When the words ‘self-care’ or ‘self-improvement’ are heard, people tend to conjure up different trains of thought, especially if they apply them immediately to themselves. For some of us, the idea of ‘caring for ourselves’ may get confused with ‘caring too much for self” and/or “caring too little for others”. But failing to look out for your own health can result in a decline in physical and/or mental health in so many gradual and insidious ways! And your poor health, or even lack of optimal health, can impact those around you in so many ways.
I would like to conclude this introduction to this month’s newsletter by quoting from page 3 of my book Butterfly Miracles with Herbal Remedies.
The Focus of Our Work
Herbal remedies and other natural modalities can be utilized in two differing ways. The first method is to focus on the immediate now! Someone you love is ill or unhappy today. Your concern becomes making the pain and the distressing symptoms go away, and making them go away right now! This approach accomplishes a great deal of good in people’s lives. It becomes easy to assume that your work is done when the current crisis has passed. This is where the second method comes in.
With natural healing methods our focus should be the building of healthy, disease free, stress resistant bodies and minds, not just fixing the current symptoms. We are looking for root causes and basic imbalances within ourselves. We are seeking ways to eliminate problem areas and become healthy, happy, vibrant versions of ourselves. We must, of course, cope with what is happening in our lives right now. We have to get up and function each day, after all, but at the same time we need to hold in our mind the goal of strong immune systems, and healthy minds and bodies. Try not to lose sight of this goal amidst the stresses of everyday living. It is far better to eliminate the asthma completely than to get really good at coping with frequent attacks.
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said that he studied science in order to ‘understand God’s thoughts’ as He created the world. As I have studied anatomy and physiology and the healing properties of “God’s pharmacy’—for a lifetime—I am always in awe of the genius of our Creator and His overwhelming love for each of us!
With plants, in either herb or essential oil form, we have been given wonderful ways to nourish and heal our bodies. And the energetic miracle that is Blessed Water/Homeopathic Remedies is almost beyond belief!
We are meant to be well and happy and energetic into our advanced years! Please do not accept pain and physical limitations as a normal part of the aging process! Eat right. live well, and use the wonderful and amazing remedies that God has provided for us everywhere in the world!
The digestive system is a very intricate and complex system. To my mind, it is much like a fragile ecosystem. There is a constant need for balance in the digestive system, just as there is in nature. The balance between the organs and among the different types of healthy bacteria found in the digestive system is absolutely essential to good health. When the digestive system is not working properly, the body becomes either malnourished or toxic. As a result, all the woes of poor nutrition and/or a toxic system eventually show themselves in the overall health of the body and mind.
Due to the many different organs included in the digestive system and their specific roles in the body, there are a lot of essential oils and herbs which have an ability to impact this system and bring about improvements. This month’s newsletter targets only a few of them. (I know from the length of the article that it seems like we surely must have mentioned them all. Not so—but it did feel like that to me as I wrote it.) I hope you find something useful to you or your family in the information I have tried to present here.
An allergy is an inappropriate response by the body to a substance that is not harmful to most people. The immune system, which is supposed to protect us from toxins and pathogens, wrongly identifies a substance as harmful to us and goes into action. The response can be anywhere from mildly annoying to symptoms severe enough to create anaphylactic shock. These types of allergies may begin with only mild symptoms but grow worse with each reaction; they are NOT something that a person typically grows out of.
When I saw this month’s topic I got very excited. Allergies can be devastating and have a nasty effect on trying to live life and enjoy it! I had so many allergies—an unbelievable number and to a wide variety of substances—during my childhood and early adulthood. If it blew on the wind, if it was meant to be consumed in a raw or natural state such as watermelon or nearly every kind of vegetable or fruit, or if it was a drug of any sort—even such things as antibiotics, dental deadening, and mouthwashes—I was going to react to it in some uncomfortable or dangerous way. Oh, the list could go on and on! I spent my life either in misery from one allergy or another or I was sleepy from the allergy pills I was taking. Trips to the dentist’s office became scary for me and for the dentist! Eventually, I even started to react to allergy pills of every variety.
As with all true allergies, the reactions to many of my ‘triggers’ got worse with time—much worse, involving my heart in scary ways!
Who am I today as far as allergies are concerned? I have none and haven’t had for many years! I eat whatever I want. Do you have any idea how enjoyable a piece of watermelon or a raw carrot tastes these days? Or how fun it is to be outdoors. I don’t even worry about bee stings these days! If I feel the slightest itch in my throat or eyes or any other allergic-type reaction I simply go back to the things I know. Many of those things will be talked about in this article.
Side Note: Having had some scary reactions to antibiotics and other types of drugs in the past and having lived so many years without them, I can’t really say for sure whether they are still a problem or not. I suspect those allergies have also gone away. I took 2 antibiotic pills and 1 painkiller a while ago (the first of either in 40 years) after some extensive dental work. No reaction at all!
There is, absolutely and without doubt, no road to good health (or recovery from illness and chronic ailments) without good nutrition being a priority every day!
Studies done at the School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, indicate that if a person has a sub-clinical nutritional deficiency, he or she might appear ‘perfectly normal’ except for increased susceptibility to disease, longer recovery time from surgery, adverse reactions to vaccines, extreme fatigue that interferes with normal functioning, depression, insomnia, and irritability.
Richard Revlin, M.D., of the Sloan-Kettering Cancer institute says,
“In the United States today, we rarely see cases of classical vitamin deficiency, such as scurvy and pellagra—to name just a few cited in this article. However, we are now beginning to recognize a vast new series of marginal deficiencies related to disease. Marginal deficiency, it now appears, may be a surprisingly common phenomenon.”
One very important reason herbal remedies work for a particular problem is that the herb has provided one or more vital nutrients that are missing in the diet.
It is important to understand, and remember, that vitamins and minerals chemically constructed in a laboratory cannot fill the nutritional needs of the body. Man has been unable to produce a single molecular structure that is exactly identical to those produced in nature. Laboratories can assemble the correct components in the correct amounts but somewhere in the joining of the atoms will be a rotation to the left that should be rotating to the right. The resulting isomer (that is the scientific word for it) is not bio-identical, no matter what the advertising says. This is as true of hormones and amino acids as it is of vitamins. (Hint: If the supplement you are buying says “L-something or other”, the ‘L’ is a warning that this supplement has been artificially produced in a laboratory and will not be providing the nutrition you think you are getting!
There is a great deal of information about the nutritional components of herbs in the book, Butterfly Miracles with Herbal Remedies which can be purchased at Butterflyexpress.shop. Nutrition and health is a topic that has fascinated me for years. See the full list of topics.
The ADRENAL GLANDS, KIDNEYS AND THYROID are super-intelligent organs. When I consider the number one cause of malfunction in these closely related organs, the word that comes to mind is STRESS—especially chronic, seemingly unending types of stress! Stress will, of course, quickly damage the adrenal glands. Since the adrenal glands and the thyroid are in constant communication with each other, malfunction of the thyroid gland is eminent and almost unavoidable.
I love the study of anatomy (where things are placed in the body) and physiology (what their functions are and why they are where they are). Placing those little adrenal glands right on top of the kidneys, makes perfect, beautiful, harmonious sense! Because of their importance to survival, they are placed with each other in a well-protected spot in the body! See the full list of topics.
Are you ready for some summer fun? There are so many fun things to do and places to go. Are you traveling, camping, or just getting out in the sun? Summer can be full of bugs, sun, scrapes, and bruises so we are focusing this month’s blog on some of our favorite Herbs, Essential Oils, and Blessed Waters that help us to be PREPARED for the fun of SUMMER. There are some amazing products you need to know about and then we will talk about things for Sun Safety, Building Immunity, Camping and First Aid, and Traveling.
March is the perfect time to focus on Allergies, Liver, and Lymph. With allergy season just around the corner giving your liver and lymph some extra love can make your spring and summer a lot more fun. The lymph is a very important part of the immune system and the liver is vital to keeping your body detoxed. The liver performs over 500 functions in the body. The liver is part of the digestive system. This blog is full of great ideas to help keep your lymph moving and keep your liver happier. This is the secret to surviving allergies. Make sure you don’t miss the new multivitamin.
See the full list of topics.
In July, we will be talking about DEHYDRATION and MINERALS. We are all aware that when you are extremely dehydrated, it is a serious situation. However, most of us do not realize how important it is to avoid being even slightly dehydrated. We also don’t really grasp how minerals work to help us stay hydrated. Water is only part of staying hydrated. Join us as we talk about the importance of minerals, and electrolytes. We will also talk about essential oils, herbs, and blessed waters. See the full list of topics.
In January, we will be talking about RELEASING CELLULAR MEMORY and WEIGHT LOSS. Our bodies store memories and perceptions in the cells of our bodies. Blocked energy that has resulted from traumatic real-life events are like energetic land mines. These areas are filled with dark emotions, memories, and energies. Sometimes the energetic clearing of such a spot can result in a powerful emotional release. This time of year is all about refreshing and releasing. The oils, herbs, and blessed waters we will talk about are my favorites for releasing past traumas and lifting an emotional weight off our shoulders. Often, weight loss will naturally follow and we will be happier and healthier. See the full list of topics.