Pat Robertson is Dead Wrong

My OpEd in today’s Chicago Tribune:

A person with Alzheimer’s is not “kind of” dead. Not by a long shot. And televangelist Pat Robertson should know better than to speak flippantly from a position of authority on a matter that is complicated, nuanced and deeply personal.

To read more:

Amanda West: The Healing Power of Music

Early on in my journey toward healing, my daughter gave me a soundtrack to keep me company: CDs of a number of songwriters and musicians from her generation whose messages she thought would be useful for me in my travels. She was right. Through powerful lyrics, compelling melodies, and beautiful voices, I began to hear universal truths and realize how music—whether of our own time or of centuries past—cuts through our thoughts, assumptions, beliefs, to the essence of a humanity we all share. We are not alone.

There is truly a healing power in music, and Amanda West is one of these remarkable musicians who holds this power in her songs. She calls herself a “philosophical folk songstress,” and with good reason. As I listened to her songs, sung with a voice of angelic purity, I heard, with astonishment, lyrics that seemed to describe my experiences and feelings with eerie accuracy. How could someone so young (relative to me!) seem to understand just what I was going through, and to offer the wisdom of such an “old soul?” I had to find out, so I wrote to ask if I could interview her, and she graciously agreed.

Just a few of Amada West’s lyrics:

“Times like these I have to believe
That we are part of something grander than we’ll ever know
Maybe all I really want is all within me
And I think all I really need is already here

“There are two things every traveler must remember,” he told me
One, you will always return
And Two, you cannot fight the journey, so you gotta just let it carry you
You gotta just, just let it carry you

And I want to travel with you
For as long as it’s what we are meant to do
And I know a day will come when you or I must go
But for time in my life spent with you I am so grateful.”

© Amanda West: “Ready to Travel”

I discovered a profound and thoughtful woman, with a deep commitment to social justice, human rights, and the social struggles and health of women. She uses her music to convey messages of personal healing and hope, as well as to contribute to social change. Amanda sang before she could talk, and began playing the guitar and writing her own songs at age 11. Her degree is in anthropology and she traveled the world to study the human experience in other cultures. Her musical influences include the folk songs of the sixties that her parents played at home, as well as contemporary singer/songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, and Loreena McKennitt.

All of which is noteworthy, but did not quite explain how she could write such powerful lyrics about relationships: love and loss, trust and betrayal, and the triumph of faith and compassion:

All the truths

That created my wounds

Were dug out today:

 

You are as you are

And I am as I am

And to save us both we can only separate

 

And in the morning

I will turn your ring around

Your heart will be

Your own again

© Amanda West: In the Morning

Amanda has had her own suffering in life: she was struck by a car and severely injured in high school and, while in college, was mistakenly diagnosed with terminal cancer. Later on, she encountered aspects of human suffering in her travels that led to her song, The Age of Disillusionment. She also had her share of painful relationships, though she is now happily married. “I needed to be able to grasp and understand the dark side of life,” she told me. “And this understanding created an emotional space that has opened me up to work through suffering and hard times with compassion. I want to be able to do that for others, not just for me, and these songs come out of me through that space.”

“That’s why the world is on trial in my mind
and I just need time, to be, to see, and to breathe on this,
to know to hate to have to hold to love to be on this
to wander, to wander, and to be
on this side

Nothing’s looking like it used to…
Nothing’s feeling like it used to…
This is the age of…
is the age of disillusionment”

© Amanda West: The Age of Disillusionment”

Go to her website to hear some of her music and read her astonishing lyrics.

http://www.amandawestmusic.com/music.html

Some of my favorite songs, besides the ones mentioned above: Fantasy – a chilling reminder of the victimization of women; and In the Morning— the most heartbreakingly beautiful, and true, description of the end of a relationship I have ever seen.

An Odyssey of Healing

It has been a long time since I have written here; I have been on a journey of healing, and have now assembled what I hope are useful facts and insights to report. Unlike the stories of physical recovery that I have written about in the past, this was an inner journey of emotional repair and rejuvenation, launched by a shattering of trust. On this voyage through my interior landscape, I have begun to understand more than ever the intimate connections between body and mind. I have also learned that when something shatters within us, it can create a spaciousness for joy, love, growth, even rebirth. It can also reveal one’s true nature. Like my recovery from a paralyzing stroke many years ago, this is a story that continues. Now, however, I can begin to report on what I have learned about healing from emotional trauma.

In future posts I will write about powerful mind-body modalities that include reiki, jin shin jyutsu, tong-ren, and trauma energetics; explorations of ancient philosophies such as the Tao te Ching, as well as more recent psychological teachings; and bodywork such as reflexology, craniosacral therapy, and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), just to name a few.

I will also write about the importance of community:  the small army of caring friends and family whose wisdom and love are like a rising tide keeps the boat afloat, buoyed also by the crucial ingredients of laughter and fun!

But first, I will write about the healing power of music – the subject of the next post.

About Health, Life, and More

Whether you are curious about James Bond’s health secret, the need ( or not!) for vitamin pills, or the joys of playing the cello badly, you will find thoughts, information and tidbits to spark your interest in Dr. Alexa’s new blog about health, life and a whole lot more. Take a look! http://members.authorsguild.net/fleckenstein/blog.htm

She Didn’t Have to Die

A close relative died suddenly last fall. She was a 79-year-old woman who was active, vigorous and full of life. She sold fine jewelry in a large department store, spending all day on her feet presiding over her adoring customers. She was clever, a voracious reader and had a wicked sense of humor. She died in her beautifully decorated apartment surrounded by the books she loved, the artwork and sculpture she had collected on her travels, and the boxes of beads that she used to create unique and beautiful jewelry. On a small table lay one of her last designs, an intricate black and silver cuff bracelet, half finished; a long, slim needle, jewelry wire, and piles of shiny beads nearby.

She did not die in a car accident. She did not have cancer. She probably died because she couldn’t get enough oxygen into her body. One of the causes of death was listed as “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” (COPD) – a progressive disorder that damages the lining of the lungs, making it hard to breathe, even during such simple activities as walking or cooking. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD; she had been a heavy smoker all her life.

This woman lived long enough to see her grandchildren graduate from college and to rejoice at the wedding of her grandson. But she will never meet her future great-grandchildren. She will not be there to celebrate when her grandson receives his MBA. If and when her granddaughter gets married, she will not dance at her wedding.

Two thirds of all chronic illness in this country, including COPD, is caused by lifestyle and behavioral factors that are influenced by our mental, social or physical environments. (http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/21/2/78)

One of my this woman’s favorite expressions was, “It’s okay to look back, but don’t stare.” One can never predict what would have happened, of course, but it seems an inescapable fact that smoking is what killed her long before she should have died. Her lifestyle choices were her own, and she knew the risks. She also knew how she wanted to live her life. All that is left for her family now are memories of who she was, and sadness that she is no longer in our lives.

Another of her favorite expressions was, “No one gets through this life alive.” It just wasn’t supposed to apply to her.

H1N1 Protection: Simple Ways With Water

Here are some “water ways” to protect yourself from H1N1 and other forms of flu.  (As always, check with your doctor before doing anything that affects your body.)

First, the source: Dr Vinay Goyal MBBS, MD, DM 
is Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology
Neurosciences Centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. His areas of interest are movement disorders and neuro-infectious diseases. Presently, he is heading the Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

Here is his advice, which dovetails nicely with the water-based therapies already described elsewhere on this blog.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2.  “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (except to eat or bathe).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected o ne. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot to clean nasal cavities, but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population. [Easy instructions for saltwater nose rinses can be found in Health 2 0.]

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla [Indian gooseberry]and other citrus fruits [e.g. orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit]. *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

H1N1 Pandemic: Boost Your Immunity

The World Health Organization has determined the H1N1 outbreak is a pandemic.  That in itself is not a measure of the severity of the so-called “swine flu” – just of its dispersion now into Australia, too. I asked Alexa Fleckenstein, M.D., to comment about ways to protect oneself. Here is her advice—which should, of course, never replace a consultation with  your doctor or health care professional. Always check before taking any over-the-counter or herbal supplements to make sure they are right for you. In addition, there are several ways  to use water, including saltwater rinses, to protect yourself from viruses, explained here.

So far, the swine flu has been mild – lethality does not even reach that of “normal” flu outbreaks which kill more than 30,000 people every year. The unfortunate people, who die, usually have underlying diseases which compromise their immune systems. The fear is that this flu might mutate like the 1918/19 flu did, and come down on us the second time around with a vengeance. Normally, mutations are such that the virus dies out–and it would be an extremely rare event that it would mutate into a much stronger strain. Nevertheless, that is the thinking behind taking the swine flu seriously now–mostly to observe it evolve (or perish).
Advice From Dr. Alexa (but always check with your doctor first)
Meanwhile, get enough sleep, take your herbs, eat plenty of vegetables, drink warm water and/or herbal teas. And it is never too late to start challenging your immune system with daily cold showers – unless you are already coming down with something.
Another anti-viral concoction I want to share with you is the Chinese Jian Qiao Jie Du Pian or Isatis 6, also called Honeysuckle-Forsythia Detoxifier. It might be a good idea to have some of those pills at hand when you get sick (get them from a reputable source). During the next H1N1 outbreak – or any seasonal viral disease that might come along.

Managing Chronic Pain

Despite the media hype of books that promise to “banish your pain,” the reality is that chronic pain is just about impossible to extinguish, whether in “five simple steps,” “four quick weeks,” or whatever the latest tantalizing promises are. The truth, as you probably know if you have been experiencing chronic pain, is that the goals of controlling, managing and living  a satisfying life with pain are much more realistic. As both a person who lives with chronic pain and a medical writer, I have come across a useful website with a realistic, helpful approach to  chronic pain. Full disclosure: I have written some articles for this site, in consultation with several reputable medical professionals. In so doing, I have come to respect both the source of the information and the approach of the site. I have also learned a great deal.

The site is painAction.com, and here are some of the articles I wrote, although I recommend reading any others on topics that are of interest! The site covers back pain, migraine pain and cancer pain, and includes articles, lessons and interactive tools. The focus is on developing skills in self-management, gathering knowledge, medication safety, working with  health care professionals, communication and  emotional coping. Given my interest in integrative medicine, I am also pleased to report that there is information on alternative/complementary modalities to manage chronic pain.

Healing the Soul: Shamanism and Psyche

Do you ever feel in the grip of anger, fear or sadness that are sometimes triggered by  seemingly trivial events? That perhaps well up in you from the depths of your childhood and are sometimes powerful enough to cause health problems related to stress and tension? Psychologist Ann Drake, PSy.D., opens her book, Healing of the Soul: Shamanism and Psyche (Revised edition,Busca Inc., NY. 2009) with a challenge to readers:

Join her in her struggle to understand mental and physical illness in new ways that lie outside of the Western way of understanding. She invites us to ponder existence from new and varied perspectives, to take what makes sense, validating it with our own internal wisdom, and, finally, to create our own meaning.

What are these new perspectives? They include seeing how energy, spirit, and psyche interface to create the unique psychological reality of each person. Drake is a scientifically trained practicing psychologist who has devoted her career to finding the connections between the conventional practice of psychotherapy and the ancient healing practices of Shamanism—which holds that the loss of part of one’s spiritual essence or soul, often happening as the result of childhood trauma, can result in psychological pain and even physical illness. For many years she has studied Shamanic practices with a Bomoh—an indigenous healer—in Borneo, bringing back new and deeper understanding and skills to add to her psychology practice.

While cognitive therapy focuses on the rational aspects of the mind, Shamanic healing enters a deeper, energy level. Describing powerful stories of healing the “inner worlds” of her clients, Drake says, “Many of us find ourselves stuck in images and feelings from childhood. These images and feelings create an energetic imprinting.  The hurtful, rageful words of a parent stick to a child’s energy field as if to Velcro, haunting the child [and persisting as the child grows into adulthood] with feelings of shame and inadequacy….” Blockages to the removal of this harmful energy persist in our habitual ways of thinking, says Drake. But Shamanic  work [which focuses on the flow of energy] can remove these blocks and restore the soul to wholeness and the body to health.

This book is an excellent introduction to the potential for deep healing and the alleviation of suffering by combining the science of psychology with the mysterious world of the soul.

Swine Flu: Prepare, Protect, Pull Through

I asked integrative physician Alexa Fleckenstein, M.D., how to protect ourselves from swine flu, and what to do if we get it. Here is her response: NOTE: Advice on this blog in no way replaces consultation with a physician. Always consult with your doctor before following online advice.

“So far, I think we are dealing with an epidemic that has not the makings of the pandemic of 1918/19 where young people died in droves, often within the first 24 hours. Still, the elderly and immune-incompetent patients might be at risk. The causes of death in influenza are of two different origins: Older people die of the virus and its consequences like pneumonia; their weakened immune systems cannot fight the virus anymore. Young people succumb to an overreaction of their still-exuberant immune systems. We call this a cytokine storm, usually within the first two days.
“If you get seriously sick, consult a physician.  Officials recommend Tamiflu (oseltamivir, a neuraminidase inhibitor) but there are no good studies for the swine flu and Tamiflu. Against regular influenza A and B, Tamiflu’s performance has been rather disappointing – especially in the elderly, who would be prime targets for the drug. In addition, a tendency to suicide has been reported with Tamiflu in Japan – so bad that its use is discouraged in young people under 19. Furthermore, in case of an epidemic, Tamiflu might be in short supply.

“So, let’s look into some simple natural remedies – this is what I do for myself and my family:
The Three P’s: Prepare, Protect, Pull through.
Prepare: This website is all about owning your good health. If you have used the Five Health Essentials (water, movement, food, herbs, order) you should be in good shape to start with. If not – it is never too late to start cold showers and get plenty of sleep.
For those may be new to the topic, here is a summary of the  Health Essentials:
- End every warm shower or bath with a cold shower. This increases immunity.
- Drink enough fluid, hot or warm water — about seven glasses per day; more if you exercise. Herbal teas are good; juices are not.
- Eat as healthily as you can with vegetables (cooked and raw), mushrooms (never raw!) fruit, nuts, whole grains, legumes (beans, lentils, garbanzos) and fish. Cut down on meats and buy organically whenever possible. Stop eating processed, artificial, canned, micro-waved and fried food. Avoid sugars, white starches and dairy altogether. Only with healthy fare is your immune system able to fight the invaders.
- Exercise moderately. Excess is as detrimental as laziness. If you are still a couch potato, now it is time to change your ways. Start with two minutes a day on any machine that is gathering dust in your basement. Or make it a habit to go for a walk every day for 10 minutes (You may do more — but not less).
- Expose yourself to light daily. Light (not direct sun) is beneficial for your immune system. Against direct sun, wear sunglasses, a hat and long-sleeved garb.
- Get enough sleep. We come down with a cold if we are run down. Don’t set your body up for a catastrophe: Go to bed between 9.30 and 10.30 pm. The body repairs itself during about two hours the time around midnight — if you are asleep then, that is.
- Take tonic herbs like astragalus, ashwaganda and Eleuthero to strengthen your immune system. Rotate them.
- If you are not eating mushrooms often, take a mushroom supplement (shiitake, reishi, maitake — either one is good alone or in combination).

“Protect yourself during an outbreak: Continue your good work from the ‘Prepare’ section and:
- Avoid crowds, public transportation and all unnecessary contact with people. Whenever you meet people, wear a surgical mask or a light cotton cloth over nose and mouth, sprinkled with a drop of essential oil like eucalyptus, oregano, myrrh. Or smear a pea-sized glob of Vick’s on it.
- Don’t hug, kiss or shake hands
- Avoid touching public doorknobs or surfaces with your ungloved hands
- Wear gloves in public; wash them often. Wash hands often with soap and water
- Gargle frequently (hourly) with a mouthwash or a tea made from sage. I like 1 drop of tea tree oil in a glass of lukewarm water.
- Rinse your nose frequently (hourly) with saltwater: 1/4 teaspoon of sugarless salt in one glass of lukewarm water. Snuff the water up from your hand; use a dropper on little children.
- Spice up your food with herbs and spices because they kill microbes (the plants developed the strong-tasting compounds to protect themselves against the invasion of bacteria, viruses and fungi). Pregnant women and little children should go easy on herbs and spices.
- Take a teaspoon of raw honey after exposure. Not for children under two years because of the danger of botulism.
- Nibble on cloves of fresh garlic throughout the day, especially when you are out and about. Use garlic (fresh or dried) freely in your cooking. Same with onions.
- Use an Echinacea throat spray every hour, or swish three drops of Echinacea in your mouth (contraindicated in autoimmune disease).
- Chew on juniper berry. Add one berry every day, up to five, then take one away again every day. This is the formula: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1. Not recommended in kidney disease.
- Sleep a lot, do meditation, be quiet and do something that lifts your heart – like making music, painting, gardening. Find your center.

“Pull through: If you become infected, go to your doctor and ask about the following suggestions: Continue most of the measures from Prepare and Protect — but stop all exercise. Now is time for bed rest.
- With the first symptoms take the Chinese preparation Yin Qiao (later it is no longer useful ) (three tablets four times a day). After you feel improvement, take one tablet three times a day for another week
- Avoid all contact with others to not spread the disease.
- Continue taking garlic, Echinacea and honey. Add of these herbs (whatever you have at hand: Andrographis paniculata (or any combination preparation that contains it – like GAIA’s Qick Defense), GSE (grape seed extract), ginger (fresh and dried — avoid preparations with sugar), elderberry, licorice (not longer than a week).

- Herbal teas to relieve your symptoms: linden, elderberry flowers (both induce sweating), sage, green or black tea, thyme, ginger, rose hips, mullein, lemon balm, peppermint in all combinations.

-Steam inhalations three times a day with chamomile, thyme, eucalyptus or Vick’s help congestion of sinus and lungs. Horsetail can be added to decrease swelling in your nose.
- Chicken soup and hot lemon are still beneficial.
- Take fish oil (several capsules a day — contraindicated if you take anticoagulants like coumadin). This is the one thing most important in young people as it might be able to douse a raging cytokine storm. Alternatively, or in addition: the anti-inflammatory medication Zyflamend.
- Ginkgo biloba will start repair damaged cells
- Ginseng will help flu symptoms — but do not take it if you tend to have high blood pressure or a racing heart.
- At least twice a day, have somebody wash you down with cold water (non-dripping face cloth), especially chest and back area to make you take in really deep breaths (prevention of pneumonia)
- Against cough: Gan Mao Dan Chinese pills (20 per day in divided doses), or make a tea of peppermint, honeysuckle, ginger, cloves and horehound.
- Other herbs that have been found beneficial in colds and flu: bayberry, boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), calendula, goldenseal, Oregon grape.

By no means are these all possibilities. But they give you some ideas and some peace of mind in case of an epidemic. Don’t become a victim – work with the three P’s!”

Alexa Fleckenstein, M.D.