Don’t get scared…

Get prepared!

With the coming onset of winter be prepared for the cold and ‘flu season.

Pharmacy treatments can be expensive ESPECIALLY if you happen to have a family look after.  And let’s not forget the hassle of getting there in the first place.

Then there’s the cost of time off work.  Can anybody afford that in this economy?

The natural remedies for cold and ‘flu don’t have the dangerous side effects of strong drugs and hastily manufactured vaccines.

37 different remedies collected over many years and passed from one generation to the next including a super clever New Zealand idea for utilizing the antiviral, antibacterial, and healing properties that only fresh garlic(or it’s expensive to manufacture equivalent) has, a method most people have never heard of before.

By having this information on had you have an entire arsenal to combat those winter ills.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan

Alternative*Insight
Photo Credit

I notice a book sitting on the table with some goofy looking guy holding a half full martini glass with a ridiculous grin on his face.  At a healing retreat you find all kinds of unique info.  As it happens the book was all about urine which is what is (presumably) swirling in place of actual gin.  I don’t recall any olive.
Urine for a surprise at that party ….  Ok.  Ahem.  Back to the alternative natural healing retreat.

Many years ago there was only one main brand of bottle water, and since we were detoxing everyone carried a bottle around.  And some of those had a suspicious yellow tinge.  Best not to look too close I thought.  Made sure my generic looking bottle was WELL marked lest there be a mix up.

Apparently the couple running the show had been using urine for years as part of their alternative medicine healing.  Every day in fact.  As it happens one of them ended up very ill and took up the practice in desperation.  He explained that the body self corrects and just “knows”.  A little too vague for me to give it a go however.  And now…. the moment has passed for me to try this altnernative medicine.  Healing for me isn’t life or death at the moment.

I did ask him about breath smell (I gotta know about things like that) and he said you couldn’t tell and went on to mention how they use it on skin.  I kept my distance from everyone just in case.  I’m curious, just not THAT curious.  No need to tempt fate is there?

Thus ended my adventure into this form of alternative medicine. Healing for me isn’t that extreme just yet.

It isn’t recommended that urine drinking be combined with alcohol or drug consumption including.

Make sure you research properly before trying it especially if you are pregnant or currently have a junk food diet.

The thing is that there are many stories around about how drinking your own urine (yes, has to be your own) can heal you when all else fails.  And there are even more stories that circulate many of which include urine faithfully applied to skin conditions.  Interesting.

Not only is urine sterile, but it is overflowing with nutrients.  This is because unused nutrients pass through urine, while waste products are defecated and exhaled.

Remember the episode of Black Adder titled “Potato”?  They are meant to travel to the Cape of Good Hope and end up utterly lost.  To survive they drink there own urine.  This left a lasting impression in my mind about survival.

If nothing else it is interesting to consider intellectually what this form of alternative natural healing can do for you.

In Basic and Clinical Immunology (1982) Dr William Linscott showed that when antigen receptors (white blood cells that are now attacking what they shouldn’t) are reintroduced into your body the body will create antibodies to them.  Good to know because if nothing else worked I’d get over my initial reaction and give this a try.  I think I’d have to be fairly sick first.

If you are interested in looking further into this form of alternative healing urine luck because there are a selection of titles available  (oh the fun they would have had thinking these up)…

* The Water of Life

* The Golden fountain

* Your Own Perfect Medicine

* Shivambu Gita Holy Water Therapy

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Alternative*Insight

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

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

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

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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“Frame Up” 1) to construct by fitting or uniting parts together (audioenglish.net/dictionary).

Detoxing is good for me.  I know this because I feel so much better afterwards.   The thing is I figure if I’m gonna detox I should do it properly.

Many people use food as an alternative medicine.  Healing this way can be very effective.

My favourite detox is the Fast Track One Day Detox, by Anne Louise Gittleman.  In reality it isn’t one day but a series of preparations made for the fasting day, and three days recovery.  I like this detox more than others because it is very gradual with ten days in total. Physical preparation for detoxification or fasting is vital.  Also I really like the taste of the “miracle juice” you have to drink as part of the detox every day.

It’s good enough to get me to give up Coke (such an addictive and damaging drink – DON’T TOUCH IT), and is made with unsweetened cranberry juice, lemon juice, orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of stevia to sweeten if needed.  The full reciepe can be found in the book Fast Track One Day Detox. 

When I first tried to find unsweetened (vital it has no sweetner aside from stevia which you can add later) cranberry juice where I live the only one I found was $20 NZD for about 16oz, pretty pricey when you need about eight bottles a week.  Then I found that I could buy frozen berries and make my own juice by boiling the berries in water and straining the skins out.  Alternative natural healing on the cheap!

“Frame Up” your mind for detox.  This includes making sure you have supplies of whatever you are using so you don’t snack on something you shouldn’t.  Also psyching up for what is happening to your body during a detox is important.

Well meaning friends who know nothing about healing crises (happens in some cases as body spits out toxins – normal part of the healing process) can add to your stress if you do hit one and temporarily are not looking your usual hot self, so it’s important to prepare them in advance – that way they can support you in your alternative healing detox.

You may enjoy finding new health information about what happens to you body during a detox.  I like to imagine the toxins being yanked out of my cells by some chelated magnesium or similar.  Makes the whole process more enjoyable.

Don’t forget to drink lots of water to help those toxins move!

Build Momentum before you start!  Such an important thing to do since you are making dietary and lifestyle changes which are in your best interests to continue after the detox is over.  Framing up you mind by rehearsing through what you will be doing each day makes it less likely you will stray from from detox.  For a great detox you could try this.

Like my favourite teacher who says…., “we haven’t started yet!”  (actually we have)  a frame up before beginning can do wonders for your ability to accomplish your detox.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Anything Alternative
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You could argue that because there were no medications available people just died from asthma.  Or that pollutants and various food additives are the culprits.  Whatever the reason (always best to figure out if something makes a condition worse) asthma is an expensive problem.

Costs of Asthma in the US (ref. National Institutes of Health Data Fact Sheet, 1999)

The cost of asthma in 1998 was estimated to be $11.3 billion.  Direct costs accounted for $7.5 billion and indirect costs were $3.8 billion. Hospitalizations accounted for the single largest portion of the cost.

Costly and uncomfortable but if no specific cause is known we have no option but to keep medicating…. don’t we?

There is something out there I have been hearing really good things about.  It’s called the Buteyko Method, named after Prof. K P Buteyko of Russia.

Working with under guidance it is possible to reduce or eliminate symptoms of asthma with this alternative healing technique over time.

Excellent news for asthmatics everywhere.

Compared with the annoyance of constant medication (not to mention the vulnerability that goes with it) as well as the cost a few lessons in breathing is a small price to pay.  Now for the weird sounding bit….

K P Buteyko answers a question from Alina Vasiljina, MD in Global Asthma Crisis:

“We consider that an asthma attack is an attempt to reduce the airflow passing
through the lungs in order to reduce CO2 loss. Our method is based on the
elimination of “deep breathing”. To be more precise, it is based on the
elimination of excessive ventilation of the lungs with respect to the
ventilation necessary for metabolism.”

Sounds like an alternative point of view there but actually we need a certain level of CO2 in the air we breath.  The Buteyko method helps in self healing by getting the patient to exercise his or her breathing in such a way that the CO2 intake is normalised (normally focus is on oxygen intake).

I haven’t tried this yet myself, and as they say the proof is in the pudding.  We need an alternative to medicine.  Healing options should be explored by the mainstream medical community.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan
Anything Alternative
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A few years ago I was attending a conference when a woman entered the room.  I mean, this woman entered the room and it was like all the oxygen had been sucked out.  She had those beautiful eyes like babies have early on and her presence seemed to radiate happiness.

I had never met someone like her and yet I couldn’t tell exactly what made her different.

When I finally spoke with her I asked her what she was doing that made her so happy to which she replied, “Oh, Agnihotra.  It’s an environmental Vedic healing fire that you perform at sunrise and sunset.  You have to have a special pyramid made out of copper to perform it and some cow dung”.

She went on to explain that about is being a Vedic super science for drawing prana (life force) into the environment and is a fantastic alternative healing therapy.  It also nutrilises and purifies the atmosphere.  The ash is highly charged with life force and micronutrients.  So the ash is used in many applications of organic farming for example composting, planting and in water that is sprayed on plants.

Oookay.  Didn’t see that one coming!  I smiled and nodded.  In the car on the way home I kept thinking about how the happiness filled the room around her.  Lets face it that was a weird response to my question.

Months later  I met her again at a healing retreat.  This time she performed a demonstration which didn’t seem to go that well because the dung she was using was still damp (needs to be dry to burn).  Still, willing to give anything a go especially something so unusual I obtained contact details of Lee and Fritz Ringma who own a Homa farm in Australia.

A “homa” farm is one which is built around the fire of Agnihotra.  They are farms combined with the practice of Agnihotra and the use of Agnihotra ash which has healing qualities and is spread across the plants.  This form of alternative healing is highly beneficial to the environment.

I was able to purchase a kit consisting of a copper pyramid of correct proportions, copper tongs, spoon, with detailed printed instructions and a cd so I could learn to practice the mantra uttered at sunrise and sunset.

Thinking I had nothing to loose I set about finding some cow dung.  I felt pretty ridiculous and told everyone I asked it was for my garden.  Still to embarrassing to collect it so I dragged along a friend so I could share the experience : )

It took about three months of repeated attempts before I finally performed it correctly (remember I was learning by instructions and a cd, not the best way of doing this).

Photo courtesy of Lee and Fritz Ringma

Actually it is my favourite alternative healing technique of all since it is the most powerful energy I have experienced.  As well as being the strangest.

I am very dedicated, but not good at the practice of Agnihotra.  The difficulty I have is in obtaining correctly dried cow dung.  Even in New Zealand where there are plenty of cows this can be a bit of a mission.

My curiosity tends to rule me and therefore in the future I intend to experiment with Agnihotra ash as an alternative medicine.  I’ve heard healing in this way brings the body back into ballance.  All I need is to find some dung…

A website you can visit to find out more http://www.agnihotra.com.au/

Blessings,

Keri Eagan

<a href=”http://www.kerieagan.org”>Anything Alternative</a>

Let’s go back to where it all began for me . . . my childhood spent between an Air Force Base and a Mental Hospital.

Mental hospitals can be scary for children.  No matter how an adult explains it will always be difficult for a child to comprehend being surrounded by mental illness.  Unpredictable people making incomprehensible noises.  Sad people.  Strange people.  Drooling people.  Easy to exploit they often suffer alone.

They are entirely dependant on the decisions of those in control.  They are well if someone else decides.  They have no option to go for alternative medicine or healing in another form unless someone offers.

From the time my parents divorced I was raised in and around Lake Alice Hospital.  Lake Alice was nowhere near a lake as far as I could tell.  It is isolated from any of the surrounding townships which are about ten minutes drive away.  The hospital had its own little community.  It even had its own fire engine, Bedford Van painted red with a white roof affectionately known as “Little Flick”.

When I was old enough to fit in a fireman’s uniform, my father (the Fire Chief) and I would dress up in full kit and take Santa to see all the patients outside of NSU, the National Security Unit.  That housed those who were considered dangerous in the extreme so it was heavily guarded.

No forms of alternative medicine healing went on here.  They closest they got to alternative healing was an occupational therapist.

Since we are in New Zealand our Christmas time is in the peak of summer so this was something that was very draining very quickly.  I often wondered why we bothered with most of it since it seemed to me a little insulting that this affection was handed out once a year and the rest of the time (from my youthful perspective) ignored.

There were two streets where staff houses were so we also drove over there for the kids lollie scramble.  And then it was over for another year.

My father would come home and tell me about his day.  Some of the stories made me cry, not because my father had a sad life, but because he interacted with people who had sadness on a daily basis, a different type of sadness when options you would otherwise have disappear.

Being at cause is difficult in such a situation.

There were people in Lake Alice who had arrived with nothing wrong with them at all.  They were just children without family to care for them and somehow they ended up institutionalised even as adults.  Intellectually handicapped were there too.  I don’t know what proportion of the population had psychiatric problems but I know there were psychiatrists, psych nurses like my Dad.

My observation was that their spirits had disappeared under control of others.

So, back to Christmas the highlight of the year!  As we went from villa to villa and giving out MacIntoshes toffees (for years these were the only Christmas sweets) sometimes patients were so engrossed in the television they barely looked at us or even cared we were there.  To think of a human being like this day after day, year after year…. I had to ask myself why?

The obvious costs to the government are housing, medication, and care.  The even greater loss that exists but is rarely considered is the loss of human resources and the purpose of a spirit here on earth.

I wont argue with anyone who says this was “meant to be” or that it was a chosen path or necessary karma which had to happen.  I don’t agree but it isn’t my nature to waste energy in argument when I could put that same energy towards something that will produce an outcome, not agreement.

In sharp contrast I also lived with my mother and stepfather at Ohakea, an Air Force base about fifteen minutes away. This too had its own little community.  Not sure about a psychiatrist (personal are screened on intake) but there was a full time doctor on base.

An air force base especially one in peace loving New Zealand is an uber cool place to hang out.

The people there had more money and travelled by “shuttle” between cities.  Fundraising for air force kids was easy because everyone had money to give.

Then there were the facilities.  A confidence course which was too big for us but we imagined the day we would conquer anyway, the full sized swimming pool, squash courts etc.  All of which were free to use when the Air Force itself wasn’t using them.

Surrounded by mystery and intrigue we allowed our imagination to take hold over the summer and it seemed we had full reign of our base.

At Christmas someone would organise a Fire Truck (not a Bedford van) to hand out presents to the kids.  They also organised a barbecue and games to play.

The really great thing about living on an Air Force base is that it is really safe.  There is a gate under 24 hour guard.  The people are disciplined as a result of the armed forces lifestyle.

Here there is a level of success that comes with being in control of your destiny.  Human resources are valued and efficiently put to good use.

Two groups of people with me in common.  Parts you might say of a bigger picture.  On one side humanity discarded, on the other side a pedestal.  And yet human qualities were there from the beginning in both groups.

This is where my love of alternative medicine healing and alternative natural healing began.

Blessings,

Keri Eagan

<a href=”http://www.kerieagan.org”>Anything Alternative</a>