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I wasn't planning to continue on with another post on herbs. But certain things have happened since my last post and I thought I would pass on the info to you. I have a friend in California who, in response to my last post, gave me a great tip. She attends Danny Vierra's Health and Healing Crusades in Lodi, California. She shared with me the herbal reference book Danny uses at Bella Vita, the house where his guests go for cleansing and healing. Thank you, Jolene! Bella Vita means “beautiful life” in Italian. The name “Bella Vita” is also the inspiration for the name of my blog, Live Beautifully. Paying attention to our lifestyle choices and living in harmony with, and turning to, nature for healing solutions is to live beautifully. I can get carried away and wax rhapsodic about this topic, but I will spare you my over- the- top enthusiasm for this way of living! I have mentioned before that Danny has incredible success in guiding people to healing. Because of this you can understand why his reference book of herbs is so valuable – a must have to add to your natural healing library.
The consequences of abusing chemicals
I am very concerned at the ignorance that seems to pervade society in regard to the use and abuse of chemicals. Some people are vigilant and mindful in this regard, but the masses don't really seem to care. If they don't hear about it on the tube, then it isn't a problem, right? Wrong! Whatever is harmful to the environment is going to be harmful to the human body. We may go on years or decades without suffering consequences, but eventually dues need to be paid and the outcome is never fun. Chemicals, pesticides and other man-made influences are destroying honeybees as well as other pollinators. California has had an abysmal almond crop this last year. There just weren't enough pollinators to do the job. Legislators are avoiding addressing this problem and probably pocketing some change from chem manufacturers to sidestep the issue. The mainstream media also isn't sounding the alarm loud enough to inform the public. If this avoidance trend continues, we will see crop failure on a much larger scale.
Another area where I think people have gone overboard is on the use of antibiotics. The masses turn to big pharma to solve their problems, not knowing that the abuse of antibiotics is creating superbugs that are becoming stronger and more resistant to the treatment most people turn to. (Sometimes antibiotics are necessary, but I think they should be a last resort.) How much better to use the plants that grow so readily from the soil. The solutions are out there in nature, we just need to educate ourselves in regards to the proper use of them.
Solutions can be found in nature
My family and I were recently at a church sponsored camp. My son had cut himself on the foot. He should have come to us sooner so that we could treat it, but he chose to run around with his buddies. He was tromping through creeks and mud wearing flip flops and by the time he got back to our room, his foot was well on its way to being infected. I brought some essential oils with me for that very reason. After his foot was washed and just before bedtime, I applied lavender oil to it. By morning, there was no sign of infection and his cut healed very quickly.
There was plenty of junk food at this camp and my kids are like all other normal children and love to indulge in the junk. My daughter began to show signs of sickness. I pulled out my oil of oregano and put some on the bottom of her feet and back of her neck. She did not stay sick for very long. The difference between antibiotics and herbs is that while antibiotics cannot penetrate the cell membrane of a virus, the essential oils of medicinal herbs can.
I got a call from a friend of mine who was beside herself because her children had become infested with lice. (Just the conversation about lice sends shivers down my spine. Aye, aye, aye!!! Disgusting parasites!) She told me that she was spending hours upon hours using the conventional chemical approach to dealing with the problem. She just couldn't seem to get rid of them. By the way, lice are becoming resistant to the the usual products that are used to kill them. I got online and searched for natural treatments. I found out that melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree oil) obliterates them to shreds, quite literally. She treated her children and herself with tea tree oil and called me a few times with absolute amazement in her voice. The treatment not only took care of the lice problem but it also took care of her lifelong problem with dandruff. I love it when there are unexpected and welcomed side effects from natural treatments!
So what are the deaths using natural methods attributed to?
What about the small percentage of deaths that happen using natural treatments? I recently attended a lecture by Dr. Pamela Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D. H., M.S., L.D.H. in regard to the best diet and supplements for ADHD and Autism. According to this physician, these fatal incidents occur when a toddler finds a bottle of his mother's iron supplements or something similar to this type of incident. I believe that care should be taken to use herbs in an educated way. Can the herb be used internally or just topically? Are there any contraindications? This is why I suggest collecting good reference books by trustworthy professionals. I would be afraid to harvest wild herbs; I wouldn't want to accidentally harvest hemlock! Yeah, that would be quite the fatal problem! Growing herbs from seed is the best way to know we are using the right herb.
I find the use of herbs to be a lot safer and much more satisfying than using chemicals that have a long list of side effects, creating more problems than what one first started out with. Having good side effects with the use of herbs can be an unexpected bonus!
Happy Independence Day!
I love the Fourth of July! I love the picnic food, fireflies and warm summer nights with fire works. I also love the freedoms we enjoy in this great nation!
Hope yours is a good one!
