Illness: Messenger or Curse?
(creating health, balance and harmony - Part 1)
Some theories: 1) People who believe in a random and unorganized universe tend to think illness is the result of bad luck. Actually, some very religious folks subscribe to this theory as well, probably in order to avoid believing the next theory: 2) Illness is punishment from the angry and vengeful God. The God from the bestselling book that says “forgive thy neighbor” and “turn the other cheek” but prefers not to follow His own advice.
3) Another school of thought is that illness is a messenger from nature here to let us know about some kind of imbalance in the mind/body system that needs to be addressed immediately. The body/ mind can be very forgiving. I’ve met people who were heroin addicts for 10 years, were lost at sea for a week, or were prisoners of war, who somehow seem to be doing ok. But because each of us is unique the breaking point of one person can be quite different than that of another. One traumatic event can push some folks irreparably over the edge into illness or insanity while someone else can march across continents on bread and water to find a peaceful place to live.
It seems that the stronger your filtering organs are, the better your digestive system, the more you can abuse your body and not feel the consequences immediately. Environmental and cultural toxins should also be factored in. The limiting and dangerous habits and belief systems we inherit can also directly or indirectly imbalance our system and create an environment ripe for illness to grow in. Many early settlers and explorers had a hard time finding anything to eat in the
If we believe that nature is ordered and cooperative and that it seeks balance in all systems we can start to listen to our bodies keeping that in mind. If, instead of turning a deaf ear, we hear the messages the mind/body is sending all along we can opt for taking action, in order to avoid getting to the point of chronic, or fatal illness.
Here are a few things that stand in the way of us really hearing what the mind/body is saying:
1) Advertizing: People think that if it is being sold to the general public it can’t be toxic or bad for you. (antiperspirants, preservatives, cigarettes, artificial coloring, hydrogenated Trans fats, etc) Or we end up thinking that it is better to tolerate a few toxins in order to fit in, be cool, or smell like everyone else.
2) Numbness: Even those of us who do yoga or have had training on how to listen to the needs of the body often forget or go numb. Rushing around trying to get things done, be responsible, produce, follow the rules, making other people happy, we often stress out our internal organs and nervous system by not eating when we are hungry, not going to the bathroom when we need to, not relaxing when we are tired. Who has the time right?
3) Monkey Mind: (the inner dialogue/critic etc) with its constant chatter of programmed ideas, borrowed belief systems, insecurities and fears, creates far too much noise in the head to be able to hear what is really going on. This monkey is even smart enough to convince us that it IS telling us the truth.
As long as we are living in such a noisy head no wonder we can’t hear the rest of the body.
If we care about the environment we have to start with our bodies. What we do that is good for the earth is always good for ourselves. What we do that is really good for ourselves is always good for the environment. Are we eating nitrates, pesticides and preservatives but fighting global warming? Are we buying fair trade and organic local food but spraying ourselves with chemicals, or living in toxic homes that knock the internal ecosystem off balance? We can’t ignore the little messages and then be surprised when the big message hits us: ILLNESS or NATURAL DISASTER. Global warming messages have been coming for a long time. Now we are finally hearing the call to action.
Illness: Messenger or Curse?
(creating health, balance and harmony - Part 2)
v Breasts contain lobes (glands that produce milk),
v Fat in between (toxins accumulate in fat when not released by normal outlets like lymph),
v Lymph vessels which lead to lymph nodes (system of waste disposal in our bodies),
v Nodes which trap bacteria, cancer cells and toxins.
A majority of breast cancer is reportedly in the quadrant nearest the lymph nodes suggesting that it has something to do with their ability or inability to deal with toxins. If you believe that illness is a symptom of an internal environmental imbalance then you might want to know what created the imbalance.
Some of the things that interfere with Lymph nodes by preventing them doing their job, or by overtaxing them with toxins:
Ø Antiperspirants (clog and prevent nodes from releasing toxins in one of the most important areas of toxin release – the armpits.
Ø High fat, low fiber diets (clog body and create more build up of toxins. Remember there are good oils and bad oils. We need the good ones as much as we don’t need the bad ones. Do not eat rancid, old, hydrogenated, trans fats.)
Ø High body fat i.e obesity (more fat= more storage room for toxins)
Ø Radiation/xrays/mammograms
Ø No exercise (means no sweat which, along with the movement, carries toxins out of the lymph system and your body)
Ø 1st and 2nd hand smoke (heavy metals and toxins which store in fat)
Ø Alcohol
Ø Pollution
Ø Pesticides (store in fatty tissue)
Ø Plastic
Ø Heavy metals in canned food, seafood, cigarettes, paint etc
Ø Eating over-processed, nutrient poor, packaged and canned products that we have been told is food. Just because we were raised on twinkies, canned spinach, and hotdogs doesn’t mean it’s food. We wouldn’t put Hershey bars in the car’s gas tank. It is time to rethink our definition of the word FOOD. Question “authority”. For thousands of years humans have survived and thrived on real food without refined sugar, salt, lead cans, and now most of us couldn’t even identify a peach tree, or broccoli plant.
Ø Birth control pills (anything that tricks your body hormonally can’t be good for you- especially since breast cancer is linked with hormonal imbalance such as the pill and PHT or ERT hormone replacement therapy)
Ø Bras and tight or “plastic” clothing that prevents circulation of the body (The lymph system and skin need to breathe and circulate in order to release toxins and stay in healthy balance. Study in 97 in
For more info about all cancer prevention and more about breast health: www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/breastcancer.htm
Why Plastics are bad!?
· They create direct toxicity like heavy metals do
· They create carcinogens (cancer causing agents) like Diethyl Hexylphosphate (DEHP)
· They cause endocrine (gland in human body) disruption which leads to cancer, birth defects, immune system suppression and developmental problems in children.
· Plastic used for water bottles have been linked to all the above problems including early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes and hyperactivity.
· Food container plastics migrate into food and ends up stored in body fat creating elevated rates of lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers.
Buy and store foods and liquids in glass not plastic.
Do not heat foods in plastic ever. Do not give children plastic toys or teethers.
Use natural fibers for clothes, bedding, and furniture.
