Answers To Recent Alternative Healing Questions

Rob asked who do Maori pray to when collecting herbs for healing.  The answer is generally the prayers are to give thanks and acknowledgement that we are the guardians of the land, and they generally go to God, and/or Papatuanuku and Ranginui.

Tane Mahuta, "Lord of the Forest" stands over 50M. Often people comment about the spiritual vibe around the tree

We still see the influence of missionaries that came to early New Zealand.  The spiritual side has it’s own type of alternative medicine.  Healing anything always incorporates a spiritual aspect with Maori.  Always.

Legend has it that Papatuanuku, mother earth came together with Ranginui, the sky father and embraced in the darkness before creation or Te Kore (the nothingness).  After being locked in eternal darkness between them, their children finally pushed them apart.

Maori see themselves as guardians not owners of nature and land.  This cultural difference has caused many unnecessary disputes about land rights that still continue to this day.  The alternative natural healing they use has a strong connection with the land and nature.

Darryl asked can you eat Manuka Honey.  Yes you can use it like any other honey.   You may find the cost a deterrent to trying it, of course in NZ it is much closer to price to regular honey worth only about a dollar more for the same size jar.  In Cornwall it is sold for £55 a jar.  Yikes!  Pricey toast.

It does have those proven medicinal qualities that occur when bees gather pollen from the Manuka bush.  Not all Manuka honey is “active” meaning that it has enzymes that create chemical reactions in the honey.  To find some look for the UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) which is found on medical grade (!) honey.

UMF branded honey provides one more alternative in natural healing.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Alternative*Insight
Photo Credit

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

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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
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The Healing Power Of Voice

There are many things that intrigue me about the human voice.  For one the chakra associated with it corresponds directly with the base chakra.  One of my spiritual teachers told me that you can pick up if a man has sexual difficulties it can be heard in their voice.  I would suspect if this were the case that sexual issues could be healed by working at improving the voice.  When I come across someone with a technique, I’ll let you know.  I did ask about it before and was told for males they would practice lowering the timbre as they spoke which is pretty cool to know as a technique for alternative natural healing.

The vocal cords are muscles which must be used.  In older folk the quality of the voice diminishes unless they use their voice all the time like a singer or an actor.  Older actors don’t get voice fade as they age.

Training in singing will improve breathing problems like asthma because it strengthens muscles used to breath.  Also it will make you feel happier according to a recent study by the University of Queensland*.  So there you go, singing in the shower is good for you. For a great voice training product try this.

There are various alternative healing techniques associated with the voice which I will write about later such as toning, chanting, and overtone singing.  The voice is a fabulous tool for healing and for building confidence.

Recently I attended a performance by children who clearly loved to perform.

Camp of Rock (yes, idea born after the Disney movie “Camp Rock”) was held over a two week period at YMCA Camp Kaitoke.  During that time the children went through intensive training in dance, various instruments, and wrote there own songs to perform at the end of the two week period.  Audience members like me were blown away by how much they had to have learnt to perform like they did.

How many skills did the children learn during those two weeks?  Beyond the obvious musical skills they learnt discipine yeilds results.  That with the right support they can accomplish what ever they want.  About half the children who attended didn’t have much musical experience they only had what they learnt at camp over the fortnight.

To take inexperienced children and somehow draw out a professional level performance takes considerable effort.  Unlike a paying adult children who are afraid in front of groups or their peers won’t just do as instructed.  They need coxing and lots of it.

With each fear we overcome new options open up to us.   These children will have the memory of this unique experience forever and the fears they overcame now only serve as an expansion to their lives.
Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Anything Alternative
Photo Credit
*http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:74062

Health ICT Research – Alternative Healers Excluded?

The New Zealand Minstry of Health has just released a study on ICT usage and how it can be utilised.

Information communications technology (ICT) is a vital part of the Ministry of Health’s goal of developing a person-centred and provider-friendly health system. Creating an environment where clinicians and patients can safely share electronic information is an essential part of improving health care.

Research took place over the last two years.  I came across a government website in the US talking about something similar.

Typical of a government service the Health Ministry has been slow to change.  I’ve been checking any health advice (or even health “ideas”) against google for years.

Since the speed of electronic data transfer is so quick I’m also concerned about privacy issues.  In NZ healthcare information is ment to be shared on a need to know basis.  If privacy is breached you can request the information sent be destroyed.  With electronic backup, and easy duplication……I don’t know if I feel ok with all of this.

Let’s hope they all figure it out for the best.  Unfortunately the paradigm shift towards alternative medicine healing has already begun.

And maybe when they do they will realise that they left out an entire section of the community who use alternative healing.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan

Anything Alternative
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