, even at my age, to think that a plant could talk.

Worlds and years later a favorite pet and a rock would also communicate in words through a thought (the pet) and by pulling my hand into it (crystal in my pocket) and through the dream time.

But, now I understood that plants could communicate because of another instance in which the Comfrey plant literally reached out and trapped my attention. I love working with all parts of the Comfrey plant and have used it so many times for pulling poison out of stings, and for healing burns - it is second to none. So, when it drew my attention to it, I knew I was in direct communication with the plant kingdom.

Years ago, while working with Grandmother PaRisHa who was teaching us earth healing and communication, she showed us how to awaken rocks and how to sing to the spirits of the plants. Sow wa see sulu sulu, Sow wa see sulu sulu was a plant spirit song she taught us to sing when we were working among the plant beings. Grandmother taught us that the earth is, indeed, alive and intelligent and so sad that we can't hear and don't listen. She used to say that she wished we could see what she sees and hear what she hears so that we would know the wonders of her world.

Walking the Wheel of Medicine

2011-01-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

Since becoming involved in the healing arts way back when I was knee high to a grasshopper (the first time I healed myself was of anxiety attacks when I was 8) life has been rather interesting.

These days, people from all over the world and from all walks of life write me about helping them get well naturally. They find me on the web, usually at my website Wind In Her Hair.com.

Why would anyone use that name for a healing web site?

Wind is a reminder to me of Spirit, which is one of the four quadrants of the Native American Medicine Wheel. In this case, "Medicine" means "balance". Walking the Medicine Wheel relates to walking in Balance all through and with all Life. Spirit is a powerful force within the circle of life. As Grandmother PaRisHa says, "The wind is most powerful when it is whirling in a circle".

All of us here on the Great Mother, Earth, daily walk a balance of mind (East), body (South), spirit (West), and emotion (North). Each moment of each day, we circle around the wheel using our mind and intellect in our thought processes, we consume ourselves with exercise, diet, clothes, and spas because we want to take care of our physical bodies. We have emotions whether we want to have emotions or not and, at times, we have highs and lows and don't understand why so we run to various doctors for help in whatever way they are trained to give it.

So, while we are aware and always plugged into how to take care of our bodies, emotions and mind, how many people do you know that go to Spirit doctors? How many people do you know who tend to their spirit in ways other than listening to a Reverend or Minister or Priest who profess to be 'keepers of the spirit"?

How do you keep your 'spirit' in tune? How do you nurture your spirit? Your church Minister may uplift you weekly with wonderful sermons that remind you of how much Jesus loves you, but how much do you love yourself?

Working in emotions with Nuwati for emotional healing I have found that many people don't even know what love is or even how it feels. They hear the WORD love, but never truly having the experience of it in this life, they can't relate. This causes them to run headlong through life looking for something that should relate to love. There is an easy self-test that one may do to discover if one knows what love actually feels like. The ebook I'm writing on this self-test is just being finished.

If you know that love is a feeling you have not really had the experience of, then there is something that can help in an instant. It is called Nuwati. Nuwati healing is a powerful force for healing. If you think you've never really known how 'love' feels, then you may want to experience what is called a Heart Reconstruction healing which takes about 8 minutes and may change your outlook on what love really feels like, forever.

Working in the field of spiritual healing has many surprises.

Many years ago a woman I know who works in spirit healing called and asked me to 'go in' to look at a house. I had no idea why she wanted me to do this and did not ask. I got some info from her and 'went in' to spirit to have a look-see. The house had a grayish, sticky-ness all around it which reminded me of glue. That was all I saw, just this gray glue surrounding the house.

I reported back to her and she said: "This woman has to sell her house because she has just gone through a divorce, but the house won't sell. It's been on the market for over a year. She loves this house." I realized that what I had 'seen' that looked like glue was this woman's attachment to her home, which she loved. The spirit healer knew what to do. She told the woman to go through each of the rooms with a candle or fire and/or sage and cedar and release her attachment to her home. The woman did this and the house sold in 2 days.

The Spirit world often shows what is really going on in the physical world and often shows how to fix it. How often do we walk through life ignoring the quadrant of the medicine wheel that deals with our spirit? If we ignore even one quadrant of the Medicine Wheel of life, we are not fully living and may feel as though something is missing from our lives. Once we begin to fully live the Wheel, life becomes full, balanced, and the wonder it truly is.

Like Children & Puppies

2011-01-08T12:42:00.021-05:00

Having both grandchildren and puppies you can't help but notice similarities in behavior such as all of them learn by having fun. Try teaching one of them anything without the fun involved and you can lose them instantly.

Growing up in a family of 9 meant rigid discipline had to be establised otherwise we would have never been able to find anything. However, along with the discipline and work (it was said you could eat off my mom's floors, they were so clean), we always had time to laugh and play.

My oldest brother, Ralph, was the alpha comedian. I say 'alpha' because our younger brothers, Joe and Chris, were also comedians although Ralph had everyone beat so we considered him the alpha.

When Ralph began his comedic rants he would entertain until we were rolling on the floor, choking, with tears flowing down our cheeks. I always thought he should be on stage and would tell him so, adding that there was one leaving in 30 minutes.

The point is, we all got along and still do, with lots of fun, laughter, support and a whole lot of entertainment value. That has boiled down to a whole lot of love that we have passed down to our children, who are now passing that love down to their children who know that we all want the best for them but whatever they choose to be or do in life is their choice and although we may not understand their choices, we'll support them and help out whenever they ask and always be there for them. To date, we haven't had any drugs or other substance issues and all seem to be free from depression or any emotional or spiritual or physical issues either. I believe it's because we have taught with loving discipline along with fun and lots of playfulness.

And so, my life in general has been filled with love and laughter, barring a few unfortunate challenges that have made a few dents. Dents are not bottomless pits, however. Whatever happens in life, having a strong spirit helps. And a whole lot of attitude and gratefulness. I am grateful to have so much love and laughter in this lifetime.

The love and laughter extended to my friendships and into my spiritual life when I met Grandmother PaRisHa. Her love and devotion to her students transcended any relationship I've ever had with a spiritual guide and mentor. She taught with strict discipline but infused it with lots of laughter and so much love. There was no better way to learn the way and walk of beauty. When we began to learn we were as little children and puppies: capable of soaking up spiritual lessons like dry sponges waiting for water. She had an ocean of principles and experiences to pass on and we couldn't seem to get enough of the waters of life that flowed from her deep well of wisdom.

So now it's our turn to nurture and bring lifegiving water from which to drink. As Grandmother PaRisHa would begin a teaching, the thunder, lightening and rain would come and we would gather 'round Grandmother as she would begin to teach us. In a playful spirit she would bring us closer to her to learn the ancient wisdoms with the words, " Come my beloved children and let me tell you a beautiful story". Our lives would never be the same.

Wheel Of Self Destruction

2011-01-07T15:19:00.025-05:00

Years ago when relationships were not easy I found them to be an object of obsession. One day, something clicked and I had an understanding that not all things are as they seem and to worry them or place blame was not something that helped any situation. It was at that time I adopted a mantra or a silent prayer to say whenever I would immerse myself in negative thinking. Realizing that I was being negative brought me to the threshold of prayer which always put me in a positive thought process. From then on I just 'let go and let God' or Creator, or the Mystery or whatever you wish to call a force greater than ourselves. If healing the emotions is what one desires, then adopting a prayer or mantra whenever you feel emotional or 'negative' may be something to consider. It certainly works for me. Prayer/mantra gives me strength and takes me out of a blame or downward spiraling emotional cycle.

The subject of much blame and judgement is the self. At times I would attack myself for doing or saying something I should not have done or said. This cycle is self-destructive and tends to set up a wheel of destruction that is difficult to stop as it can spiral out of control to a point where self-hatred erupts and further destroys, creating more hatred and self-judgement. So, instead of blaming 'me', I dropped all judgement of myself and all blame. Instead I would say that I did not like what I was DOING or what I was SAYING. By taking the 'self' out of the wheel of destruction it became easier to get off the wheel when I focused on the ACTION, which took pressure off of 'me'. It is easier and less destructive to say, "I really hate what I just did or what I just said instead of "I hate myself for saying that". It is less destructive to the self when you focus on the ACTION than it is to focus on the SELF. Eventually I learned not to say 'hate' at all. I would just say something like, "I didn't have to say that" or "I don't like what I did". Eventually I developed new pathways that would allow me to be more creative in my thought processes.

By just making this one seemingly small adjustment to my way of thinking of my 'self', I was able to stop the wheel of self-destruction and get off.

Once you get off the wheel of self-judgement and self-blame you feel a freedom that perhaps you've never felt before. This freedom from blame and judgement allows you to then stop blaming and judging others. What a rush when you free yourself of the burden of judgement and blame. I had so much more time to devote to things that mattered and were more positive. As a result, I am more optimistic and have more time to be creative. Once new pathways were created it was easier to fill my day with upbeat and positive choices. But first, I had to allow myself to grow from my own mistakes.

As Grandmother PaRisHa says, "Just one optimistic person, with a willingness to allow people to grow from mis-takes, can effect 90,000 others. Thats what one person can do."

Energy and Oxygen Therapy

2011-01-06T11:58:00.000-05:00

Recently, among my emails was a video of Greg Braden talking about a hospital in another country that featured healers working with energy to eradicate cancer. The UTube video is awesome! You can view it here: http://evolutionezine.com/curing-cancer/. Using nothing more than the power of mind and seeing the cancer as already healed, the energy work these healers are shown using with much success has been healing cancer patients at this hospital for eight years. Energy Therapy has been taught for many years and is increasingly being used along with western medicine. There are many energetic modalities and many fine teachers, a few of whom I met through massage school where I learned Touch For Health, Meridian Therapy, CranioSacral therapy, Reiki and Quantum Touch. Other teachers taught me QiGong Therapy, Theta Healing, and something I use consistently - Nuwati healing came from Grandmother PaRisHa along with Breath Therapy. The Nuwati healing is ideal for re-programming DNA, changing emotional programs.

One experience I've had was changing emotional patterns in a woman with a strict Menonite background. After about 5 weeks of twice weekly sessions, she, being the pattern breaker for all the negative genetic patterns in her family including shame, guilt and self-worth, was celebrated by all the spirits of the women in her genetic line showing up in a circle around her. All the hair on my arms was standing straight up as I looked at all the spirits of these women sitting to my left and right!

For several years now I have been writing articles and teaching classes on energy therapies. Many people have come and more are interested and being drawn to this work. I'm often in awe of how talented my students are and how they learn and integrate the information so quickly. They're like human sponges!

I have in my possession a DVD of what live red blood cells look like when they have been deprived of oxygen. The DVD is a before and after example of blood taken from people before they receive a treatment that stimulates oxygen absorption in the system. After receiving the treatment the blood is taken again and it is obvious how the red blood cells have recovered within a short period of time. It's an awesome DVD! I use it to show people what increased oxygenation can do for their blood cells. I've shown it dozens of times and people are always amazed at how sickly looking blood cells can become whole again in a matter of minutes just by increasing oxygen.

While there are several ways to increase oxygen in the blood, you may want to do your own research to find out which method would best suit you. One focus I've had is of helping people who can't exercise use the Passive Aerobic Exerciser to increase oxygen intake. It's easy, relaxing, very effective and you don't have to take anything or do anything but lie down and let the machine gently rock the body. It has been stated that every 5 minutes on this machine is the same as walking one brisk mile. I've done 20 minutes and the oxygen moving through my body is invigorating.

Another way to increase oxygen in the blood is less expensive, easy to do and is recommended by several experts. It has been around a while but was recently brought to our attention by Grandmother PaRisHa who sent some interesting articles along on how to do the Oxygen Therapy with 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide. You may want to read more about the therapy here: http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/HydrogenPeroxide.html. If you want to continue to research H2O2, you may also get a lot more info from this article written by Dr. David G. Williams who states: "Chlorination of drinking water removes oxygen. Cooking and over-processing of our foods lowers their oxygen content. Unrestrained antibiotic use destroys beneficial oxygen-creating bacteria in the intestinal tract." Read the whole article here: http://purehealthsystems.com/hydrogen-peroxide-2.html.

So along with energy therapy, oxygenating the body with various therapies and exercise may help stimulate the immune system. I found it interesting in Dr. William's article that "we now know that vitamin C helps fight infections by producing hydrogen peroxide, which in turn stimulates the production of prostaglandins".

Hydrogen Peroxide therapy was prevalent before the advent of pharmaceuticals. There is a lot of information on the web so you may want to do your own research to learn more about the various ways to use this therapy such as oral use, intravenous therapy, baths, etc.

Stay tuned for more interesting experiences with energy therapy.

Focus and Intent

2010-12-30T12:36:00.000-05:00

Imagine your life was exactly the way you envisioned it. Wait. You don't envision your life the way you want it to be? You just take what is given and maybe complain about what you've got?

Well no wonder we need Grandmother PaRisHa, Bob Proctor and John Assaraf.

In case you don't know it, Bob Proctor and John Assaraf are motivational coaches and Grandmother PaRisHa is, well, many things: teacher, mentor, coach, spiritual guidance instructor, Medicine woman, Elder.

The point is that your life may not be what you want it to be because you don't plan it. All three people mentioned above talk about 'visioning' a life that appeals to you and then planning it and making it happen. That takes Focus. That takes Intent. Both focus and intent mean you know what you want and have a direction in which to move. As Bob Proctor says, "the Universe gives you exactly what you plan for. But without a plan you just have to take what the Universe throws your way. Maybe it's what you want and maybe it isn't." This happens because there is no focus of energy. This happens because there is no statement of intent.

Years ago I made a plan to give up smoking. I never smoked much, maybe 3 cigarettes a day but I was still addicted to those 3 cigarettes. I loved to smoke them and looked forward to the time of day when I could just relax with a cigarette or 3. I knew that I wanted to stop smoking altogether and so I planned for the day that would happen.

I wrote down the date about 3 months away that I would be able to pick up a cigarette, look at it and just not want it anymore. That was my intent. I focused my intent daily just one time in the morning when I woke up and just knew that by the specified date I would be able to say I had quit smoking.

Three months later I wasn't ready to quit but that didn't stop me from re-focusing my intent on another date which I again wrote down. By the second date I was rewarded. I picked up a cigarette and absolutely did not want it. I put it down and have never looked at a cigarette again nor have I had any desire or craving to smoke.

That took focus and intent. I had a plan and I followed it. I have been smoke free and my life without cigarettes is great.

Whenever I feel I want something, want to do something, need something in my life or whatever; I plan a course of action. I intend it and focus on it. I know that I can have anything, do anything, be anything as long as my consciousness allows for it. I keep growing and expanding in thought and awareness. This is important because it is a lack of awareness that keeps us from thinking big thoughts and dreaming big dreams. Some people are born with an expanded awareness. Others have to grow into it.

Planning life is an adventure in trust and optimism. Learning how to focus and intend a goal draws circumstances to us like the laser light on a pen focuses it's light in one spot. There are so many options to choose from, but unless you focus and intend what it is that you want you may never have anything because there is no plan to pick out of the ethers. Without a plan, it's all just a jumble that you have to sort through and take what comes your way.

Expanded thought, awareness, plan, focus, intent, action. All of these equal Results.

Write out your goal(s), make them big! Then intend how you want them to manifest, focus, plan and take the action to bring them about.

Watch what happens when you begin to learn to use your creativity. There is nothing you can't do or have!

Happy New Year!

When You're Happy and You Know It

2010-12-29T13:31:00.000-05:00

I've lived with some real characters and have been in work situations where many people were very unhappy. One of my friends whom I've known for many years always seems to be on anti-depressants. I don't believe I ever understood why. She lives in a modest home, has nice things and appears warm and friendly. She has many friends and acquaintances.

Recently I visited and we talked more intimately than we had ever spoken to each other before in our long history together. For instance, she never knew all the healing techniques I involve myself in. And she told me how miserable she is at work. How the 'younger' people have come in and how their attitudes are so 'different'.

I said, "so what do you care, you have 3 months left to work, and then you will retire. I would go in skipping and singing if it were me."

She couldn't see it that way. She insists that being in a miserable state of mind for the next 3 months is all that exists. "How can you deny being miserable for the next 3 months? How can you think that is going to change the fact that I'm miserable now? I don't know what to do about these women who hate me! I can't live like this, not being a part of any conversations, not being included in anything. It's awful! I don't want to do this for another week let alone 3 months!"

I had to look at her and see where she is. It made it easier to listen. She was talking to me, a woman who has lived with a man who did not speak for 3 years, who left the room when I walked into it, who did not and still does not include me in his life in any way, shape or form. A man who has left the building, mentally and emotionally and spiritually. No matter what I said or did, he would not leave. I work here so I can't leave. Stalemate. I hired an attorney. No longer need this kind of mirror reflecting old beliefs and patterns.

It brought 'home' the realization that we are not all alike, that we each have different strengths and weaknesses, that no matter how 'old' a person is doesn't mean we mature equally. Maybe it has nothing to do with maturity. Maybe it's just that we each deal with 'loneliness' differently.

I have a purpose in life. Since I was a child, my purpose has always been finding ways to help people. I live life helping other people be healthy, naturally. It keeps me sane and it keeps me on track and it keeps me happy. I find happiness within myself. Whenever I look outside for balance and peace I find it doesn't really exist outside of me. I am at peace and I see each new day as a blessing and an adventure that will open to possibilities. Everything is possible. Everything is new and exciting. I feel love no matter who or what is in my world because all that exists in me is love and it is through love that I view the world around me. At times I get off track, but then it comes back around and I know I can only make my world better, within me. If a person doesn't wish to engage in my world and wants to live in a darker place, I can still go within my own world and be happy and at peace.

Many times I find myself listening to the negative comments made in my home but that doesn't mean I have to engage.  There are times when I mirror back a calmness and a peacefulness that says I am not engaging and the negativity stops. For a while. Sure, sometimes I have to fight, but when I do fight, it's for the right to be and to think my way, not anyone else's way. My thoughts, actions and feelings are mine and they've brought me through 60 years without anti-depressant drugs. I feel that is because I speak and act with integrity. When I know I've caused an imbalance I do something to balance it. Grandmother PaRisHa always said, "the only thing we truly have is our integrity".

I used to awaken every day, get out of bed and the first thing I would think is "Thank you, Creator, for this beautiful man in my life". He was a dream come true. I was always told that being thankful brings more things to be thankful for...maybe it wasn't the man I was supposed to be thankful for.

I've always had precognitive dreams sometimes years in advance of an emotional upheaval.
I dreamed the house was falling down around him and he ignored it. He didn't realize what was happening and when it hit him he literally drowned in emotion as it carried him away. He never looked back. I don't like these dreams, they always come true and there's never anything I can do to fix the situation, try as I may.

I put blue light around him all the time and just pray that he survives this break-up, somehow. I feel that perhaps he never had a knowing of how love really feels. I get this idea from something he said a while ago, that, "the dogs HATE when you do that!" I replied that the puppies are incapable of HATING anything.

When you've lived without knowing how love feels, how can you know to let it in..?  How do you recognize love for what it is if you've never truly known how it feels? You think it's something else, something only your perceptions will allow because you have nothing to compare it with and nothing you think, do or say can touch what love is. So, many people live without knowing how to love or how it feels. When you live with one of them, it is nothing but sad.

Inside Voices

2010-12-29T10:33:00.000-05:00

As I write this my two dogs Romeo and Valentino are charging through the house 'playing' like they're going to tear each other's throats out and barking wildly while Ed is trying to get their attention by telling them they must use their 'inside voices'. "Inside voices! Inside voices!"

I'm wondering how the world would evolve and change if we all not only used our 'inside voices' but listened to them. I can't tell you how many times I ignored my inner voice and then later thought about what it had told me and if I'd listened to it how my world would have been totally changed in a positive manner. I can think of so many instances when a thought flew through my head so fast it absolutely couldn't have meant anything at all and then soon afterwards I thought of something else which wasn't the inside voice but my own thoughts. Of course, I didn't follow the inside voice. It couldn't have been right. It was too hard or it was too easy or it just didn't make any sense at all to do it that way. Must not have heard right. What to do, what to do? I know! I'll just do this other thing instead.

Whatever.

In later years I learned that my inside "inner" voice was actually a friend and not 'the enemy'. At some point I learned to pay attention and then act upon what the voice was saying. That's how I changed career paths. I just knew that I no longer belonged in Customer Service/Secretarial. How did I know? Mainly because instead of being a secretary for someone else, I needed to hire a secretary for myself. If anyone needed a secretary (and still does) it's me! But long before I knew I was going to change my career path I 'felt' it was what I needed to do. There was this little voice telling me so. I sort of listened but went about business as usual. It was when the voice was shouting at me that I began to actually DO something about it. Instead of just thinking about it - I planned then took action.

Long before something happens I can feel it will happen and sometimes, if it is something that will affect me on an emotional level, I even see it happen in the dreamtime, sometimes years before the actual event. There are times when it's not pleasant to go to sleep at night. Dreaming is a whole other dimension where we live and move and have our being. I remember Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha saying that the dreamtime is more real than the 3rd dimensional reality we live in. In the dreamtime we are in heightened awareness. We have to acknowledge what's happening in the dream because we are totally absorbed in the dream. When we are frightened in a dream we feel it intensely. When we are happy in a dream we feel that also. Sensations in the dreamtime aren't denied or blocked. If the dream is powerful enough, it can stay with us forever.

I remember something Don Juan told Carlos Casteneda, they were talking about dreaming and Don Juan told Carlos that it takes energy to dream and to remember a dream. That makes so much sense because the more energy I put into an emotional relationship, the less I dream and have no recollection of what dreams I may have. Emotional relationships usurp energy. We also lose energy when we worry, gossip, are angry or resentful or become weighed down with the emotional drama.

Recently I've not been involved in any emotional dramas with anyone and my dreams have returned to the point where I could make popcorn and buy tickets because they are better than any movie.

Our 'inside voices' always give us what we need, when we need it. All we have to do is listen and no matter how incredible it sounds, act on it. (Just to be clear - I'm not talking about going "postal" or killing anyone - I'm talking about your own creativity and acting on it!)

Well, the dogs have gotten settled and are now quiet until the next time they liven things up. Funny how things come up that make you think about something else.

Dreaming While Dreaming

2010-12-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

I've been having some very interesting dreams recently. Last night I came upon a group of people I know who were dreaming. We all sat together in a circle and went into the same dream. Everyone saw the same thing in the dream and we were able to discuss what we saw and what it all meant. Some people had explanations for the things that happened and were able to describe what they meant to the rest of us. There was a person there that had passed on a while ago and she was very good at deciphering what the dreams meant and because we were already in spirit, we were able to talk with her and see her. Paige looked wonderful!

We were looking into a dream world that focused around some corporate interests. The corporate owners were surprised that we could 'see' beyond the smoke screen they had set up for us. We were surprised and delighted that we could do this kind of work. I remember the number 3106 but don't know what it means.

I'm familiar with 'dreaming because of the work I've done with Grandmother Pa'Ris'Ha in years past. Recently, I was asked to work with a woman who had neck pain. It occurred to me that she had some kind of 'invisible armor' that she was tired of carrying. Then she said, "I'm so tired of this neck pain! I've had it for so long and it is very tiresome". So I said I would do what I could to help.

Overnight I journeyed into the worlds and saw that she was indeed carrying a heavy armor on her shoulders that came up her neck to her chin. There was a lock on the armor and I asked for the key to unlock it. The key came from the left of me and I caught it and unlocked the armor which fell away by itself. As it did I noticed that the armor came away from between the vertebrae in her spine. I felt that she would heal and that from this point on, she wouldn't be so guarded, as is her nature.

Since the 'unlocking of the armor' this woman has told me that she feels naked and vulnerable as she never has before. Her neck feels better but she has to get used to the feeling of vulnerability. She says that people come up to her now and talk to her as though she and they are old friends and although she's never had trouble speaking to people before, now there is an ease with which people approach her. She commented that she has to get used to this new feeling of open-ness around people. She had lived with being 'guarded' all her life.

I believe working in the dreamtime is a rewarding and interesting adventure that I have yet to learn so much about.

Subtle Energy

2010-12-15T12:10:00.000-05:00

Intuition and Natural Medicine

Eckhart Tolle, in "Realizing the Power of Now", states: "Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place."

Subtle energy exists all around us. If you know what is happening inside yourself, if you can hear your subtle tones and feel the strength of your own processes in the form of color and vibration, texture and depth of energy, then you are in the stillness of mind that matters.

A recent experience with an illness helped me to ‘tune-in’ to my inner-self, emotionally and physically, and helped me to bring it to a rapid balance. Having dealt with illness in one form or another all of my life has taught me how to intuit what is happening in my body. My life-long study of natural ways to heal has helped me enormously when I have needed to bring myself out of both chronic and acute illnesses. Normally for me, a bout of bronchitis will last about six weeks. In the past, I would have worked to balance bronchitis with herbs and vitamins and in doing so would be comfortable and sleep soundly by taking the herbs that warm the system and clear the lungs. In the years when I was plagued with chronic bronchitis I had to learn how to survive without symptoms so that I could rest and not miss any work. Over time, I became very proficient at healing my lung problems with herbs.

Recently I made up my mind that I don't have that kind of time, nor do I care to devote that much energy to a chronic condition.

So when my nose plugged up so much that it sounded as though I had a clothes pin attached to it and the drainage coursed down my throat and into my chest causing bronchitis bordering on pneumonia, I decided to take clear and concise action. Anything lasting longer than two days, in my account, is a sign that there is a deficiency present or a lack of assimilation of nutrients caused by blockage or excess in the system.

From my training in Naturopathy I had learned that sinus drainage, especially with a headache in the top, front, and back of the head, comes from something known as a "leaky" pituitary. The pituitary gland is the Master gland in that it regulates all the other glandular secretions of the body. Muscle testing this gland showed it to be weak along with an energetic drain on the liver. Starting with the Pituitary--Three nutrients in particular will wake up the pituitary gland and start it working again. They are Vitamin E in a heavy dose such as 2000 I.U.’s, Vitamin B-Complex or L-Ornithine, an amino acid. Taking one of those nutrients immediately stopped the headache which had been almost blinding. The nutrient action had also caused a pleasant buzzing in my head and a warmth throughout my body as the pituitary was once again active. Along with that, the leakiness subsided meaning that my sinuses stopped draining like a leaky faucet to a small drip. Still, the relief was immediately felt and I addressed the liver. To get the liver moving is easy. One drop on the tongue of Lavender essential oil will get the liver moving again. Essential oils are extremely potent so no more than one drop at a time please. Then, I began to work on the cough which I was able to stop with some things from my spice cabinet. The herbs I used were ginger and cayenne pepper, which add heat to a cold environment, thus bringing my cough to an immediate balance. This enabled me to sleep soundly through the night. To eliminate the cough altogether was another matter.

The word “cold”, as in, “I have a ‘cold’, means that the body is in an acid pH. The pH of the body should be between 6.4 and 6.8 to be in optimal health. When the pH falls below 6.4 the body becomes too acidic or ‘cold’. The energy moves too fast when it is acid and many times diarrhea is present. On the other hand, a pH over 6.8 tells you that your body is getting too warm or has too much heat. The energy moves slowly and constipation may result.

The concept of healing all of this came to me in a flash. My intuitive knowing told me that my stomach was out of balance and that, in order to bring my body back to health it would be necessary to fast for three days, bringing my body to a natural place of stillness so the organs of digestion would have time to reset themselves, so to speak. This, in Cranio-Sacral terms, is called a "still point". So, for three days I stopped eating food and only drank lemon juice from fresh lemons in pure water, with pure grade B Maple syrup to sweeten the lemon. Pure grade B Maple syrup has vitamins and minerals in it so your body isn’t missing the nutrients that would normally provide those vitamins and minerals. I took only one capsule of Cayenne (red) pepper in the morning along with the drink each day. Cayenne pepper is the highest source of Vitamin C and it also breaks up stagnant energy and warms the body which is needed when the body is in a ‘cold’ condition.

I wasn’t hungry at all without food. The drink itself dispelled my appetite. It took me three days of drinking the lemon/maple syrup water to balance my stomach, after which the cough completely vanished, just melted away. No more ‘cold’, cough or headache. Total time it took me to get rid of it was 6 days. Everyone around me had the same thing and it lasted over 6 weeks for many.

On an emotional level, grief and sadness affect the lungs by weakening them. I had been through a particularly sad experience throughout the year and just couldn’t let it go. As a result of holding the emotion of sadness too long, my lungs were weakened and the imbalance manifested as bronchial-pneumonia. Realizing this helped me to understand how I was holding energy and enabled me to adjust my thinking which was affecting my physical reality. Along that line of thinking, tears withheld may have their vibrational equivalent to sinus drainage. Crying happens whether we want it to or not. Our physical bodies respond with intelligence to our emotions and thoughts, creating our reality.

Knee, Ankle, Foot Pain

2010-12-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

Knee pain is a subject many people regard as simply ‘arthritis’. But when you consider that all the muscles of the lower leg as well as the muscles from the hip attach at that knee you may want to add muscular spasm into the equation.

Also, the patella (knee cap) floats above the knee and, as I’ve often found, may easily become ‘off track’. The trick is to gently maneuver the patella back on track and release the muscles that are in spasm around the knee. The work actually helps people control their pain and I’ve had many people experience immediate relief.

Another issue with the knee is instability which makes a person feel as though the knee will buckle or give out on them. The actual cause of this instability may well be that two muscles around the knee may be in spasm. Once these muscles are checked and the spasm relieved with either Neuromuscular release (painful) or positional release techniques (which are virtually painless) depending on the technique the therapist uses, you may experience immediate stability around the knee. You can put the walking cane in storage once these muscles are released!

Also, Dr. Max Collins, a brilliant Chiropractic doctor that I had to opportunity to meet in S. Carolina, suggests that knee pain may have causes in the gall bladder and liver and that it is most often associated with too much yeast or fungus in the system.

Ankle pain often signals weak muscles or muscles in spasm. If you have ever had ankle sprains or breaks the muscles in the feet and ankle most likely have gone into spasm. Never having had massage on the affected appendage, spasm may continue without any signs of discomfort for many years and then, it may appear that pain is sudden and from out of nowhere.

Dr. Max suggests another cause for ankle/foot pain may be related to weakened kidneys and adrenals. Strengthening them requires a combination of lemon and olive oil for the kidneys and the 4C's (calcium/chlorophyll/cayenne/cider vinegar) taken all together for strengthening the adrenals. (look for my upcoming e-book on Muscle Testing and Intuitive Development)

In many cases of sprain, if you catch it soon enough, a therapist may be able to stop the pain by releasing the injured muscle(s).

ALK fell off a roof and came limping into my office. “I landed on my feet! I think I really messed myself up. I can’t put any weight on my right foot.” The muscles of the back, hip and legs into the ankles and feet were systematically released and when ALK stood up, there was no pain. She couldn’t believe it and kept pacing around the office. “How the heck did you do that!?? I thought for sure I was going to have to walk with a cane!”

Another reason for ankle pain, as I found out by experience, is jewelry such as toe rings and ankle bracelets. These beauty adornments stop the flow of energy at the ankle and have caused me considerable pain within a short wearing time, enough for me to stop wearing them. They may not be a problem for those who don’t work with energetic modalities but they stop up energy and weaken structure for those of us who do on a daily basis.

So if you’re having knee, ankle or foot discomfort you may want to give massage therapy a chance to help release the muscles that may be the cause of all the discomfort. At least give massage a try before you give up altogether.

For those with persistent neuropathy, you may want to try the new device that opens up the pathways in the feet and legs, relieving pain and discomfort while it kills yeast, parasites, and fungus in the body. This device requires no effort on your part. All you have to do is put your feet on it and let it do the work of detoxing the body for you.

Let It Snow! The Beauty of Winter

2010-12-10T11:48:00.001-05:00

Time is moving faster now it seems and people close to me are in their 'retirement' years. Although I've never thought of 'retirement' I have changed how I think about 'work' in general. For 30 years I had to consider my day and how to make it profitable by working for corporations which meant long drives into the nearest big city because that was where the money was. What did I know about money? You worked long hours for it. That was a way of thinking that I was born into.

Recently, within the last few years I have come to understand that you can make money without having to work long hours for it. And you don't have to work hard for money. Working at home has taught me that you can do anything you want and get paid for it, all you have to do is focus on what it is you want to do.

So over 12 years ago I began to think about 'retirement' or, should I say, "non-retirement" and began to think about what would be a good way to spend my time during my 'winter' years. I thought long and hard about what I loved learning and doing and set myself into work that I can live with. I don't have a 'boss' except me, and my time is my own. After working for corporations for 30 years where you had to be somewhere at a certain time and work so many hours a day, then be 'allowed' to leave....I knew I needed to do something that allowed me freedom from impending time clocks and regimented breaks. How much like jail we live and never consider that there is another way of living.

For many years I dreaded winter. The long nights meant never seeing daylight because you got up to go to work in the dark and came home in the dark; the driving to and from work in traffic jams that added hours to driving time, the shoveling of driveways and scraping off cars; standing in the cold to put gas in the tank; putting on heavy coats and scarves and boots and gloves; slipping and sliding on icy roadways. All of this was what made me dread winter.

All that changed when I came home to work. I realized that I never had the time to appreciate the beauty and the quiet that accompanies a blanket of pristine, powdery white snow. The beauty that is winter takes on new meaning when you can take the time to appreciate its icy wonders: it's the only time of year that lets you see who and what is walking around your yard. Birds, deer, cats (some big cats!), coyote and ground hogs that are supposed to be hibernating all make their way through the yard.

There's nothing like walking in falling snow. It's so quiet. You don't hear any sounds at all but the sound your feet make when you walk. Snow hitting your face is like tiny ice crystals that melt on contact. I love walking in falling snow more than at any other time of year. I'm not sure what it is, but there is just something about a winter walk. Maybe it is that it makes me feel like a kid again when I used to roam the woods in deep snow up to my knees.

In the stories I would hear from Pa'Ris'Ha when she spoke of the changes of seasons she would say that the old ones knew that winter was a time of contemplation, of going inward and connecting with the self. Stories would be told around campfires as the whole village would gather in one meeting place. I could imagine they would gather together for warmth and tell stories so they wouldn't have just the howling winds to listen to. What else did they have other than story tellers? There were no Wii's and X Boxes, no TV with Dancing With The Stars or sit-coms. The storytellers were valued and treasured members of the village who told tales of real life or mythical magical events from ages long ago. Stories capable of holding the attention and imaginations of everyone and keeping them on the edge of their seats or comedies that invoked deep belly laughs were akin to our TV sets and what they mean to us. Imagine your life without your entertainment center. Everyone needs a good story.

Another thing I love about winter is sitting by a cozy fire wrapped up in a blanket and sharing the day with family or loved ones. There's nothing cozier than a fire in the grate and the smell of wood burning and the warmth it gives off.

Finally, after so many years, I am living the way life was meant to be lived. I work when I want and as long as I want. I love doing something meaningful and purposeful in life and all the variants that come with what I do. I love getting out of bed in the morning and being able to take my day as it comes with all the people that I meet who grace my doorstep. I take the time for dreaming and introspection as I sit at a window and look at scenes that are often so cold that you can see a bluish cast over the landscape. You know it's cold when you see the color of ice in the air! At this stage of life, my 'winter' years, I finally have made the time to take the time to appreciate the seasons, in particular, Winter. I never should have waited so long to make the discovery of your quiet and serenity, your beauty and joy. My 'lost' season. How I appreciate you!

Energy Medicine For The 21st Century – The E-Power

2010-12-09T15:15:00.000-05:00

Working in the healing arts for many years prompted me to find solutions to make detoxing the body easy. People work too much as it is, they certainly don’t want to work hard when it comes to detoxing their bodies.

Well, a few years ago someone contacted me with information on how to detox with no effort whatsoever. I was more than thrilled. An EASY way to detox? Finally! And who better than the Japanese to discover how to put a device together that generates and transmits energy the way QiGong Masters would generate and transmit. This is exciting. I went online to investigate and saw that all you have to do is put a belt around your waste and sit or lie down. I use it when I go to bed for about 2 hours. That is all my body can take. I’m crazy with energy if I do more than that and I feel the effects for a week afterward.

So I immediately ordered and began to use these incredible no maintenance, no work on my part detox devices, two of which are approved by the FDA for increasing oxygen in the body. There is even a DVD that shows what happens to the blood before and after using the devices.

There are four devices and each one does something a little different. The focus for this article is a negative potential device known as the E-Power. This is a great tool for balancing pH and generating energy (ATP) in the cells which increases immune function. From using it with my patients I’ve learned how fast it can decrease pain in any area of the body. Whenever the pH is balanced you have an almost immediate decrease in pain and an ‘uptake’ of calcium.

What that means: when the body is alkaline it doesn’t need to pull from its sodium or calcium reserve to balance acids. When the body runs out of natural sodium to balance acid it pulls from the calcium reserve as a secondary buffer. Calcium was never meant to buffer acids in the body so it is a secondary source of the buffer system of the body. Many people lose calcium when their gallbladder is taken out. The gallbladder is the storage of natural sodium/cholesterol in the body. So without a gallbladder the body no longer has access to natural sodium as a buffer for acids and it pulls calcium instead. This is the beginning of osteopenia/osteoporosis.

Balancing pH means the body doesn’t have to pull sodium or calcium to buffer acids in the body.

But wait - there's more!

Healthy cells need a balance of negative ions on the inside of the cell and positive ions surrounding the cell. If the cell has too much positive potential within the cell, it cannot absorb nutrients or Oxygen and water cannot get into the cell; waste and Carbon Dioxide cannot get out of the cell and the inside of the cell may get too much sodium and hydrogen. Perhaps due to pollution from the outside world we live in and/or poor dietary habits the cells become imbalanced and lose their electrical potential. When that happens we have decreased energy and immunity.

Negative Potential Energy (NPE) is Energy For Rest. Combine NPE with High Frequency Energy and you get more ATP, energy. Negative Potential Energy with high frequency balances cellular function, meaning it balances pH. When you have a balanced pH your body has more energy, less or no pain, and greater immunity.

Since there are 15 – 90 millivoltages in a cell membrane and approximately sixty trillion cells in the whole body, the total electric potential is a very considerable number.

In addition, the electric potential in the human body decreases with age, and the reduction of electric potential may cause illnesses. Now, there is an easy way to increase your electric potential and raise your immunity while balancing your pH.

What does all of this mean?

There are many benefits to a balanced cellular function. Some of them are:

• Increased Cell Membrane Voltage which activates the sodium/potassium pump allowing improvement of oxygen levels, increased vitality, cell function, nerve regeneration and a balanced pH

• Improvement of Blood Circulation due to vasodilation allowing: Capillaries to receive more oxygen (up to 30% by a study – Pargon 1967, Peraira 1967), a Reduction of blood flow resistance returning to the heart, may lower Blood Pressure, may increase Detoxification of the body, may accelerate healing of wounds, may increase mental performance, focus and concentration

• Release of Calcium by increasing metabolism, balance Cortisol and Adrenalin thereby relieving stress, better balance of insulin, balance of Nerve Function, Activates Macrophages and T Cell (Study-Carson 1990), balances back, muscle and spinal column therapy.

• As we age the Piezoelectric effects increase bone tissue, helping to have stronger bones; as we age the bones resist PTH from the parathyroid gland to make more bone-forming cells. Negative fields may increase this function.

• Shortens recovery & repair time for athletes and disability

• Pain relief; interrupting transmission of pain stimulus to the brain and relieving muscle tension, leg cramps and spasm

• Improves the function of the Stomach and Intestines through: balancing digestive activity, increasing metabolism, increased weight loss and building muscle mass

• Increases Collagen by: stimulating fibroblasts, increases the activity of connective tissue cells and Nerve and Skin regeneration

The positive experiences of using Negative Potential on my clients are becoming more and more evident. Many of the people using NP energy are thrilled that their aches and pains are diminishing and their energy levels are increasing. You may want to go to my website and click on the ChiDVD energy medicine link to read more about this amazing medical device, The E-Power.

Lupus and Detox

2010-12-05T14:15:00.004-05:00

Many years ago I took seriously something my Elder, Grandmother Parisha, said. She said, "Learn all you can about the human body." It was the 1990's and I've always wanted to learn healing, having studied some aspect of it for most of my life.

It was in the '90's that this body of mine developed something called Lupus. I was in pain in all of my joints and muscles. I hurt everywhere. If I went out into the sun I had to be completely covered because I would break out in a rash all over. Whenever I went to the beach you could pick me out of a crowd because I was covered in light gauzy material from shoulders to feet with a wide brimmed hat on my head. No problem finding me!

When I'd had enough of hurting I decided to do something about it. I began to detox my liver with liver flushes and I took large amounts of trace minerals and vitamins and good oils such as flax and vitamin E. I had massage almost every week and was doing many sacred rock lodges also known as 'sweat' lodges.

All of this took time and money but I was focused and intent on getting my body out of this deficient condition. I learned about pH balancing and worked with it until I knew how to bring my body out of any circumstance where viruses were concerned.

Viruses need something to feed on and as long as you supply what it eats, it will stay. Take away it's food, and the virus will leave. I found many ways to stop feeding viruses and found out how to stop them before they became too strong and took hold of my body. Essential oils play a big role in eradicating viruses.

Within two years my body was free of Lupus. No pain in muscles or joints and all the energy I need to make it through a long day. It took me a few years to right all the wrongs of diet with detox and replacing minerals. I had been on steroids for thyroiditis in 1992. Steroids (prednizone) depletes vitamins and minerals leaching them out of the body. There is a steroid cleanse in the Article base on my website. If you've been on steroids you may want to consider this cleanse.

Then, about 2 years ago, I was contacted through my website, http://www.windinherhair.com/, by a woman who told me about Far Infrared and Negative Potential. I immediately began learning about the four medical devices for detoxing and oxygenating the body. Had I had access to these wonderful healing medical devices I could have saved a lot of time and money. I use them all at one time or another during my week with people who come in with pain and other physical ailments. People who can't ever get warm along with the elderly love the Far Infrared dome (HotHouse) because they can use it for many hours and it warms them from the inside, meaning that it raises their metabolism and heats them up from inside the body. With the HotHouse you can sleep under it, which I often do, and the thing about it is that it will take you into what is called a 'healing crisis' within 2 hours after you begin to use it.

A Healing Crisis happens when the body begins to throw off toxins and you may feel uncomfortable for weeks while that is happening. But with the HotHouse you can do it in as little time as 2 hours. It blows my mind! There are articles under the Chi DVD link on all the devices and, if you're interested, under the HotHouse there are research materials that suggest that Far Infrared therapy is too hot for cancer. Very interesting information. Anyway, there is much to be written on each of the healing devices. Look for the next blog on Negative Potential.

Here I Come To Save The Day

2010-12-04T11:39:00.000-05:00

Walk into my house at any particular point in time and you may trip over doggy toys while the dogs are running around your feet trying to pull on pants or skirt. While my house is clean, the dogs are like little children who don't pick up after themselves.

I never thought I would have one dog let alone two. The way it got around to this arrangement went something like this.

About 4 years ago my man Ed decided he was going to stop drinking for health reasons. Good enough. But I was concerned about the way he was going about it. Keep in mind, this is after 44 years of drinking and smoking. One day, he walked up to me and said, "I don't want a fuss about it but I just decided to stop drinking beer. When I did, the cigarettes didn't taste so good so I stopped smoking and coffee, too".

This came from a man who would put away a case of beer in a day and a half while smoking his menthols one after another.

All I could do was freeze, eyes wide, mouth dropping open and think, "there goes my Eddie".

Well, there went my Eddie. Within a week he was a basket case. I told him he was worse than a woman who was always menstruating. I had no idea what he was going through but I wished he would go through it with help, like AA. He wouldn't hear of it.

Many people said it was GREAT that he was doing this. I didn't think so. While Ed drank he was the sweetest, most laid-back, helpful, fun, hard-working man I ever laid eyes on.

All that changed when he stopped drinking. Sure it was good for his health. He began working out for about 4 hours daily which was really good but I realized that he just traded obsessions. He went from drinking to working out, and something else happened. He became the meanest, cruelest, empty, non-talkative shell of a man. He dropped all of his old friends in such a short time that we all just stood around wondering what the heck happened to him. By this time I was literally begging him to get some help. He never did. He said it wasn't about me or anyone else, he just didn't know how to 'get back'.

I knew what he was talking about. His 'heart' had closed completely and he couldn't feel anything. It worried him. All the years of covering up the tremendous hurt he harbored from a lifetime of hurt came bubbling to the surface when he no longer had the alcohol to cover it up but now he didn't know how to handle that hurt. His heart was closed and nothing was working to open it again.

After living with Ed for 3 years with him in this 'closed, empty, dead man walking' state, it began to wear me down. I went to a Sun Ceremony and Grandmother Parisha asked me how I was doing. I told her about Ed and she said, 'why do you stay?' I just looked at her and told her that I couldn't leave someone who hurt that much. She just looked at me and didn't say anything but I knew she understood.

Within the month I had this voice in my head telling me to 'get a dog'. The conversation went like this:
Voice in head: "Get a Dog"
Me responding: "I don't want a dog"
Voice in head: "Get a Dog"
Me: "I don't want a dog"
Voice in head: "Get a Dog"
Me: "Too much work"
Voice in head: "Get a Dog"
Me: "I don't have time for a dog"
Voice in head: "Get a Dog"
Me: If I'm supposed to have a dog it will just walk up to my door!"
Voice in head: "Get a Dog"

The voice in my head was Grandmother and I knew it and I kept up with the denials that I could ever have a dog while she just kept up with the fact that I could use a dog. This 'conversation' kept up until I began, against my will and 'better' judgement to begin looking for a dog. The comedy of the situation would later make me laugh.

When I finally got a dog it was a little 2 lb. puppy, the smallest I could find but the cutest little thing in the form of a Yorkie/Poo whom I named Romeo. I figured that men had let me down so I'd just revert to living with a four-legged Romeo and he fits his name. He is a little lover.

My daughter couldn't believe I got a dog so she packed up her son Ian who was 6 months old at the time and brought him down to see the little thing.

We were all in the family room, laughing to tears at the antics of the puppy and my grandchild when Ed walked into the room from his self-imposed exile in the living room to see what all the ruckus was about. He asked 'what's going on?' Then when he saw the puppy, he said, "is that a dog?" I said it was. He then said, "whose dog is it?" I said, "it's mine". He turned away and I heard him complaining under his breath and every other word was "PUPPY!" He was angry.

Until the next day when the little two-pounder looked up at his 6' frame and the man's heart melted. It took the puppy all of two minutes to capture the man's heart and pull it back out of the void it had been lost in. Ed was smitten with little Romeo. Over the course of the last year the man has come to worship little Romeo and Romeo is certainly Ed's dog. It was hysterical the amount of love and attention that went into this little four-legged fur-ball by this tall, imposing character that I live with. We both agreed to get little Romeo another dog for him to play with so I went out and got Valentino, half brother to Romeo. They are an absolute joy and Ed actually laughs a lot these days.

When I spoke with Grandmother I said I had heard and she said, "yes, all is well".

Thank you Grandmother Parisha. You knew that only a dog could have done for this man what this little one did for Ed. Your wisdom saved this man's life and brought him back from the underworld. I thank you with all my heart.

The Eyes Have it

2010-12-04T11:11:00.000-05:00

Our eyes are a phenomenal sense organ. We not only see with our eyes but we feel our environment and, although it sounds funny, we 'hear' with our eyes. Our eyes sense things they can and cannot see.

Our eyes can also tell us what is wrong with us, sort of 'windows' into our body.

Many years ago a very concerned mother of a 12 year-old boy came to see me. He had such terrible headaches that he had been out of school for a whole year. No one could find what was causing his headaches. The way it sounded, she had been to every doctor in every hospital and no one could tell her what was wrong with her son. She was a researcher in a medical facility and up until this episode with her son, had thought the sun rose and set on the Western Medical Model. At this point she was so frustrated that she just cried.

I knew it took a lot for her to be sitting there with me. She was desperate and at the end of her rope, so to speak. Generally, I'm the last resort for people who can't find the answers through the established medical route. A doctor at the University Hospital told her to come see me. I told her I would do my best and asked if she had ever heard of Iridology. She said she hadn't.

I explained that Iridology was a science of reading the iris of the eye to see what type of constitution the body had, what inherent strengths and weaknesses and what degeneration was going on in the body and that, until the advent of the pharmaceutical companies, had been used to discern what was happening in the body by medical professionals. Once the drug companies took over the science of Iridology went by the proverbial way-side.

I then looked into the eyes of her son and, through them, saw into his physical body. He had the most beautiful 'baby blues', clear, well defined, good and strong constitution. There was not a thing wrong with his physical body. I then told his mother to check her environment.

She left and I didn't hear from her again until about 2 months later. At that time she happened to be standing in my reception room and when I went out to greet her, she grabbed me and gave me a bear hug.

"Thank you! I can't Thank You enough! I searched the whole house and moved chemical cleaners away from his room and thought I'd checked everything. Then something told me to have the gas company come out and when they did they had a pipe coupling fall right into their hands. That breech in the gas pipe was right under my son's room, in the garage. The whole house could have blown up! My husband was getting headaches at the opposite side of the house....he works at home! My son has been without headaches ever since....I can't thank you enough. No one else was able to pick up that it was not his problem but was in the environment. I am sold on this Iridology!"

We laughed and talked about how well her son was doing now that he was back in school.

More on Natural Stomach Remedies

2010-12-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

Many years ago a group of people sat at the feet of a medicine woman of the old ways by the name of Grandmother Parisha. We were all asked to have an 'experience' with our food so each of us sat with a plate and began to chew. Chewing alkalinizes food and makes the enzymes from saliva necessary to break it down. We were asked not to speak or have any conversation and to just 'be' with our food. Normally, we don't pay attention to how food feels when it touches the tongue. But if we would just 'be' with food when we eat, we are able to feel immediately if we have an allergic reaction to the food the moment it touches the tongue.

As I looked around the group everyone was so intent on chewing, it looked to me like what it must have looked like at the Last Supper. Everyone so solemn, so intent on the task at hand. Secretly, I was laughing my ample behind off. But the lesson wasn't lost on me. I just like laughter and try to get as much of it in during my day as I possibly can. At my age, my stomach is still in fairly good shape and I owe that to the fact that I enjoy my day and don't stress too much about all the various things that life can throw my way.

What we also learned at that teaching was what to do when your stomach is so out of balance that it becomes life threatening.

A few years ago a lovely woman called me from Florida and said she was dying. "My stomach has been a mess for many years and now the doctors have taken me off all stomach medication and don't know what to do for me. I can't eat anything at all. I'm literally starving to death."

I thanked Grandmother at that moment and furiously began opening the drawers of memory banks to pull out the info she had given us that day. I took a moment to find the memory and then I gave this woman the information that eventually saved her life.

Grandmother had taught us to remember the Four Sacred Foods that would restore health and balance to any imbalance of the stomach. From what I could remember, she said that the Four Sacred Foods were corn, rice, squash and beans. These were the original foods and that they would save a life when all else failed.

Within 2 weeks, this lady called me and said she was on her way back to health. She had begun immediately to eat only these foods, in any way they could be fixed without frying. She had begun with the squash (sweet potatoes included) and her stomach felt good. The squash soothed her stomach and she had no problem with rice (brown rice is best because it has a balanced pH) or green beans. She was gaining her strength back and she was feeling better day by day. I saw her about 6 months later and she was fully recovered.

Natural Stomach Remedies

2010-12-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

One day someone called and asked me what information I could give them for their stomach problem.

There are many reasons for stomach problems. One thing I always ask people to check is their pH. Checking pH of saliva lets you know if you have problems with over-alkalinity or over-acidity which exhibit the same or similar symptoms of 'acid' reflux. However, fixing an over-alkaline stomach is not the same as fixing an over-acid stomach so it is important to know what you are working with. One can always check their pH with pH strips from a drug store or go on line to order them.

One thing I always like to start with is something called Stomach Comfort. Instead of just working to balance the 'acid' in the stomach, Stomach Comfort balances an over-acid or over-alkaline condition so it may be used for both. Tums only works at balancing an acid stomach. How do you know if you're over acid or over alkaline? You don't unless you take your pH. Stomach Comfort tablets are good tasting, chewable tablets that act quickly to restore balance to the stomach.

If you suspect that Heliobacter pylori, a type of parasitic bacteria in the stomach lining, is responsible for your stomach problems, then you may want to know about Gastro-Health which kills the H.Pylori bacteria, restoring the stomach to health. Gastro-Health is also good for nausea and that overall 'sick' stomach feeling. Gastro-Health contains DGLE (a form of licorice extract), Pau D'Arco Bark concentrate, Clove Flower Concentrate, Inula Racemosa Root Extract and Capsicum fruit. Much to be said for Capsicum when there is bleeding in the stomach. Capsicum is one of those herbs that you don't feel when you need it, but when you don't need it, you'll definitely feel it!

Another remedy for 'acid' stomach is lemon juice. Lemon juice is highly acidic in the stomach but it makes the blood alkaline. It takes a lot of acid to break down meat proteins and, in general, people with blood types A, B, and AB don't have enough hydrochloric acid to break these meat proteins down. Vinegar does not break meat proteins down but lemon juice does and it will make an alkaline stomach more acid. Squeeze lemon on fish and pork to help break down the proteins and help digestion. Vinegar will make an acid stomach more alkaline, note the opposite with lemon.

How we eat our food is very important. Never drink liquids with your meals. Saliva in the mouth is the only liquid needed for digestion. The idea is to chew, chew, chew the food. Chewing makes enzymes that break down food which makes a body alkaline, no matter if the food that you are eating is acid. The more you chew, the more alkaline any food becomes. Most fruit (citrus is the exception) and vegetables (those grown above the ground) are alkaline and we should be eating a lot of these alkaline fruits and vegetables (although not together) to maintain a pH in the body of 80% alkaline and 20% acid. We get into problems when we eat 80% acid foods and 20% alkaline foods. How can a body maintain the 80/20 alkaline/acid balance when we eat the opposite way? So chewing each mouthful of food would eliminate stomach upset all by itself. The problem is we're in too much of a hurry, so slow down when you eat. Eat slowly, in a restful atmosphere, if possible, because the stomach shuts down when we are in fight or flight stressful situations.

'Tis The Season of Ghosts and Goblins

2010-10-04T13:05:00.000-04:00

'Tis the Season of ghosts and goblins and witches and black cats.

So, come my friends and let me tell you a story.

It’s all about the seen and the unseen, a world around you that you pay attention to and a world around you that you don’t pay attention to.

All of it is part of life but because you can’t see what there is to see some may believe it doesn’t exist. Yet, there is much healing to do in these other worlds, if you know how.

One day while in a boring class where the instructor was doing his thing the rest of the class was just sitting and waiting for things to happen. Since the instructor wasn’t making anything happen we were left to our own devices.

A friend of mine had been having a "real problem" with a spirit in her new apartment that was in the lower level of a century home. Seems this spirit was always around upsetting things in her apartment. A female spirit, she would move in and out of my friends life, leaving my friend helpless because she didn’t want this spirit there and so my friend complained about it constantly, driving me to distraction.

Boredom and inactivity often result in un-planned action so I told my friend I would see what I could do… I said, “don’t bother me for a few minutes” and went into a meditative state….sort of.

Our whole world can be accessed from within the auric field of the body where we can quantum leap into other worlds and dimensions anywhere, any planet, any galaxy, at any time. Within the world of quantum there is no time and no place.

From where we were having this boring class and with time to spare, I journeyed to my friend’s apartment. I saw her house and moved through walls and into her living space. I met her female spirit. She saw me and ran into the shower to hide. I followed and drew her out into the living space and calmed her. I was just getting ready to work with her when a male spirit came out of the kitchen brandishing a knife. The drama must have happened over and over again and I knew it had to stop. These spirits had to be put to rest and, long story short, I initiated that process.

There were things that I witnessed in the house while clearing it and upon my return to our classroom, I mentioned those things to my friend who confirmed that the owner of the home was indeed restoring the electrical wiring and that, as I had witnessed, in some rooms the wiring was old and in others the wiring was brand new. She had thought the old wiring was why, on occasion, the lights would suddenly go out. She also knew that the female spirit would hide in the shower. No surprise. She was surprised, however, that there was another spirit but only because she felt that there was, but couldn’t be sure. She was thrilled to have her 'feelings' verified.

I congratulated her on her sensitivity and how much she paid attention to all that goes on around her. Many people would just dismiss their feelings as figments of their imagination. This woman actually tuned into what was going on around her and knew that it was a female spririt who hid in the shower. The drama being played out was hideous and so she tuned out what happened so that she didn't have to be drawn into it.
Within two weeks, my friend brought me a cake to celebrate that spirits no longer roamed her house. It was a Black Forest cake and it was delicious!

Healing Genetic Bonds

2010-08-16T13:02:00.002-04:00

Having been through divorce it was interesting to feel emotions that were attached to the solar plexus. I'm talking literal here. There was a point during my divorce that I 'felt' emotional attachments at the solar plexus and at the time I didn't know how to sever those attachments. I remember wishing I had a knife that I could just cut through them.

I later learned that was exactly what I could have done.

Emotional attachments keep us tethered to family through our genetic bonds. This means we may 'inherit' emotional and physical problems, genetically. Working with my medicine teacher, Grandmother Parisha, I learned how to sever genetic bonds with a tool used to cut through invisible bonds at the solar plexus. How much easier would my divorce have been had I known this information during that experience? I guess I'll never know.

During the class Grandmother's students all went to work both in water (an inland lake) and on tables where we practiced the procedure on each other.

When my turn came to have my gentic bonds severed the tool being used was moved over my solar plexus. As it did, I felt my invisible cords spring back to my body, somewhat akin to a strong, flexible wire being cut with a wire-cutter and bouncing back after being pulled and severed. A feeling I'll never forget. Although I couldn't see the cords, I felt them and that was enough for me.

When my cords had been severed, Grandmother Parisha looked at me and, seeing energy, said, "There was much to cut away on you, Merida". I felt as though a very heavy load had been lifted off of me emotionally and physically. I always believed I had made an unspoken agreement with my mother to help lift her emotional troubles. Many of us do that without even knowing it on a conscious level. We see a parent suffering and we want so badly to help them that we take on their emotional and physical problems. Then we wonder why we experience the same 'family' diseases and illnesses.

In my healing work I have witnessed several people who have willingly taken on the emotional stresses of their mothers (usually) or parent, and made those same stresses theirs. When they could finally see what they had done, they were able to come to an agreement with their parent and consciously say, "this is not mine, I no longer wish to carry it for you", thereby breaking the agreement. Once that agreement was broken, the person carrying the emotional baggage, or in some cases the physical ailment, was able to live life without the added encumbrance of someone else's troubles. Life became easier for them There is much research to suggest that emotions are the cause of physical ailments. Once the emotions are cleared, the physical ailment disappears.

Of course, there are people who feel they are strong enough to carry more than their share and continue to help a loved one in any way they can.

Healing With Foods

2010-08-16T09:09:00.000-04:00

Natural Healing

I’ve found through the years that there are times when massage and chiropractics aren’t enough to alleviate certain discomfort or pain. When this is the case I look to problems within the organ systems which may be weak.

I recently journeyed down to another State to work with a doctor with a large practice. He taught me many things, one of which was this: when there is pain in the lower back and extremities you want to address the kidneys and the adrenals. Then he showed me a simple way to do that with food.

I give this information to people who have problems with pain that won’t respond to massage and chiropractics. I am often amazed at the responses I get. “I’ve been using the treatment and my feet felt better in practically no time at all”. Another said, “I can move my legs so much better, I can’t believe how this works.”

In trying this for myself this is what happened: I find that for a whole week I’m limping because my right foot hurts. Specifically, the area called the ball, just under the big toe. I can’t walk on it. It took me a whole week to notice and then one day I simply had the time to notice and I’m weirded out because it took me so long to address it. It started with pain into my right heel and ankle, again, something I paid very little attention to but made note of it. Well, that simple discomfort moved into my whole foot.

I remembered the remedy for the kidneys and the adrenals and ran a self-test using kinesiology. My left kidney and adrenal were weak. My right kidney and adrenal were ok. I then took the recommended remedy and waited to see how long it would take for me to feel something.

Within about 25 minutes my right ankle felt as though it were opening up, the feeling being that it was relaxing. Within that same amount of time my whole foot felt as though it had been released and the pain that caused me to ‘limp’ totally disappeared.

I knew that I was on to something here.

I’m often amazed at how the body responds to things we have in our cupboard or pantry. I’ve always used herbs and certain plants to work with healing and I’m always looking and open to other remedies. There are so many foods that heal and it is useful to know what they are. I remember simmering a certain stem that worked to alleviate my sinus problems. I’ve used something everyone throws away to help bladder issues.

The remedies I used for bringing my foot out of pain were in my refrigerator and pantry. Just learning a few simple ways to work with certain foods can save years of pain and discomfort. Of course, one should always rely on their doctor for advanced pain or pain that doesn’t go away, however, to learn about foods that heal is always a good idea.

Why Wind In Her Hair?

2010-08-10T07:41:00.000-04:00

The name of my business may seem unusual so I'll attempt an explanation of why I chose Wind In Her Hair.

When I was about five years old my mother looked outside and noted the clouds churning up into storm activity. She had wanted to get the garbage out to the big can in the garage so she, my older brother and sister, and myself went to the door with the garbage bag. The rain started pelting down and the wind started to gust. Mom said that it probably wasn't a good idea to go out right then as weather reports were predicting something about 'isolated' tornados. I didn't know what that meant and at that age, didn't care. I had other ideas. I just knew I could make it out to the garage and back before it really started to storm.

I grabbed the bag before mom knew what was happening and ran as fast as my little legs could carry me to the garage and threw the bag into the can, then started back toward the house. I didn't get far. The wind literally almost picked me up off my feet, stopping my run. I grabbed onto the fence that ran between the house and the garage and hung on for dear life! Right next to me the wind was spinning. Mom was yelling something about a tornado and "hang on!" She kept on yelling something but I couldn't hear her over the roar of the wind. My attention was drawn to the spinning shape next to me, so close that I felt I could reach out and touch it. I wasn't afraid of it, more curious. It seemed to dance around me in a friendly gesture, saying "hello". My hair was blowing all around my face and it felt wonderful. I felt wonderful. The energy surrounding me gave me a feeling of excitement - a sort of 'high' feeling. I watched as the 'baby' tornado played itself out right next to me and was sorry to see it go.

Jump forward in time about thirty years. I'm at home with my young daughter. It's summer and nice outside. We're in the kitchen of our home talking when voices in my head start telling me something is wrong. At this point in my life I have been working with a Cherokee woman of the old ways known as Grandmother Parisha for about one year. The voices in my head attest to the fact that she and the grandmothers are always with me. The voices are intense and don't want me to waste time because they keep telling me to "get out there" and "killer wind". I'm wondering just what I'm supposed to do "out there" which I supposed they meant out of doors, outside. The voices grow in intensity as I just sit there thinking I must be crazy, listening to voices in my head telling me to get "out there" and "killer wind". So I'm not moving very fast, thinking it will all go away.

It doesn't. It just gets louder and more intense. "Get out there! Killer wind!" It doesn't stop, just keeps getting louder, like they're nagging me so finally I shout, "Oh, alright!" and head for the door. My young daughter is looking at me strangely and, following me into the living room, looks outside and decides to stay by the window where she can watch me.

I arrive 'out there' and the wind is blowing in from the North. It comes in a great gale force. I'm facing west and watch as the trees bend from the force of the wind while some papers are blowing around with the dirt from the road. I think I have to 'do something' so I start the medicine dance I had been taught to do. As soon as I start to move my feet the wind feels different to me.

Then the most curious thing happens.

A little to the southwest, the wind gathers into what felt like a great wall and half of it splits off from the other half with one wall of wind staying in the south, as though it was intelligent and knew to just wait there, while the other half moved west, then north, then east all around me, completely circling me and my house. I felt the movement of the wind around me as though in the eye of a hurricane as I continued the medicine dance. My daughter has long gone back into the house after watching her mother make a complete fool of herself by dancing on the patio so she didn't see or feel what was happening with the wind. I was the only one who could attest to what was happening. No one would ever believe it!

The half of the wind which split off from the other half had now completely circled around me and met the other half of the wind that had stayed in place in the south. When both winds came together, they moved off toward the south and all became still once again.

Grandmother Parisha had said that "Sometimes All We Have To Do Is Show Up." She also said that the wind was 'intelligent' and one could listen to the wind for messages that it would bring. She said, "If you know how to listen to the wind it will teach you."

I stayed glued to the radio and TV all day to find out if there was any mention of a strange wind that just blew in from out of nowhere. Finally, around 5 p.m. I heard a weather report of an unusual wind that hit southern Pennsylvania and took the lives of several people.

I had felt the wind that day and knew it to be intelligent.

I swear I have not made this up.

The wind is my totem. It directs and guides me. It is powerful and it is gentle. It blows through my hair and its gentle breeze is comforting. It is playful or it is fierce and frightening, much like life itself, and much like life itself...spirit moves. Maybe the wind is spirit talking.

Beyond Reflexology

2010-08-09T11:12:00.000-04:00

I’ve heard a popular talk show host has recently been promoting something you may have heard about called “Reflexology”.

What exactly is Reflexology? Reflexology is a science that deals with the principle that there are reflexes in the feet that correspond to all of the glands, organs, and body parts and that when these reflexes in the feet (and hands) are worked or massaged, it helps to relieve stress and tension and improve blood supply and circulation, thereby helping the body to balance itself.

When your body is out of balance, that imbalance may be felt first in the feet. Whether or not you know your feet hurt.

Case in point. J.M. came in for a massage. One of the first things she said to me was, “the only things that don’t hurt on my whole body are my feet!” I then went to her left foot and chose a point and pressed on it gently. She just about came off the table yelping with pain. She couldn’t believe that her foot could hurt that badly and why hadn’t she ever felt pain in her feet. She was too focused on the pain in her body to feel the pain in her feet. The feet will tell where you are having problems in your whole body. Listening to the body is not hard to do. We just don’t take the time to pay attention when the body starts talking. Problems in the body may be picked up intuitively. Intuition is something we all have but somewhere along the way into adulthood we lose our trust in our own intuitive potential. We focus more on the outer world than on our inner world. Medicine is a balance of outer and inner.

It is not to say you can diagnose illness and diseases from the feet. But the foot will let you know where your problems are. By gently massaging the feet you may feel so much better because the massage helps the reflex areas of the whole body. It “awakens” the reflexes into the organs and assists whole body functions.

Taking that one step further is something that developed over time, working on hundreds of feet, called Beyond Reflexology. This method of working the reflex areas of the foot goes beyond the reflex points to release the whole foot and ankle, which affects releases of the muscles throughout the legs and body. The feet are our foundation. A weakened foundation may upset the balance of the whole body. Working the reflex areas as well as release points enhances circulation, increasing energetic flow to all the various organs.

Thank you for getting the word out about Reflexology, Regis!

Let's Get Psychic-Kal

2010-08-04T09:41:00.000-04:00

Kalahu is a friend of mine. A very psychic friend. She actually told me when my house would sell and to whom. Really. Described the dude to a T. Happened just like she said it would, too. And because she is so psychic she thinks I am, as evidenced by a call I got from her one day. It went like this.

Somewhere in my house a phone is ringing....I answer it.

"Mer! I lost my keys and you have to help me find them! I think I may have thrown them in the dumpster by mistake! I'm frantic! I have to have those keys and you have to help me find them!"

"Geesh! Calm down....how am I supposed to help you find them? Are you smokin' that wacky weed or something?"

"Come on now, Mer, you can do this I know you can you have to help me I'm not getting off this phone until you help me find my keys!"

"What makes you think I can help you find your keys, I've never done anything like that before so what makes you think I can do it now? You're the psychic, why can't you find your own keys?"

"Because I just know you can do this and it doesn't work that way! Now, come on....I have to have those keys!"

"OMG! Stop nagging me and if you can just shut up for about a minute I'll see what I can do!"

"I'll need your address", I told her. She gave me her address. "I've never been to your apartment....don't know what I'll find.....I hope this works."

"It will.....you can do this.....I need those keys!" she wailed

In the minutes of silence that followed I focused on Kal's address in my mind, and from my home, I went to hers and saw for the first time, her abode. My mind was drawn to some empty canning jars on her kitchen sink and I said, "go to the canning jars on your kitchen sink".

Kal said, "I just moved these jars here this morning". And I heard her rustling around the sink and moving the empty jars. She was talking the whole time, shattering the silence I had worked within.

All of a sudden she started screaming, "They're here! Oh My God, the keys are here! You found them! I knew you could do it!!!!"

Stunned, I couldn't say anything for a moment. Then, "wow, that was so easy!"

Kalahu started laughing. "I'm so relieved! I knew you could do it! Thanks, Mer!"

What could I say, Kalahu had nagged me into using my psychic abilities in a way I wasn't used to using them. It was just the beginning of what I would come to realize was quantum physics.....being in one place and in the blink of an eye, moving to another, folding space and time.

"Thanks for being such a nag, Kal".

"You're welcome, Mer!"

Ok, Where's Steven Spielberg?

2010-08-02T10:25:00.000-04:00

It was July 4th and Kim, my neighbor, and I were hanging over the back fence shooting the breeze when I happened to look up. It was about 9:15 p.m. and the sky was still a beautiful clear blue with not a cloud to be seen. Except for the two clouds I had just spotted. There was something very strange about these clouds, which caused me to stop all conversation and just stare. My mouth was probably hanging open. Not a pretty picture. Kim happened to notice.

"What are you looking at?" she queried.

"Look at those two clouds and tell me what you see, 'cause I'm not really believing what I'm seeing." I told her.

She looked in the direction and immediately said, "Oh, my God", very quietly, very much...'I don't believe it either' type oh my god.....

I began to look all around us, turning in every direction and just looking everywhere. Again, Kim noticing, asked, "what are you looking for?"

"Not 'what', I replied. "Whom". I'm looking for Steven Freaking Spielberg."

"Oh, yeah....he may be around here somewhere".

If Steven had been around, he would have filmed two once animated, talkative women who had become speechless as we looked toward the North at the two clouds drifting slowly by and low, just over the pines at the end of the property line. One following the other in a slow, easy escapade moving West to East. There was no breeze whatsoever on the ground. No wind. No breeze. Two clouds, one following the other, holding their identical shapes. Both with lightening in them.

Fireworks were just beginning to be heard in all the directions. They seemed to be early this year. Normally people wait until it is almost dark to set them off, but this year they could be heard while it was still light. Fireworks couldn't have held our attention the way those two clouds did.

The 'clouds' never broke up as clouds do when there is movement. Being there were no other clouds in the sky, we tracked their movement until they were out of sight.

Still not believing what we had seen, we speculated on what they could be. Of course 'alien' ships came to mind but we were kind of afraid to go there. "What could that lightening be caused by?" I asked. Kim didn't know.

I've always wanted to write to Steven Spielberg to ask him if he were visiting Medina, Ohio on July 4th to do some filming....I just never got around to it.

Assistance

2010-07-29T09:25:00.000-04:00

I'm realizing a blog is an everyday affair and somewhere in a day I have to make time for it.

In order to do that I have to shorten my blogs, so here goes.

Took a drive to an area of the State (Ohio) that I've never been to.

Working with a Cherokee woman of the old ways (Grandmother Parisha) for two decades, I was taught to call on all of nature for assistance. So before I started my journey I called to the winged ones to assist me.

While driving the freeway I saw a hawk over the median strip about 1 1/2 miles away. I slowed down as I was driving about 80 to 85. Sure enough, about 2 miles down and out of site was a police cruiser. That hawk saved my butt.

As I got closer to my destination I began to realize that I had no idea how I was going to find my contact, an Amish man who is well-known for his healing expertise using Reflexology. I often travel to study with people who can teach me various techniques and I had heard about him from some of my patients. He lived in a remote area in central Ohio. Remote was not the word. Some of the roads looked like shallow lanes or footpaths. Back in 1999 I hadn't even heard the term GPS so I was on my own.

After exiting the hiway the 'roads' in among the hills and farmland were marked by hand-made signs that could be overlooked because one is not used to seeing roadsigns stuck in the ground.

I renewed my request for assistance.

As I was traveling a bit more slowly and trying to follow the directions I saw a flock of birds on my left that flew directly across the road to the right. As I got to where the birds had been I saw a road sign that I would have surely missed had the birds not alerted me to it. It was the road I was looking for in the directions. Could it be possible that the birds were assisting me? Hmmm.

I turned right on the road and drove for about a mile, again questioning if I was headed in the direction I was supposed to go. At once, a bird flew right in front of my car and straight down the road I was on. It just flew, as if leading me, saying 'follow me!' I trusted that what was happening was real, so I followed.

Somewhere up ahead, a car turned in front of me going very slowly. I was a little miffed because I had been making good time and now this person was slowing me down. It wasn't until he turned, very s.l.o.w.l.y. that I saw the 'road sign' on my right, stuck in the dirt. It was the road I was supposed to turn onto that was on the directions in my hand. Had I been going faster I would have flown right by it without seeing it.

The car turned off and I was once again alone on the road. "Where to now?" I questioned. Once again, a winged one appeared across my path to the right. I slowed down. It was the address I was looking for.

I had arrived. Both physically and with a sense of knowing I was never alone. I had been assisted to my destination by the feathered beings. Thanking Grandmother Parisha for having taught me to trust the all that is, I enjoyed my day.

Note: About 2 months later a friend accompanied me to the Amish healer. When we got to the 'lane' that was the first road, once again a flock of birds alerted and assisted us to find the obscure path. When he saw the birds fly across the road he said, "if I hadn't seen it I never would have believed it."

Shamanism

2010-07-17T09:37:00.000-04:00

Perhaps not by chance have I had shaman training beginning with Grandmother Parisha back in the '80's. We were at Topsail Beach, North Carolina and I was excited because I wanted to learn about healing in the old ways. We were taught that the word 'medicine' means 'balance'. Move into situations of imbalance and balance them, then move out. We were warned that this work could be dangerous, but we were young and didn't care. What could be dangerous about entering into spirit? Yes, we were young.

Grandmother Parisha is the ultimate teacher of shamanism and I was honored to be with her. I had been with her for many years and had 'danced' her (meaning: tested her teachings) until I was sure she was who I thought she was. When all that was settled, I allowed enough trust to let her in, to teach me.

Shamanism is not something you enter into without a teacher. In Grandmother's case she had much to offer, a lineage of medicine people waiting to assist in an invisible line of wisdom carriers that extends all the way back to the beginning of hu-man. Young and stupid we all were. We went into places she had warned us not to go and then we had to learn how to deal with what was brought back, having attached itself to us. Over the years she would whip us into shape with verbal back-lashings, love, humor and more patience than anyone I've ever met.

The real deal came with the death of a loved one. Car accident. In shock, I enlisted the help of a friend who has extraordinary insight in the spirit world. She did the job but she didn't have the training I had taken for granted. There can be no weakness in the other worlds and this beloved came back broken under pressure. My first big lesson. Don't send someone else to do what I can do and have been trained to do. Never estimate that someone else is better or stronger than you. I've had to learn many things the hard way; by experience. Many people talk a good talk learned from various sources but experience is always the best teacher.

And Grandmother certainly had the experience. She trained us for the things to watch out for and how to act instead of react. Still, there are no guarantees in any of the worlds that you will always get out intact.

So it was up to me. I put aside my grief of having lost Susan and visited myself upon the gates known as 'death doors' to show her the way. I had no idea I could do this until I did it.

All the while I could hear Susan telling me to 'call her mother'.

I did not know Susan's mother well. I'd met her at various occasions. The birthdays of my nephew, maybe three out of the six that he'd had, maybe a Christmas or two. We would exchange pleasantries. I knew I liked her.

But to call her to say I had gone to the spot where Susan had died and led her out of that darkness? Who could believe such a thing.

Susan was relentless. Within three days she was literally nagging me to "call my mother".

I dialed the phone and her mom picked up. I asked how she was and offered my condolences.

We exchanged pleasantries and hung up.

Susan had heard. "CALL MY MOTHER!" I was embarassed that I had let her down. I dialed the phone again.

This time her mother and I connected. My way in was that she loved astrology. We spoke about the stars for awhile and what little knowledge I had of astrology stole my way into Susan's mother's heart. I explained that Susan and I were in touch and that her daughter was ok. It was her daughter that had demanded that I call her. She spoke and her words were of hope and the faint light of healing. "You don't know how much better I feel knowing that her spirit won't be left under a car on the side of the road. It was my worst nightmare. Thank you." How could I have doubted that I could make a difference?

I worked with Susan all that week. On the last night I moved in spirit and saw Susan become a burst of brilliance as her being became a star. No other way to explain it. I called her mother right away. She said, "how remarkable is that! I was just standing on the patio looking out at the stars on this clear and beautiful night and I saw a shooting star and I just knew it was Susan. I am at peace."

This experience strengthened my resolve. I could do this work. Why not? Everyone has a job they're good at. With more experience I may even grow to like it, as sad as it is.

I've worked with others who have gone on to the other side. As yet, none so sad as a 15 year-old who hung himself. How do you shake the spirit of a stupid boy. It was the only time I cried on returning to this world. But one has no time for judgements. There is too much work to do.

Percussion

2010-07-06T18:06:00.000-04:00

Ever since "The Ordeal" has been over I find it difficult to listen to music with a lot of percussion or drumming. When I mentioned this to a friend she said, "well, that makes sense. Think about what your body has been through in the last few weeks. Didn't they pound the heck out of that stone in your kidney?" Yes! To the tune of hitting it 3,000 times with laser while it bounced around each time it was hit. I never thought of that. I couldn't figure out why most music I'm listening to these days is bothering my senses. I always listen to the regular stations that play rock or country. The country, most of it, wouldn't bother me but the rock, even some classic rock, would make me shudder. I would quickly turn it off. Makes me wonder if my body is still holding onto the experience of literally 'being rocked'. In any case, I can't tolerate drumming and percussion very well right now. And I'm going to a Sun Ceremony where drumming is all day long. I'll let you know how that works out.

2010-07-02T11:16:00.001-04:00

The “Ordeal” came very suddenly one weekend and it was found that I had a large kidney stone that had to be crushed with laser called “lithotripsy”. Once that was done a stent was placed to allow the crushed stones to be passed. Since I didn’t know what kind of questions needed to be asked about stent placement, I overlooked that part and just blindly had the stent placed from the bladder to the kidney, through the ureter.
Within a day I was in agony.
I still didn’t know what to expect so I just accepted that pain would be part of the procedure. Wednesday, the day after placement of the stent, I was fine. Thursday, Friday and Saturday I was in enough pain to be taking Vicodin all day long. Since you must eat when taking the Vicodin because if you don’t you have the added side-effect of nausea, I was eating more than I could stand. Pain and eating don’t go together, in case you’ve never had the experience.
By Saturday night I was pacing, which is what I do when in agony.
By 10:30 Saturday night I was ready to throw in the towel and go to the emergency room when all of a sudden everything stopped. The pain disappeared. I was so relieved. I would be able to sleep peacefully.
It was the calm before the storm.
By 8:00 Sunday morning I realized I’d slept the whole night without incidence. I was so relieved. By 8:10 I felt pain in my left side. What could be doing this? Stones that had been blasted apart shouldn’t be bothering me with stent placement. I had called the doctor and told him of my misery and he said if it was still a problem to call and come in on Monday. Well, that was tomorrow. I didn’t know if I could wait.
By 10:00 I knew I couldn’t. The level of pain went from agony to excruciating and I wanted to just pass out. I kept pacing.
I called the doctor at 10:15 and we connected a half hour later. He told me he could do nothing and to go to the emergency room.
I didn’t collect anything but my purse with all the info on insurance in it. I made it to the door and told the man who lives here I needed to get to the emergency room. I was delirious with pain.
He finally got into the car and we backed out of the drive. It was a long agonizing trip to the E.R. that took approximately 10 minutes. It felt like 10 hours.
We burst into the E.R. in a flurry and someone brought a wheelchair. They had me on a gurney in no time pumping morphine into me. I later learned it took 12 mg. of morphine to stabilize me. After transferring me to another hospital where they could take care of my problem I was told they would only give 3 mg. of morphine a day so I knew I was in a tremendous amount of pain. Slowly, the pain subsided. The people there were wonderful and knew what they were doing. My experience with the moaning police was the only downside. When in extreme pain, I find it helps if I let out a moan. Apparently there are people who don’t think that is necessary. The nurse who put my IV in wanted no noise and told me the ‘noise’ wasn’t needed, ‘just breathe’. I hadn’t the energy to tell her how inapropriate her comment was. I just moaned.
Two very nice people transferred me to SouthWest General, a hospital I’d heard much about but had never had the pleasure of their services. Indeed, they were a better than average hospital. Excellent care, excellent staff. Everyone so friendly, so cordial, so willing to help. I especially loved Britt. An energetic 20-ish, tiny, platinum blonde and so sweet. Her mom and grandmother had worked at the hospital before her. When she wasn’t doing physician assistant work she was helping special needs kids. No time lost with her. Young and knew where she was going already.
The pain was gone, thanks to drugs. The stent had to come out. Hadn’t seen the doctor as yet. Agonized over the decision he wanted me to make to have another stent placed. Couldn’t do it. After going through so much agony with the first one, didn’t want to have another one to go wrong again.
Did what I usually do in this type of instance. I withdraw and go deep within.
I saw an old one talking to me. He picked up a stone and it turned to sand. “Nothing left”, he said. “Do nothing”.
That was my message. There was nothing left to work with. Nothing more was needed. How to tell the doctor?
He finally came in to my room and caught me in tears. “What are you feeling right now?” He pulled up a chair and spent time with me. Much needed time. The stent had come down, out of the kidney and was lodged in my ureter. That was where all the pain came from. I was literally trying to pass a stent. I was terrified of having the procedure he would do in less than an hour. “What do you want to do?” “Nothing” was my reply. “I can’t put myself through another stent. I know there will be pain without the stent. I’m in between a rock and a hard place. Anything I do won’t matter. I’m screwed either way.” He laughed. I said, “I can’t make this decision. You’ll have to make it for me. “ He said, “go with the stent.” I wanted to cry some more. I said, ‘you call it’. He said, “I’ll see you in 45 minutes.”
The operating room was a beehive of activity. Nurses and doctors and staff help everywhere. The anesthesiologist intro’d himself and made me feel comfortable. Very nice and quite capable. Finally, they came to get me. I gave myself over to the only thing I had left. Trust. I told the doctor, “I trust you.” That’s the last I remember before waking up with an oxygen mask over my face.
The nurse on my left was monitoring my recovery. When I was fully awake, she said, “the doctor pulled the stent, went in and found nothing there, so he didn’t place another stent. We’re releasing you from recovery, you can go home.”
I was incredibly relieved. “Do Nothing” came back to me, and indeed, nothing had to be done.
I wanted champagne. I wanted a banana split. I settled for a hamburger with the works.