Mindful Living

Created February 28, 2007 - Latest Edition July 11, 2007

Written by Bonny

Includes Questions & Answers

(Messages/questions sent to the mailing list may be quoted or paraphrased here but without including names unless the author specifically authorises it.)

You may come across ideas to help which 'could' possibly partially or fully block guai if you are following the guai protocol.  They will be listed here for those who wish to use as an occasional intervention basis.  There is always a fine line regarding if something will or will not block if eaten, depending on form, person and health situation.  Every effort is made to note possible Sal-Full^TM items. 

Please feel free to ask questions about anything on this site, on the mailing list.
Not a member yet?  Go here to join.

Contents:

Mindful Living 1:  Introduction

Mindful Living 2:  Lots-n-Lots of IBS / Diarrhoea Aides

(includes responses & Q&A.)

Mindful Living 3:  My Kingdom for a Phone

Mindful Living 4:  Thanking Native Americans for Our Families

Mindful Living 5:  Cuddling the Skull

Mindful Living 6: How Are YOU Celebratin' ???
 

Mindful Living #1 - IT BEGINS !!!

Most GG list members know I post about neat tricks, useful gadgets, helpful healing foods / recipes, smart supplements and organizing insights that prove useful to my family as we struggle with the daily truths of FMS / CFS and other "chronic invisible illnesses".

Some of my ideas are discovered as I tumble into them, but many others are adopted only after extensive research and contemplation. My energy, financial, physical, resource and motivational budgets are limited so I really do strive to locate and integrate the wisest options that accomplish my goals and fit my various "life budgets".

I receive a regular supply of personal thank you notes and emails of appreciation, filled with examples of how GG Guai’ers benefit (or not!) by my ideas or find similar solutions of their own. Flattering, true... still, I chronically lament the unfortunate fact that most of these notes are not sent directly to the group so hundreds of us can learn at the same time, because I obviously believe sharing knowledge and skills is a critical component of community building, caring, societal wellness and personal healing - but at least I can pass the accumulated tips on for the same purpose. Ah, the magic of e-mail.  And the magic of GG. 
 

Every Thanksgiving, I have a huge desire to thank Tesa and her helpers for GG... and many other days I dwell on the urge as well. This posting series will be my new way to do that, and to honor the strength and vision and practicality so many FMS Guai’ers pass on to me as I wrestle my way through this hideous cluster of illnesses and symptoms. It is my hope that each of you will find at least a few of the ideas helpful as you wrestle your way through, too

---BONNY Guai ROCKS !!! (Pull on your mud boots and get ready...)

Mindful Living #2 - LOTS-n-LOTS of IBS / Diarrhea Aides

Body systems can easily tip from constipation to diarrhea and back again. When I try to identify suspect triggers and helps, I eat bland foods then add foods back slowly - small amounts and only one or two new items a week. I approach anything I put into (or on!) my body as quite capable of intense healing as well as intense harm. Remember, one person's medicine is another's poison - and ALL ingested and topical substances can be listed in this category. Keep charts, dates and details!

Even when IBS is cycling (herxheimer) symptoms, you can become dehydrated. Drinking coconut water is wise. Coconut water was substituted for saline solution during several wars, put straight into wounded soldier's veins when suffering extensive blood loss. The closest natural known thing to our body's balance of salt / water and nutrients, it is a smart swap to stabilize the body. coconut oil is also great, because of the many medicinal and cleansing properties, but please start slow! The first time I made lemon coconut oil candy, I ate approx 3 TB with no idea of the misery I would suffer for four days in bed. Really. Within several hours, I was in severe pain and so emotionally and cognitively unsteady that I curled in Michael's arms while sobbing-ranting-babbling about crazy unrealistic notions... VERY odd for me, even on the toughest guai days.  That is how I learned coconut oil is a magnificent detox, and lemon juice mixed in can be potent!

Allergies could start your problem, as could a myriad of serious illnesses. Check changes of diet, medication and nutritional supplements. Have you changed guai brands? Probiotics are smart but often cause internal chaos for quite a while. I am an avid fan of cultured vegetables and lacto-fermented foods such as yogurt and kefir, and had used them for several months. I decided to eat 1/2 of small jar of fermented veggies over a weekend to "clean things up". I was housebound 3 1/2 days with frequent runs to the loo as the bacteria cleaned my system. Probiotics accomplish similar jobs, just different strains perhaps - so increasing doses can indeed extend your problem, at least until their cleansing is done.

Bananas help Michael's IBS greatly - but 1/2 of this fruit will bend me over in cramps and pain. Some forms of prepared eggs often do this too, particularly if I eat more than one or two. Cheese is known for causing constipation AND halting diarrhea, as are other dairy products. My great aunt ate a small amount of cheese and crackers before bed many nights to keep a good balance. You may have developed lactose or other intolerances, even as you heal with guai. As I cleaned up my diet and avoided most processed foods and cycled on guai, I became "allergic" to many perfumes. I became suddenly ill from MSG and could barely leave a Chinese restaurant. I cannot tolerate as much of some foods as before. A healer reminded me that as my body heals and cleanses, it awakens to the original tolerances that it knows are best - which means junk is no longer tolerated, a positive sign and great news.

Several teaspoons of mustard or straight vinegar may help with digestive emergencies ASAP, as will ginger powder sprinkled in foods. Ginger can stop nausea and severe stomach pain. I keep grated ginger root in my freezer, frozen into ice cube trays then popped into an airtight container. Mix one cube with a bit of cream and sweetener, and cinnamon for digestive use too. I spoon and drink it as a tangy treat and quick help when terribly nauseous from cycling.  (Some of the above *might* block at high amounts)

Eating fruit can cause diarrhea¹. I cannot eat much fruit because properties of many of them will send me to the loo, unless I limit servings and frequency. The natural sugar in fruit, fructose, takes longer to digest and as it lingers in the large intestine it ferments and can cause gas and bloating. Are you SURE you are not gluten sensitive? This ingredient is commonly included in many processed foods, as is MSG. Try avoiding processed foods and bakeries.

Sip electrolyte-laden sports drinks or rehydrate with this baby formula: 1 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of salt to a quart of water. Even this amount can be too much salt for a baby, and you might need to adjust portions for your weight - but you get the idea. Strained carrots, rice cereal, apple sauce, plain dry toast and plain crackers are famous for halting pediatric diarrhea. Avoid carbonated beverages, and drink lots of clean water to aid removal of toxins. You can halt symptoms with Imodium, Kaopectate and Pepto-Bismol (Sal-Full^TM) but I would not use them very often! Pectin, acidophilus tablets, carob powder, barley, bananas and Swiss cheese are NOT recommended for chronic use as they may halt the diarrhea but only because they delay the purging effect and not address healing needs.

RAW "live" honey is strongly antibacterial and can halt diarrhea. Find this thick, NOT runny potent healer in health food stores, but buy only "active ingredients / LIVE / RAW / unheated / no flash heat" honey. Michael eats 1 TB on an empty stomach almost every day to prevent ulcers and heal his stomach, much as I do with coconut oil. Try 1 TB of honey on an empty stomach before bed, but don't drink more than a few sips of water because it will dilute the coating effect. Particularly when first using honey, it can cause the runs because it is cleaning out your system. Honey is also nature's greatest source of fructose.

Artificial sweeteners can cause problems, so be mindful of diabetic, sugar-free or low-carb treats with ingredients such as Sorbitol, Splenda, Xylitol, sugar-free gum. Higher levels of fat could cause the problem, so be mindful if you are on the high side with HG or low-carb diets. Coffee and caffeine can cause distress, and tobacco as well as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. Increased consumption of powdered fiber such as psyllium is often helpful for IBS, but can cause severe gas and bloating until your body adjusts. So may eating raw and highly fibrous foods... be mindful as you improve eating habits!

Chew food very well to aid proper digestion and to release the needed chemicals when jaw muscles open / shut your mouth. Breathe deeply to provide increased oxygen needed for digestion, and walk or stretch before / after meals to help the muscles of your midsection work well together. The Greeks used wine as a diarrhea aid. Six ounces of white or red wine is often more effective than Pepto-Bismol in eradicating the problem bacteria.

These remedies may address diarrhea / constipation / stomach pain symptoms, and should be used strictly as the labels advise (the following, except Grapefruit Seed extract, are Sal-Full^TM and may block guai) : DGL, Licorice capsules (deglcyrrhizinated licorice, that removes risk of high blood pressure,  peppermint, cayenne (capsicum - capsaicin is Sal-Free^TM), blackberry root bark, chamomile, pau d´arco, raspberry leaves, fenugreek tea, grapefruit seed extract, marshmallow root tea, slippery elm, wild oregano oil, flaxseeds, balm, lobelia, rose hips. 

I listed several books and suggestions in archived posts - search: BONNY + ulcer, digest, stomach, belly, Jordan Rubin, stomach acid, Jonathan Wright. GI care site + click here for many helpful diets and food lists for such ailments.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements ... A-To-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies)

Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies by Phyllis A. Balch Prescription for Herbal Healing brings to herbal medicine the same in-depth, easy-to-understand information and accessible style that Prescription for Nutritional Healing successfully brought to diet and nutritional supplements.

Prescription for Dietary Wellness: Using Foods to Heal 2nd Edition by Phyllis A. Balch Like its companion books--the number-one bestselling Prescription for Nutritional Healing and the newer Prescription for Herbal Healing--Prescription for Dietary Wellness offers authoritative information that is research-based and clearly written, making it easy for the reader to quickly find the subjects in which he or she is interested and to incorporate the dietary recommendations into his or her daily life.

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Note from Member regarding fruit causing diarrhea: From my cleansing days, fruit is a cleanser if taken alone and it can cause diarrhea due to a cleansing reaction.  If you want to eat fruit and not have diarrhea, try eating it with other foods.  Of course, some people will have a reaction for other reasons besides cleansing but this may be part or the whole problem for some people, particularly those who eat or drink fruit by itself and if they are really toxic.

Response to Feedback on #2

Wow. The emails I received this afternoon relaying the appreciation of this post from guaiers really does indicate a big need for this type of data - and I am pleased it inspired some of you because it took almost 4 hours to write, and I edited then sent it four times before it would fit the length limitations (to prevent viruses from attaching to GG posts). Ugh!

So, I had a cool idea... Maybe some of you will want to print a few copies, and place them in your purse or near your grocery list or refrigerator... And pass a few copies to friends who need it and maybe even leave a few copies with your doctors so they can learn and share, too. All the info is solid and well documented if one does the research, so I do not think it should cause too many odd looks! *LOL* I keep very important lists and recipes in plastic sheet liners, or gallon freezer bags that zip closed, then taped inside kitchen cabinet doors or bedroom closet so I can read them easily. I leave shopping lists and reminders near my computer so I can research details when I grab a few spare minutes, and so I always know to grab them on the way out the door.

Although all info on this site is automatically protected for the person who posts, I am happy to share "mindful living" posts with those outside our GG subscriber list. I will deliberately avoid mentioning any names, so your privacy will not be at risk.

One guaier asked where I buy my coconut oil, milk and other products. I buy Thai brand coconut milk ($1.56) at the local Walmart grocery store, located in the ethnic section. There is also a more economical Walmart brand. They have a coconut milk there too, but I do not recall the brand... It is in thin aluminium soft drink style cans, with a green and silver label (.78). I buy unsweetened shredded coconut and whole baby coconuts at health food stores, wild oats and whole foods market. Sometimes I grind the flakes into meal and toss into smoothies or things I bake, or even soup.  Click here to find other sources of products as well as lotsa links that Rowena and I compiled regarding books, recipe books, research articles and articles to share with your healers.

---bonny guai rocks !!! (Happy friends who feel better do, too.)

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Q: "I have been giving my 5 year old son this DGL for his acid reflux which is very bad.  It is working however I want us back on the guai and have not found a natural cure other than this for his reflux. Do you know of anything else I could check into? Thanks so much for all you do."

A: There are many suggested remedies as well as quick-fixes for acid reflux.  However, many are not cures and not long lasting.  Instead of mentioning them for your son, since he has a particularly difficult case and quite young, I would several things:

Buy this fabulously informative book and read it before doing anything else regarding this problem, because it is a fairly quick read and an eye-opener:
 

Why Stomach Acid is Good for You (Softback) (Natural Relief From Heartburn, Indigestion, Reflux & Gerd) by Jonathan V. Wright, MD And Lane Wright, PhD  $15  ISBN# 0-87131-931-4

Then, if you have not already done so, take your child to a reputable doctor and have him thoroughly tested for any possible causes and / or damage from this illness.  The more I learn about it, the more I respect the findings that long-term damage can occur with gerd ailments.  You might save him decades of misery and harm by being proactive.  But read the book first, so you will know how to correctly listen to the doctor and evaluate his/her  findings as well as her/his offers of medication.  You will probably be horrified and want to throw them all away.

Then, buy and study another book because it lists very basic protocols and approaches that may help even severe Gerd-related cases.  I did not do most of the exacting steps in the book because I did not need to, but I did benefit from and still practice many insights and was quite prepared to do the entire process if my ulcer did not heal.  It will take you on a very simple journey of understanding through the body and digestive processes, and the info will complement the first book and help you make choices for your son regarding foods, behaviors, and medicinals:
 

Restoring Your Digestive Health: How the Guts and Glory Program Can Transform Your Life (softback) by Jordan S. Rubin NMD and Joseph Brasco MD US $15, Canada $21  - ISBN# 0-7582-0282-2

Jordan S. Rubin also authored a similar book regarding overall comprehensive health that expands on the basics in the one listed above, and will really get you thinking about powerful nutritional and natural healing techniques.  It is called "The Maker's Diet". 

Jordan refers to "The Creator / God" many times, so keep this in mind as you read the book.  Even though he is very religious and takes many of his concepts straight from the facts of the bible, I think it is a solid read just packed with helps and not just a book with references to scripture that inspire but do not give hands on aide. 

The Maker's Diet: The 40 Day Health Experience That Will Change Your Life Forever by Jordan S. Rubin

These three books are mandatory in my healing books collection, and I have a huge number that I would choose after these three.

So, this project will take a bit of time and effort but I can not imagine not putting out the effort for obvious reasons.  The suggestions are affordable and not difficult at all, unless you decide to buy only organic foods as he suggests.  I cannot possibly afford to live this way, but I make mindful choices and shop for certain organic items on a regular basis.  Just don't let that issue deter you.

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Q: "Did you mean 'horrified and throw them all away' about the meds?"

A: Yes.  I became very, very upset when I read about types of OTC and prescribed digestive aides that do help but also are thought to have potential to cause very serious damage to the body in various ways.  Prilosec and Cimetadine are in this group, by the way. :(  Anyone who uses digestive aides more than very occasionally would be wise to invest in the book I mentioned, Why Stomach Acid is Good for You, because just listing the concern is not enough.  The whole book is invaluable to your existing situation and long term health in many ways, and much of that research has been verified and is in print in more recent sources.

---BONNY  Guai ROCKS !!!

Member: I have tried really hard to only buy organic. It is pricey but makes a difference in the way we feel. We try to stay away from the boxed foods and go with the raw."

Bonny: I am gathering a bunch of links to coupons for organic and healthful products, and plan to post them to GG soon... Hope some of them help you. :)

Re: boxed foods - as many of you know, Michael and I strongly believe in "being prepared for the worst" and stock up on emergency provisions even though we are on a tight budget. Every year, I rotate pantry goods and eat older stuff then replace it with similar versions. I can tell we have come a very long way in the last year because much of the food we stored, even though it was as healthy as I could imagine at the time, is not very supportive to our more healthy ways of eating now. Some I actually threw away because I think it is unethical to even donate, and others are being donated or eaten then better versions are being stored. Most of the boxed stuff is very $$ compared to the health value or lack of such, and many of the not low-carb items are not friendly to our digestive health either. We still store some canned foods, but mindfully, and it is more expensive to stock up on healthy items... But just remember that when under stress and living in emergency environments your digestion as well as other bodily functions need as many not detrimental foods as it can get. This concept got me thinking even more than usual about our preparedness routines.

---bonny guai rocks !!!

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Member: "A friend of mine had been suffering with acid reflux for years and was so happy when prilosec came out.  Eventually prilosec didn't help."

Bonny: Yeah, I was elated and grateful too when I was prescribed Prilosec yrs ago before it was OTC. After many tests c/o nice $$ health insurance, the Dr said I slept too much and took too much vitamin C and should loose a few pounds. I was almost crawling to the office in weakness, back when the CFS version of my FMS kicked in bad and never ever stopped till guai. I had no clue what was wrong, and those were his only findings and suggestions -except my RX of Prilosec since I had constant bloated stomachs and runs and stomach pains. Two pills later, and I could eat without paralyzing fear of going to work or anywhere else in public, or in a car, or more than a few leaps from a restroom. And, I could eat more than a few basic bland foods that still caused me harm much of the time. I could live on spicy chilli if desired... That stuff was magic magic blessed magic.

He never mentioned IBS, or acid reflux disease, gerd issues, etc. Oh, well.

Four yrs later I found the guai protocol and hg / low-carb diets.

Wow. What a miracle, really. Guai helped but I was still in the first hard phase of guai which for me meant mostly bedridden sleep. Ironically, I hurt far more now on low and on high doses of guai than I did on very high doses of guai those first few yrs. Several weeks on the HG diet and my IBS practically vanished. It was so weird, and for several yrs I stayed jumpy when I ate anything anyway... Just in case. Now I know that certain food combinations and some wheat / baked products cause harm, and I occasionally can not tolerate much food at all if I am very weak or cycling hard without symptoms. But, these are very small concerns compared with the grim dark ages pre-guai and low-carb. Really.

The Dr never mentioned diet of food modifications, or the possibility of food intolerances or stomach issues, or blood sugar concerns, or CFS or FMS, etc., etc., etc. He kinda smiled when I told him my immune system was horrid and he suggested that apparently I thought I had the yuppie flu, and continued to advise that I slept too much. I told him I used to work 60 - 70 hrs a week and rarely took a personal or sick day and also volunteered extensively. He smiled and wrote me the Prilosec RX and thought that might help. Yes, he was considered a top notch general practitioner in town and probably still is. If I thought he would read and "get" the book, I would mail him a copy, but I just don't see it happening.

---BONNY Guai ROCKS !!!

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More Natural Cures Revealed: Previously Censored Brand Name Products That Cure Disease

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Mindful Living # 3 - My Kingdom for a Phone...

I know my shoulder and neck muscles would trade theirs for a phone, as long as it came with a speakerphone button! As many of you know, I work at home part time providing phoning support for insurance agencies - but the business I designed to see me through the my desperately weak, ill first seasons with CFS / FMS is now 6 1/2 years old and I love it too much to give it away. That means I talk with people up to six hours many evenings, and ergonomics mean a lot to my body. Like, if I can even work that evening or not, while coping with heavy guai cycling. I used to work with a headset, but about a year ago the brand I used went out of business and Michael bought me a fancy-dandy business speakerphone which I ignored for months because I did not want to sound like many professionals who (unknowingly? nah...) blare and clank, hiss and squeal through their speakerphones and generally sound like... well... they're talking on a speakerphone.

Many agents and clients insisted that they did not even notice I was using a speakerphone, so I fell in 'technolove' yet again and apologized to my wise DH. My shoulders liked me again, and I saved considerable sums of $$ because I did not need to buy and wear heat strips on my muscles nearly so often. Last week it died, though, and I bought an improved, impressive version with many more features for 1 / 7th of the price. $16.95 and free shipping was just too thrilling for me to bear, so I ordered three... one for the computer desk, a work area phone, and a spare! My agents will be very pleased that I no longer need to put down the computer desk phone every few minutes while we are designing scripts on the phone, and I will never wrangle with the cord/lines and my joyously tangled feline again while hoping he doesn't slam it to the ground. While my agents are listening. Professional and courteous presentation is a mandate in my profession, and I somehow never thought to extend the same consideration to my agents at my front desk that I do for their clients, every night.   
 

Mindful Living #4 - Thanking Native Americans for Our Families
(Scroll to end of post for RECIPES and RESOURCES.)

For several evenings this week, Michael and I watched narrated depictions suitable for the Thanksgiving holiday courtesy of the History Channel on TV. How colonists invested in provisions for their voyage, bought a small ship to follow the Mayflower, and suffered ongoing seasickness for 2 1/2+ months while huddled closely together in the dark damp gloom with chickens, goats, crying children and dangerously unhygienic environments.

They finally landed during the harsh, wet and bitter cold coastal winter with ample assurances that God really would see them through. Many died on the voyage over, and quite a few died during struggles to survive that difficult first year in the New World. Seeds they brought along often failed and plants withered on vines. Illness was rampant, and the various demands of their new lifestyle brought true misery for many.

Maybe their God did help them, I do not know nor can I judge - but it certainly seems apparent that Native Americans saved the colonists from a very gruelling and probable group extinction.

History indicates one particular Native American - Squanto of the Wampanoag tribe - was the first and primary person to befriend the settlers, which I find truly amazing. He spoke English, so his knowledge and aide in the following years was easily shared. He learned English while waiting for years to return home after being stolen and shipped away by "white traders". Upon his return Squanto found ALL of his family, relatives and community dead - yet more results of "white men" who would very soon bring the creative atrocities of war and aggressively populate this freshly stolen country. He kept skulls of some tribe members on the ground in his tepee for years, to show both mourning and respect. Maybe you think it was an amazing stroke of luck that he spoke English... I believe it was an ongoing and amazing act of grace that Squanto chose to approach and speak to them at all.

The politics of Thanksgiving provide fodder for a revealing "Pro and Con" debate. Typical tales and illustrations show societal warmth shared by the surviving 52 pilgrims and their 91 Native American guests during that first 3-day "Thanksgiving" gathering that originated as a nod to the European Harvest Home celebrations. Relief from difficult work of the first year along with demonstrations of prowess in weaponry and feats of strength were the not-so-scheduled entertainments, and fun was had by all except perhaps the five cooks - the only Pilgrim women who survived. Without food processors, microwave ovens, freezers or grocery stores I am sure preparing an extended feast for 143 was a bit taxing.

Much more recently, some Native Americans refuse to attend Thanksgiving gatherings and walk out of historical enactments. In fact, there apparently was no "First Thanksgiving" at all, and the occasion is properly termed "the harvest celebration in 1621 (click here for more information).  While many Native Americans respect the efforts of both peoples to reach out and share in such tension-filled times, others now view this period as The Beginning of the End.  Consider the causes and detriments of their severely dwindling populations, little-known cultures, environments (OK, officially termed reservations but styled more as internment camps) and resources now extended to Native Americans from the USA government that moved in and shoved Native Americans with cruelty from their lands to gain a current if well veiled perspective of your USA today.  Just be quiet (or not) and notice the ways Native Americans are STILL frequently viewed and addressed courtesy of the many prevailing nasty, inaccurate attitudes from People-Who-Should-Know-Better.

Though I did not remember much about Native American history except grade school interpretations, the 6-week TV miniseries "Into the West" produced by Steven Spielberg that aired during summer 2005 brought me up to speed. Real fast. I quietly cried through much of it, every weekend. This important series is now available on DVD.

Sometimes I turn to an easily understood book of insights when trying to cure ailments or find new ways to consider: "American Indian Healing Arts" by E. Barrie Kavasch and Karen Barr (ISBN # 0-553-37881-3, $17.95).

Other times I find surprising peace and peeks into respected beliefs when listening to CDs found in quality music and bookstores such as: "Tribal" (20th Anniversary Collection) - The Best in Contemporary Native American Music (ISBN # 1-56628-388-4, price varies).

Occasionally I browse the vast collection of links and pages at Native Tech,

National Museum of the American Indian , and Internet Sacred Text Archive.

Another site I explore while feeling embarrassed for "NEW Americans" is Indian Burial And Sacred Grounds Watch.

Yeah, although some, disappointingly, are no longer available, there are many others, but these will provide important beginnings for your contemplations.

This Thanksgiving you might not have any interest at all in serving Moose stew or delighting your guests with Anish-Nah-Be Pakwejigan and Algonquin Wild Nut Soup, but then again you may... impressive collections of Indigenous Food & Traditional Recipes are found at Native Tech and Harvestfields Native American Recipes.

My Google search for the three words "Squanto" AND "Thanksgiving" located 7,930 links to insights and activities you may wish to prepare for the long holiday weekend ahead, so you can share more than football games and belches with your children and adults who can always learn better ways.

When giving thanks to your God(s) and the colonists for our so bountiful modern lifestyles, I think we should pause to extend thanks and show respect to those who made certain we have "Pilgrims" to thank.

---BONNY Guai ROCKS !!! (Mindful Living Allows for Improvement EVERYday.)

Mindful Living #5 - Cuddling the Skull

When Michael returned from errands earlier today, all wet and snowy, I explained that it may have been triggered by the dried Himalayan mulberries I just bought at the health food store... or the magnesium capsules that just recently have been greatly reducing my leg muscle cramps... or the nifty new coconut spread I was snacking on.  Just dunno Honey... maybe it WAS the raw-honey harnessed power of lunch or the Hunza-grown raisins I couldn't afford to buy, or the maca root powder I usually manage to swallow even if it does indeed taste sorta ugly... whatever it was, I now needed both his opinion and spiritual guidance.  Before he took a shower and went to work.  Right now.

I never used that phrase with him, or anyone else, or me... til this afternoon.  The spiritual guidance part.  But now "in the trenches", I glibly moved ahead with my claim.  I planned to save $50 during the next few weeks, to mail-order several more months of the best-quality-and-darned-effective high potency liquid L-Carnitine my body has ever known.  Or tasted.  Heck, it is near St. Valentine's Day - so cheers to my hopefully improving cardiovascular health. 

Michael is somewhat used to these unfamiliar plans of mine, lately, so he said "OK..." and looked at me with his ever patient quizzical look.  There's ALWAYS something more when Bonny starts conversations like that one...And there was.  I couldn't decide if I should spend my L-Carnitine cash to make reservations to cuddle, instead, with Max wrapped in my arms for 30 whole minutes. 

Michael busied himself with office-shirt buttons and calmly asked, "Who's Max?"

After almost 12 years together, it is annoyingly difficult to take Michael by surprise.  Oh, but I do try. 

And what DOES all of this have to do with GG and Mindful Living and FMS anyway?

Puzzle on, faithful Guaiers.  Michael dutifully skimmed the flyer, then sat down to pull on his socks and said, "Buy the L-Carnitine."

"But, Pumpkin... you can go TOO if you want.  If we go together, it's only $35 each.  We'd hav-ta schedule for Sunday morning before you leave for work, but it might be worthwhile.  Or, I could go alone and just cuddle Max up close in my arms and doze on some pillows and wish you were there."  He just said "No" (Michael, not Max) in that quiet but Very Very Firm ** and sp-o-o-o-ky ** way I suspect other Command Sgt. Majors occasionally do, too.  Game over.  I leaned back on the couch and laughed and laughed long and loud, enjoying the delight we call "us".

Max "the famous ancient crystal skull", found in a Guatemalan tomb during the mid-1020's, weighs in at 18 lbs. and is the largest of the known 13 crystal skulls relics in the world.  Estimated to be at least 10,000 years old, considered by many to be one of the rarest artifacts known to man, Max is still a mystery... how did he get there, who carved him, why - why - why?   The promotion sez "Many who have touched the skull receive insight, healing, visions and expanded intuitive abilities as well as inner peace.  You are invited to see, touch and experience Max."

I think Michael is too conservative.  He thinks we might get electrocuted by Max.  Somehow, that bothersome need for compromise in extraordinarily excellent relationships regularly pops up.  Even in ours.  So, I just won't go.  After all, he's taking me to our favorite Chinese food buffet for our anniversary

AND I get to pick out a smoochy romantic comedy should I choose to do so.  So much for 3rd party Sunday morning dates.

My flyer and picture of Max is now taped to the bookshelf right outside the dining room and entrance to our home.  Baby blue not-twinkling mini-lites are duck-taped along the perimeter of our bedroom ceiling, our 1.4" bright blue alarm clock numbers are... well... blue... and my new Cranberry Orange scented candle, thoughtfully reduced for clearance by Walmart, is dancing flames to the beats of classic rock  blaring into my ears c/o beloved Sony headphones that never ever fall out. 

The sultry-affecting DJ just asked if I know that I can email her crew anytime, at ww.1077sfm.com  Then again, maybe she wasn't speaking to just me... it could have been the coconut oil chocolate I made a big batch of, in my wee 1-qt Rival Crockette.  And the goji berries.  Or the skull-flyer or Hunza raisins vibes.  It could-a. Warmed peas-n-coconut oil with a big pinch of "Neera's Curry Marsala" and a glass of dark cherry juice after a lunch of kefir and prunes and cranberry-veggie soup juice, a bit of cayenne and an individually wrapped ginger root candy, and the detox is ON.  Did people of Max's era need to detox?  Did they?  Did spices save their minds?

I haven't felt much pain at all for an entire week.  Read that sentence again, pleeze. Except for a thoughtfully included and mostly crippling 2-day purging headache c/o guaifenesin, I have experienced far more cognitive dissonance then pain or achy muscles for a blissfully energetic, cognitively clear and emotional joyous week.  Never pulled this off, or anything close, for more than the rare day since my start on the guai protocol 5+ yrs ago.  Maybe it was the fresh organic baby spinach leaves.  I just don't think the paperwork describing Max has the power.  I hope not.  Yes, yes, this does have a lot to do with a lot of FMS issues.  But you gotta read Part 2.

Wise as usual, Michael did have several valid concerns regarding my proposed morning lull with Max.  For those of you who just can't accept that objects carry energy, please be aware.  You may not believe it, or feel it, but energy does indeed come in many forms and travel from there to here and everywhere.  And from everything.  Over and over again, in and out, all about.  That would include Max.  The simple act of being in a room with such a large crystal could easily bring a change in your ways, be they good or not so pleasant.  Being around so many highly motivated and sensitive people could be just as damaging or healing, too.  Who, exactly, is totally and reliably capable of clearing the residue of Max's visitors? I often become quite ill during or even a day after attending gatherings of such healers.  They say it is "just energy detoxing" from all their super-positive sunshiny influences and auras and such, but

for the interim I am consigned to bed rest and misery.  I become extremely disoriented and nauseous or giddy just walking through the grocery store at 2 AM if the attitude of the day's customers and staff was too nasty.  We share rarely visited friends because Michael and I leave with severe energy headaches and stop to throw up along the highway several times on the way home.  As my healing progresses, I become more sensitive.  On rough FMS days, I am far less durable.  Either way, winding thru this world is a difficult maze to wade while balancing medications, food allergies, robot prepared produce, plastic environments, FMS flares, attitudes of uninformed people, and energetic uplifting fun-for-alls like the meeting with Max and hope-full appointments with doctors.  Chasing toxic-but-oh-so-alluring rainbowz never was so dispiriting.

So, here's my quick list: the soot from scented candles is said to be much more damaging to lungs than unscented candles.  The profit of the sale went to an up-and-coming mega-monster corporation with employee issues and bad PR.  Mulberries can indeed be dangerous to the health of certain individuals, contain latex, and certain forms are thought to be poisonous.  The food-proof labels don't indicate this, and their reps politely dismiss the notion.  I found 631 recipes with mulberries as an ingredient at http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=mulberr - no warnings there, either.  Manufacturing processes of gelatin capsules and nutritionals is not a tour most people would enjoy, but sales from those products would probably drop for a while, til people recover and (yet again) overlook the bad bad news.  The cloth of Michael's shirts and the rugs we walk on and the underwear you sport and the Kleenex you sneeze into contain more of the same.  Bad, bad news.  Just like our air and regularly refined water, and the water way up in the Himalayan mountains and Peru and Tibet.  So much for the said to be closest-to-pristine berries and roots.  The curry marsIa I eat does come in a glass jar, but a plastic lid.  Most chocolate is brought to us by the enslavement of many.  Yes, slave labor and quite often enslavement of children in many countries.  Buy your cacao and other specialty foods from right action sources, such as www.rawfood.com   Please do what you can to spread the awareness, and support honorable and Fair Trade chocolate and food production such as that upheld at www.dignityfairtrade.com  (thanks to the guaier who passed this link to me!)  Solicit local small shops that sell health-bringing products, don't listen to headphones-sourced music or conversations louder than 80 - 85 decibels, be aware that painkiller rx may indeed decrease your hearing anyway, accept the fact that electromagnetic "dirty energy" pollution is beaming right into you right now from your PC screen and right into me from my still beloved Sony headphones.  Seek Chinese food that somehow fails to include MSG, remove digital alarm clocks and other electronics from your bedroom that show red digital numbers.  Research the modern-day quickie production of many brands of "California Black Olives" as well as most other olives, too, before you dare to serve them to your friends or yourself.  To eat them after becoming informed will be daring, indeed.  Did ya know that preparing meals with ever-so-chic-again slow cookers usually kills enzymes, creates trans fat, eradicates many naturally provided aides to good digestion, etc etc etc... ETC?  Cooking in those tossable plastic bags isn't so handy, either.  Most of you know that many cosmetics, hygiene and home cleaning products are sorta killing you softly with their siren songs even if you smell good and look sparkly all along the way.  The bologna I snitched tonight tasted darned good going down, but that is the only good thing I should risk saying about it.  Don't shower in the rain, and don't eat the yellow snow.  Or the white. 

I wasn't destined to visit with Max anyway, he left town last Sunday.  Just foolin' Michael on that one, and the L-Carnitine I adore that keeps me rockin' during lengthy typing sessions like this contains Splenda.  But just a little tiny bit, and only because the many demanding fans of the otherwise fabulous owner of a mostly politically correct supplement production factory insisted and insisted.  The guy knows better, and in fact regularly trashes Splenda and many other nasties in public and on TV.  I'm still puzzling that one, and I am a SuperFan.  His customer service staff apologize for this mark against his well-known glow all the time.

Can you pronounce, or spell, or accurately type the following word before you go to sleep tonight?  Do you know what it is?  Will you or your children or sweetie be eating it on February 14th?  This "word" is too long for my word processor to check, so you are on your own and alone with your sweet dreams... here it is... 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-BETA-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galac topyranoside

So, Max brought me plenty of insight for free after all.  This snowny day started as a party but evolved into one of regret for almost every single thing i am still uninformed enough to be able to enjoy.  I know the bad news is coming, and not much good, in those glowing with health newsletters zipped into my email box every few days.  10,000 years later we really do seem to be overly eager to join with the skulls and bones laid in ceremonial coffins or burned for urns instead of the vibrant, healthful wise women and men we were so well designed to be.   

My current survival meditation centers on "W W L D?".  What would Lucy do?  No, no, not the redhead.  The first guaier to write to this list and guess who the Lucy I am referring to is, WINS :)  If you follow even a few of Lucy's ways, you already have.

---BONNY  Guai ROCKS !!!  

(But have you realized what this post very probably has to do with FMS... and

you?)

Mindful Living #6 - How Are YOU Celebratin' ???

The first few crackers-in-the-dark are being popped off on this drizzly, rumbly thunderstorm-scattered 4th of July evening here in my city. Michael's working a double shift so I spent the day alone, feeling aches from the storms and drowsy from recent "dental intervention" and enjoying a free day from my clients, my business, my toils. After too joyfully picnicking indoors with (nope, nope, NOT HG!) orange soda, pickled hot-dogs, Fritos and candied ginger - and frowning at tacky interpretations of the flag of the USA both online and across the street - I realized that at least the tacky flag bikini-ers, posers and posters are celebrating the day. Maybe I should be, but nuh-uh... not me.

At least not the the traditional way.

Instead, I continue to contemplate the bliss I gain from my freedom to choose the person I live with, the friends I email with, my right to cohabitate with a feline (not felon, now, read carefully...) and my ability to evolve my own small business the way I deem appropriate with the clients I choose. I can write pretty much what I wanna online or anywhere else, pretty much choose the treatments I think best for my chronic debilitating illnesses, pretty much locate and purchase supplements and aides to support the protocols, and pretty much live a healthy-eating and wise-home environment lifestyle as long as I can afford it.

Pretty much.

Some countries and cultures ban some of the above freedoms, and some don't - but until not so many years ago I stayed asleep in the subtle enticing dream I
grew up believing based on what my relatives and teachers said... that we live in The Land of The Free. Not just a land - THE Land. THE Free. Yeah...

Forcing myself to think outside of my family home, local colleges, the evening news and lotsa sections of many libraries brought me to a few realizations about what I intended to do when I grew up - be a journalist. I was rather handy with phrases and quick with the pen, and had a knack for getting great quotes from notable people in odd circumstances so this field was just an exhilarating party to me - until I found that even writers must feed themselves. Somehow. OOPS.

Back in the days of my exciting electric typewriter, there were very few outlets for salaried or commissioned writers in my area so practice was tough to come by. No blogs, no IM, no email resume's, no online subscription magazines, etc etc etc. Submissions and all those rejection letters would always be by snail mail, should I have lived by the pencil-n-quills. Still, I was willing to rough it until I found our city's famous downtown newspaper office was just as oppressive and silencing as all the others, the ones my better journalism teachers regularly taught me to rally against. It's just that our newspaper and their employer wasn't in, say, China or Latin America. So, I lost my appetite and saved my conscience and blended in with the rest of the population of people who know better.

Here I am, and you and you and you...

and the ever oppressing machinations of the FDA, CODEX, AMA, and all the rest of the fellows sleeping in the soup of healthcare management and support.

We all have online access and basic computer skills / diagnosis and hopes / opinions / hearts / brains. Most of us have many dreary results to share - and teach - to those still suffering with our ailments and with us.

It seems much more truthful and revealing to say we live in The Land of The Pretty Much Free, in the context of health issues as well as religious and racial liberties and so many other increasingly less subtle discriminations. Still, with centuries of silence we bought it and with our silence we pay.

Oh, wait. It's my big mistake, eh? WE are not the ones with lack of integrity and love of ease, THEY are.

That's a trick my brain tries to play but I rally against it as much as I am able. Hope you rally against yours. Meanwhile, Tesa the owner and moderator of this precious support group is a fabulous role model and one of my personal best. Most of you didn't know that, I bet. Kathy is a very close competitor for my eye, tho, because she mounted GG's opposition to the FDA against Adams Lab and Mucinex guai, and continues to inform us of the many similar soon-to-be woes we are staring so placidly into the headlights of. Wendy and all of those who assist the operation and information presentations of this site always earn my respect too, even if they are often far too busy to notice or need it.

In their own invaluable if quiet ways, they all seem to be "partying down" and celebrating our remaining freedoms everyday.

And what about me and you, and you, and you?? Ah, Freedom... there are still so many glorious ways to choose it. Or loose it. The choice to type to senators, representatives, officials, neighbors, friends, fellows, blogs and online groups is ours and the topics are too.

I celebrated tonight by typing this post with VERY tortured-in-storms-and-guai-cycling carpal tunnel pain. At least several hundred GGers will read it, probably. Like the Big Oil companies say during their so expensive, so sleek look-we're-doing-good TV commercials... It's a Start.

Your turn. And yours, and yours, and OURS.

---BONNY Guai ROCKS !!! Fireworks just smog our air + abandon the homeless.

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