I Went From a "Positive" Test to a "Negative" Test, In Just Two Days, Naturally

 

I've been as careful about COVID as can be for three years now: washing hands, masking, not hugging my friends.  But then the old wall that holds the creek behind my house fell early one morning.  This happened, blessedly, between storms, so our soil profile did not wash away.  The city had built the wall and they stepped up to fix it, since it fell behind two other houses as well, and its absence threatened to undermine the nearby boulevard.  This resulted in crews of workmen coming and going with engineers and firemen and building inspectors all gathering in and parading through my backyard.  Some of them I needed to catch up with and let them know some particular or another before they disappeared.

I think that is when it happened, because two or three times I found myself out there, speaking with a small group, having dashed out without my mask.  Just four weeks before this, a friend had come round for a birthday visit on the patio.  He had come down with COVID the next day and we had been exposed.  Fortunately, I had recently remembered how effective overheating baths can be at stopping nasty viruses, (I had read that this had happened with the AIDS epidemic.)  So, I took an overheating bath and dodged a bullet that time.  (You can read more about that experience in my March 2023 blog titled "Exposed and the Overheating Bath.") 

My husband, Frank, has a good friend who comes round most mornings with his little French Bulldog who loves to play with our dog, on the front lawn.  The two men stand at a good distance from each other and talk about the repairs and various projects they are working on while the dogs dance around together, racing back and forth.  Two weeks ago, our friend showed up with a cold.  Not COVID, just a cold.  And Frank caught it.  Our friend later said he "thought that they weren't that close."  Very funny.  But air borne microbes can be like that, and as we all now know, quite contagious.

For some reason, I knew that I wouldn't catch Frank's cold.  It's amazing how you just know.  Though we took a few slight precautions I really wasn't worried about it.  Then, four days later I woke in the night, quite surprised and a little pissed, to find that I had a sore throat.  I reached for my ever handy arsenal of cold remedies: Dr. Schulze's Super-C Plus, Healthy Trinity by Natren and Equinacea Supreme by Gaia Herbs.  That backed the sore throat down quite successfully, but by morning, my sinuses, normally always free, were slightly congested and I groused at Frank about it.  By afternoon, I was feeling slightly headachy, and somewhat fatigued, with the start of a drippy nose.  I took my temperature and found it was at 99.5 degrees.  

I accused Frank of having had the dry scratchy throat proceeding his cold and said that he had just not remembered having one.  He was denying that anything was off at the onset of his cold, as he always does.  Having a full work week ahead I really didn't want to come down with what felt like a mild viral infection.  And I wasn't supposed to anyway, so I jumped into an overheating bath, which is always very effective at fighting viruses.

Frank said he had read up on the difference between a cold and a flu earlier that day, in Linda Page's book, Healthy Healing, (the same edition I referred to in my last blog with the instructions on how to properly do an overheating bath.)  I asked him to read the difference between the two again, to me, while I was in the tub.  While he was reading, he kept noting the onset of a "cold" for himself, and I kept noting the onset of a "flu" for myself.  That was when it dawned on me that maybe we had two different bugs.  And that maybe I hadn't caught this from Frank after all.

Anyway, that night, after my therapeutic hot bath, I slept in a pool of sweat and had to change the sheets and start washing everything in the morning.  I took a shower to clean the gunk off of my skin and then it occurred to me, "wait a minute, wait a minute,": sore throat, slight fever, headache, sinus congestion, fatigue.  It finally ran a bell.  And so there, on the morning of day two, I took a COVID test, and to my surprise found the faint pink line, indicating that I had the presence of the proteins in my mucus that reveal the presence of the COVID virus.  Blessedly, Frank did not.  And that hot bath, from the day before, had done me a world of good.  Apart from a slightly drippy nose, and a tendency toward chills and sweats, I felt pretty good.

That afternoon, I decided to do another overheating bath.  I took my temperature before hand and to my surprise found I was already at a hefty 102 degrees.  The day before, with my previous overheating bath, rising up from 99.5 degrees to 103 degrees had been a bit of a struggle and I definitely needed my assistant, Frank, to hand me the thermometers and hold my cup of hot tea, with a drinking straw, for me.  

Killing and then moving all of those viruses out is a lot of work for the body.  It can leave one feeling very weak.  And holding a manufactured fever of 103 degrees for fifteen minutes can be quite daunting.  So, a therapy like this is not for everyone.  Our ninety year old friend, Einar, mentioned that he had to do overheating treatments as a child for serious illnesses.  But, as he said, the only problem was that sometimes they'd "loose one" due to the rigors of the therapy.  So, this method is not something to be taken lightly.  And a capable assistant is essential.  

For me, with my second bath, going from 102 degrees up to 103 degrees was easy, I barely noticed it.  I even spiked briefly up to 104 degrees a couple of times.  It is generally not advisable for adults to go over 102 degrees for more than two full days at a time, but briefly spiking fevers of a slightly higher range are generally considered acceptable by many natural method healers who are familiar with overheating therapies. 

Fevers in the body are important.  They happen for a reason.  They burn out pathogens and then throw them off through sweating.  They also deactivate virus replication.  Lots of liquids need to be taken to stay hydrated, and the skin needs to be kept clean to avoid having toxins being partially reabsorbed by the body.  Sometimes a persistent high fever can be a sign of a more serious problem, but typically a fever, with a cold or flu, will help someone get better faster.

I do my overheating bath differently from the more measured and safer method that Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D. describes in her ninth edition of Healthy Healing.  She suggests not eating for several hours beforehand, emptying the bladder and colon before beginning, having a nice big tub and using two thermometers constantly, one for the bath water and one for the body temperature, both in use, for the entire duration of the treatment.  

For her version of the bath, the patient should be completely submerged, with only the eyes, nose and mouth above water.  She suggests starting the bath water at skin temperature, then raising the temperature of the water to 100 degrees fifteen minutes later, and then up to 103 degrees fifteen minutes after that, holding it at 103 degrees for a final fifteen minutes.  Since the person is completely covered, no body heat can escape and the body temperature will rise to match the water temperature.  The bath takes about an hour and constant supervision is required. 

She also suggests an alternative way to use overheating therapy which is a sauna.  The heat of a sauna will also inhibit the replication of pathogens, speed up metabolism and stimulate all of the glands and vital organs into increased activity.  This supports the immune system and accelerates healing functions.  Detoxification then occurs through the sweating process.  The sauna can then be finished with a cool shower and a rubdown to eliminate the toxins that have been removed from the body via the skin.

She notes that though induced fevers can be natural and effective healing modalities, advice and supervision from expert practitioners is advised.  She also notes that general vitality and heart health check-ups are also advisable and that it is necessary to determine in advance that the patient has the ability to perspire, which sometimes is absent in folks who are seriously ill.

The overheating bath that Linda Page gives is a great and quite safe technique.  But I go about mine a little more simply.  I know my body pretty well and feel comfortable doing my overheating bath this way.  And I am certainly not suggesting this method for anyone else.  But basically what I do, for me, is this, I get the tub really hot and I jump in and I stay there.   

More specifically, before I begin, I plug the overflow valve of the tub with duct tape so I can fill it right up to the top, nice and deep.  I set at least four clean towels on the floor, a quart of liquid to drink while in the tub, my two thermometers, a box of tissues and an empty quart sized plastic cup, all in close reach.  Then I put at least one cup of various mineral salts (see my previous blog for details,) in the tub and fill it right up.  

I generally empty the hot water heater into the tub with the water at or slightly higher than 115 degrees.  I plop myself in there and start to cook with one thermometer in my mouth, shaking it down periodically and retaking readings to keep track of my body temperature.  I also use a quick reacting candy thermometer to keep track of the water temperature.  If the bath gets too cold, below 112 degrees, Frank carefully pours in more hot.  Periodically using an oximeter, (the little finger gizmo that most doctors have for reading blood oxygen levels,) I keep track of my pulse.  Mine usually stays around 90 but may rise up to 105 when I'm really cooking with my body temperature at or above 103 degrees.  

Once the fifteen minutes at or a little above 103 degrees has been accomplished, I start adding in a little cold water to cool the bath gradually.  I usually soak for a good long time at these lower bath water temperatures anywhere from 105 degrees, (the average hot tub temp,) to 110 degrees.  After drinking all of my liquids and having a good long soak and sweat, to finish off the bath, I cool it a little more and linger a little longer.  Then I drain the tub and using the quart sized plastic cup, I rinse the mineral salts off my skin.  Then I carefully climb out of the tub, using all four, arms and legs.

Once I do get out, I'll often lay on and cover up with the towels on the floor to recover for a while before getting up and walking into the bedroom, where I have the heater on and piles of blankets on the bed.  I also tuck a few beach towels in between the sheets to absorb some of the sweat and I have more, at the ready, in case I want to change them in the night.  Then, using my skin as the amazing eliminative organ that it is, I sweat all of those dead viruses and other toxins out of me all night long.

I did this overheating therapy three days in a row.  The first bath, the one before I realized it was COVID, starting with a low grade fever was the challenging one.  The second one, when my natural healing body fever had kicked in and let me start the process already at 102 degrees, was a snap.  Easy.  For the third, my fever had dropped down to 99 degrees again, and it was easy too.  This morning, the third day, when most COVID cases start to really ramp up, and just two days after I tested positive for COVID, I have now tested negative and guess what?  I feel fine.  Absolutely fine.  No fever.  No brain fog.  No loss of taste or smell.  No decline in memory or cognitive faculties.  No cough.  No shortness of breath.  Isn't that amazing!

I'm still going to self isolate, with Frank, and take care of my self.  My house is full of the virus and I wouldn't want to relapse.  So, I'll stay inside, keep warm, take the recommended COVID supplements: Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Zinc, Usena barbato extract, Bee Propolis, Goldenseal root, and Echinacea root extract.  And I'll test again in a few more days and over the next two weeks.  But I'm so happy to say, I went from a positive COVID test, with all of the initial symptomatology, to a negative test result in just two days.  And I credit that to an age old natural healing remedy, the overheating bath.  

Wishing all, good health and a very happy spring.

Update:  It has been nearly two weeks now and I still feel absolutely fine.  I did a third COVID test and remained negative.  For the first week, I was very gentle with myself and didn't push myself physically.  Now, nearing the end of the second week, I'm back to my full vigor and enjoying life immensely.  Though there can  occasionally be a false positive COVID test result, it is very rare.  And, I feel that my positive test was accurate and that I did contract the virus.  I experienced the typical initial symptomatology: the headache, the sore throat, the fatigue, the minor fever and chills.  And now, all of those symptoms are long gone.  And, I feel so very blessed.

As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

Fleas!

We recently became overwhelmed with fleas.  So I called my retired naturopath friend and asked for assistance.  She said that Neem Oil works great and we found that it did.

For the past few years, when the summer-time flea bloom has occurred, we have resorted, as so many of us do, to using the veterinarian prescribed drops.  These are placed on the back of the animal's skull, near the base, where it meets the neck.  The solution gradually spreads over the animal's entire body and definitely kills the fleas.  But it is very toxic and can be transferred to our hands while petting our furry friends.  So, it is not what I consider safe.

Contrary to the label instructions, we have typically used a half dose of these flea treatments on each animal, to minimize the amount of poison that we use.  But even with that, our cats languished listlessly for a day or two, with very little energy or interest in food, and looked like they had really bad headaches.  

As well, for the previous two years, within a day or two after the application of the flea drops, our dog collapsed as if dead, after retrieving her ball at the park.  She lay limp and motionless at our feet, leaving us, fearing for her life, down on the ground with her, until she miraculously came back, half a minute later, a little confused at first, but then seemingly fine.  

This was very alarming, and the vet didn't know what might have caused this reaction in our dog nor what exactly it could be.  But the event was very concerning to us, and I had my suspicions that it could be related to the neurotoxin in the standard flea treatment.  So, this year, not wanting to take a chance on the possibility that it could be the drops, I decided to take a more aggressive natural flea care approach.

Of course flea combing is essential.  We use a nice fine tooth metal comb.  I find that the plastic combs don't really get them and the larger toothed metal combs can miss some too.  This required that we have our dog's hair cut quite short as the weather grew warm so that we could get the comb through her coat.  

The cats, with their finer hairs are considerably easier to comb, but they are not that fond of having their belly's combed, so a few get missed that way.  And, it seems that the combing really does have to become a part of the daily routine.

We use a container of water with a drop of dish soap stirred into it to assist with the flea combing process.  After a pass through the animals coat, combing as close to the skin as possible, I immediately dunk the comb into the water.  This confuses the flea and gives me a moment to remove it from the comb.  The soap breaks the surface tension of the water and prevents the flea from being able to jump out.  Instead it sinks to a watery demise.

Our dog's groomer says that the lawn at the park is a common source of fleas.  And that dogs often pick fleas up there.  Both our cats and the dog go in and out of the house at will, and we live on a creek, so they also get exposure to the fleas carried by the wildlife that share our home with us.  We have raccoons, possums, rats, squirrels and lots of birds that share our space with us. 

One trick that we are blessed to be able to avail ourselves of is letting our dog swim in the ocean.  Apparently the combination of salt water and then freshwater can kill fleas.  Fleas can endure submersion in either type of water for a time, but both types, one right after the other, really messes with their ability to survive.  So, we take our dog to the beach for a nice swim, retrieving her toys, and then rinse her off with the hose once we get back home.  

Vacuuming is another helpful approach.  We regularly drag out the vacuum and clean all the rugs and sweep the floors.  We also use diatomaceous earth.  This is made from the shells of tiny crustaceous creatures that has been ground into a very fine dust.  When insects come in contact with the dust, it scratches and damages their exoskeletons and causes them to die.  

Diatomaceous earth is very effective so long as it remains dry. But the powder can cause irritation to the skin and eyes along with respiratory troubles if used indiscriminately.  We handle it very carefully, so as to not raise any excess dust and carefully place it under and inside the covers of the sofa cushions, which we then additionally cover with a sheet or other piece of fabric.  We also put it deep in the dog's bedding under several layers of top fabric, so her skin or lungs will not become inflamed.  This approach helps to do away with the fleas and their eggs that are living deeper in the bedding.

In addition, we also change all of the bedding covers regularly to avoid having flea eggs and larvae, that are on the surface, hatch out in their beds.  We put these covers right into the washing machine and then the clothes dryer.  The water and the heat does the trick there.

But still, despite all of this, the fleas got ahead of us this year.  And I just didn't want to take a risk with our beautiful dog's life or cause the cats so much discomfort with the neurotoxins, which after all, are neuro, meaning nerve and toxins, meaning poisonous.

Thus the Neem oil, to the rescue.  It has been used, diluted as an insect repellent for hundreds of years on crops in agriculture.  It doesn't kill insects or the fleas, but they really don't like it, and stay away.

Neem oil is solid at room temperature, so if you use it in your pet shampoo, you need to warm it lightly first before adding it.  I just put a small amount, like a half teaspoon in perhaps two cups of warm water with about one tablespoon of shampoo.  Use it all up, as neem breaks down rapidly in soap.  It may leave a slight odor on your dog's coat, but that is what repels the fleas.  

Another way to apply neem oil is as a spray, diluted in alcohol.  Neem oil will stay in suspension in the alcohol.  I use four ounces of a good quality vodka, (I always like to support organic producers, even for a use such as this,) and add one dropperful, or fifteen drops, of neem oil into the alcohol, in a small spray bottle.  Shake first, before applying and lightly mist the dog's coat and then rub it in.  This is also a great thing to do before going for a hike in tick season, as it will prevent these insects from getting on your dog as well.  

Of course, whenever using any new product on your animal, it is good to observe how they react to it.  Cats do more grooming than dogs, thus they may consume more of the oil on their coats.  Most will do fine.  But we are all unique and anyone can be allergic to anything, so it is good to be attentive. 

Neem oil not only repels fleas, but it also helps to reduce itchiness and has been used for fungal infections and for treating ringworm and mange.  Perhaps you'd like to give it a try with your dog or cat.  It has worked great for us and it might just work well for you too.

As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

Scratchy Throat? Here's What I Do

 

Sometimes I just do something super simple like gargling with salt water or diluted Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, (I like Braggs,) and that always helps to ease a tickle in a throat.  But, when I really want to stop something in it's tracks before it even gets started, I have a much more thorough approach.

And that is one of the main keys, 'before it even gets started.'  So often, we want to deny the subtle signs that anything is wrong because we really don't want it to be real.  Instead, I openly refer to this phase as 'a slight imbalance in my wellness.'  And I let people know that I'm going to be tending to this, because this is the most crucial time to tune in and take action, rather than hoping it will just go away.  

Our bodies are masters at sending us subtle cues well before bigger symptoms occur and it pays to pay attention to them.  Headaches, backaches, changes in the bowel habit, these are all ways our body talks to us to let us know that something is amiss.  And that little, tiny scratchy throat is no exception.  So, here is what I do.

First, I drop everything, clear my calendar, at least for the rest of the day, stop what I'm doing, go inside, get warm, stay warm and start heading in the direction of rest and wellness.  I don't eat junk food or sugar, but if I did, I'd stop that nonsense pronto as that sort of eating habit is sure to dip the immune system and kick a bad thing into high gear.  

Generally, I'll then reach for a salt water gargle, first, which is always right at hand with good quality Celtic Sea Salt or Real Salt being permanent residents in my kitchen.  I use one teaspoon of salt, dissolved in, first a half a cup of hot water, stirred, and then another half a cup of cold water added in order to dilute the solution to a comfortable temperature.  While standing at the sink, I pour some of the salt water into the palm of my hand and while closing one nostril with my fingers, I snort the puddle of salt water, from my hand, up my into my sinuses, with my other nostril.  Then, I trade hands and nostrils and pour and snort some more.  

After that, I take a nice big mouthful of the salt solution and gargle and spit.  I repeat this several times, hitting high notes and low notes, and all the notes in between, vocally, while gargling.   This exposes all of the many folds of my vocal chords to the salt solution.  These folds can be hiding places for invading microbes and it is best to let them know, with the salt, that they are not welcome.

Natural salt, from dehydrated ocean water is full of minerals and it is also a good bio-film disruptor, which means that it can break through the little crust that microbes, like bacteria form, as a protective layer, on top of their colonies. These colonies are where they can thrive and multiply.  

Xylitol is another great bio-film disruptor.  So, I also reach for my Xlear nasal spray, which has xylitol in it, and I shoot a couple of good squirts up into my sinuses after I've recovered a little from the salt water snorting.

I tend to have very clear sinuses, but when I inhale Xlear up my nose, I am always amazed at how much mucus is liberated.  I'll generally need to spit and blow for a good five minutes after a good application.  It is surprising how much material can be undetected and stored up in those sinuses.  And those hidden, mucus-rich areas can be fine homes for microbes and their bio-films.  

Xlear is also one of the tricks I use for staying healthy after having spent time out in public, where I may have been exposed to any number of infectious, air-borne microbes.  In the same regard, I may use my nebulizer to inhale a very dilute mist of .75% hydrogen peroxide.  I learned about this technique from a May 2020 article that a friend of mine shared from Dr. Mercola.  Just a couple of breaths using this mist can really knock back pathogens from the lungs.

 While the water is still hot in the tea kettle from making my salt water solution, I generally brew myself a couple of cups of Throat Coat Tea by Traditional Medicinals.  This is a very soothing combination of herbs to support the health of the throat, coating it with slippery elm bark and marshmallow root.  Wild cherry bark, fennel and cinnamon add their goodness, drying mucus, easing airways, reducing inflammation and acting as antioxidants.  The licorice root boosts the immune system and gives it all a lovely taste.  Sipping this nice warm tea all day also helps to rinse away any little microbes that may be trying to set up housekeeping in the mucus membranes of my throat.

At this point I might additionally reach for a throat spray, like 'Singer's Saving Grace' or HerbPharm's 'Soothng Throat Spray.'  A couple of squirts in the back of my mouth are very soothing and also help to discourage any invasion.

I'm a big fan of Dr. Richard Schulze and his American Botanical Pharmacy.  He is one of our great contemporary herbologists and his 'Oral Therapy' mouth wash is miraculous.  I'll also gargle with that, to really knock back any invaders and I follow it with his beautiful 100% food sourced Vitamin C tablets, 'Super-C Plus.'  I'll suck on one or two of those and they feel so good.  In fact, they could go in my top paragraph as the one or two things that can be done to start turning a situation around.  After having successfully managed to conquer the invasion with this protocol, I keep a few of these little C tablets in my pocket for a few days, so I can pull one out and suck on it from time to time, in order to keep the internal balance in my throat in good health. 

After all of this flushing and chasing away of bad microbes, I like to go to my refrigerator where I keep what I need to replenish my throat flora with healthy microbes.  For this I use a beautiful probiotic capsule that has been carefully preserved from an old world source.  It is called 'Healthy Trinity' by Natren.  I put two of these beautiful capsules in my mouth and let them slowly dissolve there.  I'll often do this just before I fall asleep, for good internal mouth flora and also, incidentally, for tooth support.  This is, as the French would say, the pièce de résistance, or the final important feature for regaining the balance of health in my throat.  

I keep all of these things on hand because having a fully equipped apothecary, or in-home store of herbs and remedies, is a big part of natural healing.  This is a good idea for anyone who is interested in a holistic approach to health.  My throat care prevention supplies are  just a small portion of my personal apothecary.  I also keep herbal stores for organ cleansing, injuries and first aid, brain health, heart health and a host of other simple mostly herbal remedies for maintaining and creating beautiful health, in the way that nature provided.

 A good cook knows the importance of having basic staples on hand: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, what have you.  The same holds true for natural healing techniques.  What I have given you here is one recipe from my cookbook.  There are hundreds more.  And like any recipe, it may shift and change as the years go by.  My storehouse of home remedies started decades ago, with one cupboard.  Now it is quite extensive, housed in several cabinets, a dresser or two and even a mini-fridge.  And if you haven't already, this is a perfect place to get started, a few powerful healing allies, to help stave off a sore throat, before it even gets started.  Enjoy.

 

 

As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

Gaining and Maintaining Beautiful Eye Health Along With Great Vision

 

 

Vision is our dominant perceptual sense.  Dogs smell.  Rabbits hear.  But we humans predominantly use our eyes to inform us about the world around us.  We see.

Just like any other muscle in the body, the muscles around our eyes can become weak or tight.  When they do, our eyeballs can loose their nice round shape, becoming more oblong or egg shaped, either too long or too wide.  If one or more of the six muscles that surround our eyes pulls habitually on that beautiful fluid filled ball of ours, then we can't see as well, becoming either nearsighted or farsighted.  When we correct this visual disturbance with eye glasses, the problem gradually gets worse as we lean progressively more heavily on that crutch.

Practicing regular eye exercises is one of the basics of maintaining or reclaiming great eye health.  Another basic is calming the optic nerve.

The optic nerve is a comparatively long and large structure that comes right from the eyeball itself, straight back into the brain.  (A portion of the nerve fibers coming from each eye, actually cross each other, but that's a detail we can save for another time.)  When the optic nerve gets highly stimulated from bright light or the tension of muscular strain, it becomes overburdened with chemical messages causing fatigue.  When this happens, it can take a little while to calm down.  This is where "palming" comes in.  I'll describe that a little later.

When I was a young girl, growing up, my mother and my grandmother were both writers.  They each spent many hours a day reading and writing.  Yet neither of them wore glasses.  Though sadly my mother passed quite young, my grandmother lived into her mid-nineties and lived her whole life long without getting any prescription glasses.  And she read almost all day, everyday.  This was because she had learned how to care for her vision from an eye health pioneer of her time, Dr. William Horatio Bates, M.D. (1860-1931.)  She read his books, did the exercises, and blessedly taught my mother, who taught me.  Many was the day when I would come across my mother or my grandmother palming or moving or resting their eyes. 

Back in the day, instead of celebrity rags at the checkout line in the grocery store, you could pick up little self care books on natural health techniques.  I still have a 35¢ hard cover copy on correcting vision problems naturally that I purchased in my early twenties.  It is titled Sight Without Glasses, by Dr. Harold M. Peppard.  The top of this little book's spine is ragged from the number of times I have pulled it out from my bookshelf.  Another small paperback, that I have from back in 1994, by Richard Leviton is called, Better Vision in 30 Days.  These little guides have kept me on track and I am so very pleased to say that they work!  And there are lots of more very detailed resources available, like Help Yourself to Better Sight, by Margaret O. Corbett or The Eye Care Revolution by Robert Abel, Jr., M.D..

The exercises, or 'movements,' as Dr. Bates used to call them, are remarkably simple.  

Palming.  Palming comes first and foremost, for calming the optic nerve.  This is done by placing the palms of your hands gently over your eyes to create a dark environment where your eyes can begin to drain off the remaining chemical residue caused by light from inside the optic nerve.  This is best done in a darkened room, with a straight spine and the elbows resting on a surface which is at about chest level.  Resting the elbows keeps them from fatiguing.  Care should be taken that the palms rest very lightly on the bony structures of the skull, around the eyes with no pressing.  

Bates felt that imagining movement, like a black boat, on a black sea, sailing in a figure eight was helpful while palming.  I like to imagine a herd of black horses running around on a black beach at night.  Doing visualizations, like these, while palming seems to help the optic nerve drain more quickly and completely.

When palming, it can take a little while for the eye to no longer see patches of lingering light and see only blackness.  I can see complete blackness typically in about five minutes.  But I have very good vision and well cared for eyes.  Bates liked for people to palm for twelve minutes, warming the hands first by rubbing them briskly together, (raising the chi,) before starting.  He also liked for people to palm before starting the other exercises or movements.  This relaxes the eyes before asking them to engage their muscles.  Then, just like gently stretching any muscle, you move first one way, and then the other.

Though there are a host of exercises allowing one to address any number of possible corrections such as double vision, wandering eyes or astigmatism, I have focused on just a scant handful of them to maintain my good vision.  Almost all eye exercises are best done outside and my favorites are these five:

Sunning.  This feels really great.  I step out into the morning air, while the sun is still low on the horizon.  I close my eyes and point my nose right at the sun.  Then I slowly move my head from left to right, allowing my shoulders and upper torso to move as well, so that my face is moving in an arc of 180 degrees.  I might do this for as long as four or five minutes.

Looking at a Distance.  The next thing I like to do is see if I can see some distant hikers on the trail going up the mountain near my home.  The trail is probably about a mile away from my front door.  It's fun.  We tend to have a lot of hikers here, and my husband and I often try to see who can see someone first.  

In our modern day and age, we rarely look at a distance, but if we were people in ancient times, it would be very helpful to see if that distant fruit tree was ripe or not, or to notice if anyone else was over there.  Spending just a little bit of time looking at a distance helps us to counter act all of the time that we spend reading or staring at close up screens while engaging with technology.  

Often while driving, on open roads, I'll rest my eyes by looking over the steering wheel at the far off landscapes ahead of me, allowing my peripheral vision to keep track of what is happening near by.  And while I'm at my computer, I frequently gaze out the window, behind my screen, at the large tree across the street, allowing my eyes to focus on its leaves and branches for just a moment or two.  These kinds of tiny habits give the close up muscles of my eyes a little chance to rest and relax and greatly reduce any symptoms of eye fatigue.  My grandmother used to say, "Look up."  She said that gazing into the sky or the trees overhead was very relaxing for the eyes and the mind. 

Looking Close and Looking Far.  This is one of my very favorites.  I enjoy seeing how quickly I can change my focusing ability.  After looking at the mountain in the morning, I'll take a few moments to briefly look at my thumbnail, held about eight inches from my face.  As soon as I can clearly see my cuticle and the details of the skin around my nail, I glance back at the mountain and see how long it takes for me to see details there.  Then I look back at my nail, and then back at the mountain.  I maybe do this half a dozen times, or more, depending on how acute my eyes are and how quickly my vision can adjust.

Swinging.  This one I do seated, with my eyes closed.  It is important not to move your eyes too quickly for this exercise.  Slow and steady is best.  Begin by holding your head in a comfortable position and looking straight ahead.  Then close your eyes, and start by moving just your eyes to the left, as if you were looking to the left.  Then to the right.  Back to the left again, and back to the right.  Go easy, especially when you are doing this for the first time.  Go nice and slow and not too far.  Repeat a comfortable and gentle number of times.  Pause for a moment or two after you've completed this, keeping your eyes closed.  'Rome wasn't conquered in a day.'  

After that, with eyes still closed, let your eyes swing up and down.  Then, after that, try moving on to the diagonals.  First up on the left and down on the right.  Then, up on the right and down on the left.  Try to make your movements nice and even, gradually moving your eyes without letting them jump along.  And always come to center, resting your eyes for just a moment or two before changing directions.  This really gives those six muscles a nice, deep, long stretch.

Watching My Dog Chase the Ball.  This one is really lovely and I do it every day.  We take our dog to the park and throw the ball for her.  I watch her very carefully, yet with soft and relaxed eyes, not straining, never straining.   As she quickly moves away and back toward me again, my focus naturally changes to follow her.  The muscles around my eyes actually change the shape of my eyeballs, in a steady fashion, slightly longer or wider to maintain the focus in a continual stream of gentle natural movement.

If you don't happen to have a dog, maybe you have a ball, a similar version of this exercise happens when you hit a ball against a wall and let it bounce back to you and hit it again.  Tennis, or pickle ball or ping pong accomplish a similar effect.  

My grandmother was a great ping pong player, well into her advanced age.  And she often rested her eyes, by sitting down and closing them briefly after a game.  She rested her eyes while reading too.  She'd hold her finger on the page, so her eyes would not have to strain and search for the next line.  She also blinked, a lot, not only at the end of every line while reading, but also while just looking around or speaking with someone.  She always read with good and even light and she never stared or let herself strain her eyes in other ways. 

Just like any exercise program, doing it once or twice won't get you there.  It takes a near daily commitment to see lasting results.

Meir Schneider, of the School of Natural Healing, based in Berkeley, California, has taken this type of work to a beautifully refined level.  He was born legally blind and can now drive on the freeway.  He teaches how to work with and improve or prevent a variety of eye health challenges including blind spots, glaucoma and macular degeneration.  There are more answers to eye health problems than just drugs or surgery.

I am currently working on not only maintaining my beautiful and blessedly perfect vision, but also on preventing cataracts.  I'm having success doing this by adding in a few new eye exercises, that I'm now learning, along with keeping my self fully hydrated and doing periodic water fasting, (please see one of my new favorite books on this method of natural healing by Kate McCarthy titled Water Fasting.)  I also use two or three drops of Dr. Schulze's Eyebright Formula in distilled water in an eye cup, every day.  This gives my eyes a nice bath in healing herbs that definitely help to increase the blood circulation to all of my eye structures, while keeping them nourished and healthy.  So far, it is all definitely working!

May you and your family and friends come to know the joy of maintaining and reclaiming beautiful eye health and vision with these simple habits of relaxation and gentle movements that you can easily incorporate into your lives.

As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

A Healing Wound Wash

 

 

During these summer months of fun and play, we can get injuries that are not serious enough for medical attention, but that can still warrant careful care.  Please enjoy this three and a half minute video, on how to clean a wound and promote healing with an easy to make, simple wound wash.  

Disclaimer:  As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

© Josephine Laing 2021

Simple Natural Skin Care

 

 

Please enjoy this three minute video on how you can make a very simple skin cream that will nourish your skin and keep it happy after spending a day outside.

Disclaimer:
As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

 © Josephine Laing 2021

Do It Yourself CBD Oil

 

 

Please enjoy this short video on how to make your own CBD oil, otherwise known as Cannabidiol oil, which is derived from natural chemicals found in marijuana or cannabis plants.  CBD has been shown to help relieve pain, reduce anxiety, alleviate cancer symptoms, and improve neurological disorders along with a number of other potential benefits.  This recipe is designed for topical use and  can be relatively inexpensive and easy to make.


Disclaimer:  As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

© Josephine Laing 2021

Holiday Gifts ~ How to Make a Simple Healing Salve

 

 

The winter holidays are coming and homemade gifts are so appreciated.  Please enjoy this short video on how to make a lovely herbal salve for nourishing and healing the skin.  Commonly used herbs are: chickweed, cleavers or calendula, but many other skin healing herbs can be used as well, either fresh or dried. This age old recipe is relatively inexpensive, simple and easy to do.

As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

© 2020 Josephine Laing

My COVID-19 Prevention Routine

Prevention, through a strong immune system, is always our best defense.  Washing hands and keeping our fingers away from our face, we already know.  Helping to mitigate the spread of this virus by minimizing our release of and contact with the droplets from "mouth rain," is also a good idea.  Simple sanitizing sprays or washing items with soap can be beneficial as well.  Hydrogen peroxide, (best to start with 30% as it has no stabilizing additives,) can be diluted to less than 1% and used in a nebulizer.  It creates a steam-like cool mist which can be inhaled.  I use it on days when I may have been exposed to lots of people or possible carriers of the virus, to help clear my sinuses and lungs.  (See Dr. Mercola's website for exact details on healing with h2o2.)  Take good care of yourself and know that if you do, you are going to be safe.  Then you can hold good thoughts and be well.  And, please enjoy this 7 minute video.

Disclaimer:
Please be advised that I am not a doctor.  Nor am I licensed in any healing modality.  However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing.  All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for.  After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries.  Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs could be dangerous for you to try.  So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol.  However, because most medical professionals have very little experience regarding natural healing programs that involve foods and herbal medicine, please be understanding if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

 
© Josephine Laing 2020 

 

 

 

Preventing Rotator Cuff Re-injury (Part 3 in My Rotator Cuff Series)

In this twelve minute video, Josephine shares the specific exercises that she uses several times a week.  They have allowed her to strengthen her shoulders and prevent the frequent rotator cuff re-injuries which she used to regularly suffer from.  Please enjoy this wonderfully instructive video that may also help you to keep your shoulders nice and strong and injury free.

 

Disclaimer:
As a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life.  Please be advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try. So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.

© Josephine Laing 2020

My Experience at IONS with the Exceptional Healers Study Part 2

Part Two: An Overview of My Methods and How You Can Apply Them In Your Own Life

The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) recently asked me to be on a panel webinar discussing some of the results from their Exceptional Healer Study, which I had participated in last June as an energetic healer.  Here are some of the ideas that I shared during the second half of the webinar which was titled: Consciousness & Healing: Energy Medicine — The Intersection of Mind, Body, and Spirit

I was asked to explain the mechanism of how I did my work during the study.  I shared that it was much like how I do my work at home, only it was an abbreviated version.  After having been hooked up to the scientific measuring wires myself, and while the client was being hooked up to their wires and getting settled into their chair, in the big steel box, I proceeded with my usual internal clearing protocol.  This involves using my imagination to ground and center myself.  Then I invite in my higher self, feel my aura, focus on my heart and then reach out into the greater environment.  After this, I ground the room and the earth and call upon protection, along with peace on earth and beyond.  Then I move into my psychology, reminding myself that we are all equally precious, that I stand on my own values, and am fearless in the face of challenges.  I also remind myself that the Universe shares one benevolent consciousness with me and with everyone and that I trust that love. I focus myself in my joy, love myself and always expect the best, free from attachment to outcome, while being centered in the present moment.  Finally, I run my chakras and then focus my awareness on the iridescent white light chakra just above my head.

From there I use my intention to connect with my client and allow our combined higher self to inform me of what is going on in their bodies.  It is a lot like trying on someone else's coat.  These are the techniques that I teach my students, and I often offer parts of them in great details in my podcasts, which are free on my website, stepintomagic.com.  

I then shared how I usually receive an opening image that informs me about the beauty of the soul whom I am having the pleasure of connecting with.  This image often serves as a guiding light for the reading.  And anything that is present in that person that is not in harmony with their true nature then reveals itself for healing.  Sometimes the helpful course of action comes in the form of lifestyle changes, or changes in diet, perhaps with helpful herbs.  Sometimes there can be perceptions and beliefs that the person has which limits them and can prevent their true expression.  As images and sensations arise, I share them and make a few scribbled notes and drawings of them.

The union of our hearts, in the present moment, with full acceptance and love, shows me who they are, their unique part to play, in the vast contextual whole, of that great jigsaw puzzle of life.  It also allows them to open up to the love that they have for themselves, for who they are and for who they would truly love to be, and are, indeed, meant to be.  This helps them to liberate themselves from what ever is blocking their ease.  And herein is where the mind, body, spirit connection lies.  It is the union of: the true purpose, inspired by spirit, held precious and dear by the heart/mind and manifested by the body.  This is where the interaction of energetic healing comes alive.  This is what positively activates our psychoneuroimmunology into a healing mode.

Unfortunately healing techniques of the energetic nature, such as: laying on of hands, shamanic work, medical intuition, calling in the holy spirit or quantum touch are not very commonly accepted in our culture because we have a very left brain dominant view of how life should be conducted.  Now, it is important to say that we absolutely need both halves of our brains in order to function.  We can't walk down the hall and speak without both hemispheres in full operation.  But, we definitely have a tendency to favor the left brain focus when it comes to our cultural emphasis.  

You will recognize the traits and focus of the left brain here.  It is linear, analytic and factual.  It focuses on the past, with what has happened before and it holds concerns about the future.  The left brain also values established routines, it likes what is familiar.  It is responsible for our feeling individuated as a separate self.  And, funnily enough, the left brain tends to be somewhat dismissive of right brain skills and values.  

(As an aside, I think it is our preference for the left brain view that has resulted in a materialistic or mechanistic view of nature and the cosmos.)
 
Our right brain, by contrast is focused on non-conventional approaches to life.  It is spontaneous and is involved in spatially related endeavors like how our bodies move through space, dancing or building sand castles.  The right brain dwells in the present moment and is also where our sensual perceptions arise, including our psychic senses.  The right brain favors new and novel solutions to problems.  It engages the imagination and creativity, often while we are being idle, dwelling in the present moment, not thinking of anything.  It is the right brain that brings forth, to our conscious awareness, insights and inspirations.  This is part of why meditation is so valuable.  It helps to put us in that right brain space of oneness, where we have access to all.  

(I feel that the right brain point of view is more aligned with our Quantum Mechanical view of science.) 

Since our culture is so very left brain dominant, in order for us to achieve greater balance both individually and societally, it benefits us to engage in right brain activities.  These can include: sitting idly or meditating, walking in nature, dancing, singing, and listening to or playing music.  

Children are often still quite balanced in their right and left brains and they tend to exhibit wonderful right brain oriented behaviors.  They play and pretend, using their imaginations.  It would be great for us, as adults, to do some of that too.  And doing anything that involves a sense of humor, laughing or cracking jokes is great, because it involves the sense of surprise.  Telling stories or finding images in clouds, engaging in dream interpretation and drawing are all right brain dominant activities that we can easily cultivate and add into our daily routines.

When it comes to how we can help ourselves to become more perceptive in terms of our own health and healing and what might be needed there, I shared that letting go of the cultural model of being the tough farm boy type, who keeps on working even though he has injured himself, would be a good place to start.  It brings great benefit when we allow ourselves to be more sensitive.  If something is wrong, all we need to do is to take a few breaths and ask ourselves what we can do to help make things right again.  There is an unending wealth of inner knowing available to all of us if we simply take the time to ask and then listen from within.  And to begin to do this with others, we just need to center ourselves in our hearts, free from any preconceived agenda.

Dr. Garret Yount then spoke to how we might be able to use a scientific model to demonstrate how energetic healing work takes place and he shared three possible ideas.  The first was by some sort of energy or chi that is transmitted from the healer to the patient.  Thus the term "Energy Healing."  The second possibility is through the subconscious where we share and exchange knowledge but are unaware of it.  The third involved the use of telepathy sent from the mind of the healer to the client with the intention of restoring balance.  But it seemed to me that the third model was better postulated through the heart to heart connection, with a genuine sense of love happening between the two, going both ways, as if we were one.  We both liked that idea.

I feel that the heart is were the real power lies.  It is where we harmonize with our interconnected oneness, in the present moment, in that vast sea of the acceptance of our true nature as infinite beings.

At that point, Helané asked me if I might have a practice that I could recommend for our listeners.  And I did.  It is an open eyed meditation, that I love to do, focusing on the present moment. 

Here it is now:
Using your five senses, one at a time, starting with hearing, see if you can hear something in your environment, right now.  Perhaps you can hear a bird song, or the sound of the wind in the trees.  Give yourself a moment to listen.
You may have noticed that you didn't have any thoughts while you were listening.

Now, vision.  Let your eyes settle on something right in front of you.  Notice its color and texture and how the light bounces off of it.  Now, while still looking at the object straight ahesd, see if you can notice, with your peripheral vision something just to the left of it.  What does that look like?  Notice the colors and textures that you can see.
Again, you may have noticed that you didn't have any thoughts while you were looking.

Moving on to our sense of touch.  Can you feel the fabric of your clothes touching your body anywhere?  How about your hands, where are they resting, what does the surface they are on feel like?
If you are focusing here and now, there are no thoughts.

Taste.  Perhaps there is something lingering in your mouth, the residue of a cookie or a cup of coffee.  I'll sometimes lick my hand to see if it has a taste.
Again, more time without any thoughts.

Smell.  Can you smell anything in your environment.  Maybe there is something blooming in the garden.  I sometimes smell my skin.

We can do this meditation for just a moment or two for each sense, or we can really soak in it and take ten or more minutes on each of our senses.  It does offer a refreshing break from all of the constant chatter of our thinking mind, which, by the way, always takes place in the left brain.  The whole time that we were doing this meditation together, we were definitely more in our right brains than our left brains.  And, then later, once we have become familiar with this meditation, we can then begin to use our imaginations at the start, and allow ourselves to open up to perceiving with our psychic senses: clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, etc.

Practice brings it closer and closer.

I then explained that I also like to give homework, but perhaps it is better described as homeplay, because it really is quite lovely.  It's sort of like the game of pretend that we all played as children, using our imaginations.  This is another great right brain exercise.  It helps us to begin to enter into oneness.

Here it is:
Take some time, a couple of times this week, for just a moment or two, to think of one of your loved ones, someone that you are near to or spending some time with, a family member or a friend, and try to imagine what it is like to be them.  Just for a second.  Let yourself try them on, like a coat, and allow yourself to connect heart to heart with them.  Perhaps they are with you in the kitchen before dinner and are opening up a bottle of wine or maybe they are across town, playing volleyball or walking their dog.  What might it feel like to be in their body, just for half a minute.  What might they be thinking or feeling in that moment.  This can increase our compassion for each other and it open us up to our sense of oneness. 

This is how we can open ourselves to animal communication or plant communication, as well.  Whoever it was who came up with the term, "anthropomorphizing" did a lot for promoting the left brain dominant view of the world by making it seem like a silly thing to think that animals or plants could possibly be sentient beings with intelligences and characteristics not too unlike our own.  And, of course, now we know that various researchers have shown that both animals and plants not only feel, they communicate, they care for their young, look for food, find comfort and use tools, differently from us, indeed, but really, just like we do.

I was asked if I felt that people can do energy healing remotely and I responded that remote healing is exclusively what I do and that my clients call me back for more, so it must be working otherwise, why would they.  I was also asked if this is a skill that any one can do.  My feeling on this is that yes, everyone can do it.  People do seem to have natural tendencies and skills.  Families that focus on economics, with a father who is a banker and a mother who is a mortgage broker will likely have children who are good with numbers.  I think natural propensities can be both inherited and learned.  But, as I like to say, everyone of us can learn to play the piano.  If we sit down and practice, long enough, we'll get there.  The same holds true for psychic ability.  I happen to have psychic skills in several close relatives on either side of my family line.  I also happen to have a number of relatives with a scientific bent.  And both of those come easy for me.  Mathematics, not so much.  But if I really work at it, I can do it.  So, yes, I do feel that we can all learn any psychic skill.  

I also feel that we all do already have, typically, some degree of natural psychic ability.  We commonly speak of our gut reactions, or déjà vu, some even have been touched in one way or another by a deceased loved one.  We have lucky socks or watches and we trust our dream impressions.  We already believe and culturally accept these lower level examples of psychic skills without question.  We are just on the verge of stretching ourselves a little bit farther into an arena that will expand our consciousness into a whole 'nother realm, embracing telepathy, premonitions and energetic remote healing.

In closing I'd like to thank the Emerald Gate Foundation, who was inspired to fund this study, and thereby help to open the eyes of humanity to our greater potentiality, and for the benefit of us all.  Their support will continue to not only give genuine scientific credibility to energy healing modalities, but it will also help us to free our selves from the limiting thoughts and beliefs, of our left brain dominant culture, that are not only holding us back socially, but also potentially harming us and the world around us gravely, through preventing us from seeing the depth of beauty and healing that is readily available, all around us, permeating our shared consciousness, and uniting us all, in love.

© Josephine Laing 2020

My Experience at IONS with the Exceptional Healers Study: Part 1

Part One:  The Scope and Breadth of the Project

The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) recently invited me to be a part of a three person panel, webinar on Zoom, discussing the early results from their Exceptional Healer Study, conducted last June.  Nearly a thousand listeners joined us on-line, from around the world, some just before tucking into their beds in Europe, others with their very early morning cup of tea, down under, in Australia. 

Here are some of the parameters and findings that were shared during the first half of the webinar which was titled: Consciousness & Healing: Energy Medicine — The Intersection of Mind, Body, and Spirit  

 Dr. Helané Wahbeh, Director of Research, and the major organizer of this entire project, started us off with a brief explanation of psychoneuroimmunology, which is a very long word indicating how our glandular system can affect our nervous system, which in turn can affect our immune system and visa versa, with each one potentially affecting the others.  This was given as a model for how energy healing might work.  A healer could potentially positively affect one or more aspects of a client's psychoneuroimmunology and then the client could potentially feel better.  

Dr. Garret Yount described the design of the study.  He said that the primary goal of this study was to see if energy healing could reduce levels of pain.  Carpal tunnel syndrome was the disease condition that was chosen for the study.  The study involved having clients, who were suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, come to the IONS campus and allow measurements of their heart rate, brain waves, nervous system conductivity and many other physical tests.  They also answered an extensive questionaire, which in part revealed if they believed energy healing could be effective.  The clients would then have a healing session, with their healer, in a big steel box, ten foot square, which had additional measuring devices, some of which they were hooked up to, like the electrocardiogram or EKG.  Immediately after the healing session the same measurements were taken again to find if there would be a before and after affect.  And then the clients came back to IONS three weeks later to have the tests run a third time, to see if any of the potential changes were lasting.

Dr. Yount also gave us a glimpse into the scope of this research project, which was extensive.  All of the seven full-time scientists at IONS were put to work overseeing various aspects of the task.  A number of research assistants were hired to help.  Statisticians and a project manager jumped into the fray along with a number of additional support people and volunteers.  Then, there were the seventeen energetic healers, representing a variety of healing modalities, all of whom had global acclaim and testimonials for their excellence.  In addition, there were the one hundred and eighty-seven clients, each with carpal tunnel syndrome, hoping to improve their levels of pain. 

During the webinar, I explained that I felt these volunteer clients were very courageous to come up a long twisty road, get poked and prodded by a bunch of scientists in white lab coats, and then go into a steel box that was just like a bank vault, feeling not unlike a cage, with all sorts of gizmos and machines that were recording, who knows what, all while being hooked up to wires and sitting with a couple of people that they have never met before.  I think that takes some bravery.  And they did this not only for themselves, for their possible reduction of pain and avoidance of surgery, but also, for the benefit of us all, showing that energy medicine is not some fake "Woo woo" thing, but that it is real and as the results have thus far demonstrated, very effective as well. 

I was amazed by how many scientific measuring devices were in that little steel room.  There were four magnets in each of the corners of the ceiling and four more in the corners of the floor, plus one discretely tucked under a lovely reclining chair, which was placed in the middle of the room, for the client. I had my little chair and folding writing table, and our "seer," a clairvoyant and sensitive, had her chair as well.  She sat quietly in the corner, writing notes and drawing pictures of her perceptions, during the healing sessions, recording what she perceived was going on energetically.  A thermometer hung on the lamp pole and there was a low cabinet with a dark curtain hanging down in front of it.  On it's shelves were several computers and interesting looking recording devices.  These included the EKG's or heart monitors, one for my heart and one for the client's heart.  There was also a random number generator and several other machines that I couldn't identify.  

One of the machines was designed by Loren Carpenter, one of the IONS scientists and founder of Pixar.  He is an internationally acclaimed scientist in the field of computer graphics.  I called his device 'the pileoerection machine' because it had a host of short electrical wires poking up from the back of it, looking not unlike goosebumps or hairs standing on end.  It was apparently able to record the vibes in the room.  Extraordinary!  Near the end of the week, he casually approached me and showed me what looked like a little tiny black piece of plastic.  He mentioned that the entire amount of data collected from all of the machines, during the previous six weeks of observations, was stored there.  Amazing!

Dr. Yount had said that the primary goal of this study was to reduce levels of pain.  He showed us that the pain levels, on average, went down from: before the healing session at around a four, (out of a scale using one as minimal pain and ten as maximal pain,) to around a two immediately following the healing session.  And that they had only risen to around a two and a half, three weeks later, after the healing sessions.  These are very good results and Dr. Yount explained that they were on par with the effects that would be expected with a successful pharmeceutical drug intended for use for pain.  He also explained that in the case of using a pharmeceutical drug, the medication would need to be taken daily, whereas these results, from this study, came with only one twenty minute long session with an energetic healer.  So these were very good results indeed.   

Lots of other measures were taken, besides the levels of pain.  These were referred to as secondary measures.  IONS wanted to see if there would be improvements in psychological responses.  One example was 'pain interference,' where pain interferes in one's life.   For instance, would the pain cause the inability to pick up a grandchild, therefore adversely affecting feelings of connectedness.  And there were positive results there as well.  Another area of secondary measures was environmental.  IONS wanted to see if things like the bonds of water were affected, since our bodies are made mostly of water.  And the chemical bonds in water were affected.  A third area of secondary measures was physiological, looking at changes that might happen in the bodies of the clients, things like genes and heart rates.  And indeed, positive changes occurred.  

One very revealing observation that was made involved the "expectancy and beliefs" of the clients, which was inquired about, with their questionaire, both before and after their healing session.  Interestingly enough, if there was a placebo effect, the results would have shown a correlation between what participants expected and believed would happen prior to their healing session and what did actually happen after their healing session.  Instead, the results showed that there was no correlation between expectancy and beliefs of the client and the results of the client's pain relief.  So, what the client expected and believed might happen, had no affect on the outcome.  Thus, "the placebo" was not in effect for this study.

Then, Dr. Wahbeh asked me to explain how I do what I do.  I shared that my psychic skill spontaneously arose within me.  When it first started, I was in my early thirty's and thought I was going crazy.  If I was standing in line at the grocery store, I would begin to feel something like kidney pain or really sharp back pain.  I might see the person standing in front of me put their hand on their back and wince a little.  So, I'd change lanes and the pain would go away.  But then someone else might get in line behind me and they would be scowling and rubbing their forehead and suddenly I'd start to feel a severe headache coming on.  If I changed lanes again, it too would go away.  I felt like a human sponge, like I was taking on everyone else's aches and pains.  It was scary and terrible and I thought I was loosing it, mentally. 

Fortunately, I went to see a chiropractor, who had helped me to heal from some injuries and other problems.  He was a kindly, elderly gentleman and he essentially came to my rescue because he was open minded and familiar with Edgar Cayce's work.  Dr. Cayce was a clairvoyant healer, who reached great acclaim for his many successes while practicing in the earlier part of the last century.  My chiropractor friend recognized my perceptual ability as being very similar to Edgar Cayce's and helped me to not be afraid and to instead hone my skills. 

This changed the course of my life, and my psychic ability, which started out as one of my biggest challenges soon became one of my greatest blessings.  In the crucible of my chiropractor's office, during his off hours, and using only a patient intake card, I was able to help him identify a given patient's problems, by using my psychic perceptual abilities.  To our mutual delight, it was very effective and helped him to heal his clients.  This taught me the importance of doing what we love.  Almost nothing brought me more joy than working in this way.  It thrilled us both and we absolutely loved it.  It was a very wonderful and productive time.  

As my service took hold, and I further developed my preparatory protocol of meditating and clearing myself and using my intention to hold to the highest good for all, over time, that sponge like quality gradually went away.  And, while I was working, sensing on another's behalf, I found that I could ask to simply know, rather than feel, what was going on in someone else's body.

I explained that only a few short years before, I had earned a degree in horticulture and had planned on spending my life doing something along those lines.  But, clearly the universe had a different idea in mind for me because, pretty soon, word got out and people started calling, requesting my help.  One person would tell another and before I knew it, I had served thousands of people from all over the world, using my skills, doing remote healing work, over the telephone.  Isn't that amazing?  And I've never done any advertising; it has all been through 'word of mouth.'

With that, I'll leave the rest of the story, about the actual mechanism of my psychic skill and how with practice, you could learn how to do it too, for Part Two, which I will post for you, sometime in the middle of next month.

© Josephine Laing 2020