Distraction Digestion and Attention
My car was in the shop getting a window fixed so a friend took me into work. I was interested to find my friend munching on a piece of toast with peanut butter slathered over the top, washed down with a vitamin drink and conversing about a cellphone call just received. While it is possible for us to multitask from an energy perspective the problem arises in our digestion.
You see, as we know, it's not possible to do things well if we are distracted and can't put our attention on what we are doing. Just think when you have been given directions but not really paying attention and then try to remember the directions well. So digestion of the food consumed will not be as good as if we are paying attention. There is good information to demonstrate that food is digested differently when we are attentive to the process.
Further our digestive fire works best when we are in a balanced state. If our sympathetic, fight or flight nervous system is working overtime and our parasympathetic, relaxing nervous system is not balancing, there is an overabundance of sympathetic tone in our energy mindbody physiology. This eating on the run leads to increased sympathetic tone which is not promoting to good digestion simply because the gut is robbed of blood flow which is needed for adequate absorption and assimilation of digested food.
So though it seems convenient, it's preferable to enjoy our food consumed in a relaxed environment with a balance of sympathetic tone. It may seem like we are getting away with it but by and by there are accumulated imbalances created in the energy mindbody that can lead to health related issues due to carrying on such a habit.
To good health DrBill
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Consistency is the Key to Healing and Prevention
Anything worth doing, is worth doing for a long while
II think we have all made the observation of rock that has a groove in it from the steady drip of water moving over the rock surface. Perhaps to our amazement we remember that over time even the softness of water is capable of eroding even the hardest and seemingly most immobile surface of rock through the consistency of its action.
In past blogs we have referred to the balance that exists in Nature. The hard, static, dense surface of the rock gives way to the soft, mobile, liquid qualities of water. The matter field is gross and the energy field is subtle. Because of knowing ourselves in the matter field context(bone is hard and blood is wet) we identify with the gross characteristics of our lives.
But it is in the subtleness of the energy field where real healing takes place. It is consistency in action that can literally move mountains. Another word for consistency is intention. In the flow of Nature we see intention at work as we observe the rock being carved by the action of water.
What does this have to do with medicine, healing and preventing disease? From a medical perspective, everything! Because without intention, there will be no healing even in medical matter field discipline. If you don't take your blood pressure medicine then hypertension and the possibilty of the complications of stroke and heart attack are increased.
From a disesase prevention perspective, intention or consistency(even the word discipline comes up) when guided by subtle energy field principles, can show us health promoting habits that promote balance in our lives.
Some simple examples. Bedtime between 9:30 and 10:30 pm every night is a great habit of health. The biggest meal of the day around noon time takes advantage of a strong digestive fire. These are habits that are subtle, but over time they will produce healing benefits. The energy nutrition as outlined in Foods Heal is a powerful way to heal the body if done consistently.
In future blogs I'll talk about the healing properties of food. Stay tuned!! DrBill
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5 Tools for Empowered Self Healing
"Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It's up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor's. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal." Use this time well and begin planning now what you want your life to be after you recover!
Glenn Warner MD (1919-2000)
Dr Warner was an oncologist but a maverick for his times because he told his cancer patients that they should take control His colleagues felt differently and eventually got his medical license revoked Today he is revered as a consummate healer who was ahead of his time in suggesting something as innocent as taking responsibility for our own healing
The Current Medical Model
The pain of chronic disease can be draining and we want to be free of it
Currently the matter science medical discipline practiced as the allopathic tradition has had the underlying treatment tenet that if you have a medical problem you should go to the medical doctor(MD) The MD has studied the diseases and he knows what the answer should be or at least has the scientific background to figure out a plausible and reasonable treatment solution
This is the medical standard under which we unconsciously live And the MD has the high tech tools at his disposal to make this standard very strong in our culture And I argue that there is great value for such a high tech system to "bail us out of catastrophic medical problems"
If you unknowingly create diabetes and come to the office with severe ketoacidosis, there is the capability to deal with the problem and straighten out this metabolic disease Or if you have a life threatening injury from a car accident, the medical tradition can bring you back
A Problem
But the singular problem that has occurred with this matter science discipline is that it has unwittingly wrested away from you the responsibility for your own health at a subconscious level
And when that happens you naturally put all of the trust in the MD and his way of doing things The next high tech research will solve my IC The next drug will help me in some way
When relying on alternative therapies for the treatment of IC, you enter a different realm of healing But carrying your old mindset of the MD will take care of me doesn't translate When you enter this world of healing you will have to be ready to assume responsibility for healing
And this is NOT like "going it alone" which is very scary You should have and expect guidance in this road of travel if you so chose it
What does that look like, this responsibility for self healing?
I think there are at least 5 awareness tools to assume self healing and become empowered to take responsibility
1 Understand that self healing takes time
2 In this realm of healing multiple therapies are the absolute key to healing
3 Guidance with understanding the lay of the land is of value to help facilitate change
4 Remember baby steps Self healing often requires changes in lifestyle behaviors, such as nutrition, exercise, or changing bedtimes or wakeup times
5 Be aware that the mind's fear of change will argue to abandon this whole empowerment thing
This last tool of awareness is probably the most important because it's our fears played out in friend's "good advice" and well meaning family members(spouses included) who deter you from your path to empowerment Everyone wants you to maintain the status quo
But the question is, "How's it workin' for ya?"
Most with chronic IC, if honest will have to say, "Well, not so hot" There's a common aphorism, "If you keep going out the same door and falling into a hole, the solution is to find another door"
Here's for looking for another door To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
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The Unidimensional Approach to Healing and IBS
In the energy science world of healing it's not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your body This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won't have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you'll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you'll be better
So pill popping is the ONE way to deal with any disease in matter science medicine And there's nothing wrong with that approach except for the fact that it usually doesn't work very well
Energy Science Healing
Because of the nature of the energy science model of healing using a qualitative approach not all qualities that are out of balance can be addressed with just one approach For example, the hot quality of IBS exhibiting as mixed diarrhea and constipation can be reliably dealt with by using cooling herbs such as CCF tea, aloe vera gel, and the antiinflammatory herbs that I have written about in the past
But the symptoms of urgency, frequency, and to some degree of pain are related to the qualities of light, subtle, rough, and dry These are best managed not only with herbs but with internal and external oleation with or without marma therapy, a nutritional format for your mindbody constitution, and basti therapy that I have discussed in the past
So you can see that in energy work it's not just one thing but a multiplicity of things that are used in order to bring about balance of the qualities that are out of whack and producing the symptoms that you're experiencing all the time
Anxiety and IBS
There are two types of IBS according to the energy science of Ayurveda The first is a Pitta imbalance in the GI tract where the hot quality produces an urgent need for stooling after meals The second produces a dull aching pain in the lower abdomen and discomfort after eating This latter condition is related to first Vata aggravation and secondarily Pitta imbalance So from a practical view IBS is a Vata or Pitta imbalance
If you're experiencing symptoms in the body then there is an imbalance being expressed So if you're experiencing anxiety with IBS there is a Vata imbalance in the nervous system as well as the gut of the qualities of light, subtle, clear, and mobile See that some of the same qualities that are producing diarrhea, constipation, gas, and bloating are some of the same qualities that are creating anxiety This is why people with IBS often are anxious about their disease or imbalance which is completely understandable from an energy science point of view
In this case however some of the aforementioned therapies would be different For example the herbs used would be those that would calm the nervous system; yoga asana practice is particularly effective (halasana, locust, chest knee, and uttanasana); yoga nidra as a form of meditation or a practice of calming the mind could be done; and aromatherapy Here you see a group of therapies quite different from the above treatment for the hot (Pitta) quality because different qualities are being treated in order to bring them into balance
Another Important Difference from the Matter Science Model of Healing
Thus far I have talked about the pill oriented unidimensional approach with the matter science healing model and contrasted that to the energy science multifaceted approach to disease
But another important difference is the time of exposure to treatment Real healing takes time So the rule is that for every year of imbalance it will take two months of treatment for recovery And then you're done Not a bad tradeoff
Let's see forever having symptoms and using pills
with the matter science approach versus 2-3 years with the energy science approach Which would you choose?
Please like this on FB or here at the website if you find this helpful and valuable
Until next week To Health as a Skill Love Dr Bill
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Ancient Medical Wisdom: All Disease Begins in the Gut
All Diseases Begin In the Gut
Hippocrates 460-370 BC
The traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda from India and the Traditional Oriental Medical system both saw the body as an energy field and built elaborate healing sciences around the concept that the body is an energy field. Today we know from Einstein that this is indeed correct, that what is energy is matter and what is matter is energy, from the famous equation E=MC2.
One of the greatest gifts that the energy science of Ayurveda gives us is the understanding of how all diseases begin in the body. Ayurveda began with this understanding 5000 years ago and the Greeks who were students of the medical disciplines of India began to realize this as well, hence leading to the above quote from Hippocrates that all diseases begin in the gut.
And this has been my experience in practicing the matter field discipline of urology in the office over the past 14 years. I have even written a scientific paper showing among other things that acidity in the gut as experienced with acid indigestion is associated with increased acidity in the urinary tract as experienced with nonbacterial cystitis or interstitial cystitis. Or using acid as the molecular marker, this same gut imbalance can lead to elevated PSA.
So this simple observation from the energy science healing traditions can give our current matter field healing discipline valuable insight as to the propagation of disease and the interrelationship of disease.
And this observation is why nutrition is central to prevention of disease! Eating foods that resonate with your own physiology on a regular basis, avoiding poor food combinations, ensuring a good digestive fire to burn slip ups, and paying attention to the interrogatories of nutrition will ensure optimal health.
Have a great week To Health as a Skill Love DrBill
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