Becoming Your Own Best Friend

Once upon a time, I felt unloved. Because I felt unloved, I tried to find people to love me. All I got, were friends & partners who reflected back to me how I felt about myself and what I thought I deserved to have. Back then, I didn't even know how to feel loved by God / The Creator of everything that exists. As I grow into my 6th decade, I reflect back on some of the most important things I've learned so far.

Practice loving your 5-year-old self. If necessary, also practice loving younger versions as well. Find one or more photos of yourself when you were about 5 years old. Isn't he/she adorable? Cute? Lovable? Sweet? Precious? Huggable? When did you stop believing this about yourself? This child still lives inside of you. You are the age you are and every age you ever were. If you concluded by the time you were 5 years old that you were NOT worthy of love based on your parenting or traumatic experiences, you grew into an adult who has no idea the conclusions you made were false.

Become aware. Watch your thoughts. Write them down. If they are negative or degrading thoughts, what proof do you have they are true? (Dr. David Burns--Feeling Good, The New Mood Therapy). I read a great book by Stephen Shaw "I AM." I was challenged by racing negative thoughts and Stephen was, too... until he met a wise man who instructed him to see them as flocks of birds and just watch them. Don't let them take over your mind. Ever since then, every time I see a flock of birds, (especially crows & blackbirds), I remember this book.

Do you find yourself judging others? Thinking negative about others? Their actions? This will give you a clue that you are also judging yourself. You will also keep attracting people and situations into your life to reflect what you are focusing on. Once you realize this is what is happening, you can catch yourself in the 'act.'

Use tools such as EFT / Tapping to interrupt self-sabotaging thoughts. There are books and many YouTube videos on the topic. The 2017 Tapping World Summit is about to begin so if you're interested, look it up online.

Find a Theta Healer or take a Theta Healing class. What I love about Theta is the belief work. After old thought patterns and beliefs are 'pulled,' you must have new beliefs to replace them. Otherwise, you can feel disconnected and lost. Your identity was just pulled and you are left with Who Am I? The Theta Practitioner 'downloads' you with new ones... including what it FEELS like to be loved, trusted, respected, have abundance, and more... I felt amazing after I received my new 'downloads,' and my life seemed to take off! Vianna Stibel wrote two books on Theta Healing which include just about every negative thought pattern/belief known to mankind. She explains how these can manifest as health problems. As you flip through the pages, you can find which beliefs you want to work on. It's especially nice to see there are common beliefs among all of us, and we are not alone. I also learned that all the positive affirmations in the world can't override what is in your subconscious belief system. It helps to find a qualified Theta Healer. Hint: When you take a class (3 days) you get a ton of downloads -- a more economical way to get multiple sessions in a single weekend.

Treat your body like it is a beloved garden. I wrote "Growing An Internal Garden" on ways to do this. Your body will appreciate the steps you take to become a healthier person through food, exercise, water, and self-love. The flowers of your body (your cells) will appreciate you. There is always a new online webinar/podcast series to teach you what you can do to become your own health advocate. My previous post is on Winter of Wellness 2017. By the time symptoms begin showing up, your poor body has already been overloaded and needs your help. Learn to be a detective and don't rely on medical doctors to figure out what you need. Blood tests only show current conditions. Doctors can only do what they were trained to do, which is to order tests and prescribe medication for the symptoms that show up.

Never stop learning new things. I love my Toastmasters group where there is always something new to learn pertaining to self-confidence, communicating, and leadership. I've said it before, but every week I hear inspirational speeches which keep me motivated. Many of these speeches are about over-coming life's adversities. The evaluations are made with the sandwich method to ensure you walk away with something to grow on. Many introverts come out of their shells and begin to shine (like me).

Last, but not least, fill your senses with Essential Oils. doTERRA has a set of Emotional Aromatherapy Blends that comes with a chart. What do you want to feel less of? Find this on the chart. The chart will direct you to which blend would help you feel what you want to feel more of. My personal favorite at this time is Motivate. Buying the whole kit is much less expensive than buying them separately. 

Remember: You as a human are a work in progress. As long as you are alive, you have growth potential. Life is a journey, not a destination. I look forward to the next 30 years!

What is your takeaway from this post? Where are you at this time in your life? Have you explored any of the things I've listed here? Do you have any questions? Please leave your comments below.

The Calcium Lie II & Glare

First, I wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. Today, make a commitment to love the most important person in your life. YOU! I introduced the concept of treating your body like it is a garden in my book: Growing An Internal Garden. If your body is a garden, you will take care to provide it with the correct balance of MINERALS.

When I went to see my optometrist to have my eyes examined (I assumed the chronic headaches were due to my glasses being too strong for me again), I mentioned to him about the Winter of Wellness series and the book I read by Dr. Tom O'Bryan titled: The Autoimmune Fix. Dr. Berg told me he read it, has felt much better since following a Gluten Free diet, and asked me if I had read The Calcium Lie. This book was on my reading list, but I hadn't gotten to it yet. However, I figured Dr. Berg's comment was heaven's message that this should be the book I read next. 

The result of my exam? My eyes hadn't changed since last July. (Progressive Myopia has been reversing.) I went next door to Walmart Vision Center, saw a familiar face, and sat down to talk to her. We figured out the headaches were most likely caused by GLARE and the difference between plastic and high-index lenses. Back in July, I decided to buy two pair of inexpensive plastic single-vision glasses vs. expensive bifocals with high-index, anti-reflective lenses. I'll be searching for night driver's to wear over my glasses to reduce daytime glare and hopefully find a anti-glare screen for the laptop I use a lot.

Now for the book. In just the Introduction and first Chapter of this book, I learned how taking calcium supplements for most of my adult life has most likely been the root of just about all my health issues. Wow! Yes, there were emotional/psychological 'programming' components as well, but as for the physical, everything I read in this first chapter clarified many of the unsolved 'mysteries'.

"If you take calcium to strengthen your bones and you already have an excess of calcium in your body, you are signing your own death warrant. Think of it like this: Calcium hardens concrete. Imagine what it can harden in your body! Excess calcium can cause: 

• Kidney and gallstones
• Arterial plaque
• Bone spurs
• Calcium deposits in tissues other than bones
• Brain cell dysfunction, brain shrinkage, and dementia"

Years back, when I met the mysterious Stephen King in the post office parking lot (MD, NASA, Chemist), he told me the same thing. He advised me to stop taking calcium supplements... it was depositing calcium in my arteries, joints, and brain. But then I gave in to my doctor's orders to take them again. (I've since changed doctors.)

Our bodies are so incredibly miraculously designed, you see--approximately 72% water & 27% minerals. We are not solid, we are energy--and our cells are electrically charged. This means, unless you have the correct balance of minerals, your cells get confused. No wonder I ended up such a mess! 

By the time symptoms show up, whatever organs are affected are already damaged. Even adrenals and thyroid.

As for minerals, we need complete ionized minerals as well as Sea Salt. Processed iodized salt, which is also added to most packaged/canned food, throws our balance off.

My nutritionist, Ambika, started me off on the right track by 'prescribing' Organa Liquid Minerals (Organa.net). I also bought Himalayan Sea Salt. I still needed to understand why drinking milk alternatives (fortified with Calcium) and Calcium supplements were causing a problem. Many, in fact.

The Lie is that we need calcium to strengthen our bones. We were brainwashed by the commercials "Milk Does The Body Good." Many foods were fortified with calcium, like cereal and orange juice. While all this calcium is going to all the wrong places, our bones are being leached of the minerals it needs. When you get a DexaScan, you are 'diagnosed' with osteoporosis. Then you are prescribed a drug which throws your balance off even more. Two different dentists confirmed the jaw disintegration they've seen.

In the meantime, all the over-the-counter remedies for aches, pains, colds, flu, plus antibiotics disrupt your digestion so you take drugs for acid reflux and GERD--which also leaches minerals from your bones.

Enough of my rant. Buy this book and read it yourself!

Winter of Wellness

In the last year, I've listened to The Truth About Cancer, The Truth About Autoimmune Disease, and now I am finishing up 30 days of podcasts with alternative health practitioners from all over the world in Winter of Wellness 2017. Educating and inspiring! Wouldn't it be nice if all I had to do is take a test on all this and be a doctor? Without paying for college?

Food plan: It's been two months since I've completely stopped eating grains and legumes. It can take up to six months for the effects of these to clear out of my body, but I remain hopeful. After all, I had no idea that just avoiding wheat wouldn't do it for gluten sensitivity, a result of gut permeability. I also had no idea that the lectins in legumes couldn't be digested if you don't sprout them first. Here I was, thinking my mostly vegetarian diet was doing me good, when it turns out it wasn't.

I learned to make a pancake type bread snack with Almond Flour, Tapioca Flour, eggs, olive oil, coconut milk powder/water, and favorite spices. These are so delicious! I usually don't cook... but the desire to eat these has over-ridden my aversion to cooking.

My Triglycerides are still too high, and hopefully eliminating grains and legumes will help bring it down. My nutritionist, Ambika, pointed out to me that other blood results such as just a bit high on protein indicates I am not processing sugars (the healthy ones) which indicates my thyroid is not producing enough of whatever it is and neither is my gut. She added two new supplements to my regime. Yes, I'd been taking a number of supplements including Organa Liquid Minerals--and my hair is growing in BROWN. Places that were thinning out are filling in! Hoping my muscles will begin feeling better soon, too! Despite autoimmune responses in my body, I have succeeded in not coming down with a cold or the flu--not since my trip to Washington when I got sick from being exposed to Mold.

We had our Annual Local Author Fest on the 28th of January. I had the utmost pleasure of meeting Michael Lanning, a new author who moved to Lampasas about two years ago. We were seated in the same little group so we got to chat. I also listened to his 10-minute talk. He said they moved to Lampasas because as a result of his research, it is supposedly the fastest growing city in the state of Texas. Four different highways merge into our main drag (Key Avenue) before picking up on the other end again. This is good news but also bad. Our main drag is only two lanes each side and has lots of lights as it runs through the center of town. I am glad there are plenty of side streets to get me to where I need to go.

Mrs. Lanning: I found out Michael's wife is the one who opened "Wildflowers on the Wall" downtown on our square. There had already been wildflower murals on the side of the building which is why she named the business this. It has antiques and an old fashioned soda fountain. She also opened a little book store called "Cork and Press"--wine tasting, olives, and books. AND she is also the one who bought and had moved a two-story large house I had discovered while going for a bike ride last summer. She is going to refurbish it. I had taken photos of this house months before she bought it and drafted ideas of a book I planned to write about it (fiction). Then I saw the article in the paper about it being moved and the plans for it. Mrs. Lanning has a background in business development and plans to ignite the growth of business in our downtown area.

Other authors: there were some other well-known successful authors at our fest this time, too. Hardly any customers, which was disappointing, but us authors had more time to visit with each other! I took away a list of their books I wanted to read to add to my extremely long list I already have. I've got bookshelves with books, over 140 Kindle books on my tablet, a folder of info on books I want to read, and now these. When will someone invent a head-phone type device we can put on and just download the books into our data-base brain? I know, then what would the purpose be of learning to read?

The Chadwicks: I also know Kelly & Johnny Chadwick. They bought a little land a few miles away. Kelly is a wedding planner and loves to grow things... like olives. Johnny is a nurse at our hospital and loves music. He built a huge stage out there and has huge concerts with well-known bands. I went to two concerts for free after offering to do the PR for them with local papers. Kelly also loves all things natural, so I invited her to attend Essential Oil classes my Acupunturist/Chinese Medicine lady, Kristin, started teaching. Tuesday night, I told Kelly about Cork and Press and she said she already knew about it and had been there. Great connections! I also experienced an Acupuncture session this last week.

Writing: inch by inch, I am progressing on a book about the above mentioned house AND another one (secret for now). To add to my above wish of being able to download books, I wish I could attach a brain scan to my brain and just download all my ideas (and have them transcribed)! I have a number of stories in the works...

Reading: The Autoimmune Fix by Dr. Tom O'Brian. NOBODY SHOULD EAT ANY WHEAT, DAIRY, OR SUGAR! IKES! I'm good (at least now), but I worry so much about all the people I care about who still do. For instance, I am surrounded by people who have rotten teeth, not realizing the bacteria is affecting their health, which includes heart disease, and many other problems.

Nowadays, we are told not to give our babies dairy products until they are at least a year old. I know my mother had to quit nursing me when I was only three months old and put me on cow's milk. No formula, no vitamins. I didn't get much of a kick start in life and ended up with severe gas pains as a result of an inability to digest dairy products. Our doc said I had a case of nerves and I was given Bella Donna. Can you imagine?

Happy February! As someone posted on Facebook, January was just the 30-day trial for the new year so February is the official start date.

Join me in striving to become healthier this year!