Thursday, September 28, 2006

Call for submissions!

Hello everyone! If you've been reading the last several posts, you know that I've started writing a fictional novel about different people's journeys from various states of dis-ease to different levels of health and wellness. This book excites me, not just because I'm finally being paid to write creatively, but because I feel it will be a book that many people find echoes of in their own life. I hope that people's reading of my book will inspire them to find new paths to wellness, spreading health and motivating people to be more active in their pursuit of health.

But (and there's a big but tagged onto this statement), I sure could use some help from all of my friends and readers out there in the blogosphere. If any of you have taken your own journey to health and feel like sharing it, I would love to hear from you. I can draw from my own experiences and the experiences of people with whom I've worked in order to create storylines and meaningful fiction. But I'd really like to get some new ideas and new stories from you!

If you feel like you want to share your story of what you've gone through in an attempt at recreating or finding or maintaining health, be it mental, physical, or emotional, you can contact me by leaving a comment on this blog (by clicking on the 0 comments link) or directly through my email, which is dbarkett@kingbio.com.

On a different note, today is my 35th birthday. I'm finally of presidential age. My family spoiled me by taking me out to dinner where we ate and ate until we had eatn far more than we ever should have. My gastronomic health will be suffering for the next couple of days. Ah, you only turn 35 once, I guess...

Be well. I hope to hear from you.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Journey into Wellness - the beginning

As promised, here's a little bit of what I think might be the beginning of the book, Journeys into Wellness. I sure would appreciate any input into where this is going. Enjoy!

“I’ve had this same dream for almost three months. It’s not every night, but I probably have it at least once a week.” Allison pauses, almost looking for permission to continue speaking. Her friend, Margaret, gently holding a cup of tea, smiles briefly and lifts her steaming cup to her lips, taking a brief silent sip of the fragrant warmth.

“It’s always the same. I’m in a room, a familiar room that I’ve been in my whole life. It’s very dark, and I reach for the light switch, but I can’t find it. I’m left there in the dark, wondering where to turn, where to go, but I can’t see any way out of the dark. What do you think this means?” She turns to her friend, a small woman who has listened to her ramblings on her life for almost three weeks ever since they met waiting in line for coffee.

Margaret’s reply is brief. “What do you think this means?” She takes another sip as she smiles at the other woman across the distance of the small table in the coffee shop.

“I must be searching for something. That much is clear. The darkness is a symbol of something. Maybe my ignorance or my closed mind?”

“Do you feel like your mind is closed?”

“That’s the strange thing. I’m usually a pretty open-minded person. I mean, when I started feeling depressed, I knew I should probably find someone I could speak to in order to sort through my problem. And working with my counselor has definitely helped me get my life back on track. I’m not depressed nearly as much as I was after the separation. But I can’t help but feel like there’s something missing from my personal development. Do I sound crazy to you?”

“On the contrary, I think you sound incredibly sane.”

“I don’t know. Speaking with you has reminded me of the fact that there’s entire world’s out there that I know absolutely nothing about. Maybe since we’ve started hanging out I’ve felt like I want to,” she pauses here, searching for the right word to communicate her need, “grow, or start growing again.” Here she stops and looks awkwardly up from her mug of coffee into the sweetly smiling face of her friend.

“You realize, of course, that growth is rarely simple or painless.” Another silent sip of tea, another smile. “But most of the moments in life we remember are when we’ve grown or had a new experience because of our growth.

“I don’t want to live in the dark any more.” The determination is clear in her voice.

“What you seek is the switch to turn on the light in your life?” She asks, smiling a great big smile, using the language of her friend’s dream.

“Yes! That’s it! I want my life switched back on!” She leans close and lowers her voice. “Please, I don’t know why I think this, but I just get the feeling that you can help me do this. Can you,” she glances side to side as if the two women were collaborators in an intricate plot, “help me?”

“Yes.” Another sip from the chipped mug. “But the real question is, Are you ready to help yourself? Are you truly ready to reevaluate your life in honest terms that leave no room for self-denial and self-doubt? Only then will you be able to create the change you so desperately desire.”

The two women look deeply into one another’s eyes. The connection between the two was felt immediately when they met several weeks ago, but now it was clear that the connection had deepened.

“I’m ready,” she replies in a simple and heartfelt manner.

Her friend smiles at the echo in her life. How many times had she heard that exact simple statement from hundreds of people who had unconsciously sought her out over the years. These people all had found her friendship naturally. Within days, these people began reflecting on their lives, with her as the mirror for their reflection. More than a few of these friends had taken their lives to new levels of experience, of health, of happiness.

“Close your eyes.”

“It’s dark.” A nervous laugh.

“Picture your dream, the dream where you’re looking for your light switch.”

The dark instantly changed for the woman. It became not the pink darkness of light seeping through her eyelids but rather the darkness of her all-too-familiar dream. The darkness became real for her as she listened to the soothing voice of her friend.

“I’m there.”

“Good. You know where the light switch is. It’s just behind you, against the wall to your right. Reach for the wall and find the switch.”

In her mind, she reaches behind her for the switch and finds it on the wall.

“Found it. Should I turn it on?”

“You know what to do. Listen to your body. What does it tell you to do?”

The woman’s face changes, her forehead wrinkling with the introspection this task requires. “I’m turning the lights on.” Her friend raises one eyebrow as she notices this mention of light. There’s only one way to dispel the dark. She watched as her new friend’s face relaxed into an easy smile.

“What do you see?”

“There’s no room at all! As soon as I flipped the switch, the room disappeared. I see this beautiful view of rolling green hills, lush and alive with trees, flowers, and all kinds of life. It is the most peaceful place I’ve ever seen.”

She opens her eyes and looks at her friend with a new appreciation. “How did you do that?”

“I did nothing. It was you. You were always capable of finding that switch. Sometimes it just takes a little nudge in the right direction.”

“I’m sure I’ve never seen that place before, but it felt so right, like I was meant to be there.”

“You are meant to be there. We all are. We are meant to live in a state of peaceful happiness where we feel included, healthy, alive. Many of us spend our lives stuck in the dark, struggling to get free. Do you want to live in the dark now that you’ve been reminded of the light, of the life you can live?”

“Absolutely not. What can I do to stay here in the light?”

“Walk with me.”

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Journeys Into Wellness

Hello everyone! Long time no post.

I've recently been working on a new project with Frank King from King Bio Natural Medicines that has been keeping me awfully busy (that and my job teaching seventh graders how to read and write along with being a husband and a father...). Frank and I have decided to co-author a fictional book where people from various stages and paths in their lives decide to try some alternatives to achieving a healthful state of mind and life. Frank has wanted to write a book like this for years. He's even got file cabinets full of notes he's jotted down over the years that he's always wanted to turn into a book. But, being the CEO of a very busy homeopathic manufacturing company leaves him little time to develop plot and work on character development.

Enter me with my background in writing. I'd worked with Frank in the past helping him write a tiny book called, "Making Homeopathy Easy." It was a thin manual that outlined the basic homeopathic philosophy and process. (Frank and I had met when I was his son's English teacher years ago.) Now that he and I have reconnected, I've been helping polish his articles, brochures, and various other written materials in a way that he appreciates. We've finally been working together enough that he feels comfortable spilling his inspiration onto the page and then letting me turn that inspired rambling into more coherent communications.

Just this weekend I was reading some of his background information for the book concept we'd discussed. In it, he mentioned the idea of health being the light in a life and disease being the darkness. Continuing the metaphor, he stated that the only way to dispell the dark is to turn up the light. I was struck by this image and immediately had a vision of the beginning of our book.

As many of you know who have started a book, we have no idea where it will go, and the final product will probably look vastly different from what we envision currently. But the important thing is that we are working together to build our inspiration.

And it's damn fun to be writing creatively again! I'll post my initial inspiration later this week.

Be well, and share the wellness!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Homeopathy on Oprah?

I'm headed to Myrtle Beach this weekend to get a little alternative healing done with old friends. I sure am looking forward to relaxing with my lady and watching my kids get covered in sand. I found an old surfboard at a garage sale I hope to try out. I promise to let you know how things go.

News from work! Rumor has it that Oprah Winfrey's aunt is conducting some research into alternative healing methods. She is reportedly coming to King Bio for a visit and to check out the latest in homeopathic healing. If this actually works out and if we get a mention on her neice's little show, this could blow the top off of our business. I only hope our infrastructure can handle such a dramatic increase in our exposure.

Again, I promise to keep you updated. It's always exciting to see our message of healing spreading to the masses!

Be well. I'll be thinking of you while I'm lazily digging my toes into the sand.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

My new and improved brain chemistry (and a less gross title for this entry!)

As many of you already know, I've been getting help from the Great Smokies Medical Center in an attempt at solving some of the health concerns that brought my life to the brink of disaster fairly recently. After much consternation, worry, and a test of my urine, Pam, the wonderful nurse practitioner, decoded my results and proclaimed that, yes, my brain was suffering under a variety of neurotransmitter imbalances. She started me on a regimen of amino acids and vitamins that subsequently turned my urine consistently into the color of a glow stick while at the same time provided me with a modicum mood stabilization.

Well, today, three months later, I took the next step towards wellness. I packed off the latest collection of my urine after a twelve hour fast and a limiting of my liquids. Dealing with a class full of seventh graders without having eaten wasn't as bad as doing it without having rehydrated that morning! Anyways, around 9:30 I was able to follow through with the very specific sample collection instructions and, utilizing our amazing postal service, sent my tiny vial off to the NeuroScience labs somewhere in Florida.

The hope is that by having taken the supplements Pam at the Great Smokies Medical Center had prescribed, my body (namely my adrenals and thyroid) would begin producing the necessary neurotransmitters at the appropriate levels on their own again. It would be nice to reduce the amount of supplements I've been taking. But then again, seeing as how those supplements have truly saved my marriage and made me a better and more patient father, if I have to take them for the rest of my life, it's a small price to pay.

In about three weeks I should get my results back. I'm crossing my fingers that my body has decided to cooperate. We'll see. I promise to keep you updated.

Be well.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

User Friendly Homeopathy, Changes in Homeopathic Labeling

Check out the moves afoot in Great Britain with regards to new labeling on homeopathic remedies. The British Homeopathic Association is currently reworking the over-the-counter rules governing what can be stated on the labels of homeopathic remedies. Many traditional homeopaths here in the states stick firmly with the belief that all homeopathic remedies should be prescribed by a certified homeopath and administered using a very specific and time-consuming process. It sounds like the Brits might be willing to loosen this rigid perspective a bit.

The link below takes you to some of the dialogue taking place in Britain. The general consensus seems to be that making homeopathic remedies for certain conditions like colds allergies more easily identified and utilized will help more people find the healing possible through homeopathy. Could this be a crack in the stern exterior of classical homeopathy in favor of a more user-friendly approach?

http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&useSecondary=true&ssDocName=CON2024653&ssTargetNodeId=389

Check out the link. Europe is quite a bit ahead of the US in terms of homeopathic acceptance (mostly because their homeopathic community didn't have to survive the assualt from the American Medical Association). But hopefully the US homeopathic market won't be far behind. The more people able to access the healing power of homeopathic remedies, the better!

Be well and love one another...

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Scientific Research on Homeopathy

Many of the critics of homeopathy like to state that homeopathy's effectiveness is nothing more than the placebo effect. They claim that there is no science behind homeopathy, that what these homeopathic manufacturers are selling is merely fancy, purified, and expensive water. No more, I say! Science is finally catching up to homeopathy.

Check out the link I've listed below on some of the latest research on homeopathy in clinical double blind studies. The research showed how homeopathy can be effective in a variety of ailments. Fibromyalgia, allergies (the benefits of which I've experienced first hand), influenza-like conditions, the pain of lactogenesis (women have it tough!), the prevention of acute radio dermatitis, even the treatment of arsenic poisoning, diarrhea, and hyperactivity in children have all been helped homeopthically, studied clinically, and shown to be more effective than a placebo or no treatment at all.

http://www.boiron.com/en/htm/04_recherche_homeo/recherche_clinique_03.htm

I'm not trying to convince the septics, uh, I mean skeptics, of the efficacy of homeopathy. Rather, if you're one of the millions out there who have experienced one of these ailments and have been failed by modern medicine, try homeopathy. Homeopathy's focus on finding the root cause of the illness and addressing that root cause in order to help the body heal itself can create a truly transformative healing state. Homeopathy is not a magic solution. Nor is it a silver bullet that heals overnight. But, when used consistently, effectively, and with the guidance of a professional, homeopathy offers another path to healing.

And that can't be all bad, now can it?

My father is fond of quoting Frost.

"...Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

Don't be afraid to walk on that new path. Perhaps it will make all the difference for you, too!

As always, be well my friends.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Homeopathic Emergency Alternatives

Once upon a time, America had many homeopathic hospitals, homeopathic schools, and homeopathic doctors. When the AMA came on the scene some time in the late 19th and early 20th century, they worked diligently to suppress the hard work of the homeopaths and to discredit and close down those hospitals and schools that were utilizing the homeopathic healing philosophy. This, of course, has led us to today's version of health care (or as I like to call it, disease care).

More and more often people are finding that the medicine they've always relied on doesn't have all the answers they need to live healthy and complete lives. All too often they become trapped in the cycle of suppressing symptoms, which then creates a facade of health. You've probably found this blog as part of your search for alternative answers to your health concerns.

Working as I have for the last several months with King Bio Natural Medicine, I've tried to educate myself on homeopathy and its ability to create true health. In posting on the forums at Hpathy.com, I participated in a lively discussion about the combination remedies Dr. King makes at King Bio. These combination remedies are usually snubbed by the classical homeopaths, but lately it seems that a little window has opened in the minds of these classical homeopaths.

Emergency homeopathy has started to force its way into the mass consciousness of America's mainstream. And in an emergency situation where someone wants to avoid the chemicals and toxic pharmaceuticals traditionally offered, the combination homeopathic remedies work as a great alternative to the classical homeopathic remedies.

In classical homeopathy, the homeopath prescribes one remedy based on the presenting picture of health. Then that patient waits, sometimes for up to several months, before taking any additional remedies. As that patient's picture of health changes with the introduction of the homeopathic remedy, the homeopath changes the prescription. And the patient waits again.

In an emergency situation, this just isn't workable. Enter the combination remedy! With these combinations, which have been organized by many remedies that, when taken individually, all work to help correct a similar health condition, these combinations can work in seconds without the necessary wait time of the classical homeopathic approach. Finally, an alternative to the chemicals of modern pharmaceuticals.

I haven't approached my boss yet about my thoughts on emergency room homeopathy. But I feel I might be on to something here. As the cries for alternatives to our disease care system get louder and louder, our hospitals will be forced to seek alternatives. These combination homeopathics might be just the ticket to bridge the gap between mainstream medicine and the poweful transformative health possible through homeopathy.

Be well.

(Hey, I finally got my 100th viewing! Sure would be nice to hear from some of you out there. Just click on the "0 comments" link to leave me a note!)

Monday, September 04, 2006

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you were able to enjoy a day free of work and work related stresses. There's certainly enough other stresses to fill the gap!

Back to work Tuesday. I guess we can't get away from tending our financial health for long, can we?

I hope your mini-work vacation has enabled you to return to work rejeuvenated and rested.

Be well.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Water part II

I once spent a little time in the desert outside of San Diego. For hours I wandered around in the sun, grokking at the worn signs of water's presence on the ground, uncovering different rocks and minerals in enticing patterns. While I could tell that water had flowed there at some point in the past, it clearly hadn't recently.

My wanderings eventually led me to one of the only rock outcroppings in sight. I slowly clambered up to the top of this massive thirty foot tall chunk of granite. There, right at the very top of the rock, at the exact highest point on the rock, I found a small, fist size cavity in the white granite. And in this tiny space was a cup of water, miraculously preserved (I felt that it had been placed there for me at that very moment, but I now know that I am far too inconsequential for that to be true).

That moment has stayed with me more than almost any other memory from my road travelling days. In fact, looking back, many of the memories I have are associated with water.

There was that one time I had hitchhiked across the water south of Key West to Christmas Tree Island, one of the only places where a person could just sit and not be hurried on by people who owned the land or were in control of it through whatever office they held. The only factor influencing how long you could stay was the amount of water you brought with you.

There was this other time when my sister and I enjoyed a cheap box of wine together and danced on the road paint in the middle of the night parked on the side of a small country road. The next morning I didn't trust myself to interact civily until we had found some water and replenished our internal and external supplies. Another time I remember spending hours waiting in the rain in southern Florida, hoping someone would pick up a drenched hitchhiker on the side of the road.

Water plays such a vital role. I've always felt that if I could buy stock in water supplies, it would make me rich as I grow older.

Even in my current job as the PR guy for King Bio, water plays a vital role. Dr. King uses a specially treated water when he develops his homeopathic remedies for King Bio. It's not just purified. Somehow, the water he uses in his homeopathic production has been distilled and purified to such a degree that the remedies become more effective at recreating the positive environment needed for optimum health. It doesn't surprise me that one of his biggest selling points with his contemporary homeopathic remedies is that they are water based. Most remedies are sugar or alcohol based. For those individuals sensitive to these compounds, King Bio's remedies are heaven sent.

So, to echo last night's posting, take the water experiment. Start your day with a couple glasses of water (I prefer chilled water in the summer and tap water in the winter.) Drink a glass before each meal, during each meal, and after each meal. Substitute sparkling water for an alcoholic drink in the evening. Have a big glass before going to bed. (People interested in journaling about their dreams have been directed to drink extra water before bedtime. This way when they have to get up to use the restroom, they will be able to remember their dreams. It's hard to recall your dreams if you sleep through them.)

A coworker recently relayed to me the story of his extreme dehyrdation. This is a tough little guy who never drinks water. Never! He told me how he had been working hard all morning and half the afternoon at the school, replacing a water fountain, ironically enough. About 4:00 that afternoon he started getting knife-like pains in his lower back. They continued all evening. No medicine was even touching the pain. He eventually called his doc who recommended he go to the ER. The ER docs worked up the sonograms or whatever they used to look inside his body, and they saw that his kidneys had actually shrunken up! They told him that he had reached such a level of dehydration that his kidneys were in danger of failing. Needless to say they got him on an IV drip and pumped him full of juices. He avoided the narcotic pain killers and was in pain for over four days! Eventually things settled back down.

Don't let your kidneys shrink! Be a whole person, deeply hydrated and fully functional! I think it will change your life, this water consumption. And once you see the difference being hydrated makes, you'll never go back. You'll be one of those people you see always carrying around their Nalgene water bottles or buying the cases of bottled water so they always have a portable supply. And now you'll understand why!

As always, be well my friends.
And most of all... drink that water!

Friday, September 01, 2006

Water, water everywhere...

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that before I started taking my daily regimen on twenty pills full of vitamins and amino acids (which make my pee the color of that liquid inside a glow stick), I was drinking around 140 ounces of water a day. That's the equivalent of about 15 cups of water. Thas a lotta water! I monitored my hydration level by looking at the color of my urine. If it was anything other than clear, I chugged the water. And, like I stated in my post on rebirth, this strategy helped me maintain a relatively positive mindset.

I'd started this sort of fanatical water consumption back in the mid-90's when a fellow teacher recommended that every morning I drink two big glasses of water first thing. His reasoning sounded, um, sound. If our bodies truly are over 60% water, and each of us spends the entire night without a drink of water, then we all wake up dehydrated.

Drinking a couple of glasses first thing in the morning really does help! If you're not doing it, you should try. Do this little experiment. For the next week, when you wake up, drink two glasses of water before doing anything else. Chug them down. For many of you who are unaccustomed to drinking water on a regular basis, the water itself might not taste good. Make sure you're letting the pipes clear out of the stagnant water that's been sitting all night. Get that good cool water for your first glasses. (My first night in a new home, I had a few too many beers in celebration. Waking up the next day I chugged two or three large glasses of water straight from the tap. Within moments I was retching in the toilet, my body rejecting the copper laden water that had sat in the pipes all night. *ugh*) I think you'll find that the more you drink water, the better it tastes. I also think that as you start your day rehydrating yourself, you'll find some interesting changes in how you approach your day.

Be aware of your body and your mind. Do you feel any different having imbibed those two glasses of water? Do you feel more awake? Is that morning headache miraculously gone? Do you have more energy? Are you more cheery and flexible in your mindset? Is it easier to smile and let the little things roll off you back rather than obsess on small irritations.

Tomorrow, I'll expand on this idea of water as an incredible curative power in our lives. I'll also detail what happens in extreme cases of dehydration. It's not pretty.

Check out the link for some current research into the amount of water we should be drinking. Like most science, there is no clear consensus. What is clear is that we should be listening more closely to our bodies and the needs our bodies work to communicate.

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/00283.html

Be well my friends.