Alternative Healing For You!

What They Didn’t Tell You About Salt Lamps – Healing Alternative For Environment

I willfully forked out over $80 bucks for a chunk of salt.  At the time I reasoned that it would be good for the atmosphere in my home and enhance the atmosphere in my alternative medicine healing room.  Also we had a room which never saw much sun and was a little damp so it was intended that the lamp would help by drying out the air.

Salt lamps in a market. Impressive in a group aren't they?

As part of the marketing pitch they tell you that the salt lamp emits negative ions – touted as the vitamins of the air.

When I got the thing home I plugged it in right away.  In my bedroom – mistake #1.  Sleeping in the same room, even a large one like mine will cause you to wake up dehydrated.  Duh!  Salt is hydroscopic so draws moisture away.
After only three weeks I had to replace the bulb.  Which I did.  Then a couple of weeks after that.  Then again.  And again….. finally I figured out the best bulb to use is an OVEN BULB because they are rated for thousands of hours and designed to be replaced after a longer time period.

The other issue was during the hassle of finding a replacement bulb, if I forgot the lamp would melt.  This occurred even when I wrapped it up in cling wrap (although the melt was much slower).  I’ve had the thing for over five years now.  Although it did say to wrap it in the instructions I would occasionally forget.  In the dampest room of my home if the bulb blew during the night it would have begun to melt by morning.

Argh!  My beautiful lamp!  So now they are becoming more available, do keep those points in mind.  Especially if you are moving a long distance because this is always problematic.  Silica packets aren’t enough (you can find these in new shoes or inside vitamins as they are there to absorb moisture) so you will need an alternative.  Natural healing of your environment using salt lamps is still cool,  it’s just you either have to devise a way of keeping them warm or vacuum sealed which may or may not solve the melting issue.

Pretty though aren’t they?

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Alternative*Insight
Photo Credit

Alternative Healing Therapy Across The Globe

Just a quick note highlighting the valuable work of Anne Godfrey.  Music is a little loud, but info still carries.  If you check out the middle piece you can see the alternative natural healing of agnihotra taking place.  (See, I’m not alone!)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4q-_LJ3Nfg[/youtube]

Executive summary: Anne Godfrey is an Australian based in India. She witnessed the suffering of Indian women. Another Indian woman from a nearby village was holding mass meditation meetings. Anne’s website rosecircles.com sells rose related products made by the women to empower them when they have little other alternative.  Natural healing occurs when women from all over the globe to support this project by purchasing the products and forming their own healing circle of women.

The suggested day for the women to meet is Thursday – what is it about Thursdays?  Must be a good day for alternative healing – therapy all over the world.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Alternative*Insight

Manuka Honey Healing Alternative For…Umm, Almost Everything
Manuka honey is the best honey for alternative natural healing.  Athletes foot, ringworm, wrinkles.  Burns,    insect bites, aches and pains, gum disease.  See what I mean?  And there are is so much more.  I could go on but I won’t.  Basically this stuff is packed with antibacterials so good that when they are heated or diluted they still retain their power unlike other honey.  Also it is antimicrobial.  Nice.

I heard on the news that there is some place in England with Manuka bushes who are now selling Manuka honey.  There is much lost in cultural differences and I felt saddened that those growers weren’t knowledgeable about the traditional Maori beliefs around Manuka, and some of the practices around this alternative medicine.

A question yesterday from Kate about putting this stuff on your face.  Yes, I’ve done that once and NEVER again.  Messy as hell.  Got in my hair and generally everywhere.  Didn’t think my face improved much but that may have been because I was scowling.

You can buy creams with the active Manuka honey ingredients in them that make it easier but I don’t really like those.  The few I’ve tried still seem really heavy.  It is also used for burns by the way (after the cool water of course)  an alternative to medicine.  Healing is speeded up as the substances in the honey go to work.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Alternative*Insight

Photo Credit

Native Alternative Medicine Healing Using Kawakawa, Manuka, and Kumerahou

What else could you try to combat winter ills?  Here in NZ we have native plants growing around the place that we can use to help us in healing.

There are two in particular that I use on a fairly regular basis.  One is Kumerahou which is probably the most versatile of all our native plants aside from Manuka (you may have heard of Manuka Honey).  In traditional medicine there are steps that must be adhered to out of respect, so what you would do is to say a prayer before picking the leaves of the plant.  Then it can be dried and made into a tea to drink.

I was taught to select the leaves a bug had already eaten. Yum!

There are also strict protocols around disposal of the leaves.  When I have finished using them they are given back to a tree.  Following the protocol is considered as important to the medicine as the plant itself.  This includes the time that the leaves are picked.  For Maori there is no separation between spiritual and physical aspects.

When I first heard of swine flu I stocked up on….. Kawakawa leaves!  This is the most useful New Zealand plant for cold or ‘flu symptoms.  A great alternative for natural healing.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
AlternativeInsight
Photo Credit

The Feng Shui Alternative. Healing Your Environment

There is nothing that can improve your life faster than a clean and organised home and office.

Feng Shui or the Indian Vaastu Shastra which is similar in many respects but lesser known has an instinctive feel to me.  While I do not religiously engage in the moving of furniture or placing of fish I can feel a difference in the way a space is organised.  There is a natural preference to organise my house in the way Feng Shui practitioners describe anyway even without the description of the flow of chi.

As with any alternative the practice of Feng Shui works best combined with real action.  I remember picking up a book on Feng Shui and the relationship between ill health and the layout and location of buildings.  I respect it enough to consult with an expert before the kids and I build that straw bale home.

Has anyone here ever hired someone to assess their space?  What was that like?

I haven’t, but I have checked out several books which are often written for the Northern Hemisphere.  Because of the confusion between North and South eventually I read so much conflicting material I abandoned most of the stuff.  Also I learnt I’m not a great fish Mom (they are in safe hands now).  This in itself is probably bad Feng Shui.

I still maintain a small (but hopeful) collection of water fountains, symbolic artwork and wind chimes.

Just in case.

Blessings,
Keri Eagan
Alternative Healing Insights
Photo Credit