Is this Progress??

I am currently reading a 700 + page book by Ken Follett called “World without End”.   The story takes place in the early 1300’s in the same town/city as “Pillars of the Earth” if you are familiar with that book.  Caris, one of the main characters, has always had a fascination with healing and when she can, sneaks away to spend time with Mattie who is the town’s herbalist and healer.  She is an apt learner and Mattie in time allows her to begin making herbal tinctures, blends etc. and Caris gets to see how Mattie uses these natural medicines with her patients.

On the other side of the fence are the monks of Kingsbridge Priory.  There are some who have gone away to Oxford to study “medicine”.  They come back prepared to use purging, bloodletting and poultices made with sheep and cow dung on infections…..doesn’t sound too wise does it?  It didn’t seem very wise to Caris either.

As we know from history, the church had a vested interest in keeping women in check.  The men ran the churches and women were to be sub-ordinate.   Women who learned about natural healing were powerful and looked up to in the communities.  This at times became “dangerous” to men in power.  This was a time when there was also a lot of superstition and fear.  It didn’t always take a lot to put fear in the common man and incite burnings and hangings of “witches”.  Honest, intelligent women who had the love of healing in their hearts and skills to share with their communities.

I understand that I am reading a novel but we know that these things occurred.

What Caris observed over the years that she did care for people were that ill people did not usually benefit from being depleted and weakened even more with the bloodletting and the purging.  And that poulitices used to draw out poison or “humors” often resulted in terrible infections and even loss of limbs.   Her simple remedies were welcomed by the villagers and were very affective.

Switch to 2011…….I am in my car and hearing an announcement about a fundraiser to “find a cure for cancer”.    We all know the current protocol for cancer treatments……..chemotherapy and radiation.  I don’t know much about either, personally, but I do know that they are poison.  I do know that they do not build the body up but they destroy the good along with the “bad”.     And we give them to people who are already sick, weakened, depleted and frightened to death.  The message is “this is your only option” and when alternative therapies are brought up, they are often scoffed at.

The people administering these treatments are highly educated and trained.  I believe they usually have the best interest of the patient in mind.  But could we STILL be on the wrong path?   Could all the money being poured into cancer research be better used in building small units where very sick people could be admitted while their immune systems were BUILT up with nutrition, energy work, accupunture, massage,  counseling services, etc.

Our medical, pharmaceutical and insurance companies are financially dependent on each other.  They are powerful.   There is no money for any of them if we become educated in how to use food, herbs, energy work etc.  for healing.   If we become educated on how to live each day in a way that our bodies are naturally detoxifying and our immune systems are strengthened.

It is not just the fault of these institutions.  I know doctors and therapists who support their clients to become pro-active in their own health but the client thinks that a pill is “easier”.  A pill does not heal the body.

Dr Richard Shultz says that the one thing that the medical community has right is that cancer does need to be addressed with great attention.  If you are sick and are asked to begin detoxifying your body, it can feel overwhelming and frightening.  It takes courage, tenacity and family support.  To do it alone is difficult.  We trust that a cut will heal but we don’t understand or trust the amazing ability that the body has to heal when given the raw materials it needs to heal…….found in food.    Dr. Timothy Brantley talks about breast cancers becoming a boil on the skin, bursting open with putrid gunk coming out and then healing with a small, simple scar.

So, have we made progress in some of these big questions?  I don’t really think so.  It is like we can’t see the forest for the trees.

Please do not think that I am  discrediting all the skills and services of the doctors.   There is certainly a time and a place for their skills and talents.   But there is so much that can be gained from alternative services as well.

I must say this……..A yearly physical is not preventative medicine.  It is a snap shot of where you are at in that moment.  Eating well, moving your body, decreasing the stress in your life, working with your thoughts, having loving people in your life, doing things that you love……..this is preventative medicine.  These are the things that will nurture a strong immune system.

Again, I am not saying to not get a yearly physical.  But use it then to make changes and choices in your life style that ARE truly healing and preventive.

Continue to develop your relationship with your own body, mind and spirit.  You can do so much for yourself with the support of others educated in alternative medicines and therapies.  That is the direction that we are moving as our consciousness shifts and we evolve.

Some local people who support a more natural approach to healing here in mankato, mn. are

Pat Ruether,  Naturopath  http://www.worthyofwellness.com/services.cfm

Jane Coleman, Waseca, Mn   http://healinghandswaseca.com/waseca-integrative-therapy-llc/

Dr. Kutolsky, an osteopath who works with a lot of natural remedies  http://www.bridgeshealingcenters.com/AboutUs/tabid/5270/Default.aspx

Karen Hurd,  Wisconsin based but works over the phone,  a licensed nutritionist who heals her clients mainly through diet  http://www.karenhurd.com/

Licensed Accupuncturists:  Amy Cardoman-Rainer- Pathways Massage and Wellness- Phone:  344-1234

Charlotte Galagher- 386-7318

Reiki:  myself and I can refer you to students of mine in different areas of the state or in town

Mankato is RICH with wonderful massage therapists,  contact me if you want some names and numbers

2 massage businesses that have many are:  Pathways Massage and  Wellness, Mary Stori, owner – 344-1234

Lifetime Massage, Nancy Bushnelle, owner -387-4970

Yoga Studio:  Sun Moon Yoga Studios, Mankato, Mn……owner, Mona Ceniceros

Spiritual Center:  Hope Interfaith Center,  ran by Hope (Janice) Gorman

Nationally known:

Dr. Richard Shultz  https://www.herbdoc.com/index.php?option=com_oscommerce&Itemid=42&gclid=CJmA1O_s26YCFdLLKgod-AlwzQ&c=1

Dr. Timothy Brantley  http://www.brantleycure.com/

Blessings on your journey, Melanie