Well, since being partially enlightened on the subject, I have found that the practice of chiropractics is to keep one’s body in alignment so its functions can carry on properly.  Meridians can flow, organs can operate, and life can be healthier for it.  A regular maintenance program is recommended for maintaining health.

A couple of days ago a client introduced me to something called naprapathy.  It is an offshoot of chiropractic and osteopathy. Thanks to Wikipedia, I know that and I also now know what subluxation is … medically and chiropractically!

This is a website with good explanation.  Mt. Lebanon Chiropractic.

And here’s a video that makes it so simple to understand!

So much in the way of naturopathy!  All seem to be gaining ground as awareness grows and people learn to look for natural ways of healing themselves and empowering their bodies.  I’ve even heard that some medical and naturopathic practitioners are joining forces and some insurance companies are covering alternative medicine treatments.

It is always good to ask for advice from an informed person and licensed naturopaths are the ones to seek out for this.  So much information is available online, but to be sure, find a naturopath you trust who doesn’t mind your asking a ton of questions.

Decisions are yours, of course, and better informed makes for more wisely decided.

I was reading an article from the Associated Press. Poor man’s Gatorade saves Bangladeshi kids. The ingredients are, according to the article, “A pinch of salt. A fistful of sugar. A half liter of water.”  This simple mix saves the lives of children who come down with diarrhea. In the United States, we probably can’t quite wrap our minds around dying from such a mundane ailment as this, but it is fact and Bangladeshi moms pass down the recipe from generation to generation.

Because of this article, I flew back a few years into my first child’s babyhood. One day, due to his having a high fever, I called my brother, who lived a block away and who was also a fireman/paramedic, to ask him to pick up some things at the nearby health food store. On the list was an “all natural” performance drink. He dutifully bought that, but also included apple juice in the bag. He had determined, by reading the labels, that apple juice had far more of the needed electrolytes than the performance drinks. I’ve remembered this ever since.

When my kids were very little, they never drank pure juice, I always watered it at least ½ way. It was far more refreshing for them, especially since we live in Florida and were usually at our lumber mill all day long in those days. Little did I know how perfect this recipe really was.  I thought it might be interesting to look up some information on this subject and typed in “electrolytes in apple juice” as a Google search. There it was, “Rob Declares War on Gatorade.” Yahooie Louie.   It’s true!  The blue stuff (orange, green, yellow, purple, red) just isn’t all it’s made out to be! You might like to take a peek for yourself, so click here.

Then I checked out the videos available for the same Google search and found one telling about how apple juice is good for enhancing memory.  Something about its preventing loss of the essential neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.  Hmm.  A word I can pronounce.  So, maybe I can understand the information too!  Let’s see.

Yes, sounds very sensible.  An apple a day… we can make sure to add one for our kids and ourselves…keeps the doctor away.

Flickr Creative Commons image credit:   svacher

I remember when I was first delving into crystals and gemstones information.  It was a huge subject to attempt.  Since the beginning, I’ve come to the conclusion that too much info is not needed.  Once one has the basics down, such as color and chakra matching, the rest comes in bits and pieces as you need to know it.

A really fun way to get started with crystals is to go to a shop and touch them.  Most of my friends ooo and ahhh over how this one feels or that one vibrates or the energy that one is calling to them with.  Yes, it all sounds ridiculous at first, but after a while it becomes easier to notice little tugs or tickles or sudden emotional switches when you pick up the next stone.

Scientifically there are different densities and, of course, mineral makeup, as well as precise frequencies produced by crystals.  For some sensitives, it is a matter of course to be able to feel these, even if only coming within range, not necessarily touching.

One stone that is a favorite of mine is the Kyanite.  It heats up quite noticeably when held for a short period and is known for cleansing the mind of negative thoughts and emotions, removing anger and frustration.  Some even agree that it helps raise one’s vibration and amplifies communication with Spirit.  On a more physical note, it is known to be a pain reliever and helps heal infections.

I had an ahha moment when I read that it was an aluminum silicate.  Aluminum is an excellent heat conductor.  If we heat an area of our body, we draw the blood to it and that naturally brings a concentration of antibodies which then stimulates the healing process.  Vascular headaches are from the constriction of blood vessels.  If the blood flow is increased, the headache dissipates.  There is nothing magical about that, all quite natural.

Quartz crystals are known for their high vibration, diamond crystals are used in many technological applications.  Remember the old diamond phonograph needles?  High technology for its time.  How about the Crystal Set or Crystal Radio?  Ever heard of those?  They don’t need batteries, running off the power of radio waves.  The detector was made of a piece of crystal.  And then the quartz movement watches!  Wowzer, they sure are accurate!  Why is that?

Well, click here for the larger version, but this is a brief part of the answer.  The property that makes it [quartz crystal] an electronic miracle is the fact that, when compressed or bent, it generates a charge or voltage on its surface. This is a fairly common phenomenon called the Piezoelectric effect. In the same way, if a voltage is applied, quartz will bend or change its shape very slightly.

Just a thought — this is a good example of how Old Wives Tales can be based on scientific truths.  Quartz crystals are perfect conductors/receivers.  Some energy workers use them to boost communication on higher levels.  While it may all be in their minds, how much truth might there be in the fact that our bodies are mostly water, which is a conductor, and holding a crystal may very well amplify that conductivity, allowing our thoughts to be shared with others?

By the way, this article’s subject matter came up because I was blessed with a charming polished amethyst at the Energy Works Circle we have at Hospice once a month.  Our leader, Marianne, picked stones and put them out with the candles we light.  We were gifted with whichever one we were led to.

Crystals, gemstones, and plain old rocks…for me!?

As an aside, I’m not all for the depletion of our earth’s body.  I think a found stone is just as worthy as a bought one and while it may not be a crystal or gemstone, we can name what we want to use it for.  Our mental powers are that fantastic.  Quite often, I use Ethereal Crystals during distance healing energy sessions.  I don’t go in intending to use them, but am led to when the time is right.

Flickr Creative Commons image credit:  Orbital Joe

One item is something Wolf calls, “The other now.”  I fell in love with that term instantly.  Can you guess what it is?  Where is it we can be present, but not here?  We can use all our senses and even determine what we, as well as others, are doing in this other now.  But, most often, we follow along and then wonder what it was all about later.  Dreaming!  Yep.

Prospero:

“We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.”

The Tempest, Act IV, scene I, William Shakespeare

Dreams, visions, prophecies, does anyone have a corner on that market?  Don’t think so.  I think most people are blessed with the ability to dream.  Not everyone does though.  I just found this great website called The Quantitative Study of Dreams, with some pretty in-depth FAQ’s about dreaming.   They are pretty darn sensible with their answers, even bludgeoning my whimsical ideals of dreaming into submission at some points.  However, I rise undaunted and stick to my guns on my beliefs regarding the positive information we can glean from our dream time.  Who knows from whence our dreams come?  Who knows for sure they are or are not passing on information from a higher source?  It may be that we are talking to ourselves; revealing our innermost thoughts, desires, fears; and encouraging ourselves onward through our lives.   I often wonder if we can control this “now” as much as we can the “other now” of dreams; pay a bit of heed to what we are dreaming and then lead ourselves toward success.

“A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read.”  ~The Talmud

What fun it is to share our latest, wackiest dreams with the first person who will listen.  Perfectly natural.  Dream interpretation drifted in along with human awareness and has gone on since man began to speak, I am quite sure.  What better stories to share around the clan fire?  The clan mage, now known as my friend the psychic healer, would have the final say in interpretation, but we could all hedge our bets as to whether the dream would come true or not.  We may even have based our very survival on the interpretations, believing in the mage’s healing powers and accepting, come what may.

The other now. Isn’t it just the most wonderful term?  I love to sleep and to dream.

Demetrius:

“Are you sure
That we are awake? It seems to me
That yet we sleep, we dream.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act IV, scene I, William Shakespeare

Hamlet:

“To die, to sleep—
To sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause—there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.”

Hamlet, Act III, Scene I, William Shakespeare

My, my, wasn’t he taken with sleeping and dreaming?  Here’s another.  John Keats.

WHAT is more gentle than a wind in summer?
What is more soothing than the pretty hummer
That stays one moment in an open flower,
And buzzes cheerily from bower to bower?
What is more tranquil than a musk-rose blowing
In a green island, far from all men’s knowing?
More healthful than the leafiness of dales?
More secret than a nest of nightingales?
More serene than Cordelia’s countenance?
More full of visions than a high romance?
What, but thee Sleep? Soft closer of our eyes!
Low murmurer of tender lullabies!
Light hoverer around our happy pillows!
Wreather of poppy buds, and weeping willows!
Silent entangler of a beauty’s tresses!
Most happy listener! when the morning blesses
Thee for enlivening all the cheerful eyes
That glance so brightly at the new sun-rise.

Sleep and Poetry, John Keats

Absolutely incredible and astounding metaphors; the number of ways he thought of describing the beauty of sleeping!  Maybe it’s my age that has allowed me to know how enticing this nightly ritual really is.  The lack of sufficient rest, the deprivation of dreaming, filtering, creating in our other state of consciousness can be most discombobulating.  I do crave that “Silent entangler”, “The other now”.  Thank you, William Shakespeare, John Keats, Wolf and Michelle Paver, for your thought inducing bibelots.  Now for “the other now”.  Off to slumber land.

However!  I can’t stand the thought of our skin absorbing that stuff.  So, I keep a little bowl of extra virgin olive oil out on the counter and dip into that every little while.  I also use some of my coconut oil if I happen to be having some for breakfast or lunch.  These natural, healing, plant oils are so much better for us.

I always think of Sophia Loren and the story I heard years ago of her practically drinking olive oil and bathing in it.  I always admired her youthful looks and didn’t much care if it was the truth or not.  Now I just hope it is.

Some use the olive oil on their babies skin and it is great for gently removing cradle cap (cradle crap as one of my younger siblings used to say).  Ever used olive oil soap?  Very soothing.