7 Tips for Henna, Amla, and Morrocco Method Shampoos

For the past several weeks, I keep getting nudges to write about hair. Some clients have mentioned hair issues, and I’m sitting here with a mud pie of henna on my head, so here goes. Back in June 2009, I wrote a comprehensive post about all things henna, along with lots of information about natural hair care, hair nutrients and general tips for full, shiny hair. I wanted to reblog it, but over eight years later, I have too many updates for the little reblog box. You can read my original post here. In today’s post, I’ll just add additional things I’ve learned about henna and Morrocco Method over the years.

Please note that anything I say about henna refers only to body art quality, pure henna (Lawsonia) from a reputable source. Do be careful when experimenting with henna. Some companies add toxic ingredients to get all sorts of unnatural colors and effects, still calling their products “henna.”

To provide some background, though, yes, I henna my hair. I started back in 2006, because a mehendi artist told me that henna would tame the crazy, wild knots I used to get on the back of my head. Using henna did tame those knots, but it didn’t change my hair color

The Unbounded Spirit ~ Tree Hugging Now Scientifically Validated

Thanks to RMN for pointing to this timely piece, which goes so well with yesterday’s post, “3 Tree Interventions and a 10/10 1-Day Special.”

The Unbounded Spirit ~ Tree Hugging Now Scientifically Validated

It has been recently scientifically validated that hugging trees is good for you. Research has shown that you don’t even have to touch a tree to get better, you just need to be within its vicinity has a beneficial effect.

In a recently published book, Blinded by Science, the author Matthew Silverstone, proves scientifically that trees do in fact improve many health issues such as concentration levels, reaction times, depression, stress and other various forms of mental illness. He even points to research indicating a tree’s ability to alleviate headaches in humans seeking relief by communing with trees.

The author points to a number of studies that have shown that children show significant psychological and physiological improvement in terms of their health and well being when they interact with plants and trees. Specifically, the research indicates that children function better cognitively and emotionally in green environments and have more creative play in green areas. Also, he quotes a major public health report that investigated the association between green spaces and mental health concluded that “access to nature can significantly contribute to our mental capital and wellbeing.”

Read and view the rest of this post here.

Two Great Articles

These are long pieces, but too important and informative not to share:

Monsanto’s Sealed Documents Reveal the Truth behind Roundup’s Toxicological Dangers

and

CENSORED: The Atlantic buried this interview with the Health Ranger after realizing his answers made too much sense.

Health Benefits of Gardening

Via Off The Grid News, this short video shares some very cool information:

ZeroHedge ~ The Subtle Slavery of Obamacare

I’m posting a link to a long explanation of Obamacare from someone who used to sell “health” insurance. I love the author’s pen name, “Cognitive Dissonance,” because that state more than anything is what has allowed the insanity to proceed thus far. Anyway, it’s a long article with actual numbers and insights into the ACA. The author concludes by saying he doesn’t know what to do about it. I don’t have a full on solution, either, but I recently found a seemingly good solution for myself, which I will share here. Perhaps it will help someone reading this. My story is a literal fairytale, which includes the FSOA. (No, that’s not a health code or government agency. It’s what my friend Mitch has affectionately dubbed the “Faery Seal of Approval”). If you prefer to skip my story but want to read the article, you can just click here.

As anyone who has read my book, “If I Only Had a Brain Injury” knows, in 1998, I suffered a “mild” traumatic brain injury that totally disabled me for four years and kept me partially disabled for another two. Workers Comp shopped me around to dozens of doctors, none of whom helped with the brain injury symptoms and few of whom helped at all with my neck injury. Thankfully, my strong intuition warned me not to take one of the medications prescribed, because on my follow-up visit, months later, a panicked doctor rifling through my file asked if I was still taking a particular pain killer. “No, I didn’t like something about it, so I stopped using it after only one pill.” I watched the doctor’s relief and narrowed my eyes while asking, “Why?” “Oh,” he said, “that drug was recently recalled after four people died of kidney failure.” That was the first among many lessons in that TBI recovery that I would do well to heal myself rather than put my trust into incompetent (or worse) hands.

When I finally did find people who knew what was wrong with me and how to treat me, I learned that the various mandated “treatments” Workers Comp approved doctors prescribed had radically complicated and slowed my recovery. To undo the brain damage followed by the exacerbated damage caused by doctors, I spent several years out of pocket on highly alternative treatments that lost me my personal injury settlement but did put me on the path to healing.

Ultimately, I discovered the extreme connection between body, mind, emotions, soul history, spiritual perspective and life path — something learned, not prescribed. Taking control of my own healing got me well. The process, however, of having various overseers like Workers Comp or insurance agencies controlling my available options forever tattooed upon my soul the importance of maintaining health sovereignty. If I had not gone rogue, I would not have since written three books and a prolific blog, because the top neurologist in the US declared I would remain unable to read or work for the rest of my life. Deal with it.

Meanwhile, the other side of the coin tried to get me declared crazy so that Social Security would accept my claim, thereby leaving the insurance companies or Workers Comp off the hook for care demanded by a work injury. Unable to read or tolerate fluorescent lights, I nonetheless spent more hours than I care to count sitting in psychiatrists’ and/or insurance whore psychologists’ offices taking test after written test under fluorescent lights — all with the purpose of catching me in a lie (malingering) or certifying me as nuts. Somehow I passed those tests, although the next part of this story might make people wonder why. 😉

Fast forward to 2014: I’ve now spent years trying to find some way to slip through the fingers of what I experienced at various times as my own personal enslavers, namely, insurance companies and the IRS. I knew about religious exemptions, but I don’t fit into any of the defined religious categories. I’m not Amish. I’m not Muslim. I’m certainly not a right-wing Christian. I briefly looked into becoming a Christian Scientist, because I do believe the body can heal itself through prayer; however, I learned that most of the Christian Scientists actually support Obamacare and see no issues with it. I also couldn’t bring myself to agree to some of their requirements for joining.

I looked into various HealthShare Ministries, and I loved the concept of voluntary giving that goes directly to people’s medical bills; however, joining one appeared to invite in another form of tyranny from religious institutions. For many, I would need to join a church, attend at least three times per month, have my pastor oversee my “Christian lifestyle,” and I would need to take what amounts to an Oath removing the sovereignty of my soul. Can’t do it. Won’t do it.

For awhile, I carried no insurance or non-compliant “temporary insurance” for catastrophic events, but I hate the idea of giving the IRS any kind of power over me either. I don’t want fines, and I don’t want anything on their books to justify any kind of additional extortion from me. I have already dealt with bogus fines from the IRS — ones that they even admitted were bogus but nonetheless continued to demand. I love the idea of supportive group healthcare that really focuses on health and the spiritual component of health, that recognizes my body as my temple, that rewards me (or at least doesn’t punish me) for taking care of myself. I also don’t want to pay for treatments that I consider morally abhorrent, including forced vaccinations of children and/or adults, or mandatory chemotherapy of children.

One night, feeling quite trapped and enslaved by Church, State, the BigPharmafia, and Insurance companies, who apparently get you coming or going with Obamacare, I said a prayer to my faery friends: “Surely there is some loophole, some kind of HealthShare whose tenets I can support. Please, find me a way. Find me a loophole so that I can maintain my spiritual and physical integrity.” The next morning, the very first email I opened came from a client asking me to look at Liberty HealthShare, since she was facing the same Obamacare conundrum I was. As usual, the faeries came through! Of all the HealthShares I’ve investigated, Liberty is the only one that allows you to worship in your own way (or no way), with no Church supervision. It honors our bodies as temples, with the idea that, of course, we will care for our temple rather than abuse it. It offers extreme accountability for funds paid in, negotiates discounts like a regular insurance company, and truly allows you to choose your own care, including alternative treatments.

Despite my excitement, I sat on this for awhile. I did some research to see if I could find any scam alerts or outside testimonials. No scam alerts. I don’t have any way of verifying the testimonials, but for about the same cost per month as my temporary insurance, my annual deductible drops by $9,500. I also stop resetting the pre-existing condition checker every six months, and I get an actual exemption instead of paying fines on top of premiums that get me nothing. I still don’t intend to start using medical care. I’ve only gone to one doctor since 2002, and — shock me — that doctor did nothing to cure what ailed me. I still needed to do that myself.

I eventually decided to apply to Liberty HealthShare. As soon as I completed my online application, I immediately received an email from the “Fairy & Human Relations Congress,” with the Subject heading: “Blessings of Fairy Light from Us to You!” I had to chuckle, because that’s exactly how my faery friends send their signature after answering a request. With a huge, giggly, cosmic sync-wink.

Anyway, I cannot personally vouch for Liberty HealthShare, because I’ve not yet used it. My HealthShare begins on January 1, 2015. I can, however, assure you that it has the Faery Seal of Approval, and I’ll take the FSOA over the ACA any day. 😉

Here’s Cognitive Dissonance with a much more left-brained exploration of Obamacare and its various implications:

The Subtle Slavery of Obamacare
By Cognitive Dissonance

I wish everyone health and well-being on all levels in the coming months and years.

Preparing for Positive Timelines

Due to some recent questions via private email, I felt led to clarify a few points in today’s blog post. Most of the people I encounter are, in fact, experiencing evidence of positive trajectories in their lives. Clients, friends, family members … so many of them have recently broken through previous barriers or show signs of imminent release from old bonds and limitations. I see this, feel this and celebrate the shifts. Yet I also realize when talking to friends who have “regular jobs” in “the real world,” that the slice of humanity I encounter on a daily basis represents a relatively small, unusually conscious, highly creative, and determined segment of this world. I have great hope for humanity in that I see and hear — daily — evidence of people stepping into their power, growing their own organic foods, creating spaces for others to shine their creativity, finding alternatives to the usual suspects pulling puppet strings, and generally being the change they wish to see in the world.

Despite this optimism of an ultimately positive shift, I also notice through friends who work with the general public (as well as my own intuition) that most people are struggling right now. A lot. Most of the people that my “regular jobs” friends encounter have no clue about the importance of avoiding GMO foods or vaccines. They have chronic illnesses or broken psyches they can’t afford to treat. They don’t have time to consider off-world intervention or cosmic resets. They’re just trying to put food on the table and don’t care if it’s Frankenfood or the real deal. David works at a credit union and sees a particularly heartbreaking segment of society on government benefits days, with people smothered in cigarette smoke withdrawing every last cent of their disability checks. Other friends of mine work in the school system and share crushing details of the lives of a majority of kids, despite the creativity and compassion of their teachers.

We’ve got all sorts of great programs happening in Goshen with various youth organizations stepping up to help turn around childhood hunger and shifting the focus of foods from processed or fast foods back to whole, fresh foods. I know some incredibly good hearted people in Goshen and other areas, but in terms of awakening, most still tend to subscribe to the fake two-party system in which voting one party is good and the other party is responsible for all the bad things in the world. While some voice the concept that “all candidates are corrupt,” when election time rolls around, they go right back to “their” party’s talking points, without recognizing Shadow Government or other psyops secretly influencing and managing their “choices.”

I mention this not as a crack on the people I know, but just as an acknowledgement that any full scale shift into truly positive, beneficial for most people, systemic change will continue to require a great deal of patience, nurturing baby steps, gradual revelations, and compassionate Shadow Work. And that’s just for politics! If we add in ET Disclosure and its implications for religion, worldview, empowerment, betrayal, forgiveness, responsibility and discernment, we’re talking some mind-exploding paradigm shifts. I often ponder what people in this largely Mennonite and Amish area would do if someone showed actual proof of a radically different history, and I’ve come to realize that most people would simply reject the information. I suspect the same for larger swaths of world population.

Given the intertwined status of all these factors, though, enjoying a positive “collective” experience requires at least a significant portion of the public to register and acknowledge an expanded worldview. Inelia Benz referred to Earth’s preference for a gentle three generation shift, and I can totally see how that could provide the gentlest way. In trying to conquer the US, the old Soviet spies had also determined that a soft revolution takes three generations to shift the worldview to such an extent that even if presented with truth, those hearing truth will reject it as false. (Note, this has already happened in the US.) But what works for negative shifts can also work for positive ones. Tools depend on the skills and intentions of the person(s) wielding them.

The problem I see with the three generation shift is that at the current rate of habitat destruction, humanity may not have three generations left on this planet. Between GMO’s, toxic pesticides, birth defect and cancer inducing herbicides, leaking nuclear reactors, the imminent prospects of WW3, systematic poisoning and privatization of most water sources, potentially engineered pandemics and deadly vaccines, chemtrails to poison air, water and soil, not to mention all the EMF radiation … the puppeteers have got us coming and going. From a mundane perspective, time is not on humanity’s side right now.

From a spiritual/long range perspective, it may be. I do a fair amount of fertility work with people trying to conceive, and I know many of the souls wanting to come in now have changed. They require specific genetics and peaceful, high vibe lives. The fact that they’re so picky, powerful and determined … and continue to incarnate here leads me to believe that at least some segment of humanity will enjoy a lovely, positive, even magical trajectory. That split between the hell on Earth reality and the one I see unfolding seems to widen each day, except if I explore the possibility of an integrated timeline, in which everyone, not just the small segment already moving in that direction, participates.

Integration lifetimes and integration timelines hold great potential for exponentially positive, out of the mundane world, “new paradigm” shifts. Once people cross the hump, life become increasingly synchronous and delightful. The trouble arises en route to that shift, though, and we’ve got a world in which people have traveled radically different distances on or perhaps not even yet on the path. I never claim to know the one, definitive way “collective” reality will go, because I don’t believe there is a single, set in stone way. That’s one of the shifts, we’re making on this planet.

The reason I suggest that people prepare themselves even if — perhaps especially if — they intend to experience a positive timeline is because we can’t control the exact way that positive timeline plays out. It might mean positive just for the individuals capable of embracing it, or maybe it will gradually unfold over multiple generations. In either case, even positive shifts require substantial changes. They can also involve explosions of worldviews, self-conceptions and daily modes of operation. Even if completely positive shifts, such changes demand discipline, courage and determination in order to implement.

As of October 2014, I have provided professional Medical Intuitive readings for 13 years. I know from my own as well as clients’ experiences that healing can happen in an instant. It really can be that simple. But people often make it a lot more complicated and convoluted — especially when those around them don’t show interest in making similar shifts. The desire for companionship on the journey feels very strong. Most people complain of feeling isolated and lonely as they begin to drop old expectations and limitations. Even the ones who recognize growth and incoming freedom often struggle watching those around them wallow in old, self sabotaging ways. They also feel hurt and shaken when loved ones poke and prod at their new, empowering ways of life. Until fully embodied and in-habit-ed, these new ways flicker in and out, with full benefits not yet fully grasped. This intermediate time period, although on a positive, chosen timeline of great shift, nonetheless feels like the biggest challenge these heroes have ever experienced.

Healing as an individual takes great courage and fortitude. Healing as a society requires the same, as well as the ability to establish clear, strong boundaries of what we will or will not allow into our own experience, despite a majority of people around us actively summoning intense, accelerated lessons. For this reason, I continue to remind people to prepare themselves, not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually, for coming times — even on a positive timeline. I think all the supposedly “definite” info that we are 100% on a positive timeline does a disservice to many people in that not everyone is at the same point, at the same level of awareness or anywhere near prepared.

To use a personal example, my brain injury was a positive timeline that radically transformed, shaped, enlivened and improved my life. But it was no cakewalk, even though I was prepared for it by dreams and intuition. Had it just hit me out of the blue, like so many others’ injuries or illnesses, it would have devastated me. If I had not pre-glimpsed the positive outcome, I would have opted not to continue. I see this with clients in health and other issues/life events. I’ve lost count of all the people who’ve told me after the fact that my vision of their positive options was the only thing that kept them from killing themselves or passively accepting death during their healing journey. “Positive” is a relative term and the experience of it depends on perspective, of which hindsight often plays a major part. Going through the journey often feels blinding, scary and pointless, despite occasional glimmers of meaning and hope.

I still suspect that some cosmic wild card will be needed if people want a faster group transition. If they want the three generations method, that may or may not work, but if society wants rapid shift, then best to prepare for the Tower Card of the Tarot or some other significant game changer. I’ve mentioned before that W.B. Yeats considered the Tower Card his very favorite of the deck due to its extreme potential for change. Nothing quite like throwing out all the old paradigms before welcoming the new!

We just happen to live in a highly managed world in which puppeteers will happily provide a false “new” in order to relieve people of experiencing the uncomfortable and uncertain period between paradigms. I call it the Void, and I know from my own experience, as well as from working with thousands of individuals on healing journeys, that the Void feels scary, nauseating and like something you’d prefer to shake off ASAP. Preparing ourselves for the Void allows us to settle in and ride the waves for as long as it takes to integrate our preferred destination and ways of being.

This article is a very long way of saying that just because I think fluffery does people a disservice does not mean I disagree with assertions that Earth has since December 21, 2012 (or 2011, depending on your source) shifted to a positive timeline. We can find all sorts of proofs of that shift if we look for them — both in things initiated and in failed attempts at destruction. I just hear from people day in and day out that New Age platitudes and logic have both failed to provide their promised results. What happens then? Usually a period of the Void, followed by a Dark Night of the Soul. In positive terms, that Dark Night at least reminds people that they have a Soul and encourages them to reconnect with it. Sometimes the reconnection process stings, sears and stabs, though. Sometimes it breaks our heart before expanding those fragments into a radiant burst of joy that surpasses everything we ever thought we knew.

“Positive timeline” does not always mean “easy.” Recognizing and honoring the grittier parts of the journey affords the courage, wisdom and strength to keep going anyway. Despite all our best intentions, life may turn out differently than we hope, but we can choose, moment by moment to embrace The Great Mystery. We can partner with that Uncertainty to create new worlds beyond our original imaginings and intentions.

For some of us, that creative process is reason enough for living. Reason enough for joy, love and celebration. Carpe Diem, “seize the day.” But also know that whether good, bad, ugly, or the most beautiful thing you’ve ever experienced, “This, too, shall pass.” As Joni Mitchell says, “We are stardust, we are golden, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the Garden.” True words — in, between and among all their multi-layered meanings.

Blessed Be.

Granny Spears ~ ‘Herbology’

When we got married Ernie was bringing home about £1 17s 6d.

Now this was long before we went decimal so in todays money that would be about £1.25 a week, a couple of dollars to you Tess.

Now, although everyone thinks that we have always had free healthcare in the UK that’s not so. A visit to the doctor when we got married amounted to just over half a months pay so it was pretty much out of the question if we wanted to eat. The National Health Service got started in the late 1940′s, before then we had to pay.

Unless it was especially serious we relied on remedies passed down to us over the years, and most of the things we used involved plants, with the occasional bee added for good measure!  Usually, someone local had what you needed if you didn’t grow it yourself.

I went to teach the kids crochet again on Monday and we got around to the old days and ended up talking about plants. One of the girls said she really enjoyed her lesson in ‘herbology’. None of us knew if it was a real word, but we liked it so we decided to stick with it.

As an aside, the crochet is going great but I have a feeling I am going to be inundated with scarves and knee rugs this Christmas.

Right, back to herbology…

Honey

We used honey a lot back then, far more than most people use it now for medicinal purposes. We stored lumps of honeycomb in jars and the honey would collect at the bottom of the jar. A spoonful when you had a sore throat helped and it was one ‘medicine’ the children never minded.

It also soothes coughs, putting a lining on the throat and helping prevent irritation.

We also spread it over cuts and grazes to keep infection away and to help healing, it worked every time. Minor wounds would be lovely and clean and they really healed fast.

Burdock

We didn’t grow burdock, but there was enough of it growing wild that you could just pull it up when you needed it when it was in season. We would pick some of the fruits and store them for use later in the year. When you crush up burdock fruits they are oily and this soothes irritated skin almost immediately. The fresher they are the better but they dry very slowly so they were still of some use during the winter when fresh ones weren’t available

Making a poultice helps bring out bruises and a burdock tea is excellent for treating indigestion.

The root of the burdock plant was good for the treatment of boils. You boiled and mashed the root and placed it over the inflamed area. Drinking a tea made from burdock root was said to be good for arthritis…though none of us had it back then so I can’t be sure of that.

Marigolds

Marigolds were used to treat bites and stings, you just crush them and rub them over the affected area and relief soon follows.

These pretty flowers are a boon in the garden as they keep the aphids off tomatoes and other crops prone to blackfly like pole beans. Ernie ALWAYS planted a row of marigolds near our beans and the children used to put them in containers and move them around the tomato patch.

Chamomile

I grew this in a few rotten at the bottom barrels down the far end of the garden, it takes over if you let it escape!

Chamomile is very good at calming people down, and I used to make chamomile and lavender pouches to put in the childrens rooms to help them drift off to sleep.

Chamomile teas can either be just drunk as a drink or held in the mouth to relieve toothache or the pain of mouth ulcers.

Tansy

Tansy is a pretty yellow flower that grows as fast as a weed if you let it, another one I contained in an out of the way corner.

This stops the bugs biting very well, you just crush the leaves and rub them  on your skin. Works a treat. You don’t eat or drink tansy as it’s poisonous used like that.

Mint

Definitely contain this plant…it will take over the entire garden if it gets a chance. as well as using mint in the kitchen it is very good for calming upset stomachs and preventing the children feeling like they are going to be sick. If there were lots of colds around I would add mint to tea without milk as it seems to help fighting the germs.

Sage

Again, sage is great in the kitchen and almost as great for saving a costly trip to the doctors. Used as a bandage over the honey spread on a cut it is like a little natural bandage. It can also take the heat of burns, not open burns, but the fat splash or hot water type of burn that reddens the skin and makes it swell.

Marjoram

Marjoram makes for a decent disinfectant. Pick lots, crush it up and boil it. The liquid kills germs.

I’ll have to ask Edith if she knows where the box is that has all my old recipe books in. I had a few from mother when she died, all beautifully written out. I know there’s a notebook with them that lists all the medicinal plants my parents grew, and therefore the medicinal plants that I grew. I wonder where the box went? I’m sure we still have it somewhere.

Paul and the children are coming over on Sunday, he’s a strapping lad, he can go up into the loft and look for my box if Edith doesn’t know where it is.

Well, that’s it for today. You have a lovely weekend and I’ll speak to you soon.

Regards

Maud

Granny Spear was born in a small cottage in Devon, Southern England in 1925. Married to farm labourer Ernest, she raised her family in the heart of the countryside without any of the amenities we rely on today. Using skills passed down from her mother, who had learned those same skills from her mother, she not only survived but positively thrived living a self-sufficient, off grid lifestyle. Outliving her husband, one of her children and two of her grandchildren she stayed in the cottage until 2003 when a serious fall saw her hospitalized. She now lives with her daughter just four miles from her old home. For her 89th birthday her grandchildren and great grandchildren brought her an iPad, which she instantly rejected until they showed her Angry Birds…After much persuasion she has agreed to share some of her knowledge with us about what she calls the ‘old days’

via Gillian at Shift Frequency

SF Source ReadyNutrition  Sept 24 2014

Protecting Yourself from Lyme Disease

In the Northern Hemisphere we’ve entered the Lyme time of year — when ticks connect to skin, transmitting all manner of unpleasant parasites, spirochetes and protozoa. I have so many clients suffering from or who recently recovered from Chronic Lyme Disease, and I know that people grow afraid to spend any time in Nature, lest they encounter another tick. Unfortunately, most Lyme folks really need the grounding that Nature provides, and living in fear of Nature does nothing to heal the disease or bring joy to life.

I’ve had some ongoing conversations both locally and on the popular Healing Lyme Disease post of this blog. I’ve shared with people that before I go into the woods, I affirm that I am of different vibration than Lyme Disease and that ticks cannot get near me. Since I began doing this last year, I’ve not had any ticks on me, even when everyone else I go out with does. I also slather myself with various essential oils, including lavender, which supposedly repels ticks, but I believe it’s the vibrational energy that really does the trick.

Reader Mia shared a protocol from her homeopathic MD, and I felt it was important enough to bump up into its own post. This protocol addresses what to do if you find a tick attached to you. I received Dr. Whitmont’s permission to share the steps here. By way of introduction, though, here’s what Mia has to say about him:

I just thought that I would like to highly recommend Dr Ronald Whitmont to any of your Lyme readers who might be looking for treatment.

He is a homeopathic MD, and is a LLMD (Lyme literate doctor), who uses homeopathy to treat his patients.

He prescribes one medicine at a time, which is so nice not to take a ton of supplements, vitamins and remedies every day! (at one time I was up to close to 20!) He is also available for phone consultations for treating long distance.

Dr Whitmont is very intelligent, full of integrity, insightful, a wonderful listener, kind, gives great medical advice and personal advice, and cares for and treats the whole person.
He has been a huge support in my life, and I have made a lot of progress in the past two years with his treatment. I have been learning a lot about myself, and healing, through his counseling, and patient support.

I have a tremendous respect for Dr Whitmont and feel that he is a very valuable resource for people with Lyme; as well as a model of what an authentic, educated, and quality doctor can be. To me, Dr Whitmont, through his personality/style, and education and background, bridges and combines both the scientific/rational/physical aspects of health and healing, with the emotional, mental and spiritual realms.

Thanks Laura, for being such a supporter and resource for Lyme people, and for sharing information on your blog 🙂

Also, Here is his website- http://www.homeopathicmd.com/
He has written some very informative articles on Lyme there, and other good health articles.

Dr. Whitmont’s Tick Bite Protocol for Lyme Prevention:

“Yes, I recommend Ledum 200c if there is a new tick bite. I also recommend squeezing the bite site to express any fluid or serum and then applying a bandage with raw honey on top and leaving it on for at least 24 hours. The honey is extremely important because it functions as an antibiotic, plus it has an extremely high osmotic index that pulls fluids, toxins, bacteria and microbes directly out of the bite site.”

Mia shares an experience after her dog caught Lyme Disease:

“…after one or two days of giving the Ledum 200c to my dog, he was back to his normal bright eyed, prancing, happy self! His leg had been dangling with a limp, and he had trouble standing up, as well as lethargy.

This works!!! 🙂 ”

Laura again here: I haven’t tried this approach myself, not having found any ticks on me, but I plan to get some Ledum 200c for my emergency supplies. When I realized in early 2013 that I had contracted Lyme Disease in the Fall of 2012, I managed to clear it with teasel root, lifestyle shifts, and releasing some very draining relationships. It took me two months of treatment with some pretty severe die-off, wicked headaches and joint pain, but it did go. I tested myself awhile later with the highest doses of teasel root to see if I had any die-off, and I had none. No more symptoms, either, so I consider myself cured. And lucky to have done so relatively quickly. I have some clients who’ve had Lyme for 20+ years before they contact me! If this Ledum 200c works so fast, it could potentially revolutionize outdoor activities for the Lyme aware.

As usual, I’m not offering diagnosis, prescription or medical advice … just sharing … but I am happy to post Dr. Whitmont’s protocol. Thanks to Mia for bringing it to my attention, so that I could share the information with others. Now, go: enjoy Nature and rejoice in the beauty of our Earth!

October 2017 UPDATE: I recently found an Organic Daily Post article that collates tips on repelling ticks from your body and yard, how to know what kinds of ticks live in your area, as well as additional information on healing Lyme disease. In the case of Lyme disease, an ounce of prevention is worth several tons of cure. Please click here for this gathering of links.

Fire Cider Cold and Flu Remedy, by Rosemary Gladstar

Our friend, Martha, posted this video on Facebook and David shared it with me. It combines a lot of things I’ve learned from various people along the way, including what the herbalist I apprenticed with in Seattle called “the triumvirate of herbs: garlic, onion and ginger.”

I also made a truly yummy antibiotic this summer when I had that cracked, infected tooth: apple cider vinegar, raw honey and many, many cloves of garlic. It turned out to be a terrible remedy for an infected tooth, due to the acid-sweet combo, but it certainly clears up any cold or other illness that wants to hitch a ride. (My teeth all healed, btw, through major energetic work that blasted the lurkers in there, but that’s another story.)

In addition, we keep oil of oregano on hand for sniffing, inhaling from a pot of steam, or taking internally in the event of flu or infection. I haven’t had a cold or flu since 2000. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and, as my friend Wendy says, “I don’t use my body for sickness.” 🙂

The recipe Rosemary shares takes a month to prepare; however, the garlic-honey-ACV is ready in 3 days if you want something faster. As usual, no medical advice here … just sharing for your own research and inspiration. See also this post for a more unusual way of empowering your immune system.

NYC allows doctors to prescribe fresh fruit and vegetables as treatment for obesity; FDA declares veggies ‘unapproved drugs’

It was the sanest of times; it was the insanest of times. I am proud to live in a county where the Sheriff stands up to the FDA, but it’s really encouraging to hear about doctors and politicians putting the Big Apple back into NYC. Here’s Mike Adams with the good, the bad, and the ridiculous:

NYC allows doctors to prescribe fresh fruit and vegetables as treatment for obesity; FDA declares veggies ‘unapproved drugs’

(NaturalNews) These days, it’s difficult to find examples of government doing anything that makes sense. That’s all the more reason why a program embraced by New York City is newsworthy. Dubbed the “Fruit and Vegetables Prescription Program,” it allows doctors to “prescribe” fresh fruit and vegetables to overweight or obese patients by giving them “Health Bucks” that are redeemable at local farmer’s markets.

See the announcement of this program at the Wholesome Wave website.

This program makes New York City the largest U.S. city to officially acknowledge that fruits and vegetables have a role to play in preventing chronic degenerative disease — an idea that the FDA insists is delusional. According to the FDA, there is no such thing as any fruit, vegetable, supplement or superfood that has any ability whatsoever to prevent, treat or cure any disease.

Sure, the FDA’s belief is ancient history in terms of present-day knowledge about nutrition and disease, but it’s still federal policy. And according to the FDA, the mere “prescribing” of a food as something to prevent obesity automatically transforms that food into a “drug.” Under current FDA regulations, then, NYC is guilty of promoting “unapproved drugs” which are really just fruits and vegetables. But that’s how FDA logic works.

NYC officials invest in nutrition to prevent disease

New York doesn’t seem to be letting the FDA’s outdated delusions stop it from pursuing the “Fruits and Vegetables Prescription Program,” however. Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and Health Commissioner Thomas Farley announced the program last week, and by all accounts the program has been met with widespread approval. It allows families that are prescribed the Health Bucks to redeem them for fresh produce at over 140 New York City farmer’s markets.

As WFEV reports:

Bronx resident Tammy Futch said her family has seen positive changes since starting the program.

“My son lost 40 pounds behind this program,” she said, “and also I lost weight doing it with him and also I have my other kids, I have four other kids also doing the program.”

The Prescription Program was started by Wholesome Wave in 2011 and has since been expanded to seven states.

Natural News endorses the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program

For the record, all of us here at Natural News openly endorse this program, and we think it needs to be vastly expanded. To understand why, let’s talk about the role of government and food stamps for a moment.

Right now, 100+ million Americans are on some form of federal food aid. Much of that is through the USDA’s “SNAP” program, often called “food stamps” even though that’s not the official name anymore.

The SNAP program is nothing more than a big government handout to junk food manufacturers and soda companies. That’s because food stamp money can be spent on all the processed junk foods and sodas that make people sick and diseased with conditions like diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease and more. Through SNAP, the federal government is subsidizing the foods that cause sickness! Obviously, this also drives up health care costs and deeply harms the overall U.S. economy.

What if we took the federal SNAP program and turned the entire thing into the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program?

What I mean here is to shift the SNAP program so that all processed junk foods are disallowed. Update the rules so that SNAP funds can only be used to buy fresh produce and a few basic staples such as rice, oats, beans, salt and so on.

All of a sudden, you’d see a nationwide shift away from disease and toward vastly improved health. Disease rates would plummet, but so would the share prices of junk food companies like PepsiCo, Kraft and Coca-Cola. You’d also see lower rates of chronic degenerative disease, and this would hurt the profits of the all-powerful drug companies, hospitals and cancer industry profiteers. For these reasons, the food and medicine lobby will incessantly pressure the USDA to make sure SNAP continues to keep Americans sick and diseased. After all, billions of dollars in profits are at stake here, and the drug companies have a powerful lobby.

So don’t expect the feds to do anything other than keep poisoning America through SNAP. That’s the purpose of the program, it seems: to sicken the population and trap Americans in a never-ending cycle of medical dependence while enriching the drug companies.

Cities can succeed where the federal government fails

But on a city-by-city basis, forward-thinking people are starting to fight back against the “industry of death” offered by the USDA and its junk food subsidy programs. That’s why New York City deserves a lot of credit for this particular program: it’s investing taxpayer money directly into the health of people who are on the verge of becoming huge financial burdens on the health care system.

See, for every dollar you spend subsidizing real nutrition in the population — fresh fruits, vegetables or superfoods — you’ll probably save $10 or more in averted health care costs over the long term. Healthy foods are a fantastic investment because they’re cheap to buy but extremely valuable in terms of the lifesaving medicines they provide.

Blueberries, for example, contain natural medicines that help prevent heart disease:
http://science.naturalnews.com/pubmed/20660279.html

Broccoli contains natural medicines that help prevent cancer:
http://science.naturalnews.com/B/Broccoli_and_cancer.html

Tomatoes are very well documented to help prevent prostate cancer:
http://science.naturalnews.com/T/tomato_and_prostate_cancer.html

And turmeric root, often used in curries, is well known to be a powerful treatment for breast cancer:
http://science.naturalnews.com/C/Curcumin_and_breast_cancer.html

See the entire list of foods and their health benefits at the new SCIENCE.naturalnews.com website:
http://science.naturalnews.com/index-Foods_and_Ingredients.html

Because of all the astounding health benefits of foods, a typical farmer’s market is a treasure chest of natural medicines that can prevent and reverse cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and much more. It is only because of monopolistic, oppressive FDA policies that the entire medical profession isn’t already “prescribing” fresh produce to prevent degenerative disease.

This is how we beat the federal death sentence: City by city, state by state, prescribing nutrition to prevent disease

Personally, I find it fascinating that NYC is the place where this is happening right now. NYC is normally a pro-big-government city, meaning they should worship the FDA-endorsed idea of feeding everybody chemical medications and junk foods while attacking nutrition and outlawing health claims.

But that’s not what we’re seeing here. With this program, NYC is actually taking a stand against FDA tyranny and the federal government’s “death subsidy” program called SNAP. Perhaps NYC realizes it’s headed the way of Detroit if doesn’t get its long-term health care costs under control. After all, a city that lives on processed food and prescription medications is a city that will inevitably collapse from “disease care” bankruptcy. And right now across America’s largest 61 cities, future health care entitlements are only funded at 6 cents on the dollar.

Perhaps there are enough smart New Yorkers still in charge to realize the only way to have a healthy city is to have healthy people. And that means finding creative ways to get people to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables rather than pigging out on nutrient-depleted junk foods. The easiest solution to all this is to just hand out vouchers for fresh produce, effectively giving them to the population for free.

The two areas where government has a legitimate role in handing out benefits

That’s why I think every city in the nation would be smart to implement this program. Although I don’t like the overall idea of any government running around hanging money out to people, this is one exception where it actually makes sense.

In fact, I’ve always believed there are TWO areas where the government has a legitimate role in subsidizing the public:

1) NUTRITION – Fresh produce, superfoods and food-based supplements and non-pasteurized concentrates. Government handouts of nutrition actually save the taxpayers money in long-term health care costs.

2) EDUCATION – A college degree should be a “pay it forward” agreement from one generation to the next. No student who qualifies for a college or university should be denied that education simply because they cannot afford it.

These are smart investments that create a healthier, more prosperous society. But instead of subsidizing these two things, we have exactly the opposite at the federal level: a government that subsidizes junk foods while attacking nutrition. Remember: it is the official position of the FDA that anyone who sells a lemon while claiming that lemon can help prevent scurvy is a dangerous criminal engaged in “drug crimes.”

The FDA’s war on fruits, vegetables and nutrition

The FDA warning letters website is full of examples of this, where the agency accuses nutrition companies of selling “unapproved new drugs” simply because they attempt to describe the health benefits of those supplements.

For example, on this warning letter page, the FDA accuses a company called Naturecast Products of selling “unapproved new drugs” because their website described the benefits of chromium on blood sugar:

Chromium helps regulate blood sugar levels by collaborating with insulin in facilitating the uptake of glucose into the cells. If chromium is not present, insulin’s action is blocked and blood sugar levels are elevated. Insulin is secreted in response to the rise in blood glucose levels after the consumption of a meal. Insulin functions by increasing the rate that glucose is taken up by the cells and the [sic] lowers blood glucose levels.

The fact that chromium really does help regulate blood sugar levels is well established in the scientific literature, including in this study:
http://science.naturalnews.com/pubmed/20306473.html

But the FDA pays no attention to scientific facts. Instead, the agency says that ANY claim, validated or otherwise, automatically transforms a food or supplement into an “unapproved new drug.” And for this reason, Americans are kept in the dark about the scientifically-verified health benefits of nutrients, foods, phytochemicals and dietary supplements.

This is by design. The FDA wants to keep the American people ignorant and sick so that Big Pharma can sell them more drugs and vaccines. The FDA is, in effect, the marketing branch of Big Pharma. It uses its regulatory power not to serve America’s interests, but to crush America’s knowledge of nutrition and health. This is a Dark Ages policy that’s causing untold harm to America.

More cities need to stand up to the FDA’s tyranny

Today even NYC has run afoul of the FDA’s absurd position that foods have no role in human health, but this is precisely what America needs today: a local revolt against federal ignorance about the relationship between food and health.

While the federal SNAP program drives Americans into disease, cities and states need to embrace fruit-and-vegetable programs that can help pull Americans out of the death spiral of junk foods and medications.

And that’s why NYC sets a shining example in this particular case, demonstrating what other cities need to follow if they hope to survive the disastrous collapse of health now emerging across America.

We here at Natural News applaud the efforts by NYC officials to prescribe fruits and vegetables as treatments for disease, and we encourage other cities to join in this effort that pays huge dividends in terms of public health and “sick care” cost savings.

Sources for this story include:
http://wholesomewave.org/wholesome-wave-fruit-vegetable-prescription-…

http://www.wfuv.org/news/news-politics/130723/farmers-markets-become-…

http://science.naturalnews.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/041382_fruits_and_vegetables_prescriptions_farmers_markets.html#ixzz2aUO2ERpq