Archive for the ‘Research/Info’ Category

Night of the Witches

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

May Eve has been celebrated by various  names and in various parts of the world, for thousands of years. And not just the most recent two thousand, either. You see, All Hallows Eve is exactly across the wheel of the year from May Eve. And both are considered days– and nights– when the veil between life and death is thinned. A crossroads of sorts. It is possible to honor your dead individually and in-person on these days, and it is necessary to acknowledge the importance of the wise women in your community, for they are all that stands between you and the darkness.

In older traditions, the darkness itself was also celebrated, and women were honored for our ability to help our community connect to both the darkness and the light. Woman-Shaman-Healer-Wise One.  Women’s intuition was often stronger by the light of the moon and stars– in the dark. And the nights when there was no moon were crossroads in their own right. The hour of the wise old woman, the Crone. The womb itself was a wonderful and loving darkness, and the stars (representing both where humanity came from, and where each of us will eventually go) were only visible at night. Much of this ancient knowledge still holds true.

In May Eves past, people hung protective herbs over doors, and around the necks of their cattle. They cooked special meals to feast their dead ancestors and honor the visiting spirits. They kept their children close, and had big bonfires to drive away the darkness. They danced to celebrate what was. The wise women had easier access to magic and to divination. Sacrifices were made. It was not wise to interrupt a women’s gathering on the night of May Eve.

Having survived the terrors of the night, May Day itself became a day-long celebration of survival, of life blooming and green things growing. A celebration of the spiritual energy that fills all things– a celebration that the light came forth again in the morning. A celebration of what will be, and the Goddess who appears at the crossroads in our lives, guiding us safely home.

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Aging Gracefully

Monday, April 18th, 2011

Every year, no matter what we do, we all get a little bit older. Fact of life. And death. But we Americans tend not to talk much about death. Any kind of change seems to make the average American quite uncomfortable in fact– unless that change is that they just won the lottery and became a millionaire and got bigger boobs.

But the scientific reality is that we all live every day of our lives– we’ve earned the right to be the age we are today. And all the work we’ve put into getting where we are now is worth celebrating– even if we still have plans to go somewhere else. Scientifically speaking, if you live long enough, you will eventually develop some form of dementia. And of all the clinically defined forms of dementia, 47% of people end up with the version we call Alzheimer’s.

I’ve chosen to take a Gerontology class about the realities of care giving for elders with dementia. I believe that everyone deserves to be treated with respect, and be given the opportunity to succeed in living a good life, at whatever age and ability they have. As a future doctor, I really want to understand the realities of the people I serve. And I’ve learned that a three-year-old can communicate some really profound truths. So can a 19-year-old (well, okay, that’s slightly less likely). And a 79-year-old. It isn’t about aging. It’s about listening.

So while I’ve already learned some of the medical processes related to Alzheimer’s and the clinical treatment of dementia… the most important thing I’ve learned is that even in the most cruelly advanced stages of these brain-diseases, people have something important to communicate. And as a caregiver, or as a care provider, listening takes on new importance, and new dimensions. If someone you love is living with dementia, and especially if you are the primary care giver for someone with dementia, I highly recommend these two little books we’re reading in class:

  • The Art of Dementia Care, by Daniel Kuhn and Jane Verity
  • Alzheimer’s Essentials: Practical skills for families and caregivers, by Gordeau and Hillier.

Often, in the middle stages of dementia, a person will insist that someone is sneaking into the house and moving things, hiding their glasses, dirtying their clothes. They may even start to see these “invisible people” in the room, threatening them. And often the truth is that the person with dementia is confused and frightened and embarrassed. They just found their reading glasses in the freezer or the sock drawer, and some smart person has taken away their keys– but all they know is they can’t find the keys, and the care facility you’ve put them in for their own safety isn’t HOME. They want to go home. So they need keys.

And when things aren’t the way the person’s brain says they should be– the person creates a story to explain the reality they find. Someone has stolen their keys. Someone is throwing food on their good clothes. It’s the end of the day, and time for them to go home. Even though they don’t really know where “home” is anymore– or they may already be there.

The challenge to caregivers is that we have to be compassionate and loving, rather than truthful. Respectful and aware. Good listeners– and we have to respond to the need behind what is expressed. We have to figure out what their reality looks like through their eyes– and interact with that reality. Tell the invisible man in the room to leave, and reassure your charge that you’ve put her keys in a safe place. She can help you with a game or folding some clothes. She can tell you where she wants her clothes to be put while you wait for her ride to show up. And the truth is that by the time the new task is complete, she probably doesn’t remember the white lie you told to help her feel sane in her crazy world. This place IS home, and there is no “ride.” You’ve also given her some control, and you’ve given her the respect of taking her fears about the invisible (and totally imagined) man seriously. Because that story has become real for her.

Like I said– listening is the most important thing we can do for the people around us. And doubly so when that person has dementia. We can celebrate the little things– the days that socks go in the sock drawer and dish rags go in their spot. The good days where everyone just enjoys the sunshine or the birds or the silly gameshow on TV. The times that offer us profound truths, if only we are listening for them.

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Happy April!

Friday, April 1st, 2011

Did you know that Easter was named after “Eostara,” the Goddess of abundance and fertility?! Her symbols were the egg, the color red, and rabbits. She was all about Spring, new life, feeding eggs to good little children, bright colors, and celebration. In many traditions, her day also honored the rebirth of the dead king. (Check out Barbara Walker’s The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets among other sources.)

We’re having a sunny day, I just started my outdoor compost bin, and made a rice-warmer for our puppy’s arthritic old knees. He’s snortling peacefully on his dog-bed right now, secure that he’s had all his treats (pills), his breakfast, and his mid-morning walk. And everybody loves him, so all is right in the world. At the moment, I feel that all is right in the world, too. Happy April. I hope you get some of that vitamin-rich sunshine on your face today. Enjoy the crocuses, the daffodils, the trees in bloom, and new life bursting forth around us.

Be Well.

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Ollas, and Other Gardening Awesomeness

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

We’ve been planning our garden. We figure it’s better late than never, and out here, there’s still snow in the hills. So we’re not all that late, really. My partner brought home some stackable frames to make the walls of our raised beds. And we know where we want those raised beds to go in our rocky and underloved yard.

Next, we’re going to make some ollas, for watering. An olla is an unglazed clay pot, with a big base for holding a gallon or two of water, and a narrow neck to prevent evaporation (and mosquitoes and yellowjacket hives– we don’t want those, either). Bury all but the neck in the soil, and plant your garden around them. They “sweat” water into the soil, so you don’t lose the water to evaporation, and you don’t have to refill (to water your plants) more than once or twice a week. It saves time, energy, and resources. And of course, this olla plant-watering technology is thousands of years old.

There are one or two sources for buying the traditional ollas in America right now, which I really support if you can find them. But I’m saving my pennies, and I’m a creative type, so I’ve found two alternatives: Buy unglazed clay planters and use FDA food-grade silicone to glue an unglazed clay plate to the open side… or buy raw red low-fire clay that I can bake in my oven at home, and make some very rough ollas of my own. I’ll keep you posted.

Today’s project is a little simpler. We’re hunting up some buckwheat or cheap white rice to make more microwave-safe heat-packs for our arthritic dog (and to keep my toes warm at night). Apparently, the buckwheat smells nicer than the rice after a year of use. But I’ve got this awesome “Clear the Air” essential oil spray I use to keep my rice-warmer clean and fresh-smelling, so I haven’t ever experienced the “bad smell” everyone keeps talking about.

I’ll write a separate post about making rice-warmers and keeping them fresh, after I get my hands on the buckwheat. In the meantime,
Be Well.

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Tree Moon

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Here we are, feeling the first energetic rustlings of Spring, and the still-icy winds of a fading Winter season. Many of the trees and bushes on my daily walk are sporting brown buds at the tip of each little branch, and the sun is warm on my face. Last night, the moon was nearly full, white and shivery through a veil of falling frost. Tree Moon.

This was the time of year when native Indians would tap trees for their sap. The blood of the tree that would sustain them until more edible plants and hibernating animals were again available. Sap Moon, or even Sugar Moon, they called it. “Each female head of a household had her own sugar hut, built in a locality abounding in maple trees… the place… claimed by right of descent through her mother’s family and totem.” — Full Moon Feast, Jessica Prentiss, pg 26

People in Asia tap palm trees the same way– for their sap. In Texas, the sugar is from sorghum grass sap. In Hawaii and California, from the sugarcane. “Sweetness, when it is accompanied by protein, fat, and vitamin-rich vegetables, and balanced by mineral-rich salt, soy sauce, fish sauce, or broth, is absorbed by the body slowly and evenly, without the usual spike and crash.” –Full Moon Feast, pg 35

February is also closely connected to the Bear and the Snake, totems of healers and Shamen the world-round. This is the time of Hagia Sophia, the time of transformation, and of Spiritual renewal. New beginnings. Z Budapest tells us in The Grandmother of Time, At this time of year, “you shall have new jobs, new monies, new houses, new wealth, new life. … Sit down again in your room, and close your eyes and breathe with me, in and out, nine times. Then still your thoughts …and wait for an image to appear.” –pg 23

The original Latin meaning of februare was “to purify.” I also looked through all the pagan holidays I could find that seem to fall in February– nearly all of them celebrate the strength of women, the opportunity to heal and be well in the world. Victory, cleansing, honoring what is new. Be strong this month. Go after whatever it is that feeds your deepest Self. Be true to you. And celebrate the possibilities that each new day, each new moon, each new experience brings.

Be Well.

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Natural Travel Medicine

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

The workshop on Natural Travel Medicine was great! We all learned a few things, and made small travel kits of the basic essential oils (EO’s) and ointments that might be most useful.

If you’ve never heard of Grape Seed Extract (ask for food-grade!), check it out. Fights Giardia in drinking water, great for adding to wash-water for fruits, vegetables, and raw eggshells. And natural!

By the way, for those of you who enjoy the scent of lavender EO, I forgot to mention that neat lavender (undiluted) has also been shown to neutralize the poisons of some spiders and snakes.

Thanks to all who joined Judith and I at Crystal Cavern of Oregon– it was a wonderful evening. See you next month, February 26th, at 6pm.

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Dream a Little Dream

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

There are no such thing as small dreams. The kind we want to manifest in our lives– if we’ve been hanging onto that dream for a while, then it’s important to us. For example, I wanted a tattoo of one of my totem animals for about three years before I finally went and got the tattoo. I finally realized it had to be pretty important if I’d wanted the same thing for such a long time. The things we dream of like this become part of our sense of being right with the world. And that is never a small thing.

And then there’s the dreaming we do in our sleep… Those dreams are important for another reason. Depending on who you ask– and how a particular dream came across to you– dreaming is our psyche’s way of processing emotions, fears, pasts and possibilities that we aren’t making enough time for in our waking hours. Experiences whose affects we’ve repressed, emotions we didn’t let ourselves feel, fears we refuse to admit.

Dreams can also be premonitions, pieces of a larger puzzle that manifests clearly down the road. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had conversations in my dreams, only to have parts of those conversations repeated in real life weeks or even years later.

We are all deeply connected– to each other, but also to the Universe at large. To the Great Something that fills us as it fills stones and streams and trees and turtles. And so when we open ourselves to the flow of the Great Something– of the Energy that fills all life– sometimes we have an understanding that comes from outside ourselves. From outside our experience.  A premonition, or intuition, if you will.

It is through learning to listen to ourselves– to our dreams and our feelings and our fears– that we become wise. It is through opening to Self that we learn to trust what we already know to be true. There is a difference between knowing with your head, and knowing with your heart. What your heart believes will always be stronger. It is important that our hearts learn to listen for truth– and not just what our ears and our eyes notice.

When we dream, we practice listening to things we can neither hear nor touch. We listen to our hopes, our needs, our unfinished business. And it takes something more personal than a “dream-interpretation book” to unravel the deeper meaning of a dream, or a desire. Interpreting dreams requires us to listen with our hearts, and see with an eye to our emotions.

I keep a Dream Journal by my bed. If I wait until I’m out of bed and have a cup of tea, most of my dreams are gone. But occasionally one is so intense and so important that it lingers past the morning alarm. For all the other dreams, I have my journal. And a pen light, so nobody else has to wake up when I write the dreams down. Half awake is still half asleep. Still halfway to where the dream made sense. Halfway to understanding.

So go ahead. Dream a little dream tonight, and then write it down. Do some of that inner processing work with your eyes open. You’ll be surprised at what you learn about yourself.

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Careers and Comfort Zones

Monday, November 8th, 2010

I know so many people in transition right now. Especially in relation to their job or career. This is both exciting, and scary. A new job is not always easy to find, and once you do find it… There’s a lot to learn.

Not only that, but most of the folks I know are still trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up. I mean, we’re all adults. But many of us are just now figuring out that we like doing THIS, or we don’t want to do THAT for the rest of our lives. Once we figure that out, it’s sometimes a challenge to know what kind of job fits our goals and interests. It’s even harder to know how to find openings for those kind of jobs.

This is where my friend, Dr. Sean Harry, comes in. He’s an expert on helping folks craft a successful career.  You can find him on the web at: http://careeradvice4u.com/. Even more helpful is his workbook, Career Crossroads.

I also got a lot out of a book called The Authentic Career. This workbook helps you uncover old “rules” you’ve created about what success looks like, or how you are supposed to act at work. Once you know where those old rules came from, you can make new rules that actually support your personal growth, and your current goals. Redefine what “success” looks like for you– and find new ways to enjoy the work you already do.

One of my good friends is currently going through this process. She realized that her current career path isn’t satisfying. She doesn’t actually LIKE the work she’s trained to do. But she had a hard time seeing herself as qualified to do anything else. Finally, she started to make lists of the activities she enjoys, or has enjoyed. And she realized that they all have a similar theme. They include creativity, putting old information and old colors and old words together in new ways, getting to dress up business-style for work– the list is long. And it’s full of things her current job doesn’t include.

Now, all she has to do is figure out what jobs are out there that will let her do these things. And acknowledge all the experience she already has with this kind of work. And really, that’s the hardest part. Saying she’s good at putting different colors together, or she’s good at writing/editing, or she’s good at “shmoozing” … well, it puts her outside her comfort zone. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

In essence, she’s having to transition out of an old way of seeing herself, of limiting herself. She gets to make new rules and form new understandings about what she’s capable of, and what a successful career might be for her. It’s exciting, and scary, getting to know herself as she is, and not as she always thought she was.  She’s a truly wonderful person. I can’t wait for her to see how very many opportunities truly lie ahead. And I wish her well on her journey.

Be Well.

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Sacral Chakra .2

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

The Sacral Chakra is often very challenging for women because it is where we come into our own as individuals, express our passions, feel our emotions, and enjoy our bodies. All things that our society teaches us not to do.

This chakra has a lot to do with water, and with expression. I’d love for each of us to take time this week to express our creativity. Paint something free-flowing and BIG. Even if it’s just a little water on a brush and a blank white wall that will dry back to blank white. Use finger paints. Work with clay or some other medium that really lets you be physical in your expression. And don’t worry about perfection. That’s not the point of this. The point is to involve your body in active expression of inner creativity.

Take time to light a candle, lock the bathroom door, and take a long cleansing bath or shower. Think of it as washing yourself clean energetically. A safe place to get out all the anger, fear, passion, joy– and become open to who you are and how you are in the world. A water cleansing. Think about using a little EO in the water (or put a drop on the hot tap so it radiates into the air of your shower)– maybe vanilla or rose or lavender. Maybe gardenia or jasmine.

Take walks this week, get comfortable with how your body moves through the world. Find at least one part of your body that you think is beautiful. For example, I’ve noticed that my feet are really sexy. I love my high arch, and the way foot flows into toes. I also love my little pinkey fingers. They are crooked due to a recurring genetic trait of my mom, my grandmother, my great grandmother. They remind me of who I am, and where I came from. And I like that about that part of my body. What do you like about your body? Your hair? The color of your eyes? The curve where your hip flairs out?

You are beautiful. Not just because of your body, but also because of your beautiful heart, and your wonderful way of being in the world. Embrace your unique self. Meditate on your own sweetness, your desires, and the positive changes you are making in your life and your health.

Be Well.

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The Book

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

So I spent between two and seven years (depending on how you look at it– two intensive years on a seven-year-long project) writing a really important book about what it’s like to deal with PTSD and the Iraq War. It’s honest. It’s painful in parts, funny in parts, and really interesting all the way through. It even has a fairly happy ending, in a weird way. But I had a hard time finding an agent, and when the book was mostly done, I was so SICK OF WRITING IT that I just put the whole project on the back burner.

Now, I just saw a news report that the last of the American troops in Iraq are on their way home. The news made me cry. It’s finally over. Now, we just have to overcome the after-effects. The economy may recover– it’s already showing signs of improvement. But our soldiers? I worry about them. So I’ve started marketing my book to agents again. I believe that educated voters make better choices, and my book is a sneaky way of educating people about the after-effects of war. This war.

I hope that by understanding the day-to-day challenges of living with PTSD, this generation of soldiers will finally get the psychological support they need to live healthy, happy, productive lives. The first two years that soldiers came home from their tour in Iraq, the divorce rate on post was 75%. That’s ridiculous, and avoidable. But it starts with providing support for the wives while their husbands are gone (and vise versa), and providing support for the husbands once they return home. Support that is confidential and doesn’t affect their military career or standing with their peers. Support that is given to all, even if they don’t show obvious signs of extreme PTSD right off the transport.

Anyway, it feels good to be putting my book out there again. If I get to a point of having some extra money, I may just self-publish it. Anyway, if you want more info, or you want to read the first chapter of the book before it is published, there’s a tab at the top of the page that says “The Book.” Go for it.

And above all, Be Well.

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