Gemmotherapy ~ Lifestyle ~ Healthy Aging
Belladonna is one of those words that are fun to say with a big, exaggerated Italian accent! It means “beautiful lady,” and in fact, it was actually used as a beauty aid long ago. Women would put drops into their eyes to dilate their pupils and achieve a glassy stare they considered beautiful and seductive. Considering that belladonna’s other name is deadly nightshade, the practice definitely wasn’t particularly safe!
The first half of 2016 has been quite an eventful year on many fronts. Here at my home, we’ve had quite the round of medical issues! I dealt with a horrible sinus infection, spring allergies, a bout of hand, foot, and mouth disease, and we followed all of that up with constipation with one of my kiddos! Whew! I used homeopathy for all of it and I will be doing future blogs on the other issues, but today I’ll delve into how I handled the hand, foot, and mouth virus.
Continue reading “Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease with Homeopathy”
Hello, Friends! Welcome!
This is a subject that has been on my mind a lot for the past several weeks due to the circumstances of two families that I’m acquainted with. One family lost their three year old daughter a few weeks ago and the other is fighting for every precious day they have left with their 1 year old. My heart aches every time I think about what they’re enduring, so I’d like to use this space to talk about grief and how homeopathy can help.
Photo credit: Vinayaraj
Hello Friends! This is the second in the Sacred Plants series where I share some of the historical and mythological roots of some of the plant based homeopathic remedies. You can read the first in the series on Wolfsbane here. Let’s get started learning a little about the extremely useful Nux vomica.
I recently listened to a fantastic interview with homeopath Joette Calabrese. She said something that really struck me and I wanted to expand on it because I think that this simple thing can mean the difference between success and failure when making the switch to natural healing methods. I don’t have her exact words so I’m very much paraphrasing, but here’s the gist of what she said:
You can’t just decide you want to use natural remedies and leave it at that. If you don’t educate yourself and prepare ahead of time, you’ll fall back to what you already know when faced with illness. For pretty much everybody, this will be conventional medicine.
So if you wait until your child has a fever and you’re still afraid of fevers, you’ll use that fever reducer. If you aren’t prepared and have a plan for the next time you get the flu, you’ll reach for those over the counter flu medications.
Continue reading “Prepare for Success Using Natural Remedies!”
Hi Everyone! I picked up the above book a few months ago because, as someone interested in history, I wanted to get an idea of how some of my favorite plant remedies were used in past times. It’s been extremely enlightening, to say the least! I thought I’d share a few posts on the historical uses and mythology of some of plants used in making homeopathic remedies.
Here’s a Facebook post I did on Aconite a few months ago using info from the book.
Wolfsbane is one of the most poisonous and swiftest acting alkaloids. In Greek mythology it was said to have originated from the saliva of Cerberus, the watchdog of hell. It was sacred to Hecate, the goddess of nocturnal beings, sorcery, and the manufacture of poisons.
In Homeopathy, it’s the remedy aconite, useful in illnesses that begin with the three F’s. Fear, fast, fever. Aconite is also useful for sudden fright that leaves you restless and fearful. An overall, high intensity remedy.
Please let me know if you have any questions about specific plants and I can look it up in the book. I’d also be interested if anyone knows of a more updated book of this kind. This one is pretty old!
Bene vale!
Using Homeopathic remedies is a very safe, effective way of naturally treating common childhood ailments. I’ll be discussing a couple of the common childhood issues and a few of the common remedies that can be indicated.
I’d like to recommend that if you want to self treat acute issues with Homeopathic remedies, that you get yourself a good book. The two I have and can recommend are here and here. (These are not affiliate links) A good book is invaluable to guiding you through the process of choosing the correct remedy and dosing process. It’s also very important to know what conditions can and cannot be treated by yourself.
Using Your Powers of Observation
Becoming more observant is a necessity when using Homeopathy. When trying to choose between similar remedies, sometimes that small distinction can be crucial in the final decision. Some things to look for are mental and behavioral symptoms. Is the child really cranky and irritable, or whiny and craving attention? Pay special attention to the things that make symptoms better or worse. Notice if the child is better or worse from heat, cold, open air, or at a certain time of the day. Many remedies can be specific in these types of modalities.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you may not see a reduction in symptoms as a first sign that the remedy is working. Homeopathy is not working on a molecular level like pharmaceuticals do. Homeopathy works with the body’s vital force energy. One of the first signs you may see when a remedy is working is a general sense of well being. A really irritable, cranky child may go down for a nap. A child who wants to be carried around constantly may sit down and start playing on their own. So please keep this in mind if you’re looking only at symptoms as a guide on if a remedy is working.
Let’s get started!
Teething
Ah, teething! The excitement of your child reaching a new milestone and watching those little teeth grow is so fun! On the other hand, the discomfort and crankiness…not so much! These two remedies are often indicated, but not the only two remedies that can be indicated. This is where I tell you to get yourself a good homeopathy book because a book will have a more comprehensive list of remedies.
Fever
The dreaded fever! Please don’t fear fevers. Fever’s are the body’s way of fighting infection and when it accomplishes this, the immune system and vital force are stronger for it. Think of it as a workout for the immune system! Homeopathy will help correct the underlying imbalance and assist the vital force in its work.
Any alarmingly high fever should be checked out by a physician, especially if the child has any change in mental status!!!
Remember that these are not the only remedies that can be indicated for fevers! Get thee a good book!
Colds
It was super challenging to pick only 3 remedies for colds because there are so many remedies that can be indicated based on the symptom picture! Here’s what I have for you…
I hope this is helpful!
Bene vale!
Peace of the Heart is truly an important read for our time. Virtually everyone suffers from energetic blocks due to experience, circumstance, and even generational obstructions passed down from our ancestors. Renee Li’s chronicle of her heartbreaking losses and how she overcame trauma to change the direction of her life is not only inspirational, but offers practical applications as well.
Life can offer up trauma and tragedy. It’s how we deal with that pain that makes all the difference between living a life you love and a life forever marked with pain. In Peace of Heart, Renee Li shares her experiences around two very sudden deaths of loved ones and the emotional imprints left behind by the shock from their passing. You can read about how her subconscious kept these emotional imprints hidden from her for thirty years (including beliefs around abandonment), how it controlled her life creating toxic relationships, and how she soldiered through her own resistance to face the pain in an effort to resolve it once and for all through self-love. The vibration of love is a high frequency that resonates with the God in us. When you apply love to any emotional pain, it lifts the lower vibration of pain to match the higher vibration of love. Nothing can resist the power of real love, not even fear or anger. It’s a bit of alchemy and you are the alchemist. Learn how to transform your life by resolving old pain and turning it into love. You can follow Renee’s road-map to healing breakthroughs and clear your emotional imprints; making room for the fulfillment of all your heart’s desires. It does not matter what you are trying to heal from, whether it is the emotional trauma from a car accident, abandonment by your birth parents, fear of rejection, heartache from a breakup, distrust from a betrayal, or grief from a passing. The healing practices in Peace of the Heart will illustrate a powerful and efficient way to heal your past wounds so that you can start to receive the peace, freedom and joy that you desire and deserve.
Renee Li is an Om Wisdom teacher, author, energy healer, channel, and a physical empath. I’m honored to have her answer questions about Peace of the Heart today.
Christina: We will all experience loss and trauma in our lives. Is there a way to be consciously aware to help minimize the negative imprinting that can occur when we’re going through these experiences?
Renee: Yes, there is a way to minimize the negative imprinting when you experience a new loss or trauma. If we can understand and remember the nature of life in our day to day, this will help us tremendously. — What is the nature of life? Well, as you said Christina, it is inevitable that life will bring us ups and downs such as loss and sometimes trauma. These ups and downs occur because change is a constant in life.
Change is constant. Seasons change. Flowers bloom and grow only to pass away soon after. The sun rises then sets. The human body grows old never able to retain a youthful body forever. People are born and then they die. No one can stop these changes that are a part of nature…a part of life. When you look at your day to day life with this perspective, you may start to see that your emotions are constantly fluctuating even within the day! No human being experiences a string of happy moments from birth to death. It is not possible given the nature of life.
Now when you remember this during a time of loss or trauma, you can say to yourself with certainty, “this too shall pass”. Nothing is permanent except the divine love which is the backdrop of our existence. So in order to minimize your negative imprints moving forward in life, remember the phrase “this too shall pass” and that will allow you to shift your perspective enough to NOT take things so personally and hold onto or suppress emotions that you feel you cannot cope with. Let those emotions play out so that it can pass. If you cannot remember this nature of life, you risk holding onto the negative experience much longer than you ever have to. So in short, roll with the punches in life and do not identify with any specific negative experience. Allow it to be experienced and then just wait and watch it pass away. Do not push away the negative experience and shove it down in your emotional body to avoid it. Simply acknowledge what you are going through with love and compassion for yourself and it too shall pass.
Christina: What would be your first piece of advice for someone who is only just realizing they have these kinds of negative patterns in their lives?
Renee: If someone is just becoming aware of negative patterns repeating in their life; whether it’s dating unhealthy men/women or finding a mean boss at every place of employment, then I want to first say “congratulations!” because this awareness is the first key to accessing the energy of peace. My advice for them would be to look at the past and see which unhappy memories stick out the most. Then explore your emotions around that unhappy memory and see if there are suppressed or stuck emotions that are still present today. If you actually do get angry or fearful thinking of the past memory, that’s a stuck emotion that is probably a block in your life. This is a good evaluation process to go through at every stage of the healing journey.
Christina: The section on self-love practices was very powerful! Many people will have resistance to consistently using these practices, just as you did. What do you recommend people keep in mind when they come up against powerful blocks such as this?
Renee: Remember that healing is a process and at times you may feel stopped on your healing journey when you come up against some really difficult emotions from the past. During these times it is important to remember that resistance is usually a sign that there is something underneath that wants to be healed. Now, you always have a choice. You can either face it and start healing or not face it at all and create zero change in your life.
Throughout our healing journeys, we have to be really honest with ourselves and have the strength to continually look deeper within so that we can set our soul free and be at peace with everything. At the same time, I also have to mention that it is necessary to be gentle and kind towards ourselves because some of us have experienced really terrible traumas in life. If you are not ready to go deeper into your healing journey in this Now moment, just simply acknowledge that there is stuff for you to look at and heal but you are not ready yet. And that is perfectly fine! Only YOU can know when you are copping out on yourself; avoiding a part of you that is yearning to be healed OR if you are truly not ready in your mental and emotional state to face the past. Please honor your own timing.
Christina: Which of the practices would you recommend people start out with if they are just beginning or are short on time? (I personally loved practice #2 – Sending Love to Your Inner Child)
Renee: The four practices I recommend in the book are really short and easy. It doesn’t take much time at all out of your day. If you only wanted to start with one, I might suggest going with the practice that you feel the most openness towards because that means you can actually commit to establishing that practice as part of your daily routine.
Practice #2 is a great one and works to heal you across time and all dimensions. There really is no past, present and future. There is only the Now and everything is all happening right now (including what we call past lives) so that means when you send love to your three year-old self; or your inner child, that younger version of you is really getting the love. This self-love helps the inner child better cope with the difficult experience and minimizes the negative emotional imprints from that experience. When your inner child heals, you heal today as an adult because it is all You.
Renee can be reached at her website, Om Wisdom and Wellness, where she offers a free gift and other resources to help you live a life of peace and love. Check her out!
Bene vale!
There are few systems of healing as shrouded in mystery and controversy as homeopathy. You find people who have been helped by, and believe in homeopathy, and people who think its hogwash. If you’ve checked out the homeopathy page on Wikipedia lately, you find a very organized effort to discredit it. Why would people go through such an effort?
Energy
Homeopathy is very much an energetic healing modality. We know that in medicines and herbs there are physical and chemical constituents which act on a physiological level with every person’s unique biochemistry. You can study these elements under a microscope and break them down into all of their separate parts. With homeopathic remedies there are no material substances left to study. All that remains after the process of remedy making is the energy of the substance used. People often will not believe what they can’t see with their own eyes. If science and technology can’t prove it (yet!), then it cannot be so.
Modern vs Ancient
Many people believe that Homeopathy is just too new of a system of healing to be trusted. Compared to Acupuncture or Ayurveda, which have been around for thousands of years, Homeopathy is a fairly recent system of treatment. While Homeopathy itself is only just over 200 years old, the basic principles have been around for thousands of years. The ideas of like cures like and micro doses have been utilized since the time of Hippocrates. Samuel Hahnemann just figured out how to take these natural laws and put them together in an improved system of healing.
How does that work?
We know that all matter is made up of energy and has its own vibration. The earth, sun, moon, animals, plants, and humans all have a unique energetic field. Homeopathic remedies are made by taking a substance, often a plant or mineral, and repeatedly diluting and shaking the preparation in water and alcohol to the required potency. The original substance is no longer measurable, but the energy is still there ready to do its work! Energy can’t destroyed, but it can be transformed from one form to another. In this case, from physical to vibrational.
Mistunement
The human body can be compared to a finely tuned musical instrument. When healthy, it hums along in complete harmony, vibrating at its highest and best. Disease is a mistunement of the body’s vital force and symptoms are the clues that a homeopath uses to bring harmony back to the body. The properly chosen remedy energetically brings the vital force back to a state of balance.
This is all very basic, but I hope this clarifies some of the controversy about Homeopathy and helps explain how and why it works.
Bene vale!
I want to start off by sharing my story about homeopathy. I love all the different modalities of alternative medicines and have used many over the years with wonderful results. My experience with homeopathy has been special, even magical, and that is why I’ve chosen this system to devote my energy to study and share with others.
My first introduction to homeopathy was around 2005 while searching for help with my dog. I stumbled across a website and was immediately drawn to the philosophy of homeopathy. I did have success with treating my dog and continued to use homeopathy from then on. I also took some beginner online classes to learn more and, until now, I was a casual student from then on. I dabbled in several forms of natural healing, everything from herbs, essential oils, and even got off allergy medications with TCM and acupuncture. Even though I always kept that fascination with homeopathy, it wasn’t until just a couple years ago that I realized how truly powerful it is!
My oldest child has autism. She’s not just simply on the spectrum, she has full blown, will need support and care for the rest of her life autism. She’s physically healthy and has a lot of strengths, she’s bright and beautiful, and happy, so we’re very fortunate in that respect. She had been under homeopathic treatment for a few years when we went through a period of financial belt tightening. She was doing well so I thought we could forego the homeopathy.
Huge mistake, but one that opened my eyes! After a few months, we slowly descended into months of hell as my sweet girl became increasingly violent and aggressive. I’m not being melodramatic here, it was HELL. She would hit, kick, throw things, throw off her seatbelt in the car, and then start slapping me or her brother. She would have 40 minute long screaming tantrums where I actually had to stand next to her in an enclosed space while I waited out the tantrum. I had to let her hit and slap me because I wouldn’t let her run off. This was both for her safety and her brothers. They were terrified of her and she was completely out of control. She was unpredictable and I was afraid to take her anywhere. We even had to decrease her hours at school to 3 days a week, only 4 hours a day because the school days were too much for her. I have never suffered so much anxiety and fear for one of my children as I did for this one during this terrible time. It was getting to the point that I feared I would have no other choice but to medicate her because we just could not continue to live like this. She was suffering too much. Just looking into her eyes during one of her fits I could see she was in mental anguish.
You can guess what happened next. We finally realized what was going on and got her back on homeopathy! It was a long road back, but I’m simply amazed at how far she has come! She’s mentally stable, her aggression has virtually disappeared, and she’s back in school full days. She is
Happy
Vibrant
Loving
Joyful
Homeopathy has been such a blessing for my family.
Thank you for hearing my story and I hope it conveys my deepest passion and gratitude for homeopathy!
Bene vale!
