Sunday, January 28, 2007

Current Research on Homeopathy

The latest issue of the homeopathy ezine called Hpathy.com has a great summation of articles that lists the positive research on homeopathy. While the articles are chock full of ads *ugh*, the text itself is quite informative and enlightening. If you're like me and you find yourself telling your friends and even some complete strangers about the power you've experienced with homeopathy, this article gives you loads of ammunition for just those occasions. For instance, did you know that people in 41 of the 42 countries in Europe use homeopathy? And did you know that nearly 30% of Europeans use homeopathy for their health care? Kinda makes you wonder what the state of homeopathy would be in America if it hadn't been forced into the margins by the American Medical Association.

Check out the article at this link: http://www.hpathy.com/research/chatfield-research-overview.asp. Aside from that article, Hpathy.com has tons of other information and discussion about all things homeopathy.

Be well my friends.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Personal Health Appraisal

King Bio has this wonderful tool that enables all of us to take an honest look at our mental, physical, and emotional health in ways that truly empower us. We call this tool the Personal Health Appraisal, and it's offered for free, only through this blog.

The Personal Health Appraisal walks you through a series of statements, asking you to rank your responses to specific situations. In so doing, you become more aware of the various elements affecting your total health picture. Many times we are unaware of the complexity of all the factors influencing our health. This appraisal lays things out very clearly and simply, elevating your self-perception and empowering you to take steps to help you re-create your health!

Anyone who is interested in receiving a copy of this Personal Health Appraisal just needs to leave me a comment below (by clicking on the comment link after this post) with their email. I'll gladly send one off to you. If you have any questions, perhaps about how to fill out the questionaire, or maybe the questionaire brings up issues you feel you need to discuss, either leave me a comment or email me at dbarkett@kingbio.com.

I wish you good health and the gift of re-creation!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Regain that Hope!


Alright, it's one thing to know that being hopeful creates more meaningful life experiences. But how do we go about regaining our lost hope? Sometimes it feels like a darkness has engulfed us and nothing will be able to rescue us. Fear not. Hope is on the way.

Dr. Sciloi, writing in Spirituality and Health magazine, details fourteen different way of working on regaining hope, one for each of the fourteen different aspects of hope. It is not necessary to practice each of these exercises, but rather, prioritize which elements you most need in your life and honestly judge which of the exercises you will most effectively be able to incorporate into your life.

Here's the exercises. If you have any questions about this, feel free to leave me a question in the comment section below.


  • Ask, "What would my role model do?"

  • Do you end-of-life reflection right now.

  • Experiment with smiles.

  • Travel!

  • Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing (breath in for a count of four from your belly and out for a count of six).

  • Take stock of your connections (list the members of your immediate family, five members of your extended family, five closest friends, and five coworkers- then list ways you can improve your connections with these people).

  • Re-envision your next ten experiences.

  • Practice to Access Wisdom (meditate and be mindful).

  • Experience a new sacred practice.

  • Play with your brain.

  • Make kindness your research project.

  • Detach, master, or attach.

  • Spread your love.

  • Wrie your mission statement.

Phew! Quite a list. But if you incorporated just one of these exercises into your daily routine, I bet you'll feel the hope return to your life in ways totally unexpected and fulfilling.


Be well, my friends.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

A Vision of Hope, part II

I hope you've enjoyed your weekend and are looking forward to a fulfilling work week.

Last Thursday I was writing about hope and the role it plays in creating a meaningful and powerful existence. And, not surprisingly, the work we do plays a large role in how hopeful we are. Spirituality and Health magazine's latest issue looks deeply into hope (just click on the title to visit their site).

Dr. Scioli, the author of the article, feels that each of us can cultivate hope through our intention and practice. He has divided hope into fourteen different aspects, each of which can be rated, cultivated, and experienced fully. Today I'll cover the fourteen hopeful traits as well as looking at some of the KingBio remedies designed to help promote a hopeful outlook on life. Next post I'll detail some of Dr. Scioli's ways to enhance those areas of hopefulness in which we might be lacking.

Here's the 14 hopeful traits:
  • Supported Mastery- How confident are you that you can reach your goals?
  • Ultimate Ends- How committed are you to your life's mission?
  • Basic Trust- Were you raised in a trusting and caring environment? Are you surrounded by trustworthy people?
  • Openness- Are you generally open with others?
  • Personal Terror Management- How effective are you at reducing your fears and worries?
  • Social Terror Management- How trusting are you in the goodwill of others?
  • Positive Future- How hopeful do you feel about your future?
  • Spiritual Empowerment- How connected do you feel to the greater forces at work in our lives?
  • Spiritual Openness- How open are you to spiritual input from a power or force beyond you?
  • Mystical Experience- In the right environment, do you feel the presence of a higher power?
  • Benign Universe- Do you believe there is goodness in the world?
  • Spiritual Terror Management- Do you take comfort and peace from your spiritual beliefs?
  • Symbolic Immortality- Do you believe there is life beyond this existence?
  • Symbolic Integrity- Are you fulfilling your life's mission?

This is quite a list. Ask yourself these questions and then prioritize which of these hopeful elements you need to work on most. Also give yourself credit for those areas where you are strong. This whole "living" business is tough. When we find moments to be hopeful, they should be celebrated, even if it's only a quiet personal celebration.

If you've been reading my posts, you may know some of the tough times I've gone through just recently. For many months, my hope was at an all time low. But, through working with the Great Smokes Medical Center and by taking some of King Bio's homeopathic remedies, I've been able to regain much of my hopeful attitude.

Currently I'm taking King Bio's SafeCareRx "Grief" and "Guilt" remedies. But, if you're not working with a health care professional, the SafeCareOTC line is available from our website. Here are the remedies that help with creating a hopeful mindset:

  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Love Your Self
  • Embrace Life
  • Calm
  • Peace: Extreme
  • Mind-Body Restore Remedy
  • Fearless
  • Heal Your Heart
  • Forgive Your Self
  • Soothe Your Sorrow
  • Trust
  • Tolerance
  • Confidence
  • Certainity

You can read more about each of these from the website, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll help any way I can.

Thanks for coming around. I hope I've been some help.

Be well.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Hope for tomorrow!

The ancients looked at this time of year as the beginning of a new cycle of growth and life. That’s a little hard for us moderns who are less attached to the natural cycles occurring around us. But even in our modern world where we surround ourselves with technology and insulate ourselves from adversity, it is important to take the time to reconnect with ourselves.

Ask yourself these questions: How do you see the world? Are you hopeful about the future in general? Are you hopeful about your future? In what do you take joy on a daily basis? Do you find yourself excited about the opportunities available to you or do you find yourself depressed at the frustrating state of your personal and professional development?

New research from Dr. Anthony Scioli, a professor of psychology at Keene State College in New Hampshire, has been looking very deeply into hope and the roll it plays in sustaining life. The current issue of Spirituality and Health magazine, thoughtfully sent to me by the publishers, dedicates much of their space to hope and how hope affects so much of a person’s life experience.

Hope, simply stated, is the key to good health. It is also the best predictor of a meaningful existence, however variously that is defined. Hope is an indicator of academic and athletic performance.

And, most importantly, hope is a skill you can acquire! You can cultivate it and nourish it. According to the article by Louise Palmer, hope is self-perpetuating. Hopeful people tend to be more resilient, more trusting, more open, and more motivated than those less hopeful. Hopeful people are more likely to receive more from the world- which then adds to their sense of hope!

What a beautiful cycle!

So, the question again is…Are you hopeful about the future?

Next post I’ll look a little more deeply into the different aspects of hope, as detailed by Dr. Sciloi (a little hint, there’s 14 of them). Later I’ll give you a few practices designed to help you raise your hopes as well as listing out for you some of the new King Bio Mind and Body remedies designed to promote a hopeful mindset (you can always go to the website and check them out for yourself…).

If you get the chance, check out Spirituality and Health magazine. Here is their website: www.spiritualityhealth.com. This is my first copy, and it is full of great information and questions designed to help you live a more connected life.

Be well everyone!

Monday, January 01, 2007

Time to Reveal It All!

Recently, legislation passed that required bloggers to disclose if they were working for a company. From the inception of this blog I have never hidden the fact that I work for King Bio Natural Medicine. But, with this legislation looming large in the minds of some in the blogging world, I thought I’d take a moment to detail my history working with King Bio and how I came to be their blogger and primary creative consultant in matters literary and otherwise.

About ten years ago I was teaching at a small middle school outside Asheville, North Carolina. I had just moved to Asheville from the tiny college town of Boone, and I’d only lived in Boone for about two years. Before that I attended university in Boulder, Colorado where I received my degree in teaching and English. I was very excited to get my first steady teaching gig at Erwin Middle School outside of Asheville, and I threw myself into the job with the characteristic passion I usually bring to tasks that inspire me.

One of my students during my first year in that public school was a young Frankie King, Jr. Great kid. One of my favorites. I know teachers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but, we do. It’s just natural. Some teachers connect with specific kids more so than other kids. I don’t know why. I think it’s an energetic or vibrational thing. Anyways, young Frankie and I connected immediately. I enjoyed the level of intelligent conversation we could sustain. His attitude was positive and contagious. He had a great group of friends.

Parent-Teacher night rolls around and I get to meet Frankie’s dad and step-mom. Great folk. Energetic and vibrant, supportive and likable, Dr. Frank King and his wife Susie made me feel totally appreciated. Like father, like son, the connection was immediate and remarkable in that I haven’t connected like that with any other parents during the next ten years of teaching.

The year progressed, relationships grew, and by the end of the school year, I approached Dr. King with a creative proposal. I offered my writing services in any way I thought might benefit his business. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about homeopathy or alternative systems of healing. Dr. King and I spoke at length about writing a short manual on homeopathy and how people could easily apply it to their lives. Totally inspired by the good doctor, I undertook a great deal of research into homeopathy and began working on some first drafts of what would eventually become the manual called “Making Homeopathy Easy.” This small book is still available from the website http://kingbio.stores.yahoo.net/kinbionatmed.html and still lays out the basics of this amazing and curative healing process in a very easy and straightforward manner.

Once school started again in August, I took several years off from King Bio. I steadily utilized different remedies from Dr. King and had entirely assimilated this alternative health approach into my lifestyle. I cured myself of my seasonal allergies. I utilized the King Bio Cold and Flu remedies every year as a teacher to help fight off those ever-present colds. But most of all, I was no longer a willing consumer of the AMA’s version of medicine. I still used some of the benefits of western medicine’s modern approach, but I was much more likely to look at the alternatives available to me before jumping into a pharmaceutical mind-set.

To wrap this back story up, I reconnected with Dr. King around May of 2006 and began collaborating with him on a variety of different creative projects (he’s always got so many different ideas percolating in that head of his!). Being unfamiliar with the blogging concept, I sold him on the idea of beginning to create a community online around homeopathy and alternative health. He was in!

Writing this blog over the last several months has been a great way for me to constantly evaluate my perspective on health as well as educate others about their options for maintaining or recreating health. I always enjoy the comments you leave me and I hope that you find something in these postings that help you reconnect with your healthy body and mind.

Remember, as the good doctor likes to remind me, we are designed to be healthy. We can all live long lives and die in good health. It is up to us to utilize the tools at our disposal to help us along the way.

Be well my friends. And happy new year!