good article on statins

I found a really good, concise article on statin drugs on the "little mountain homeopathy" blog in Canada-- click here. She explains what cholesterol is and why it's important, the side effects of taking statins, and what to do if you are taking statins right now so you can protect your heart. I don't know why all of this information is available all over the world, yet our own medical community here in the US doesn't acknowledge it. Could it be profit based? (asked in a frustrated tone.)

homeopathic facial analysis

Last evening I took an online introductory class through NCH given by Grant Bentley, of the Victorian College of Classical Homeopathy in Australia, on homeopathic facial analysis. I wasn't quite sure what it would cover but it turned out to be much more interesting and applicable than I imagined! In fact, when I finish my degree, I want to take this class to be able to be certified in it!

I'll try to share very basically what this is:  Grant has been studying (with fellow scientists) over a thousand people's faces over a 12 year period of time. He has discovered that there are 75 characteristics that can describe the face including the hairline and ears, and from those he has attributed each one to different people's general health constitution (or basically the health they were born with). There are 3 basic "miasms" or roots of all disease and there are 3 that are a combination of the original two and then one which is a combination of all 3 original miasms. This doesn't mean anything to you, but when prescribing for chronic disease, the homeopath will look to remedies that fit best under one of these miasms. Prescribing has always been based on general symptoms and then matched to personality descriptions and preferences. Now, adding in what the face tells us, the chance of finding the right remedy greatly increased, up to 90% for experienced homeopaths! And, being an art teacher, I really love that he has related each of the main miasms to the primary colors on the color wheel (yellow, blue and red), the combination of two to the secondary colors (green, orange and purple) and the miasm made of all three to brown. Just like in painting... it makes it brilliantly easy to remember! I can't wait to figure out which color I am.

Here is what I want you to remember:  When you are stressed (whether in a mental, emotional or physical sense), your body will enter into a "survival mode" and send energy to deal with whatever is causing that stress. When you have weaker areas of your body (say your liver is weaker), then your body is pulling energy away from the liver and the weak area is now in a vulnerable position to become ill. People deal with this "fight or flight" response differently and that is where Grant has discovered that our face tells us a lot about how we are "programmed" from birth to respond. None of the 7 categories of types is bad, but knowing what type you are can help in understanding 1. how you will respond and 2. how to best support your response so that you get what you need and are not weakened to the point of becoming ill.  We all will experience stress, as a part of life. We need to have the knowledge of how to maintain a healthy balanced energy level to deal with it. That's where homeopathy can help.

Grant's most recent book takes his research on face analysis even further and applies it to general personality characteristics of those 7 miasms. On his website he gives examples for each one as it applies to seven famous people that we all know (Oprah, Elvis, Nelson Mandela). I found this very interesting (Click here to read!)

Soul & Survival is a way at looking at life that makes sense. It is enlightening, useful and meaningful. Soul & Survival explains human behavior in simple everyday terms.

Some of these questions may be important to you

- Why do people treat me the way they do?

- Why does the same theme keep repeating in my life?

- Why do I react in the same way even when I know it is going to hurt me?

Soul & Survival explains the answers to all of these questions – life questions that plague many of us especially when times are stressful.

What you can take from this is that you need to pay attention to your own body-- if it is hurt, rest and let that part heal (I'm preaching to myself right now with my wrist!). If you are tired, rest. Take as best care of your body as you are able. If you can choose activities in life that don't cause as much tension, then do that. Avoid relationships with people who cause you stress when possible. This all adds to your general balanced well-being. The more your day-to-day living is low stress, the better able you'll be to deal with those times of increased stress. And when those times come, consider learning basic homeopathy for acute illness (like colds, flu or small injuries). There are books and even classes you can take to quickly learn how to treat yourself and those you love. And of course, consult a classical homeopath for those illnesses that are chronic (or continually reoccurring). With this new information homeopaths will be able to put more power into your ability to maintain your health!

If you want to know more about Grant Bentley's work here are some of his websites:
soulandsurvival.com The book Soul & Survival which much more explanation and exerpts
www. vcch.org  The School- the Victorian College of Classical Homeopathy website
Minimum Price Books  To buy any of his three books

walking in virtue

As I type this with a wrist splint (very slow and difficult), I appreciate even more how great life is when we're not hurt! ;)  Joette sent out an email today with a link to her latest post "Clean Living and Adherence to Judeo-Christian Principles are Foundational to Health"  From what I posted previously you know that I firmly believe that what we think and how we feel affects our physical health. Joette expected that some may be put off by her posting, especially in this modern era when religion is rarely mentioned among a larger mixed audience. Anyone who knows Joette knows she is Catholic and is greatly influenced by Mother Theresa's work when she was alive. And almost surprisingly all the comments on the post were affirming her decision to share this message!

Our priest on Sunday shared in his homily that we have become a society that bases decisions about what is right on how they "feel" not on what they "think". If they don't feel like going to church for whatever reason, they maintain that its okay... that somehow they are in a position to write the laws of what God wants from them. It is rare to see families who truly adhere to teaching their children virtuous principles and more than not, they are mocked for doing it. Look at Romney and his devotion to his faith. Yet, so many people suffer from poor choices. Mostly from choosing the convenient, less painful route and abusing themselves, others or their bodies doing things they know is not right. That novel "50 Shades of Grey" has become a blockbuster best-seller and basically it's just porn. It doesn't elevate marriage to the place it should hold and definitely isn't creating better relationships. I hear people talking about it and they say husbands aren't measuring up any more. Isn't that sad?

I have not made the best choices in my life, I freely admit that, and sometimes I think part of my suffering is from that, and some is from choices that were made for me by others. But when I try to do what God wants me to do, there is a burden that is lifted. It is clear where my priorities should be and my values are placed where they belong. This is a comforting, healthy and a happy place. It is hard not to be selfish... that is the greatest sin of all, I truly believe. For me, being a good mom and a good wife means putting my family first before things that aren't really that important-- it's a very important job and one that completely affects their health for the rest of their lives. It also means that my own body is a temple for the Holy Spirit and what I put into it should be the very best I can do for it. I'm very, very lucky to have a body that does so many wonderful things and a mind that is capable. Gratitude is the best way to be happy too! And I choose to support the good things in the world that make it a better place for everyone. Everyone has their own faith path that they are on, but I find that when I do stay on the path and move forward (instead of wandering away or sitting down!) then good things in my life come a lot more easily.

Thanks for listening. And please go to Joette's blog to read what she says about it too (she's not political like me!)-- she just might become one of your inspirations too!

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I edited this post because at the time I wrote it, I was getting very frustrated with some political conversations I was having with others. But, we are all entitled to our own opinions and more than not, everyone wants their party to solve the problems in America right now. I just hope that everyone not just think about their own situation but what is the best thing for the country as a whole. A good leader can bring everyone together as a nation, not a political party!

kayaking with the kids

Yes, kayaking has become our new family hobby and it's actually introduced us to lakes nearby that we never would have visited. On Saturday we went to Blue Marsh Lake near Reading, Pennsylvania which isn't too far from our home. The sky was overcast but it ended up being a perfect day to paddle.

Craig took out both of the kids in my kayak while I sat with the other one and Elle on a blanket on the shore. I was in charge of snacks. ;)  Since my wrist was still sprained, there was no way for me to go out but the day was wonderful anyways. We got lucky because it decided to start raining just as we were loading the boats on to the car to go home. I really wish we had found kayaking sooner because it's the perfect family hobby to do together. I think that outdoor hobbies are a great family bonding experience, especially when you have teenagers. There was some murmuring at first about spending a Saturday afternoon away from home, but that stopped as soon as they were out there in the fresh air. 

On a side note, if you read that article I linked to in the last post about bread, then you know that traditionally fermented sourdough is an extremely healthy and easy to digest bread. I found a baker here in town that does bake some, so I fearlessly (okay, maybe with a little fear) had some at dinner last night. And there was no reaction!  Except that it was delicious. It is sometimes hard to know exactly how the baker prepares the sourdough but a good way to know if it is the high protein/high beneficial bacteria/low gluten bread that you're looking for is if there are no sugars listed in the ingredients (even honey!) because adding sugars, which they do to quicken the leavening, will cause the bread to produce an alcohol instead and increase the yeast. You don't want that. Yeast got us into this health trouble (and us means everyone) in the first place. The natural fermentation process (which is flour and water left to bubble and ferment, as natural bacteria which are good for your gut, come into it), produces bread which lasts longer and is easier to digest because there is no phytic acid to block mineral absorption. And here is the best part: When you eat real sourdough bread, spread it with butter (I'm talking about real butter from grassfed cows on clean pasture without chemicals) because the fats in the butter will help you to absorb the nutrients in the bread and will keep the carbohydrates of the bread from causing sugar spikes. (Sugar spikes=fat storage) And put some natural unpasteurized honey on it too-- let it sit on the bread for a minute and the honey will start to break-down the bread's enzymes so that it begins the digestion process for you! Isn't that incredible?! Things that our ancestors did have proven to be perfect for our health AND delicious!  I hope you can find some traditional sourdough to try and if not, Sally Fallon's cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" has a recipe that I want to try. It doesn't seem hard at all. Happy eating!

Kayaking and birdwatching

Last Saturday while my kids were at "Pappy and Nana Camp" (their yearly sleepover with all their cousins), Craig and I went on a five hour birdwatching and kayaking tour on the Susquehanna River. It was a gorgeous day and I had no idea we had a "lake" like this so near to where we live.

We rowed for two hours to a little island in the middle where there is supposed to be one of the best places to see birds in Pennsylvania-- the line of flight and the protective environment has them landing here.

I wasn't going to put this in pic in here but it seems I can't take a good photo lately!

 When we got there, there were already several hard-core birders who had extremely strong (and expensive telecopes and cameras) set up on the island and they let us look through them. It was really amazing. We saw egrets, eagles, terns and I can't even remember everything. (I'm not doing a "Big Year" so I'm not recording any of this! ;P )

I took these photos with my horrible little phone camera. I wish I had packed my good camera with my close-up lens. Maybe another time. Here's our group hanging out eating lunch on the island. There were a dozen of us.

Here's Craig as we start to paddle back. The water got pretty choppy as more power boaters and jet skis had been dropped in the water since we left.

I am now nursing a sprained wrist but it was worth it. We're going to try to find a quieter lake somewhere next time so there's not so much wake to paddle through. We just got these two kayaks and the kids haven't been out yet, so we're ready to get out again real soon!

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My mom sent me a really great article from Whole Living magazine called "Our Daily Bread" about how bread and wheat have changed over the years and how such a great number of people can't easily digest the gluten anymore. There are surprising reasons for this and you'll be really surprised to read what some bakers are saying is the most nutritional bread we can eat! I'm anxious to find a baker to buy some from-- I might be able to eat real bread again! This article is so surprising that it has everyone talking about it-- I went in to get my hair cut on Tuesday and they were all talking about it in there! I found a link and if you have a chance, please read it: click here!

Other than that, my kids have one more week of summer break and then they go back on Sept. 4. Nathaniel has freshman orientation on Monday. I think I'm still in shock about having both in High School now! And I have to pick up a driver's ed manual for Caroline... the most shocking of all!!! I'm busy still with school work, of course (and still am finding it fascinating) and I am doing a little designing for a friend who writes a great food blog and who I met through our mutual raw milk farmer. So my plate is full and my wrist better get better soon because I can't draw with it killing me!

what is health?

I am thoroughly loving my studies in homeopathy!  I wanted to share this definition of health with you because we all know what being sick is, but it's not too frequently that we actually define what a state of health is. All of these parts of you work together: mind, emotions and body. If one of those is out of balance, then illness ensues. In modern medicine, you go to your physician for any illness in your physical body, but the doctor doesn't usually address your mental state and almost certainly not your emotions. You can see a counselor or psychiatrist for your mental health or emotions. But these three things cannot function separately from each other. For example, when you are worried about giving a speech (mental), you get nervous (emotions) and then your heart beats faster and you start to perspire (physical). Everything is connected. And the benefit of this is that when something is wrong or out of balance, we can pay attention to the symptoms in all three areas to determine what it is that will help to cure it. 

I have a friend who has been extremely anxious about something that her son has been dealing with for a year now. His pediatrician dismissed it several times but finally did tests, determined that they didn't think it was malignant, and sent them on their way without having any way of addressing a cure. I knew homeopathy could be their answer, researched the best remedy and he started to take it last Saturday. In only a day there was a slight change and by Wednesday there was a definite change for the better! I love that homeopathy is medicine based on the science of how the body works-- all three parts-- and completely individualized to the patient so that their defense mechanism is triggered and complete healing can occur!  I will continue to monitor his progress but I'm seeing clear signs that he is on his way to complete health again.

So, I ask you what your internal recordings are: Do you constantly worry? Are your thoughts centered on lack, on sickness, on being scared of not having enough, or maybe loneliness? These things are not healthy and will even lead to those things actually happening. Just thinking positive thoughts about your body being healthy, knowing that there is enough in this world for everyone, that love is all around us, and that when bad things happen it is just preparing the way for something better... leads to a  healthy mental and emotional state, and therefore a better physical one. Try to surround yourself with people who are positive and enjoy life. Forgive those who've hurt you and move on. I think sometimes we feel a lack of control over situations that causes us stress. You can't change someone else but you can determine how much influence in your own life you will allow them to have. And sometimes a new attitude is all it takes!  Be healthy! ;D

School Angst and Homeopathy

The kids' schedules just came out this week for their classes. Now that both are in High School, there's a lot more teachers and classes to juggle. This also means that they hope to get into the same classes with some of their friends, which isn't exactly happening as they would have liked it to. The anxiety and anticipation is different for each student and at different ages. Did you know that homeopathy can help?  I just received Joette Calabrese's newsletter today which is all about "School Angst" and the remedies that can easily help your child (from preschool up to college!) have a much easier time with it all!  Click the link here to read for yourself! (Please let other friends and family know about it too!) And I urge you to sign up for her free newsletter so that you can get her timely and informative emails also. ;)  Be well!

toy camper

peach cobbler

Celebrating the Olympics by making the first peach cobbler of the summer! Our favorites? Why of course, the Equestrian events!  We also loved the swimming and the Womens Gymnastics!

Can I have some?