5 Ways to Deal With Chronic Pain
In the energy science of Ayurveda imbalance of qualities such as hot, cold, heavy, light affect the metabolic fire called agni When this happens the end result is a toxic morbid substance called ama This is essence is how disease occurs in the energy model discipline
In chronic diseases the qualities lead to early symptoms of the disease complex but as progression occurs more qualities become involved and deeper tissues become affected due to the mounting amount of ama
Clogging of Energy Channels
When energy channels become obstructed with ama then there is no free flow of energy in the mindbody This leads to a buildup of the Vata energy pattern which is freely circulating in the channels(common channels we know from a Western perspective are the GI tract, large vessels like the aorta or vena cava, neural pathways, and the respiratory system)
Vata, when obstructed in the channels, causes pain In Ayurveda there is no pain without Vata So in the chronic disease pain is related to clogged channels from ama accumulation and the blockage of the free flow of Vata Often this is neurologic like pain and follows what I have written about in earlier blogs about the origin of any syndrome associated with pain
As you can see, keeping the channels open is essential for keeping vatagenic pain in check It is also important for immunity, and overall health To keep the channels open, it is important to eat fresh food with spices that help digestion so that ama is not formed When ama (partially digested food) is formed, its sticky nature blocks the channels and aggravates vata Also spices in your food, give a general warming effect to the whole body which helps to keep the channels open, and vata flowing
5 Ways to Prevent and Clear Pain
Staying warm The Vata energy pattern has the qualities of cold, light mobile, dry, rough, subtle, and clear so when we don't stay warm this can increase the Vata guna of cold and increase our pain Think about it....if you get cold the mindbody contracts Don't let your feet get cold Don't eat cold food and drink You might think ice cream is vata-pacifying because it's dairy but it's not It is actually vata-aggravating Anything cold you put in your system closes the channels and blocks the flow of vata That's why you get a headache if you eat cold things quickly
Transdermal creams can be used for pain control with reasonably good effect One has to be consistent, persistent, and disciplined in their use but if applied properly they can be very effective
Nutrition that causes pain Large beans, bananas, winter squashes and extra heavy foods are all known in Ayurveda as visthambi, (clogging to the srotas or channels) Avoid these items in your diet and you will find your channels are more open, and your vatagenic pain is less Also, avoid the nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant) because these toxic plants block the vibrational channels (nadis), which can subsequently cause the physical channels (srotas or channels) to shrink
Avoiding leftover foods or pre-packaged foods is important too These foods are not easily digested by the body and result in ama right away This promotes clogging of the channels and lessen the free flow of Vata
Daily schedules Regular routine is Vata pacifying so daily schedules are irregular and hectic(Vata provoking) there will be a tendency to increase the Vata energy pattern
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“I Think I’ll Order the Inflammation Today”
As I muse through the menu at my favorite restaurant, I can hear myself in the process of selection
"Hmmm, this looks particularly good-lots of congestion and inflammation there"
"Or maybe some cooling? Oh no no, that's not tasty enough"
"Well maybe just this time"
From an energy science view, the effects of the foods that we consume begin before we even put them in our mouths Does that sound surprising?
Our unconscious behavioral eating patterns begin in the mind so it makes sense that the health of our mindbodies bedome directed by our unconscious choices
This concept is so far removed from our current matter science or molecular approach which is devoid of being able to factor the mind in the equation of foods and their selection
Let's pause and consider that whatever we are putting in our mouths at any point in time has the ability to make us sick or bring about balance
We currently don't have the concept from our matter science model of healing that disease begins with the ingestion of taste(energy) If I'm a PK and snarfing down a banana I'm inflamming my physiology and asking for congestion
And is it wrong to have a banana? No, not from an energy science view The key as we have discussed in the past is to be aware of how the foods impact us from a sensory point of view
We intellectualize about foods from a matter science view but from an energy science view the ingestion of any food has the capability of teaching us more about ourselves
Have you had the experience of food making you feel bad? Did this become a recurring theme? Did it take a number of days before the ingestion of a particular food made you feel bad?
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The Energy Science and Transdermal Creams for Management of Chronic Disease
In the energy science disciplines of Ayurveda and traditional Oriental medicine(TOM) the use of topographical points on the skin are used for treatment of various disease states In TOM these points are called acupuncture or acupressure points In the energy science of Ayurveda these points are called marma points There is some variability in terms of location and what they represent but the utility of use is undoubtedly valuable The whole body has lots of marma points and the ones depicted in the diagram are three around the ankle
In conventional medicine today the use of transdermal therapies has had a wide application utilized mostly as a delievery system These pharma systems are designed to get molecules into the body that would otherwise be digested in the gastrointestinal tract(GIT) and rendered useless A good example is that of the testosterone molecule that is digested in the GIT Because of this no functional hormone support can be acheived by taking it orally But with the use of the transdermal delivery system testosterone can be effectively absorbed across the skin to provide its physiologic benefits
In chronic diseases such as chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia we can make use of marma points to deliver herbs into the mindbody for healing
Marma and Transdermal Creams
There are specific marma associated with organs such as the liver, lungs and nerve plexi associated with disease in these organs From an Ayurvedic point of view all diseases can be affected and treated because neurological involvement of the nerve plexi is the rule This nervous tissue is invaded by imbalancing qualities that move to various parts of the mindbody and energetically affect the functioning of these plexi
Transdermal creams can be made so that they can take the herbs across the skin and deliver their effects to target tissues of the mindbody The carriers are energetic vehicles move the finest of vibrational frequencies of the herbs to the respective locations in this case the pelvic plexus The carries move through the nadis and hair follicles of the skin and attach to the synapses of nerve endings leading to distant effects
The point is that the nerves essentially carry the vibrational frequencies
Uses of Transdermal Creams
1 Pain control There is no pain without the mobile energy pattern of Vata which is most expressed in the the nervous system So when we use transdermal creams and affect the nervous system directly we have the chance to change pain
2 Therapy for conditions Conditions for chronic diseases will best respond to the the use of transdermal creams because they address the chronic imbalances that occur in tissues
3 Bringing overall balance By affecting the tissues and eliminating imbalances we have the chance to reverse disease
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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 7 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.
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Foods and Feeling Bad After Eating
Foods can create unarguable imbalances in the physiology which over time leads to disease And for the most part some of food's effects may not be associated with ill feeling
However my point is that all foods have the potential for creating imbalances in the mindbody if they don't resonate with our energy makeup Because of different factors these imbalancing choices don't give us symptoms
Feeling Bad After Eating
Haven't we all had the experience of eating a meal and not feeling well afterward? Sometimes we attribute it to food poisoning which might be the case but most of the time it is a physiologic consequence that defies an easy explanation.
From an energy science perspective the reason is imbalance. The vibrational frequencies consumed have created an obvious dis-ease in the physiology. When we eat a hot spicy meal, sometimes the result is heartburn. There is a chemical burning in the stomach experienced near the heart we call heartburn or acid indigestion. This increased acidity in the stomach is a result of the increased vibrational frequency of hot among other vibrational frequencies.
But what if we can't associate something eaten with feeling bad after a meal? Does that mean that there isn't a imbalance of vibrational frequencies? From an energy perspective, the answer would be that an imbalance or an increase of specific vibrational frequencies have accumulated and are causing obvious dis-ease
The Salt Story
Salt-written-on-spilled-saltLet's take an example of the complex vibrational frequency of salt. If we ingested three tablespoons of salt, there would be clearly physiologic consequences or imbalance. We would become very thirsty, our blood pressure would transiently rise, our saliva would increase and we would urinate more frequently. Hot sensations would occur with flushing and acid indigestion might occur. Since the salty taste has a laxative effect, it might stimulate a bowel movement. So all of these changes occur in the body because of the consequence of excess salt.
If these changes can occur with excess salt, why couldn't simple ingestion of salt lead to imbalances if preexisting imbalances possibly already exist? From an energy perspective this is one of the reasons why food can produce physiologic consequences of imbalance soon after eating.
Basically we should never ignore a message from the body telling us of distress even though we can't explain it. And the most frequent explanation of the dis-ease in the mindbody is a result of imbalancing choices that we make through our nutritional choices
The Energy Science View of Disease
From an energy science view all disease begins in the gut so you can see why it's so important to eat according to our mindbody energy makeup even though you may feel OK Or do you?
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Chronic Prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is a nonbacterial inflammatory condition of the male pelvis and can be considered male intersitial cystitis It is a member of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, irritable bowel syndrome, GERD, and fibromyalgia) because the cause is the same as its other members Imbalances of qualities in the bowel caused by primarily the foods consumed and lifestyle choices that provoke the energy physiology lead to dissemination to the peripheral tissues Like IC itself invariably the pelvic nerves become involved with the qualities of light mobile dry rough and hot leading to observed symptoms
The presence of fever is a key differentiating feature between acute and chronic prostatitis This is very important because the treatment of acute prostatitis is completely different If a man has chills and fever of 100.5F or greater with symptoms of acute prostatitis then he should be on antibiotics and in severe cases hospitalized because the cause is bacterial
Acute Flares of IC and Chronic Prostatitis
It is estimated that greater than 90% of those with chronic prostatitis are of nonbacterial origin, that is, there is no bacteria or infection in the prostate tissue Sounds a lot like IC doesn't it?
Chronic prostatitis is not associated with fever and similar to interstitial cystitis occurs acutely as flares lasting 2-3 weeks Urological workups including cultures, xrays, and endoscopy are negative In uncommon situations cystoscopy may show bladder mucosal lesions that biopsy negative and are typically not characteristic of Hunner's ulcers(which are unusual even in IC) Prostatic calculi may produce a chronic bacterial prostatitis but this is unusual There is no association between chronic prostatitis and prostate cancer epidemiologically in the allopathic literature
There is no agreed upon best treatment from the molecular or allopathic model of healing but it is typically treated with antibiotics initially These courses usually last for 3-4weeks or more based on the resolution of symptoms and/or recurrence of symptoms This is often the case since the cause is nonbacterial As the chronicity develops in the clinical course men are often kept on antiinflammatories or even short courses of steroids have been used
Anatomically the prostate lives at the base of the bladder and as you can see by the accompanying picture the urethral tube passes from the bladder to the outside through the penis So the symptoms of prostatitis mirror those seen in women with interstitial cystitis Suprapubic pain, perirectal or perianal pain , low back pain, testicular pain, pain referred to the base or the tip of the penis, pain with ejaculation, urinary frequency, urgency, small volumes of urine passed, and a feeling of incomplete emptying predominate when the man is having an acute flare
Due to the hot quality inflammation like IC produces the symptoms of burning on urination and because the prostate is innervated by the same use nerves affecting bladder function there can be pain with ejaculation This latter symptom may also be caused by the prostate itself becoming involved by the hot quality Sometimes the prostate becomes so inflamed that blood may be seen at the tip of the penis at the end of urination
An Energy Science Approach To Chronic Prostatitis
As in any chronic disease there should be a division in treatment based on whether one is treating an acute flare or trying to do maintenance therapy This has been covered in a previous blog post Here are some basic foundational things to do
1 As always use a nutritional format appropriate for one's energy pattern and avoid incompatible food combinations
2 Use of the dinacharya(day in balance) is an important foundational method
3 Consistent daily pranayama practice specifically using kapalabhati can have symptom controlling benefit It has been shown in an Italian study of 231 sedentary men with chronic prostatitis that routine exercise helped symptoms Pranayama is an excellent combined aerobic and anaerobic exercise that stresses the pelvic floor hence strengthening this area of the anatomy which is involved in chronic prostatitis
4 Herbal formulas can be helpful even in the acute stage or flare and gokshuradhi guggulu can be effective in reducing congestion when the gland is involved
5 Basti therapy in both acute and chronic phases can be very helpful in treating the pelvic nerve imblances
6 Lidocaine as in interstitial cystitis transrectally can be helpful in reducing the acute symptoms of chronic prostatitis
7 If foundational work has been done then panchakarma can be a viable alternative in management
Like the IC bladder pain syndrome chronic prostatitis can be healed from an energy science perspective but it requires a disciplined approach and based on how long symptoms have been present determines the length of time of recovery
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Dealing With Cheese Opiates and Agni
The energy science can help us understand how to deal with this controversial topic about the potential addictive nature of opiates in milk
It makes sense that there is a sedative property in mother's milk or the human race would not be so advanced in numbers as it has become
Concentrated Forms of Opiates
Cheese is produced by acidifying milk and making a curd leaving the whey(watery protein) behind
The predominant protein in milk and therefore cheese is casein which if not completely digested will release in the gut as an opiate called casomorphin(BCM7) Opiates can produce a profound sense of pleasure
80% of cow's milk is casein Concentrated milk products(cheese, ice cream, milk chocolate) can have increased amounts of the addictive opiates or BCM7 proteins that link up to opiate receptors in the body, particularly the brain
Some interesting factoids
It takes 10 pounds of milk to make a pound of hard cheese(sour cheese)
It takes 3-4 pounds of milk to make one pound of milk chocolate A "chocoholic" is born
BCM7 is the powerful opiate held in any milk whether cow, buffalo, goat, or human Studies on cow's milk show that BCM7 is held to an amino acid named proline in A1 cows(tightly bound) and by histidine in A2 cows(loosely bound), so the latter can be more effective to produce the opiate effect
How about breads with gluten?
Interestingly gliadorphin from the digestion of gluten is similar to casomorphin both of which interact with opiate receptors in the brain, particularly those areas involved with speech and hearing, an important factor in children with autism, particularly if poor digestive fire is involved These byproducts of digestion will lead to exaggerated effects (ama in the energy science vernacular)
What To Do?
Bottom line: If you have a strong digestive fire, you'll deal with BCM7 early in the digestive process and more than likely won't be impacted by either form of milk, A1 or A2, or bread
If you have a poor digestive fire then either way BCM7 will be hanging around and an individual will potentially get the effects of casomorphin
So the energy science nutritional solution to the above, enhance digestive fire by:
If any heavy concentration of BCM7 is taken in on a day, avoid doing it again and again Allow the GI tract and the body to absorb the insult Don't pile on insult after insult after insult
If PK reduce the amount of dairy in your diet, avoiding the concentrated forms
Steaming or heating milk is a great idea
Never drink milk cold or with ice
Using a churan or a meal rich in cooling digestants or spices will help with digestion due to their impact on digestive fire
Using cardamom with warm milk helps digestion
Eat a nutritional format that is conducive to your energy makeup and avoid poor food combinations
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Acid Indigestion: 8 Ways to Deal With It
As part of many chronic disease processes acid indigestion can be manifested as hyperacidity syndrome(HAS) or gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD) This is because from an energy science point of view the hot quality(Pitta energy pattern) is a major contributor to the imbalance that creates many chronic diseases...the burning on urination, vaginal burning are related to this quality
The Spectrum of Disease
All physiologic disease shows up as an array of symptoms from not so bad to terrible Patients with occasional heartburn can then begin to have it all the time This makes it eligible for the disease label of HAS If it progresses to a sour taste in the mouth or a burning in the chest then it advances to GERD And if GERD progresses then it can become the disease label of Barrett's esophagitis
But notice that in all these advancing disease labels one thing remains constant The hot quality So in the end these disease labels are related to the increasing intensity of this quality But wait there's more from an energy science perspective The Pitta energy pattern displays the hot quality when out of balance in its functional seat, the liver So when Pitta and its qualities show up you can bet that is underlying liver toxicity even though the owner doesn't know it
So again from an energy science point of view the liver imbalances due to Pitta must be addressed if a patient is having problems with GERD
Reducing the heat
There are a number of ways to go beyond Prelief which like all its molecular relatives( such as over the counter Prevacid and various expensive pharmaceuticals) represent pharma bandaids From an energy science treatment perspective the alternatives not only provide relief but done properly with other allied therapies become permanent solutions, not bandaids
Wouldn't you rather have something that is sustainable long term instead of relying on a pharmacological bandaid? Here are some basic energy science treatments that can bring about control of this Pitta energy pattern of transformation
Avipattikar This herb combination is an excellent way to get control of raging hot Pitta in the stomach reducing the hot quality
Aloe vera gel or juice This herb is not only cooling to the small bowel therefore reduces the Pitta energy pattern but because it is effective for Pitta disorders in general it is a good liver protectant This makes it a valuable herb overall in treating Pitta disorders From an energy point of view aloe is special because it falls into a special group of herbs called rasayana This means it is a tissue rejuvenative and restorative of bodily tissues There are no Western pharma that can make that claim Using the gel is preferable but the juice is a good second choice Aloe Farms or George's are good brands because they don't have carrageenan to their products
Ghee In the Ayurvedic classics ghee assumes a significant therapeutic role in the management of high Pitta conditions such as HAS and GERD
Donate a unit of blood It is known that high Pitta conditons store a lot of that hot quality in the blood which is why removing a small amount of blood can be therapeutic
Psyllium husk Using this herb may sound strange as it is used as a laxative but 1t at bedtime mixed with fresh yogurt or with warm water will absorb Pitta in the small intestine and stop the colonic wall irritation
Nutritional format and incompatible food combinations We can take all the herbs in the world but if we continue to take into our bodies the same imbalancing qualities then no gains will be made It's like 2steps forward and 3 steps back If there is HAS or GERD then no doubt the person is a strong Pitta and these conditions would be the ways that they might go out of balance One should follow a Pitta pacifying diet At the very least one should follow the PK or PV formats at foodsheal.com Coconut is an excellent cooling food and using unsweetened flakes is excellent to introduce into cooking
Kefir milk When Pitta is out of control and the hot quality is raging, the microbiome or the gut flora becomes affected Since the gut flora is an important aspect of agni it's important to replenish and support this vital aspect to our health Kefir does this by providing new healthy bacteria to our gut microbiome population You can get it in the stores or make it yourself by finding some Kefir granules from someone willing to share
Shatavari is a wonderful herb to reduce Pitta and like aloe vera it has far reaching physiologic consequences due to its rasayana effect Rasayanas are a special group of herbs that have strengthening physiologic effects over other herbs and are used particularly after cleansing therapies used in panchakarma
Kama dudha moti bhasma and abhrak bhasma are basically calcium salts that act as coenzymes in metabolic processes and can be effective when Pitta is high
Like all energy work it is subtle and the healing shifts occur slowly over months but the good thing is that they are sustainable long lasting effects
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Probiotics and Homemade Yogurt
Yogurt is an amazing food and many ethinic cultures on the planet use fresh yogurt and kefir as health promoting foods in their nutrition And there are very good reasons for doing so but due to the Pitta aggravating nature of yogurt, freshly made is the only way to go in moderation
Helping Restore Imbalanced Agni
The value of yogurt is that it serves when freshly made a rich source of probiotic which is a population of "good bacteria" that reside in the bowel "Bad" bacteria at times overgrow the gut flora leading to poor digestion, absorption, and assimilation so it's important that the good flora flourishes and the bad are kept in check As I've alluded to in the past, bacterial growth is a major part of our digestive strength that needs to be nourished
This is particularly important if you have GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia associated with IC since the digestive fire is significantly compromised in these dual conditions
Regular use of freshly made yogurt insures that the "good" bacteria are consistently replenished Agni is always compromised in these conditions and since the bacterial flora is part of agni it's important to supplement with probiotic foods such as yogurt SIBO(small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is commonly thought of as the root cause of many bowel diseases but from an energy science perspective it's just saying that agni is disturbed
You may have heard of yeast overgrowth and this is yet another factor that can lead to poor digestive fire(eliminating yeast laden bread products is a good idea in that it gives us more than we need so flatbreads are best or at least toasting yeasted products) This candidal imbalance in bowel flora much like SIBO is a result of poor agni So building up agni is one of the central therapeutic themes in the management of the IC bladder pain syndrome
Bowel flora is important in the concept of digestive fire and aids in bowel digestive function as well as providing important nutrients for our nutrition
Pasteurized yogurts should be avoided as pasteurization kills off the beneficial probiotic component of yogurt
Making Digestion Easy By Predigestion-Optimizing Digestive Strength
The value of yogurt comes in the predigestion of lactose and casein which we talked about a couple of days ago Hence the bacteria during the incubation phase of creating yogurt use the sugar lactose and break down the protein casein The lactose then doesn't bother the lactose intolerant and the casomorphin derivative from casein digestion can be less, hence affecting us less
Why freshly made? From an energy science view the build up of acidity occurs with aging yogurt even if refrigerated becomes inflammatory and thus Pitta provoking You also get the maximal amount of probiotic in the yogurt(some bacteria die off after 4-5 days)
Even though fresh yogurt is not very acidic(sour taste) it still can be Pitta provoking if used daily Hence home made yogurt has its consumption limitations
So Some Guidelines
1 Based on the foodsheal.com food combining list, don't use fruit with yogurt
2 To really inhibit the negative sour effects of even freshly made yogurt, the use of Sucanat or Turbinado(crystallized cane sugars) can be important because the sweet taste helps balance the aggravating sour taste
3 Always use yogurt in moderation, that is, 2-3x per week
4 Store bought and therefore processed yogurt is too acidic and will provoke IC
5 Diluting the yogurt with water reduces its acidity
6 Keeping in the fridge after it comes from the incubation phase will help get the yogurt firmer
7 For best results use whole milk
How to get started
Buy a yogurt maker(Donvier is a French brand or other various manufacturers can be found on Amazon) Using fresh starter each time ensures that the bacterial count of the yogurt will be rich The small amount of starter is not enough to aggravate Pitta
And yes, it does take some time to make your own yogurt but after doing it, in a short time you can do a batch in about 15 minutes(total time; heating the milk and cooling it can be done while doing other things)
If the yogurt is curdly and clearly not smooth in texture it means that there's probably too much cooking going on and that the incubation times are too long So try 10 hours instead of 12 hours with the Donvier
YouTube has several videos on how to make your own yogurt
It's best not to use dry milk powder as the milk product as it is provoking to Vata Pitta
There are links for directions on making your own for trouble shooting
The greatest value is making your own yogurt is that you participate in your own health and this is a small but significant step in assuming responsibility for our health
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A friend of mine is a well trained matter field physician in the field of endocrinology having received training at several prestigious centers in the US and abroad. Due to the unique nature of the discipline he found himself drawn to explore the energy field of the mindbody.
In one of his sojourns he found himself speaking to a group of prestigious energy field physicians on how certain hormones interact with receptor sites in the body.
It was a series of talks and each time he found a sea of puzzled faces as he carefully took them through the molecular workings of the physiology of the endocrine system.
The third discussion led to the same returning polite group of puzzled faces. He repititiously and earnestly went over the information to explain his molecular material. At the break he saw one of the participants turn to his friends and exclaim, "Oh, I get it! He thinks the molecules do it!"
The story describes two perspectives, both valid. But what if, just what if we could entertain both viewpoints. Why you ask? The most important reason is that there is a system of prevention in the energy field work. And I believe we are all after how to prevent dis-ease.
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