March, 2023
“March comes in like a Lion and leaves like a lamb.”
In this time of climate change, meteorologists are certainly challenged! Back in the 80’s my junior high students took a keen interest in the barometric pressure and its relationship to snow days! From a health perspective, the unseasonably hot and dry weather in October prevented a gentle transition for all life into the cold, damp days of winter. As a result, wildlife is highly stressed and we humans have been more susceptible to respiratory diseases and joint pain. Farmers and others who work out of doors are telling me that they are exhausted. No doubt. Cold, damp weather sucks the Qi right out of us. We are weak and more vulnerable to illness, fatigue and pain.
On the other hand, the days are getting noticeably longer and we are seeing more of the sun which gets higher in our sky as we see it from Earth. Chinese medicine teaches us that the transition from winter to spring is dominated by the Spleen energy. The Spleen/Pancreas helps to dry damp and digest our food, as well as adjusting to the change in season.
Cooked food and warm beverages are still in order, despite the invention of central heating. But as the days lengthen, it is actually good to follow the patterns of birds, deer, squirrels and insects by gradually retiring later and getting up a little bit earlier. This helps us to stay in harmony with the Earth.
Finessing Vermont Folk Medicine
When Dr. Deforest Clinton Jarvis went to practice medicine in Vermont, he found that most people were extraordinarily healthy. One of their secrets was the regular consumption of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and honey. In our world, many people consume an excess of carbohydrates and require very little or NO honey with this regimen. Most people will do well with 1 level teaspoon of honey to 2 level teaspoons of ACV three times per day. In cool weather this beverage should be consumed warm. It also should be SIPPED! ACV moves the Liver. If you consume it quickly, you force your Liver to dump toxins into your bloodstream because it takes time to process chemical poisons and pharmaceutical medications.
In Dr. Jarvis’ Arthritis book he noted that the climate was changing. That was back in the 1950’s. What a pity Greenpeace was not on board back then to push back against the growing corporate monsters who are destroying our Earth! Dr. Royal Lee did try to stop the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry from damaging our health. For his efforts, he was taken to the Supreme Court and all his painstaking research in nutrition was judged to be erroneous and he was directed to destroy it! Today, the battle for a healthy Earth continues.
Grants Pass Goodies
Plastics are carcinogens in two ways: 1. As xenoestrogens they disrupt the endocrine system and cause cancer. 2. Their irregular shape upon breaking down forms a nexus for cancer cells to grow. (Dr. David M. Derry, M.D., PhD.) Plastic is constantly breaking down into tiny particles. So it is not wise to put or store food in plastic bags or containers. Solution – cloth bags!
The Farmer’s Market has a lovely supply of organic mesh produce bags.
The Grange Coop has bulk cotton bags for purchases such as legumes and rice.
Hurrah! Our community is stepping up to the mark in the movement for a healthier planet and people!
The Breath of Health
In India, Yogis mastered the art of Pranayama – the discipline of increasing the life force with the breath. As we recover from respiratory illness, and/or wish to prevent it, these techniques are very powerful. Some Pranayama exercises can be used to lower blood pressure and induce sleep. Others are energizing.
Dr. Weston A. Price observed that people living a natural lifestyle of hunting, gathering, agriculture, or fishing, all had generous nostrils for breathing. Ironically, those people who invaded their land and brought processed foods with them, had very narrow nostrils and were prone to disease. When the indigenous people ate the new foods, they also become very ill.
Avoiding processed foods, practicing Yogic breathing and using our bodies for work and play, enhances our health.
Inclusive Medicine
During COVID, it became known to President Xi that patients in the traditional hospitals were NOT dying and neither were the staff getting ill. No masks, no Clorox, no hazmat suits, no airlock doors. When Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), was invited into the “state of the art” modern hospitals, the number of COVID deaths dropped dramatically.
Lectures from China covering their Dementia included pharmaceuticals, Chinese herbs, Acupuncture, Music Therapy, Essential Oils, Physical Therapy, Social Skills Training, and other resources. Music Therapy is very effective for dementia. (Alive Inside documentary.) Our medical system has been exclusive for a long time. This was a profit and efficiency choice. However, recent issues with opiate addiction have led to including Acupuncture, Yoga, Physical Therapy, and relaxation techniques to Biomedical recommendations for coping with pain. A good change in our times!
PETA Victory A Sign of Rising Compassion
As a member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), for the past 12 years, I hear of some amazing changes in our world. I want to share this one with you. As a child, I observed cages with cats being delivered to New York Hospital. My heart was heavy because I knew that those poor little creatures were going to be the victims of “research.”
Currently, PETA has won a victory in Egypt which now bans the export of primates for medical research. These primates were removed from their happy native environments, crowded into cages and shipped to various labs around the globe. But as nutrition researcher Dr. Kedar N. Prasad observes, differences in animal anatomy and physiology make such tests unreliable.
All animals feel pain, fear, and sadness when treated with cruelty. Primates are our closest biological relatives and the emotional burden they carry as victims of research is horrific. So Kudos to PETA. In ancient herbal medicine, animals often lead to discoveries. Watching nature was the best laboratory. Hundreds of thousands of discoveries were made over the centuries.
As our world changes, it will be a mark of how truly advanced we are when we can stop causing suffering in order to cure disease. The pharmaceutical industry uses the derogatory term “anecdotal” to describe clinical evidence of success. Yet, as we all know, Chinese Medicine, Ivarmectin, and other natural remedies were certainly effective during COVID!
Wind in My Mind
I once sat on a hilltop
and heard a song in the wind.
The prairie grasses danced
not just to one song, but to many.
As I focused on the horizon,
I realized I was hearing the songs of all time.
Joseph Fire Crow,
Tribal Winds CD
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