Wallow In Optimism with E-cises!™

“Widespread obesity is not an illness- it is evidence of a crime” (45).

According to...Pete Egoscue, we need to “wallow in optimism” (viii). He adds that “having fun is usually a sign we are doing the right thing” (viii). In his book Let’s Lighten Up, he discusses the mind-body connection in a slightly different way. Realizing that “the pivot-point on which your health balances” is the mind-body connection, Egoscue investigated Eastern religions (9). From there he realized the function of the musculoskeletal system was as an “on-off switch that activates emotions” (9). Egoscue realized that “the secret of humankind’s evolutionary success as a species” is posture (23). After all, Egoscue points out, “Our posture announces to the world whether we are strong or weak, growing or declining, living or dying” (23). Egoscue adds, “Along with metabolic process, sensory reception and perception may well be the essential operational cornerstone of human biology” (24). If you listen to your body, you can have access to information about yourself because, like he says, “Your body is smarter than you are” (25). The white-coated drug dealers who deliver their drugs with “the sincere but erroneous assumption that the body is fragile, makeshift and prone to break down” are underestimating, in Egoscue’s opinion, what the human body can do (9). In the Egoscue Method clinics, “Postural therapy comes in the form of ‘E-cises’™ that reengage, realign and strengthen musculoskeletal system functions” (15). Egoscue’s exercise (E-cises) programs help you to live “pain-free without toxic drugs and traumatic surgery” (23). Now that sounds worth wallowing in!

Egoscue writes, “The body perceives: And by perceiving belief, a state of mind is generated that can lead to a state of action capable of overcoming great obstacles” (55). Likewise, if the body isn’t able to make its perceptions heard due to misalignment, some obstacles are not being overcome. Good posture also feels good and “in that way it is a crucial element in the health-awareness feedback system” that Egoscue discusses in Let’s lighten Up (24). Body awareness comes in the form of listening to signals such as “sleeping when you feel tired and eating when you feel hungry” (45). With today’s fast paced living, people are turning outside of themselves for answers, comfort, and a cure to emotional and physical problems. Reaching outside of oneself is not all that threatens the health of those in modern society. As Egoscue says, “Lack of motion” negatively affects health (48). Men and women once did the labor that now machines accomplish for us (48). If people are not standing in a balanced, aligned position, they are unable, Egoscue writes, to “draw extra high wavelength energy from the universal power grid” (63). Misalignment equates to a poor connection of the energy arriving at the cellular level and therefore to less energy supplies entering the body. Good posture ensures that the musculoskeletal system will be able to move and to fuel us (71). Egoscue writes, “Emotional turmoil is a consequence of one’s inability to achieve an enlightened awareness” (148).

Postural misalignment also equates to false warnings that trigger various unnecessary hormonal reactions (72). According to Egoscue, the hormones induced by our reactions also “end up reshaping our musculoskeletal system, and over-and under- revving important internal physiological processes,” leading to anxiety (12). Poor posture can negatively affect emotions and conversely, emotions can affect our posture. Egoscue adds, “A drooping head, slumping shoulders, wobbling gait (and a host of other characteristics) are confirmation that the mind is too busy sending out frantic SOS messages that it can’t find the energy resources needed to keep your musculoskeletal system functions operating up to par” (12). Without natural energy, the body unnaturally blasts “itself into overdrive” (61). Good posture opens up the energy for you to know and to feel your way out of an awful physical or emotional state (111).

Unnatural fear may also be overcome with good posture. Misplaced fear is harmful because, as Egoscue warns, “The stimulation associated with fear makes it addictive,” and, unfortunately, fear can interfere with what your body is trying to communicate to you (62). Also, Egoscue states, “Fear is an extreme form of expectation” and it “intensifies physical pain” (56). Under normal circumstances of fear, “courage requires energy- a lot of energy,” and having good posture can help with that as we have seen (80). Egoscue believes that if you change your posture, “you’ve changed your mind,” and your emotional state (28).

Poor posture is a limitation to your well-being that communicates a warning through pain and/or stiffness. If this sounds familiar, try changing negative thoughts and words and see if your posture feels a little straighter and if a little balance has been restored to your system (65). Awareness and lack of awareness all the way around are your choice. Egoscue writes, “Either way, experiences and the emotions associated with those past experiences have impact moving forward” and affect your present state, because “awareness isn’t passive” (14, 53). Poor posture can lead to a chaotic mind (28). Egoscue reminds readers, “Every moment that the mind spends outside of the present by rehashing events and situations that no longer exist as a way to learn from mistakes – which is really an excuse to find fault with one’s self – is a moment disconnected from the universal energy grid” (151). Good posture can calm your mind and bring you into the present moment. Through the years, Egoscue has noticed changes in people’s opinions of themselves and changes in their outlook on life through doing his postural exercises over a few weeks (15). Client after client also comments on the increased energy that they experience after completing these E-cises™ (15). Taking the time to do these exercises instead of taking a pill is an exciting option.

When looking at posture, consider the office worker sitting in a chair for many hours every day, year after year. That worker’s S-curve in his or her back may be being adversely affected, creating back and organ problems (14). Uneven pressure exerted on the spine may, for example, lead to nerve pain (15). This worker may think that surgery and drugs are his or her only options, but Egoscue’s exercises have helped countless people experiencing a “slipped disc” and other structural problems- without surgery or drugs (15). Listen to your body if you experience pain with movement and are moving without your former flexibility. After all, as Egoscue points out, “stiffness and immobility are two characteristics of a corpse” (72). Feel and be more alive by straightening yourself out.

Egoscue’s thoughts on pain are revealed when he writes, “Pain is not a disease, not an injury, not even an effect of aging. Pain is a symptom” (100). He further writes, “As a non-medical postural therapy program, the Egoscue Method works and works quickly. Often, in less than ten or fifteen minutes there are dramatic results. A distinctive posture accompanies musculoskeletal system pain. By changing the posture, the pain diminishes significantly or abates entirely” (6). Drugs from doctors may seem to help, but as long as a person is out of alignment, they are not better off than before taking the drugs, and when the medicine wears off, the pain is noticeable again.

Truly understanding health and what your body has to say involves becoming educated. How many doctors have encouraged you to learn about your various body systems, like the circulatory or endocrine systems? Egoscue does. He feels it’s important for individuals to gain an understanding of the intelligence of the body and the various chemical reactions of the body (21). He writes, “You will come away, I hope, with the sense that something with so many moving parts, chemical reactions and interactions, synchronicity and almost impossibly precise timing doesn’t tend to make mistakes” (21). A practitioner with a positive respect for the human body is refreshing and uplifting for a client who is feeling awful.

Experiencing chronic pain in spite of those pills you’ve been taking for years? Have you been told it’s because you’re old and frail and that’s just life? Egoscue states, “Chronic pain is a symptom of correctable energy deprivation, not human frailty. Luckily, so is poor posture” (23-4). If you are in pain, your body is trying to make you aware of some pretty serious information (26). Your body is most likely warning you that it’s time to walk straighter and to engage appropriate muscles correctly.

After a few times of doing the Egoscue exercises, you may notice the pain is gone and that you have natural energy without “crashing” later. However, Egoscue warns that it is important to continue with the exercises after the pain abates. Many of Egoscue’s clients in the past would stop prior to being completely balanced just because they felt better (8). The clients who continued with their exercise programs after the pain abated were rewarded with peace of mind and self-confidence (9).

Our growing health crisis is escalating along with advances in our technological world (32). Our health crisis includes the overall poor posture of many people today. A passerby with good posture, after all, is a rare and odd sight indeed (98). It’s encouraging to know that an establishment exists that can get you back to work, back on that athletic team, or simply back to getting around town like you used to be able to do. When you go to one of Egoscue’s clinics expecting to just find good posture, you come away with so much more. The energy, the relaxed inner state, and the newfound love for life are just a few of the possibilities that await you. And an added bonus is that the book Let’s Lighten Up and the experiences gained through doing the exercises offer insight into yourself, and if you are a health care practitioner, your clients. Remember what Egoscue writes: “Truth is a feeling, not a fact. Feel your way to the best of health” (ix). In Egoscue’s opinion, “Balance, balance and more balance…You either have it or you are losing your health” (73).

For more information, please read any books by Pete Egoscue and Roger Gittines, visit one of the Egoscue Method clinics, and visit Egoscue’s website at www.egoscue.com.

Vaccination Education

According to…vaccination educator Fisher on the video entitled, “Dr. Mercola Interviews Barbara Loe Fisher on Forced Vaccinations,” some insurance companies are denying coverage to individuals who refuse to be vaccinated. Fisher says, “We get reports at NVIC (National Vaccination Information Center) that families are being thrown off of health care plans; they’re being denied health insurance if they can’t prove they received a certain number of vaccines.” It makes me wonder, has required health insurance been pushed through as a law in order to force families to become vaccinated? After all, if companies refuse you and you have to have coverage, then will you be forced to be the perfect citizen and allow those vaccines to be put into your body in order to comply with the law? Of course, not all insurance companies have this stipulation…yet. It’s just food for thought.

As it stands, many states allow you to choose not to vaccinate your children. Of course, propaganda is so strong that I still meet Californians who are under the impression that their children cannot go to public school unless the children are vaccinated. Please get educated. It’s time for humanity to not be manipulated by another’s fear. We need to stand up and surround politicians with pinky-rose light so that they, like Senator Judith Zaffirini of Texas, won’t try to strip parents of their rights. She filed Senate Bill 56. Her plan is to have the government automatically collect people’s vaccination histories from doctors without the consent of the individuals. Authorities could use this information to figure out who is not getting vaccinated and harass the families or, worse, have them on some list for later reference. The current Texas law requires parental consent in order for their children’s vaccination histories to be collected. Whatever your state, or even your country for that matter, something is always brewing on the pro-vaccination front. Please get educated so that you may continue being the one making decisions for yourself and for your children.

Fisher and NVIC have been my source for information on vaccines for about twenty-three years. Please visit www.nvic.org and www.vaccineinfo.net for more information.

Organic Sodium: Nature’s Fountain of Youth

According to…Mikio Sankey in Support the Mountain, “People diagnosed with arthritis, or those with stiffness and pain in the joints, need organic sodium, but not table salt” (151). Table salt is the familiar Sodium Chloride (NaCl). Chemically speaking, organic sodium simply is sodium (Na). Organic sodium is important for the life of cells and the lymphatic system, the gastrointestinal tract, and the joints of the body (150,153). In fact, when organic sodium is not being ingested in sufficient amounts, health issues can arise, for there isn’t enough “organic sodium in solution in the blood to prevent the body from leeching calcium out of the bones. The first place the blood will usually start to leech calcium from the body is from the jawbones” (152). The next target is usually the spine, and then the joints (152). Sankey writes, “If the blood is still trying to balance its pH level by needing to leech more calcium, then eventually that person will develop arthritis or bone problems such as osteoarthritis or osteoporosis” (152). How many health care practitioners advise ingesting organic sodium as prevention and remedy to health problems?

Organic Sodium has to be, as Sankey says, “very refined and is found in organic greens, celery and carrots” (150). So, when your doctor says for you to ingest no salt, it most likely is not organic sodium to which he or she is referring, for it is difficult to have youth, vitality, and life without organic sodium, nature’s fountain of youth.

“Organic sodium is an alkaline biochemical mineral,” writes Sankey (151). Sufficient amounts are needed in order for the blood to “retain a healthy alkaline pH level,” and the unused sodium can be stored in the stomach (151,149). In bodily secretions, sodium is in greater quantities compared to organic potassium which is greater within a cell’s wall (150). If you don’t ingest organic sodium and leave your body deprived, then health issues will surely await you. As Sankey writes, “All cases of arthritis indicate a lack of organic sodium in the body” (151). Pain and stiffness in the joints, a “lack of openness in life,” and “not being willing to view all options in front of you” are easily prevented with the regular ingestion of organic sodium (151).

As most people age, rigidity in the body may become noticeable. What about the stubborn, rigid thinking? Sankey states that, “flexibility is also associated with the mind and how expansive and receptive we are to new or different views and ideas of life” (150). Organic sodium allows for “expansiveness of thought” as well as physical flexibility, thus truly assisting people with feeling and appearing younger (150). After all, Sankey says, “Flexibility is associated with youth and youthful spirit” (150).

Organic sodium is not the only sodium the body requires, in Sankey’s opinion. He says, “I personally feel that the physical body needs small quantities of high quality salts for optimum health. The blood and most of the fluids in the body contain some level of salt” (152). Sankey is not referring to commercial salts and sea salts purchased in the average store (152-3). He says, “Commercial salts are devoid of any beneficial minerals or trace minerals. Commercial salts are bleached, excessively heated to a very high temperature, and have very little nutritional value except for tasting salty” (153). Many people are under the impression that regular, white, sea salt is beneficial. However, sea salt lacks the important trace minerals and electrolytes of the higher quality salts such as the gray Celtic or the pink Himalayan salts (153). Moreover, commercial salts “can be detrimental to the human body when taken in excessive amounts” and also contain additives to make the salt flow from the shaker (152-3). If the salt you use attracts moisture and becomes clumpy when left uncovered, that’s a good sign that you most likely are using a high quality salt.

Celtic or Himalayan are two high quality salts. When cooking with either of these salts, do not add the salt until the food has been removed from the heat. Sprinkle it on just before serving, because heating high quality salts will destroy many of the valuable trace minerals (153). Avoiding excess heat also goes for the organic sodium found in your fruits and vegetables. As Sankey says, “Raw foods have more life force and have enzymatic activity” (154). While consuming fresh and raw foods ensure that more of its natural, important qualities, like organic sodium, are still potent, slightly steaming vegetables is alright. Sankey says, “To obtain organic sodium through your foods, eat organic, slightly steamed or raw okra and especially freshly squeezed organic celery juice” (151). He goes on to warn, “Most of the store bought fruits are picked immaturely, so they will be lacking in the quality and quantity of organic sodium needed” (151). An apple or apricot tree, a carrot garden, and a strawberry patch, are all ideas for your backyard, so you can enjoy organic sodium in freshly picked foods.

Don’t fool yourself. You can ingest an excess amount of table salt and salt within processed, packaged foods and still be deficient in organic sodium. Fresh, organic vegetables and fruits, or “fast food” and medically prescribed drugs, the choice is yours. The outcome is yours. What you ingest today will decide if nature’s fountain of youth is with you tomorrow, or not.

For more information, Please read Mikio Sankey’s Esoteric Acupuncture Volume V, Support the Mountain: Nutrition for Expanded Consciousness.

Gallstones Contribute to Tooth Decay?

According to Andreas Moritz, liver gallstones interfere with attaining and maintaining health in a variety of ways, such as from the bacteria and viruses hiding within the stones that can leak into a person’s system (viii, 10). He confidently writes in his book The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse, “Gallstones in the liver are, as you will understand from reading this book, the main impediment to acquiring and maintaining good health, youthfulness, and vitality (viii). Puffy eyes, impotence, gout, and nightmares may be related to liver gallstones (5). That is not all. Moritz warns that thrush, herpes, tooth decay, and problems with gums are all related to these green, brown, beige and black gallstones within the liver (8, 10). Tooth Decay? It may be a surprise to hear that there is more to tooth decay than simply not brushing correctly.

Digestion, absorption, and elimination are all functions that occur in the alimentary canal of the digestive system. Moritz explains, “The stones interfere with digestion and absorption of food, which, in turn, forces waste products meant for elimination to remain in the intestinal tract. The storage of waste in the intestines creates a toxic, anaerobic environment that supports breeding of destructive germs and parasites and undermines preservation of healthy, resilient tissues” (8). As a consequence, the intestines are clogged up with this undigested waste that most likely will lead to bacterial and viral infections in the mouth. How? Bacteria all along the gastrointestinal tract may lead to thrush in the mouth, which is one end of the tract (9). Moritz warns, “Since the largest part of the immune system in the body is located in the mucus lining of the GI tract, thrush indicates a major weakness in the body’s general immunity to disease” (9). With herpes, the virus attacks the nucleus, which is the cell’s interior (9). Moritz is adamant that a person cannot suffer from either thrush or a herpes outbreak with a healthy colon and elimination function, and that both cases involve “weak and unhealthy cells – that is, cells that are already damaged or dysfunctional and are susceptible to mutate into cancerous cells (8-10). Keeping cells healthy is a priority in order to maintain a healthy body.

When a body is not healthy, bacteria will perform its duty of decomposing the problem, just as with bad fruit or a carcass. “While decomposing food or flesh, bacteria produce toxins,” writes Moritz (9). He adds, “Bacteria never attack - that is, infect something – that is clean, vital, and healthy as a well-nourished fruit hanging on the tree” (9). Having a clean colon ensures no bacterial attack, and for this an adequate amount of bile from the liver is necessary (10). When not enough bile is available, the bacteria clean-up crew is happy to be on the job, which can create a plethora of problems for the host: you. One obstacle to adequate bile production is gallstones.

Tooth decay is related to the lack of bile from the accumulation of gallstones. Not enough bile secretion can reduce “appetite and secretions of saliva from the salivary glands in the mouth. Saliva is required to cleanse the mouth and keep its tissues soft and pliable (10). Again, if the mouth resembles an unhealthy situation like bad fruit or a carcass, bacteria will show up to do their clean-up job, which in turn will result in the production of toxic waste products, and may likely result in “tooth decay, gum destruction, and other tooth-related problems” (10). Bile that has “regurgitated into the stomach and, from there, into the mouth” can cause a bitter taste in your mouth and “drastically alters the pH-value (acid-alkaline balance) of saliva, which inhibits its cleansing action” (10). The bacteria are your friends, simply trying to help your unhealthy mouth out. They are not the cause of your tooth decay, even though tooth decay may result from their presence (10).

For more information about how gallstones can affect your health and for details on the Liver Gallbladder Gallstone Cleanse, please read The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse: An All-Natural, At-Home Flush to Purify & Rejuvenate Your Body by Andreas Moritz.

Audio-Psycho Phonology: Ear-Brain Exercises on the Go!

According to Rafaele Joudry, director of Sound Therapy International, listening to Sound Therapy CDs offers a variety of benefits, from reducing stress to acquiring vigor for getting through the day. Benefits other listeners have noticed are improved rest with sleep, relief from tinnitus, clearer communication, and a willingness to socialize. But what exactly is Sound Therapy?

At first glance the CDs appear to be a variety of classical music. However, each musical selection has passed through the Tomatis’ Electronic Ear, which is a machine that alters the frequency levels and adjusts the sounds therapeutically, so during listening, the ear and brain receive a workout.

Many people have experienced harm to their high-frequency hearing through loud noises at concerts or from the industrial environment of today. The damage to high-frequency hearing was noticed during some of the earlier work done with Sound Therapy’s predecessor, the huge, non-portable Electronic Ear in the office of ear specialist, Dr. Tomatis. At that time, singers noticed an improvement with their singing: they were able to sing higher as their ears were learning to hear higher frequencies.

Sound Therapy will not interfere with daily activities. During work, travel, sleep and some play, the CD player may be worn in a hip or neck bag, and the headphone cord may run down the back beneath clothing. In addition, because the volume is set low, working an eight-hour shift and choosing to have this form of sound therapy will not interfere with hearing. A greater calmness and increased vitality may eventually accompany the listener as they complete tasks.

A minimum of three hours a day, not necessarily in a consecutive manner, is required to set the ear and brain on a course toward change. Provided that the CDs can be heard even a little without hearing aids, it is recommended that at least some of the daily listening occur without hearing aids. It is suggested that the ears not be shocked with the therapy being too loud. Rather, set the volume so as some parts of the music are heard comfortably, and others are not heard at all. Intermittent sounds are sufficient for the Sound Therapy to work. The music is not as important as the therapy behind it.

What if the constant music is too harsh on the ears? If the experience of listening to Sound Therapy is uncomfortable, then the volume is most likely set too high. Conversations, a person’s own voice, and the TV, for example, should all be heard over the hisses and music of the program. Prior to entering a noisy theatre, for instance, set the music to a low but audible volume, then do not give it another thought.

Is it painful? Subtle pain in the ears may occur at first, just as in any exercise program. The muscles in the middle ear may be functioning more fully than they ever have before, and the nervous system and ears will adjust accordingly with continued use. Momentary discomfort and tiredness may be initial signs that the program is working.

The Sound Therapy instructional manual informs users that, “Individuals vary greatly in the length of time required for the auditory opening, and that effects, while sometimes dramatic, can be subtle.” The “opening” is a near magical moment when a shifting seems to occur within the ear and brain: symptoms may suddenly vanish, a voice may spontaneously sound softer or sing higher, hearing may all at once become more acute, and energy levels may surprisingly improve. Some may require months of dedicated listening before changes are noticed. A desired outcome may seem never to arrive, but if analyzed, life improvements overall are bound to be noticed.

After the desired change has occurred, continuing to listen to the CDs, even in a haphazard way, is recommended. Sound Therapy is a continual protection against intrusive noise, a concentration tool and an aid to help the brain retain what has been studied. As long as the CDs are from Sound Therapy International and not burned from iPods or otherwise copied, they are therapeutic. Copying the CDs renders them ineffective because specific recording equipment using original analogue recordings from the Electronic Ear have been carefully transferred to the Sound Therapy CDs.

Sound Therapy’s Basic Music Kit is an investment for the whole family. I have been listening for years and though I had no health issue I wished to solve, I have noticed, though not a singer, I am able to sing higher than previously, and I can understand words in songs now. I rely on my Sound Therapy for protection against loud noises such as in movie theatres and stores and for when I am close to loud speakers.

When you call me to purchase the Basic Kit, you can order one of three complimentary books. I suggest Sound Therapy: Music to Recharge Your Brain by Patricia and Rafaele Joudry if you have not read it. It will provide all the information you need in order to understand how and why Sound Therapy came about. The other two books from which you may choose are Triumph Over Tinnitus and Why Aren’t I Learning.

For more information go to www.soundtherapyinternational.com., or call Dr. Debbie at (310)279-8138.

Ear Infections

"Who you are dictates what you see.”- John Maxwell

According to…Keeping Your Child Healthy with Chinese Medicine by Bob Flaws, the Chinese “understanding of what is a healthy diet, both for infants and for adults, is way ahead of us in the West” (91). Many children suffer from multiple ear infections here in the U.S., yet supposedly not in China. Flaws points out that it is not related to different anatomy. Diet and awareness of what is put into a child, whether given by shot or orally, could quite possibly be behind the mystery.

It is common practice for parents to take their children to a doctor for routine wellness checkups. The child feels fine, but the doctor will use what he or she sees through the otoscope, the instrument used to check ears, as the only evidence for prescribing antibiotics (94). Because of this, Flaws advises against the over use of an otoscope. As this practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) says, “When children are given antibiotics over and over again at a young age, it is my experience as a clinician that this can lead to many years, if not a lifetime, of chronic health problems” (94). Flaws observes that these children “are more prone than others to all sorts of allergies, including hayfever and allergic asthma. They are also more prone to sore throats and tonsillitis” (94). The suggestion is not to get started on the antibiotic merry-go-round.

Some children experience recurrent ear infections and make many unscheduled visits to the doctor’s office. Antibiotics can clear the heat accompanying the infection, but do nothing to address the food stagnation, which is most likely the root of the problem. “In fact,” says Flaws, “[antibiotics] contribute to its worsening” (91). In TCM thought, antibiotics actually damage the built-in mechanisms that assist us with all the aspects of digestion, physical and non-physical. In Western thought, antibiotics are equal-opportunity killers of bacteria in the stomach and intestines, even the helpful bacteria. Flaws says, “These [beneficial] bacteria help break down foods and the waste products of digestion. Others of these bacteria help keep populations of various yeast and fungi in proper proportions” (42). Parents and physicians usually become frustrated with the endless cycle of problems related to ear infections, such as food stagnation and perpetual antibiotic use, and finally suggest the procedure of placing tubes in the eardrums without ever considering Chinese herbal formulas.

From the onset of an ear issue, Flaws is an advocate of trying other procedures before starting on a course of antibiotics, indeed, saving antibiotics as a final effort to remedy the problem (41). TCM practitioners have a variety of remedies to try, taking the child’s constitution, age, diet and diagnosis into consideration. Flaws says, “Chinese herbal medicine is very effective for both treating acute earaches as well as preventing recurrent earaches” (92). The most commonly prescribed herbal formula for children, Xiao Chai Hu Tang, has been used for hundreds of years safely (92). Sometimes another herbal formula, Wu Ling San, is prescribed in the absence of inflammation or infections because it addresses excess fluids, which may cause “bulging eardrums” (94). Wu Ling San has also been in use for centuries successfully treating fluid leaking from the ear amongst other ailments. For cases when the eardrum has burst, Huang Qi Jian Zhong Tang may be necessary. Flaws says, “Actually, this is the final stage of an ear infection and when this occurs, it [the bursting eardrum] marks the resolution of the situation” (94). Huang Qi Jian Zhong Tang is used after inflammation and infection have been resolved. The formula, along with keeping “the child’s head out of water 4-6 weeks after the eardrum has ruptured,” are important for a quick and certain recovery because water entering the ear will cause pain and may cause another infection (94). All Chinese herbal formulas are prepared with harmony for the client in mind; therefore, additions and deletions of specific herbs may make a slightly different formula.

TCM practitioners recognize the importance of diet, especially where children’s ears are concerned. Not consuming dairy products, fried or spicy foods, candy or sugar, and frozen or raw foods, is a must. Flaws warns, “In children with recurrent ear infections, even yeasted wheat products, like bread, should be eliminated” (93). A bland diet for awhile will help the child considerably because diet and lifestyle are responsible for seventy percent of the healing process (93-5). Consuming fewer drugs, with more attention to food choices, is a sound practice for this future adult to learn now.

For more information on how to live drug-free and to have healthy ears, please read my articles at www.debbieallsup.info: Sound Therapy: Ear Exercises on the Go (November 2009), Flower Essences for Balancing, Herbs for Kids Instead of Antibiotics, and Genuine Essential Oils (all from October 2009).

Pure Air, Pure Water

“In Life Insurance and such like societies, were they instead of having the person examined by the medical man, to have the houses, conditions, ways of life, of these persons examined, at how much truer results would they arrive!” Notes on Nursing (1860), p. 123 by Florence Nightingale.

According to Florence Nightingale, “All disease, at some period or other of its course, is more or less a reparative process, not necessarily accompanied with suffering” (7). Back in 1860, Nightingale published Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not. In this little book, she explains how illness is a function of nature to fix up either a long or short term toxic body, most likely from a faulty environment. She holds that poor health is unnoticed until you become ill and that even then, you may not notice your unhealthy physical surroundings. 

Her hypothesis is still true today. Nightingale wrote this book at a time when people were already masking true conditions with a foreign substance in order to barge through life as they wished. In this instance, what they called “disinfecting” and “purifying” were measures taken through “fumigating,” which was a process of releasing a scent meant to overpower the smell in the home so people could tolerate their homes. Nightingale writes, “I wish all the disinfecting fluids invented made such an ‘abominable smell’ that they forced you to admit fresh air. That would be a useful invention” (23-4). Back in her time, Nightingale saw five “essential points in securing the health of homes: pure air, pure water, efficient waste drainage, cleanliness, and light” (24). Today, each of these points still holds true, only now we could add protection from constant electromagnetic bombardment to the list. 

 Air has not gone out of fashion. However, fresh, pure air has become hard to find. People spend their days and nights locked up in offices and rooms relying on heaters and air conditioners, with closed windows blocking out even the cities polluted “fresh” air. Also, air poisoned with carbon monoxide has killed some people due to faulty heaters. Nightingale would be horrified at how drastically our dwellings' ventilation has deteriorated. Get fresh air! 

 Pure water is even harder to find whether in a bottle, from the tap, or out of a lake. We have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowing chemicals and such to remain in our tap water and I am not convinced they are checking bottled water, which did not exist in the past, but something we drink just the same. In fact, the FDA, or local governing bodies, allow chlorine, fluoride, and other additives to pass their inspection and still enter your water. One way to inspect the water in your home is to ask yourself if you smell chlorine when taking a shower? If so, you are having a gas chamber experience. One of the only threats related to bathing in the past was that someone might catch a chill. Now threats include how you are affected by what you have inhaled or absorbed through your skin from the water and the cleanser you use. If you do not have pure water, get a filter to help protect your family from bath, cooking, and drinking water. 

 Efficient drainage was a concern in the nineteenth century because the end of a pipe that led away from the house was communicating with a nearby sewer, and the other end opened into the house via a sink hole or the “water closet” bowl (toilet). Nightingale’s concern was that fumes were entering the homes, fouling the air. This might still be a concern, though to a lesser extent since today’s drainage constantly flows away from homes from connected pipes, possibly halting a backward flow of fumes. Efficient drainage for us now would include protecting our oceans from the waste and the chemicals used in the sewerage plants. “Efficient drainage” would also now relate to purifying the sewer water of everything, waste and chemicals, before it is recycled back into drinking and tap water. 

 Cleanliness is not the same issue as before. We can bathe more often because it is convenient. We do not have copious dust blowing inside our homes and sticking to the wallpaper, hiding in the rugs and collecting in corners of our homes. We do not have multiple gaslights, as Nightingale calls them, pouring their fumes into the home environment. We do not have those same gaslights consuming the oxygen that eleven men could (20). However, we are under the impression that the cleansers we use on our hair, skin, and household items are safe. Are body and home environments truly clean if smothered in chemicals that we absorb into our skin and inhale into our bodies? Sodium Laureth Sulfate, a common ingredient in detergents and soaps, will damage hair follicles, cause liver toxicity, and can cause skin and eye damage, to name a few negative effects. Cocamidopropyl Betaine, widely used in soaps and cleansers, may cause allergies and is a toxin to the environment and to the immune system. Cocamide DEA, a soap and shampoo thickener, may increase cell death, inhibit cell growth, and lead to miscarriage and cancer. These are just a few of the ingredients you may be ingesting, absorbing, or inhaling in your so-called clean environment. Cleanliness is still an issue. 

 We may have strong odor and germ killers in our carpet shampoos compared to the past, but they may not be making the house healthier. Also, we have chemicals in the products that “freshen” our air artificially. We use standardized oils, instead of wholesome essential oils, and drip them onto harmful propylene candles instead of beeswax candles. Are environmental toxins in our cleaning products for humans and our homes what Nightingale had in mind for cleanliness? I think not. A modern sick person is not likely to be residing in a chemical-free body and home environment. 

 As far as light goes, we shut ill and infirm people away from sunlight. Even if a hospital patient, for instance, has a window, it most likely does not open and the light enters through glass, not naturally. Nightingale writes, “It is the unqualified result of all my experience with the sick, that second only to their need for fresh air is their need of light; that, after a closed room, what hurts them most is a dark room” (84). She goes on to clarify that “it is not only light but direct sunlight they want,” and beautifully states, “The sun is not a painter (inspiring the spirits), but a sculptor tangibly aiding the body” (84). Nightingale believes the purifying aspect of sunlight is important for recovery and health. She quotes a foreign non-philosopher without naming him or her. This person says, “Where there is sun, there is thought” (86). She equates cellars, the shady sides of hills, and dark, narrow streets and the “degeneracy and weakliness of the human race” hiding out there, with a mind and body deprived of sunlight (87). She says that given the opportunity, both plants and patients will move their leaves and their faces to the light (87). In order to assure continued health, adequate sunlight must interact with you and your home on a regular basis. 

 Light can also be harmful in the form of artificial lighting. Fluorescent lighting has been accused of being a huge culprit of ill-health in humans. Robert Brennan, at a website cited below says, “Studies worldwide prove that if schools and workplaces were lit with sunlight or full-spectrum bulbs kids would do better in school, and rates of depression and suicide would drop everywhere from college to prison.” Lack of sunlight is probably contributing to ill-health now more than in 1860 because the press maligns the sun, convincing people to avoid it. As a result, people overuse sunscreen and sunglasses, people have a lack of exposure to sunlight without prescription glasses or contacts, and people are constantly under artificial lighting. 

 In short, your environment is probably harder on your system than Nightingale’s was on hers. If you are experiencing poor health, your home and workplace need to be examined. Do not simply turn to painkillers and such, masking your symptoms as those long ago did with foul smells. Find out where your health and home environment need your attention, thus the root cause of your ills. These five simple, often over-looked points are important even for us in 2010. We have no time to lose. 

Please read Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not by Florence Nightingale and the articles at http:/nyc.indymedia.org/en/2007/01/81805.html and http://thegreenbeautyguide.com for information on fluorescent lighting and on being aware of products even if they use the word “organic.” Also visit www.toadilyhandmade.com for environmentally safe candles.