Deeper discoveries of self during my daily practice...

 I am on the verge of moving into something new, something that I feel more passionate about. I am telling you this because I made some discoveries about my emotions regarding all these shifts.

I have been practicing Naturopathic Medicine and Energy Medicine for many years now and I am continuing my Naturopathic education online and have been wondering why I feel so unmotivated to study and listen to my lectures, take my exams etc. It turns out that I am not as passionate about the whole body chemistry and nutritional aspects of health as I used to be. In life we grow and change and currently my passion is more about the energy systems, the thoughts, beliefs and emotions that impact wellbeing and health. And I have been to afraid to focus solely on that in my business. There have been some false belief systems regarding this as a successful career choice, however, my morning ritual revealed that it had a lot more to do with my fear of failure which is really more about my feelings of not being good enough.

My Master said to me “you are brilliant” and replying, “yes I am’ made me cringe a little. WOW, do I have some work to do on that. 

So, here’s all that I have discovered today.  I asked myself what am I resisting and the answer was failure And when I asked why I discovered that it is really about not being good enough and this is the underlying emotion (this impacts all and everything in my life) I kept digging into these feelings and another layer was revealed and it was a lack of trust, another huge challenge in life and in pursuit of my dreams. A lack of trust is not just about the outside world but a lack of trusting myself too, and knowing what I know, only I can fix the lack of trust in myself. Trusting that if I keep my eye on the prize...my dreams, the Universe will provide. Trusting that I will take daily action towards my dreams. It’s energy and the law of attraction. I have BIG dreams for a beautiful world filled with love and compassion. 

I heard that having big dreams means that you will face big obstacles and I have discovered that the biggest of those obstacles in ME and the lies that I have been telling myself and have believed about what I have learned or heard since childhood. It always seems so easy to believe the bad stuff about ourselves but not the good stuff. 

I keep a daily practice (not always diligently and I’m staying out of judgement here) to discover what thoughts I have that block my progress. What emotions are lying within that are sabotaging me? And throughout the day I watch myself and how I feel and my interactions with the world around me. This is the place of self discovery and the place of personal growth and expansion. Only in acknowledging our emotions and beliefs can we change them and chose something different. Sometimes we need help with that and I have many amazing practitioners/ healers and partners in health to assist when I need it. Everyone needs help sometimes and it is important to find your healing tribe.

Today I will practice self love and self validation. I will take inspired action toward my passions and I will be honest in my evaluations of who and what I am. Wayne Dyer said: “if no-one ever told you who you were, who would you be?” I am deciding/choosing to be courageous and take the steps toward living a more fulfilling life, following my passion, and facing the fears along the way. I am choosing to believe that I AM brilliant and I have something special to offer the world. And that I can help you realise that you too are brilliant and magnificent and the world earnestly needs you, through practicing my passion and sharing it with the world.

Who am I and what do I want?

 These are very powerful questions that we must answer. We must keep asking until we discover the deep truth.

We are not our gender, our jobs, our titles, our bodies or even our thoughts. We are so much more than that. We are divine energy expressed in a physical body. And it doesn't matter how much of this we know on an intellectual level. It is important to experience this truth on a cellular level and this can only be achieved through asking this question sincerely everyday and quietly waiting (or sitting in silence)for your body to respond. 

Asking what do I want is the next step and wading through the superficial answers, that are just the top layer and more an egoic response than the true desire of you soul, is key. 

Once you know who you truly are and that all are connected, you cannot live your life the same way any longer. You desire to live a heart centered life widely benefiting all.

AND this is why these questions are vital at this time. We must stop hurting each other and believing we are better than anyone else. Only in discovering our true nature will we be kinder and more compassionate with ourselves and others.  We will start creating a world and life that is empowering, enriching and all encompassing.

Find your answers by sincerely searching and finding a spiritual/soulful practice that allows you to reach deep within where all truth lies.

I personally like meditation, energy healing and balancing and have used numerous other modalities to support me on my journey of deeper self discovery and my quest for enlightenment. (EFT, Emotion Code Healing, healing touch, BodynBrain, Brain education, energy readings, past life regression etc.)

FEAR...real or imagined?

 "Fear is a limitation of our minds. People have so much fear about getting sick or about becoming homeless or whatever. Anger is fear that becomes a defense mechanism. It protects you and yet it would be much more powerful for you to do affirmations so you can stop recreating fearful situations in your minds, and love yourself through the fear. Again, nothing comes from outside of us. We are at the center of everything that happens in our lives. Everything is inside—every experience, every relationship, is a mirror of a mental pattern that we have inside us."

                                                            ~ Louise Hay

Affirmations are great to redirect our thoughts to something more productive. Our thoughts create our reality and it becomes critical to watch our repetitive thoughts if we wish to change our world (our creations) And as we have thousands of thoughts daily we can certainly check if our thoughts are uplifting or not and this we do by checking how we are feeling. If you feel good and positive and vital then your thoughts are uplifting. If you do not then most of your thoughts are lowering your energy and vibration and this attract the same frequency of energy, so more situations, thoughts and feelings that makes you feel crappy, more fearful etc.

Fear is also usually and indicator that you are not living in the present moment. You are in the past or the future. Feeling that fear in the present moment brings you back from the what ifs to the what is and what can I think and do, and create to have a different outcome that creates better feelings and empowers us.

Having the courage to face your own emotions/fears is the first step in increasing your energy and vitality. It is also the turning point on a journey towards enlightenment and opening the heart to allow more love for self and others. (see the Map of consciousness by David Hawkins PhD)

Fear is, as a famous saying goes,  "False Evidence Appearing Real"

" If you look into your own heart,  and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?"       ~ Confucius

Preconceptions

 We all have so many preconceptions about so many things.

Have you ever stopped to wonder where they come from? And if they are blocking you from a fuller experience of life or trying new things, expanding your horizons?

Think about meditation...many have preconceived ideas of what meditation is and isn't and how it should go, however meditation is merely the slowing down and stillness of the mind, so that you can find your center and have some clarity. And because of these preconceptions many never get to try or experience the tremendous health benefits from meditation.

You can meditate by walking through the woods and listening to the birds and the wind rustling through the leaves whilst feeling the warmth of the sun on your body. You can meditate while watching the ocean and listening to the waves and seagulls. 

Lying on your back looking at the clouds as they play in the sky can be a form of meditation, as long as you are present and still. clearing your mind and listening and watching what is right there with you.

And then there is the structured types of meditations too.

But,

This is not a discussion on meditation, it's a discussion about our preconceptions. Our beliefs and thought about things and people and places that cause us to miss the gifts of life, to miss the full experience.

We may stop ourselves from expressing our creativity because we perceive our abilities as not being capable enough or we have a preconception that it is silly or does not fit into a certain image.

I can't sing well, so I am never going to do it even though singing along with my favorite song makes me feel good. I am not going to enjoy drawing because I am not good at it. Phrases like "sing as if no-one is listening and dance like no-one is watching" draws on the fact that we don't do these small, fun things because we have preconceptions or lies/thoughts/beliefs about ourselves regarding these actions that rob us of the joy that comes from doing without worrying how we look or what others think of us.

These are small examples of how our preconceptions/beliefs stop us from doing what may ultimately enhance our being and connect us to our true selves.

I am fat, ugly, not good enough, smart enough, strong enough etc. These are the lies we perpetuate to ourselves (our preconceptions) causing so much turmoil and pain throughout our lives and relationships and ultimately how we view and treat everyone and everything in our world. Our wounds cause us to wound others. And we wound ourselves by perpetuating these lies and thoughts towards ourselves.

When we don't love ourselves and look at all the thoughts and beliefs we carry, we fail to change, to grow and create healthier lives and a healthier world and planet for all.

 News > Medscape Medical News - September 04, 2020

Vitamin D Deficiency May Boost COVID-19 Risk

People who are deficient in vitamin D may be at higher risk of contracting the novel coronavirus than those with sufficient levels, according to the results of a new retrospective study from Illinois.

Individuals with untreated vitamin D deficiency were nearly twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19 relative to their peers with adequate vitamin D levels.

"These findings appear to support a role of vitamin D status in COVID-19 risk," the authors say in the study, published online September 3 in JAMA Network Open.

"Vitamin D is important to the function of the immune system and vitamin D supplements have previously been shown to lower the risk of viral respiratory tract infections. Our statistical analysis suggests this may be true for the COVID-19 infection," lead author David Meltzer, MD, PhD, chief of hospital medicine at University of Chicago Medicine, Illinois, said in a news releasefrom his institution. 

Important for Immune Function 

Meltzer and colleagues studied 489 University of Chicago Medicine patients (mean age 49 years, 75% women) whose vitamin D levels were determined in the 2 months before being tested for COVID-19. 

Vitamin D deficiency was defined as < 20 ng/mL 25-hydroxycholecalciferol or < 18 pg/mL 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol.

Vitamin D status was categorized as likely deficient for 124 participants (25%), likely sufficient for 287 (59%), and uncertain for 78 (16%).

A total of 71 participants (15%) tested positive for COVID-19.

In a multivariate analysis, a positive COVID-19 test was significantly more likely in those with likely vitamin D deficiency than in those with likely sufficient vitamin D levels at the time of COVID-19 testing (relative risk [RR], 1.77; 95% CI, 1.12 - 2.81; P = .02). 

The estimated mean rate of COVID-19 in the deficient group was 21.6% compared with 12.2% in the sufficient group.

Testing positive for COVID-19 was also associated with increasing age up to age 50 years (RR, 1.06; P = .02) and race other than White (RR, 2.54; P = .009)

Protective Effect of Treatment? 

The findings also raise the possibility that treatment for vitamin D deficiency may lower the risk of COVID-19, the researchers say.  

Patients with deficient vitamin D levels who had their vitamin D treatment increased did not appear to have increased risk for COVID-19.

This suggests a "protective effect of treatment, but the confidence intervals on estimated rates for these groups are too wide to exclude the possibility of no treatment effect," Meltzer and colleagues note.

"If vitamin D does reduce COVID-19 incidence, it is tempting to consider whether it might reduce COVID-19 transmission," they hypothesize.

Because vitamin D strengthens innate immunity it could be expected to decrease COVID-19 infection and transmission. Vitamin D also affects zincmetabolism, which decreases replication of coronaviruses.

As previously reported by Medscape Medical News, a recent study from Israel suggested low plasma vitamin D levels are an independent risk factor for COVID-19 infection and hospitalization.

In that study, participants positive for COVID-19 were 50% more likely to have low vs normal vitamin D levels in a multivariate analysis that controlled for other confounders.

Half of Americans are deficient in Vitamin D, with much higher rates seen in African Americans, Hispanics, and individuals living in areas like Chicago where it is difficult to get enough sun exposure in winter.

"Understanding whether treating Vitamin D deficiency changes COVID-19 risk could be of great importance locally, nationally, and globally," Meltzer said. "Vitamin D is inexpensive, generally very safe to take, and can be widely scaled."

Meltzer and colleagues say randomized clinical trials are now needed to see whether broad population interventions and interventions among groups at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 could reduce COVID-19 cases.

The study was supported by the Learning Health Care System Core of the University of Chicago/Rush University Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) Clinical and Translational Science Award and the African American Cardiovascular Pharmacogenetics Consortium. The authors have declared no relevant conflicts of interest. 

JAMA Netw Open. Published September 3, 2020. 

Full Text <https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2770157>

Your chakras tell you so much about your health and well-being.

 1st Chakra (Root Chakra) - "I live."

Location: Base of spine

Color: Dark red

The root chakra is associated with your survival needs, your sense of grounding, and your connection to the physical plane. When the 1st chakra is balanced, it brings you physical vitality, a sense of safety and security, stability, solidity, and prosperity. When the 1st chakra is weak, you experience feelings of fear or anxiety, significant challenges within your body, family, and business, and difficulty in manifesting what you want in your life. When the 1st chakra is overactive, you tend toward overeating, excessive spending, greediness, resistance to change, and workaholism.

2nd Chakra (Sacral Chakra) - "I feel."

Location: Lower abdomen

Color: Soft red

The Sacral chakra is related to emotions and sexuality. When the 2nd chakra is balanced, it brings you depth of feeling with the ability to enjoy pleasure, sexual fulfillment, and a passion for life. When the 2nd chakra is weak, you often experience emotional numbness, lack of excitement, and fear of sexuality or pleasure. If it’s overactive, you tend to experience excessive mood swings, addiction to stimulation, and sexual addiction.

3rd Chakra (Solar Plexus Chakra) - "I do."

Location: Solar plexus

Color: Orange

The Solar Plexus chakra controls your personal power, will, and autonomy. When the 3rd chakra is balanced, it provides self-esteem, good self-discipline, a spontaneous and playful attitude, and the ability to take risks. When the 3rd chakra is weak, you experience a lack of energy, poor digestion, low self-esteem, poor self-discipline, and tend to see yourself as a victim. When it’s overactive, you show a tendency to be controlling, arrogant, hyperactive, and place exaggerated importance on power and status.

4th Chakra (Heart Chakra) - "I love."

Location: Heart

Color: Gold

The Heart chakra is related to love and is the integrator of opposites in the psyche: mind and body, male and female, ego and unity. When the 4th chakra is balanced, it brings you boundless love, wholeness, compassion, a deep sense of peace and centeredness, and empathy. When the 4th chakra is weak, you have feelings of shyness, alienation, loneliness, a fear of intimacy, and a lack of empathy. When it’s overactive, you tend to focus too much on pleasing others, have poor boundaries, and experience jealousy.

5th Chakra (Throat Chakra) - "I express."

Location: Pit of throat

Color: Blue-green

The Throat chakra is related to communication on all levels. When it’s balanced, it brings you clear communication with your self and others, the expression of your truth, the ability to listen to your inner voice, and creativity. When this chakra is weak, you experience difficulty expressing things or ideas into words, have a fear of speaking, and exhibit excessive shyness. When it’s overactive, you have a tendency of talking too much, an inability to listen, difficulty in being silent, and an overactive thyroid.

6th Chakra (Third Eye Chakra) - "I see."

Location: Forehead (third eye)

Color: Navy blue

The Third Eye chakra is related to the act of seeing, both physically and intuitively. When it’s balanced, it brings you insight, strong intuition, wisdom, and the ability to see the big picture. When it is weak, you experience difficulty visualizing, poor memory, lack of imagination, and difficulty in recognizing patterns. When it’s overactive, you tend to have nightmares, a lack of concentration, intrusive memories, and excessive fantasizing.

7th Chakra (Crown Chakra) - "I am."

Location: Crown of head

Color: Lavender, purple

The Crown chakra represents the highest state of enlightenment and facilitates your spiritual development. When it’s balanced, it brings you spiritual connection, wisdom and mastery, open-mindedness, and totality of being. When this chakra is weak, you tend toward spiritual skepticism, a lack of inspiration, a closed mind, and apathy. When it’s overactive, you tend toward excessive intellectualism, spiritual elitism, and form excessive attachments.

Is Nasal Irrigation Beneficial in COVID-19?

 Is Nasal Irrigation Beneficial in COVID-19?

By Will Boggs MD - July 31, 2020

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nasal irrigation might relieve symptoms and reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19, according to a new report.

It has been unclear whether topical nasal saline irrigation mitigates viral effects or potentiates viral transmission or has no impact whatsoever, write Dr. John S. Schneider of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, in Missouri, and colleagues.

The authors review the current evidence on the potential effects of nasal saline irrigations and their adjuncts with viral upper respiratory illnesses in an opinion piece in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Nasal rinses physically disrupt the viscous surface layer, removing mucus and particulate matter, and increase hydration of the deeper aqueous layer, thereby improving underlying ciliary beat frequency and reducing local inflammatory mediators. These effects can be particularly helpful during a viral respiratory infection where mucociliary dysfunction and mucostasis can result from the inflammatory response.

The best tonicity of saline used for nasal rinses remains unclear, as does the potential value of adding steroid compounds to saline irrigations. Betadine and other iodine derivatives have been shown to reduce coronavirus levels in vitro, but it remains unclear whether they can decrease viral transmission in vivo, the authors say.

Potential risks of nasal irrigation should also be taken into account, including the possibility that irrigation might increase viral shedding (and, therefore, transmission) and the possibility that the nasal-rinse bottle might serve as a vector for transmission.

"Thus, patients should practice good hand hygiene and decontaminate the surrounding surfaces (e.g., sink, counters) and plastic rinse bottle to prevent subsequent infection," the authors note.

"Given the safety profile of these therapies, hypertonic saline nasal irrigations should be encouraged for patients and health care workers especially," they conclude. "For our patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, continued use of steroid irrigations should be encouraged.”

"Emerging research is expected to shed further light on saline irrigation's protective and therapeutic effect on COVID-19," they add.

Dr. David King of the University of Queensland, in Australia, who recently reviewed the role of nasal saline irrigation in a variety of settings, told Reuters Health by email, "The research on the role of nasal saline irrigation is certainly still patchy and in an early stage of development. We can only extrapolate with low level of certainty the current research to its presumptive benefit for reducing COVID-19 infection risk.”

"There are no significant contraindications to nasal saline spray, but minor adverse effects, particularly burning and stinging sensation in the nose, may limit its use in some people," he said.

"The benefit of saline nasal irrigation for preventing and treating COVID-19 infection is yet to be established, but it is worth considering its use, as it is safe and cheap and has demonstrated benefit in treating viral and allergic rhinitis," added Dr. King, who was not involved in the new report.

"Saline nasal irrigation may provide a small reduction in infection risk and duration," he said. "However, at best it will be a small part of the wider control measures that include behavioral and pharmaceutical interventions.”

Dr. Rakesh K. Chandra of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tennessee, who recently reviewed the use of nasal saline irrigation in chronic rhinosinusitis, told Reuters Health by email, "All of these treatment decisions are based on risk versus harm considerations. With proper precautions (distilled water, cleaning the bottle and surrounding surfaces, as the authors note), irrigations are valuable with little to no risk.”

"Hypothetically, rinses with iodine might carry less risk of disseminating virus since any collateral droplets would have the iodine," he added. "There may also be a role for surfactant irrigations, which are essentially dilute soap solutions. These are known to disrupt the viral capsid.”

Dr. Schneider did not respond to a request for comments.

SOURCE: https://bit.ly/30T8CxX  JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, online July 23, 2020.