Changing perspectives, widening the view
In explaining the various physiological (how things work in the body) and pathological (how they go wrong) processes that my patients go through and then the different phases of healing (how things come right again and return to normal), I often use the same methods of explaining and I have realised that it’s just a way of thinking…I need to get you thinking in a certain way, understanding life with Natural Glasses on instead of the polaroids that have been the rage for the last 100 years…
Surely by now, we all realise that narrow-minded thinking in any area is going to get us nowhere? We need to broaden our views and start “thinking naturally”…this is a way of thinking that brings one back to the way things were intended and made, if we can understand the basic laws of Nature, we will have the answers to many of life’s questions. From how nature works to how our body’s work and how things go wrong, and what medicines to use that make sense. For me it’s simple, it’s the way I think, I was born like this, nobody told me, taught me or explained it to me but I figured it out along my life’s journey. Needless to say, I am only excited to learn all that I am yet to learn but more excited to begin sharing my insights…take ’em or leave ’em!
I find that if you just look to Nature you get all the answers…modern day man has gone against the grain, competed against Nature, turned Nature into the enemy and has, in a ridiculously short space of time, made this planet a precarious place to live. Exciting times we live in with all that is opening up to us on a technological level, but at what cost? Man needs to make a change…and not soon…NOW! No one can ignore it anymore, and that means on ALL levels of life, if we don’t want to be shaken off the planet. Believe me, the latest technology is no match for Mother Nature. When or if the tipping point is reached, she will just shake us off and start again. Scientists reckon we are not far away from the next mass extinction at this rate.
But Nature knows how to bounce back, there’s no-one directing her, no scientists making things happen or trying to stop them from happening, left to her own devices Nature resets the balance and re-creates order. There may be some turbulence along the way, some ups and downs, but in the end balance is restored. A mere 26 years after the Chernobyl disaster, the irradiated city that was entirely abandoned by humans bounced back to a thriving ecosystem, with wonderful flora and fauna.
So, it’s clearly a case of we need the Earth, She really doesn’t need us, nor does any animal species on the planet need us to survive. In fact, they’d ALL, without exception, be better off without us, WE are not the most important on Earth, even though we behave like we are. It is time for each and every one of us to stand up and be counted, to realise our own significance in the greater scheme, not insignificance like we are taught, but what impact our individual actions do have on the Earth. To promise to stop being selfish and to begin to respect Mother Earth and the wisdom of creation, the NATURAL WAY and to stop chasing the quick fixes and chemical/technological and most often toxic answers that only leave devastation in their wake…it’s time to leave the Age of Convenience behind, apologise to Mother Earth and return to an understanding, symbiotic relationship with our world, our Creator and ultimately each other.
Everything works in cycles; time and the calendar, planetary and astrological cycles; climate, geology, agriculture, biology, medical (brain waves, menstrual cycles, heart rhythms), in physics: waves, frequencies & amplitudes; the electromagnetic spectrum, sound waves: music and rhythm, in religions, social and cultural cycles, economy and business, and even military and war.
The sooner people realise that there is an ebb and flow about life they can relax in the knowledge that “this too shall pass”, that nothing is forever or permanent and that the only constant in life is change. This is what it means to be alive. And that change is a PROCESS, a movement of smaller changes/oscillations towards an extreme and then a movement back towards a midline. And when something blocks/alters the natural flow of things, then it must be stopped/ removed so that the norm can be restored. The process of removing the blockage takes the normal cycle out of its way, often necessitating a different, often unpleasant process in order to remove it, however it is short-lived if the process is effective and the blockage is then removed and balance/order is restored, this too is a normal and natural response and not something to be feared.
The same kind of processes happen in all of these cycles, I think people are now beginning to see that financial markets go through ups and downs, and we are either ‘coming out of the recession’ or moving into another one, but we’re all still here. What it does teach us is what to prioritise, back to basics and to take note of the important things in life first, not to be so reliant on the systems and what basics of knowledge we do have that we can rely on. To stop being so materialistic and we now question whether something is really important enough to spend money on.
The same thinking must follow with your health, because we are Natural beings, created by the same Creator as the rest of Nature, to live in harmony with the Earth, to be an integral part of all aspects of Nature and to rely on them for our evolution. Understand that things are cyclical and that there are NATURAL processes for how things work (physiological) and how things react/respond and natural/normal processes for the removal of blockages from the system (healing processes) that when understood make perfect sense and are not pathological (diseased) and it would just be illogical (and in my personal opinion) insane to try and stop them, in most cases. Always, however, each and every person’s case must be assessed and best choices made in the moment, and yes, sometimes this should include a conventional medical intervention, but only when necessary.
Natural medicines only help the natural processes to unblock and restore balance, homeostasis, and can be used very effectively in many and most conditions. So, why not put some Natural sunglasses on and see the world in an entirely new way and make a resolution to embrace the Natural Way.
So, what is the Natural Way? Does that mean we have to become hippies and sprout our own microgreens and grow a Scoby? Haha, not unless you want to… What it means is to understand that just like Nature in its diversity, there are many ways in which we need Nature to support us on a daily basis, as well as when its necessary to include Nature’s Medicines and therapies into the healing process.
We are required to nourish our bodies with all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, macro and micronutrients, fibre, microorganisms, and oxygen required to efficiently maintain and run this biological machine. We are required to maximise detoxification and elimination of wastes from our biological machines. We are required not to pollute our bodies with toxic chemicals that are hard to detoxify and eliminate and either use valuable resources in their metabolism or must be stored somewhere as they cannot be eliminated. We are required to live in a clean and viable environment that supports our biological needs and does not contribute to our degeneration. Are we doing this?
What’s the first step?
Eat clean! Start looking at the food you consume more critically. Is this likely to be contributing to my health or my disease? You’ll know the answer 9/10 times, for sure. Start choosing to nourish yourself.
Visit a health practitioner, functional medicine dietician, nutritionist or someone to help with this if you need some guidance on what foods to eliminate and what to include. Healthy food can taste nice, I promise.
Start looking at your cleaning products, personal body care and household. The more chemicals you are exposed to, the more toxic you are and the harder your body has to work and the more load it is carrying. Let alone when a virus hits.
Clean water. Filter your water, please. This is a significant source of toxic chemicals and is stripped of all the goodness. So choose a good filter that also re-mineralises your water if possible.
Supplements: My take is always FOOD FIRST, but there are many nutrients lacking in foods and are best supplemented to get optimal levels. The old-fashioned RDA is the bare minimum of what is required to prevent a deficiency, and to be honest, I wouldn’t trust that data as far as I could throw it. New understandings are continuously being uncovered in research and we only know what we know and cannot possibly assume these to be correct. Regardless, who wants to be just not diseased? Is that really not diseased?
Optimal levels ensure that all systems that require that same nutrient, and there are many, are adequately nourished and are able to support their processes. And then there should also be some in reserve for when any additional stress is placed on the system the affected systems can use it to maintain an effective corrective response. It’s here that our health begins to come apart at the seams, slowly edging itself down the slope towards disease. It’s quite something to know just how much in control of it we actually are. We are complicit in our own demise.
Please see your healthcare practitioner if you need guidance on what supplements you should and shouldn’t be taking. I usually run blood tests on specific nutrients that can be measured in this way and that are critical to the healthy functioning of many systems and overall body processes, like iron and vitamin D. I am appalled at the amount of anaemia I diagnose in patients. This vital nutrient that literally carries the currency of life, Oxygen, that every single cell relies on at every moment…how well do you think your body can perform with sub-optimal levels of just oxygen?
Natural Medicines and Therapies come in when there are presenting symptoms that are ongoing in any sphere: mental, physical and emotional. Imbalances in our biology can create symptoms that show up in our bodies but also in our minds and emotions and vice versa. No-one feels motivated and energetic to go out and meet friends when just showering makes you exhausted. How are you going to make it through the party, talking and chatting? And anyway, I have another headache…sad, lonely, depressed…anaemic.
Natural Medicines include Homeopathy, a very gentle, all inclusive healing modality that urges your body to make the changes towards health. Profound and deep acting medicine that I am still in awe of seeing it work.
Herbal Medicines or Phytotherapy is the use of plant medicines by way of prescription for specific illnesses, ailments or to support the body’s healing in specific ways. This will include medically diagnosing what is wrong with the patient and choosing a prescription that supports that diagnosis. Many over the counter preparations exist and much folklore knowledge gratefully remains to retain these healing tools in the hands of many, making Mom’s still the most important front-line doctors of all. All traditional herbal medicines fall into this category, Western, Ayurveda (according to its principles), African Herbal and others.
Traditional Chinese Medicine, including Acupuncture, is an unparalleled healing tool, in my opinion. The understanding of health and disease through this lens of TCM is the most accurate I have yet to learn and the most reliable in how it supports the current state of disorder and stimulates healing. Like restoring the flow of water to a drought stricken area, TCM has the incredible ability of breaking down stagnation, removing debris and restoring the flow of qi, blood and essence to allow Nature to re-balance herself, following the laws of the Universe. It is beautiful to witness.
Other body therapies that I feel are vital to restoring and maintaining health and well being are Chiropractic, Therapeutic Massage and Craniosacral Therapy. Our regular life puts us out of alignment, the way we sit, lie, sleep, walk, stand, twist, constantly look down at our screens, over strains certain muscle groups and makes us hold certain joints in altered positions for extended periods of time. We therefore put undue stress on certain parts and cause spasms and knots, not to mention the knots we get in our muscles and necks with tension and worry. All this impedes blood flow, lymph flow and causes stagnations that only lead to imbalanced states. What happens when water sits for too long?
So, we need to regularly nourish our bodies with realignments, releasing tension and allowing free-flow of all circulation. Nothing in Nature is static, everything must continuously move, keep circulating, bring in what is required, remove what is no longer needed, this ensures health and balance and the ability to restore that balance when altered.
See, it’s natural to think this way, its all around us, you see it every day. Perhaps take more note of the cycles of Nature around you and see the wisdom in it. This wisdom is not lost, its just buried under some dusty old science books in the attic…we can find it again! There’s a whole new world waiting to be discovered for humanity, if only we support each other in our efforts to get there.
Dr Catherine Knight
©All rights reserved