Chapter 5: Ambrosial Healing and Natural Remedies
“People need fresh air, healthy food, clean water, exercise, creative stimulation, companionship, self-esteem and a safe place to sleep.” – Anonymous
Gratitude can be a very hard concept in a capitalist society that embraces glamour and things that the average person does not have. Yet, if you want something to be thankful for, just check your pulse. Embracing the life and health of our body is as important as embracing the life and health of the spirit. Listen to your body. It’s smarter than you. Your body is a sacred temple and like any temple, must be respected and honored. By being aware of what you put into your body, staying active with exercise, relaxing when you are too active and embracing the healing powers of laughter, you are honoring the sacred vessel that holds your spirit. Laughing has been shown to have immense health benefits, as well as dancing. Balance your sleep schedule so that you get enough rest for what’s important.
Psychoactive Plants
The issue of psychoactive plants and chemicals on human health has been a major issue across the globe and especially here in the United States. Like morale fueled soldiers, politicians, activists, doctors and people from all walks of life rage the Drug War over who truly has the best interest of society as a whole. If nature is illegal, freedom doesn’t exist. Legalize, not legal lies. Psychedelics don’t harm mental health; they improve it. I’m sorry you were born in a place where a natural plant that treats symptoms of cancer, AIDS, pain, etc. is illegal. Yet, man-made poison (GMO’s) in your food is ok.
Ten years after decriminalization, drug abuse statistics decreased by half in Portugal. They ended the violence & the expensive war on drugs and replaced it with a system of treatment for problem users and addicts.
I could write a whole book on the varying viewpoints of street drugs vs. prescription drugs and their application. But for now, I will keep it simple and look at the real issue. The same obsessive mind that creates the addict to crack, heroin, prescription drugs and EVEN cannabis, is the same obsessive mind that creates people with eating disorders (including overeating), sex addicts and compulsive spenders. Even people who have been sober for 30+ years and have no support of drugs whatsoever can tell you that drug addiction is a disease of the mind. So, understanding this and recognizing that some drugs have much more viable applications than just getting intoxicated. Cannabis for example contains CBD, which is much lesser known for its magical health benefits than its sister chemical, THC. CBD is a universal medicine that can be used to treat glaucoma, cancer, parosmia, seizures, menstrual pains and a myriad of different ailments; many of which were treated with opiate based narcotics prior to the gaining of acceptance of cannabis’ endless possibilities as a medicine.
“It is entirely possible that behind the perception of our senses, worlds are hidden of which we are unaware.” – Albert Einstein
I recently learned that the receptors in our brains are specifically designed for THC… somehow, our bodies have been hardwired to respond to that. These receptors serve no other purpose. Therefore, it is believed and possible that we were intended to reach higher states of awareness and consciousness within incremental MODERATION. Although I can certainly appreciate copious amounts of cannabis, it’s vital to remember that addiction is damaging, moderation is beneficial. You may judge people for smoking cannabis, but they’re freer than you are in ways you don’t even think of. Marijuana and its subculture can also turn strangers into best friends. Paranoia is caused by prohibition, not marijuana itself. If nature is illegal, freedom doesn’t exist.
“Get off your high horse and get onto your unicorn.” – Lonei B. Graufmann
Another beautiful organism that is rarely credited for its value to the planet is the mushroom. All mushrooms contain the innate ability to absorb anything that is toxic around them, without becoming toxic themselves. This is called “micro remediation.” It is the reason why such a large percentage of Japanese men start smoking at a very young age and live to be very old with hardly any measurable health effects. Mushrooms can also be grown to absorb up toxic waste leakage, as was shown by the cleanup in Hartford, Washington. The potential to use mushrooms to help cleanse our bodies and the body of our Mother Earth, is limitless. There is more spirituality in a single psychedelic plant than all the churches of the world combined. “Going to the grave without having a psychedelic experience, is like going to the grave without having sex; it means that you never figured out what it was all about.”- Terence Mckenna
“I learned more about my brain and its possibilities and more about psychology in the five hours after taking mushrooms than I had in the proceeding fifteen years of studying and doing research in psychology.” – Dr. Timothy Leary Harvard professor of psychology
“Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing. They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong.” – Terence Mckenna
We live in a world that is obsessed with consumption. Many of the products that are consumed the most in our country are not only legal but cause the most harm to our bodies and the environment alike. Alcohol, nicotine and sugar are psychoactive chemicals that can lead to innumerable amounts of diseases, death and health issues and yet they are marketed in a manner that encourages their overconsumption. Pharmaceuticals are marketed everywhere and yet never once will you see a television commercial that says something along the lines of “Do you suffer from headaches and lack of sleep? Then try valerian root. Side effects may include not needing to take other medicines to balance out the effects of this one and healthy relief from pain.” In a culture that does not encourage us to be healthy, it is up to those of us who truly care for ourselves and the rest of society to share the truth about healing herbs that we have been blessed with on this planet. If you take nothing else from this book, take away the desire to find potential and embrace it. Bountiful health and beauty await you!
“The awakening of consciousness is the next evolutionary step for mankind.” – Eckhart Tolle
Nutritional Foods
Medicine is not healthcare- food is healthcare. Medicine is sick-care.
What are GMOs? A genetically engineered food (GE or GMO) is a plant or meat product that has had its DNA artificially altered in a laboratory by genes from other plants, animals, viruses or bacteria in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. This type of genetic alteration is not found in nature. Many of the foods we currently eat have been genetically altered and without proper labeling it’s difficult for consumers to know the difference.
Let your local farmer know you support them. Buy local. Buy fresh.
Naked is natural. Plants have protein too.
“Every single person who has cancer has a pH that is too acidic.” – Dr. Otto Warburg
It has been proven that cancer can’t survive in alkaline, oxygen rich environments, but thrives in an acidic low oxygen environment. According to health researchers, total healing of chronic illness takes place only when and if the blood is restored to a normal, slightly Alkaline pH. Human blood stays in a very narrow pH range around 7.3. When pH varies, oxygen delivery to cells suffer and enzymes are affected. Microbial forms in the blood also mutate, mirror pathogenicity, and grow.
Smoking
Smoking causes Gangrene, increases miscarriage risks, 92% of oral cancers, neck cancer, mouth disease, bad breath, unfit lungs, and is ultimately a waste of money. It also kills those around you.
What happens when a smoker quits?
20 minutes after- The heart rate and blood pressure drop back to normal levels.
12 hours after- The level of carbon monoxide in the blood drops to normal.
2 weeks- Circulation and lung function improves.
1 year- The risk of getting coronary heart disease is half as high as a smoker’s risk.
5 years- The risk of contracting mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder cancers is half of what it is for smokers. Risk of cervical cancer and stroke fall, too.
10 years- The risk of dying from lung cancer is half that of smokers. The risk of getting pancreatic and larynx cancer also decreases.
15 years- The risk of heart disease is equivalent to non-smoker’s risk.
If you don’t quit smoking now, when will you? When your friends do? When it effects your health? When you don’t have to study? Before you graduate? When you start a family? New Years? Except when you go to parties/bars? Make today the day to stop smoking.
Go Green
The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. Time spent in nature is never wasted. Forget not that earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Look deep into nature where every leaf is its own unique artistic masterpiece, and then you will understand everything better. The earth laughs in flowers.
“The magic begins in you. Feel your own energy, and realize similar energy exists within the Earth, stones, plants, water, wind, fire, colors and animals.” – Anonymous
“We are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
“90% of your body is in fact, stardust, because all the elements except for hydrogen and helium are created in stars.”- Anonymous
Nothing in nature lives for itself. Rivers don’t drink their own water. Trees don’t eat their own fruit. The Sun doesn’t shine for itself. A flower’s fragrance is not for itself. Living for each other is the rule of nature.
At least the war on the environment is going well. I wish more people cared about Earth as much as they cared about who they believe created it. Only when the last tree has died, and the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money. Humanity must shift from living “on” the Earth, to living “with” her.
“When the blood in your veins returns to the sea, and the earth in your bones returns to the ground, perhaps then you will remember that this land does not belong to you, it is you who belongs to the land.” – Anonymous
“If you really think the environment is less important than the economy try holding your breath while you count your money.” – Dr. Guy McPherson
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” – Aldo Leopold
“We must ponder a correlation between offshore drilling & earthquakes; energy usage & natural disasters because the earth is not an endless abundance of natural energy, that is to say, like all living beings, it needs time to rest and recover; obviously.” – Charles W. Smith III
“It’s not that we have a philosophical difference with the fossil fuel industry – it’s that their business model is destroying the planet.” – Bill McKibben
“Only take what you need and leave the land as you found it.” – Arapaho
“The measure of a civilization is not how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment.” – Chippewa
Save energy. How would you like it if someone turned you on and then left?
“Society speaks and all men listen, mountains speak, and wise men listen.” – John Muir
If you’re silent, the trees will whisper ancient secrets.
Advice from a Tree:
Stand tall and proud
Sink your roots into the earth
Be content with your natural beauty
Go out on a limb
Drink plenty of water
Enjoy the view
We don’t inherit the planet from our parents, we borrow it from our children.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. – Chinese Proverb
MANTRAS
My body is a temple that I will treat as a sacred space.
Bountiful awareness of my health starts with my choices.
I will strive to progress the honor of my body.
Let this inner spiritual love, be an offering to this physical realm.
QUOTES TO LIVE BY
The body heals with play, the mind heals with laughter, and the spirit heals with joy.
“Dance… even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.”- Baz Luhrmann
Dance with heart, passion and attitude, not your feet.
Trade sweat for Strength;
trade doubt for Belief;
trade fear for Courage.
“To elicit extreme results, I must take extreme measures.”- Anonymous
“The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.” – Charles Darwin
“Today more than ever life must be characterized by a sense of universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also to all other forms of life.” – The Dalai Lama
“When I look into the eyes of an animal, I do not see an animal. I see a living being. I see a friend. I feel a soul.” – A.D. Williams
Tears have the same meaning in every language.
“Not a single creature on earth has more or less right to be here.” – Anthony Douglas Williams
“Animals do have a voice, if you ignore their suffering, I will remind you of it. If you don’t understand them, we will be their voice. You may silence them, but you cannot silence us as long as we live.” – Anita Mahedessian.
Somewhere there is a mother duck trying to teach three kittens how to swim.
“I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?” – Anonymous
“And the Earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed… and God saw that it was good.” – Genesis 1:12
“What goes into a man’s mouth does not defile him. But what comes out of his mouth, that defiles him.” – Matthew 15:11
When I go through life with a narrow mind, hatred & bigotry weighs in and it crushes my soul and spirit.
“You can’t solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it”- Albert Einstein.
“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for your senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats
It’s not wrong, it’s just different.
“If you believe the most complex questions of our lifetime are simple “yes” or “no” answers, then go back to grade school.” – Charles W. Smith III
“I’m concentrating on staying healthy, having peace, being happy, remembering what is important, taking in nature and animals, spending time reading, trying to understand the universe, where science and the spiritual meet.” – Joan Jett
“As we advance in consciousness, our bodies advance in refinement. Consciousness is the activating factor of any unused DNA or other ingredients that alters our form and physical abilities.” – J.J. Dewey
Addiction creates dysfunction.