healing

Have you ever heard of bitter melon? This highly-medicinal fruit-vegetable hybrid is beneficial when eaten raw or juiced.

Bitter melon sure is pretty, but looks can be very deceiving. When eaten raw, bitter melon has a taste that can only be described as well, bitter — with a hint of cabbage. Doesn’t sound too appetizing, does it? Well, I was willing to look past the awful taste in order to get some of that bitter, bitter nectar in my body. It’s often the most awful tasting foods that end up being the best for you.

Tiny threads of orangish-gold, staining clothes for monks and sanyasa, dying milk to support digestion, sprinkled for spells of love, costing upwards of $1000/pound --  the status of Saffron is that of royalty, and has been for thousands of years.

Mother Nature literally provides us with everything we need, in every aspect. This first aid kit is made from simple plants or plant products that are easy to come by and well-known.

These 7 items I am going to discuss are the very basic components of Mother Nature’s First Aid Kit. It’s possible you have all of these items in your kitchen or growing out in your yard already. That’s right, the very weeds along your sidewalk could be benefiting you in a big way!

What star sign were you born under? What effect does it have on your life, if any? As the sun has recently moved into the constellation of Sagittarius, a peek at the gemstone of the month will shed a bit of light on both the energy available within this slice of the zodiac as well as on the people born during the archer's arrows.

A Bit of History

With striated, blue Kyanite in one hand and magical, colorful Labradorite in the other, I can feel my energy body aligning. I literally can. These two powerful stones have been two of my best friends over the years. I still wear Labradorite daily as one who reminds me of the magical nature of my being. You too can gain incredible insights and peel back layers of the dream by aligning with Kyanite and Labradorite cyrstals.

Kyanite

The American Holistic Medical Association was founded in May, 1978, to bring together those few physicians who were open to looking at the whole person—body, mind, emotions and spirit. To some extent, this reflected the foundation emphasized by my medical school Chair of Medicine, Eugene A. Stead, Jr., whose favorite statement was “What this patient needs is a real doctor.” He never defined the meaning but demonstrated it in his teaching.  Listen to the patient!

I saw it in a crystal shop in Pune, India, and I couldn't put it down. It was calling to me. Something inside urged me to listen and I held it next to my navel center as I sorted through the array of stone carved bowls, silk scarves and other delicate trinkets. Its color was warm, comforting and powerful. I felt stronger and more able to see what would unfold for me from there after the soul-transformative experience I had just engaged in for the previous four months. This Citrine had to come home with me, there was no doubt.

Accidentally letting the smooth piece of Malachite drop from my hand onto the hard cement floor, I saw a corner fly off. This was before I was aware of the 2 rating this stone has on the Mohs scale – which basically means it is one of the softest stones there is (Diamonds rate a 10 – the hardest). This is when it came into my awareness that you could powder this stone easily in a mortar and pestle, as the Egyptians did, who often used this stone as eye make up to ward off evil.

There is just something about the great outdoors that makes us feel alive. The fresh air, flowing water, and life everywhere.

There is so much more to Mother Earth’s medicine than just the plants provided. If I were a doctor I would fill out prescriptions for camping trips and outdoor events. Two of the most important things doctors will tell you is to get a lot of fresh air and to drink plenty of water, but that’s simply the beginning of it. The healing goes as deep as a tree’s roots travel and flows much like a steady river.

Panchakarma is a highly restorative and detoxifying therapeutic treatment used in Ayurvedic medicine. Deriving from the Sanskrit language, pancha meaning “five” and karma meaning “actions,” Panchakarma is a healing treatment that uses a variety of procedures to cleanse the body, revitalize the immune system and re-establish mental and physical balance. It is a completely unique experience for each person and is individualized based on the individual’s particular needs.