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06 January 2024

A conversation with Elisha Daeva, author of Before War: On Marriage, Hierarchy, and Our Matriarchal Origins.

 

A conversation with Elisha Daeva, author of Before War: On Marriage, Hierarchy, and Our Matriarchal Origins. 

Click here to listen to the interview.

If you have Zoom, you can also click on this link.



The book Before War will change how its readers look at the world — by exposing the female roots of Western civilization. It draws on the evidence from anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, primatology, and the shocking new genetics data, to tell the story of Western civilization.

For readers of Sapiens and The Dawn of Everything, this is about another way that our European ancestors lived, without violence, sexual shame, or social inequality. It’s the story of a story that was buried and re-discovered again and again, and is once again being told, thanks to the new science of genetics. It’s the story of the first rape, genocide and colonization in 3500 BCE, and of the peaceful, egalitarian people who lived before. It’s about the most controversial academic debate of all time, which has raged for 250 years. It’s a funny, sexy take on some heavy topics.

It’s not about blaming men. It’s about standing together against an institution that harms us all.

Are you interested in your Eurasian ancestors, in the truth about our ancient past, or in the origins of social inequality? Do you want practical solutions for how we can save the world, or how you can heal from harmful belief systems? It’s time for a paradigm shift!


The above is from the author's page (click on this link to purchase the book) on Amazon.

The author's website can be found at this link

09 May 2021

LESLIE SCHWARTZ HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR (1930-2020) BIBLIOGRAPHY

I find it remarkable just how much media attention Leslie Schwartz achieved in a span of just a few years, and we never had an agent or public relations team, only word of mouth. 

Our work went out to millions of people all over the world. 

I hope to keep Leslie's work and life's message alive for many years to come and to build upon his efforts to educate future generations of students. 

This is an incomplete list; please send me links and I will add them and update as they come in.

-Marc David Bonagura



BOOKS











Surviving the Hell of Auschwitz and Dachau: A Teenage Struggle Toward Freedom from Hatred

Leslie Schwartz (1930), Marc David Bonagura (1961)

2013 Lit Verlag

ISBN 978-3-643-90368


Durch die Holle von Auschwitz und Dachau

Ein Junge erkampft sein Uberleben

Leslie Schwartz (1930)

2010 Lit Verlag

ISBN 978-3-643-10821-0












At overleve helvede: en af de sidste overlevende fra Auschwitz

Leslie Schwartz (1930), Karen Thisted (1946)

2007 Politikens

ISBN 978-8-756-78073-5



 BLOG POSTS

Enter "Leslie Schwartz" in the search box and list sorted by "date" and  all my blog posts will be listed.

Here is a link: http://marcbonagura.blogspot.com/search?q=Schwartz&max-results=20&by-date=true

https://blogs.bgsu.edu/history/2015/01/an-evening-with-holocaust-survivor-leslie-schwartz-hosted-by-bgsu-history-department-february-5th/ 



UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn50293 



WIKI PAGE

https://second.wiki/wiki/leslie_schwartz



NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

https://bcccurrent.com/676/features/leslie-schwartz/

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/news/palm/fl-jjps-leslieschwartz-0415-20150413-story.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/world/europe/holocaust-history-as-told-by-a-survivor.html

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/news/palm/fl-jjps-leslieschwartz-0106-20160104-story.html

https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/education/usm/2016/02/15/holocaust-survivor-speak-documentary-screening/80422828/

https://www.merkur.de/lokales/ebersberg/poing-ort29300/poing-holocaust-ueberlebender-leslie-schwartz-ist-tot-13780168.html 

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/ebersberg/nachruf-trauer-um-leslie-schwartz-1.4915571

https://wiedertaeufer.ms/kaempfer-gegen-das-vergessen/

https://uaatwork.arizona.edu/uannounce/talk-and-film-showing-holocaust-survivor-leslie-schwartz 

https://www.usm.edu/news/2016/release/holocaust-survivor-speak-documentary-screening-feb-23.php

https://www.bgfalconmedia.com/campus/holocaust-survivor-speaks-about-time-at-concentration-camp-auschwitz/article_202a5d54-adb6-11e4-b652-f78e6297789d.html

https://www.studentprintz.com/three-times-before-age-16-i-should-have-died-holocaust-survivor-shares-story-at-usm/ 

https://www.wpbf.com/article/holocaust-survivor-finds-peace-speaking-to-teens/1311771

https://www.wdam.com/story/31308317/holocaust-survivor-attends-screening-of-film-at-usm-on-nazi-atrocities/

https://thevarsity.ca/2015/11/02/holocaust-survivor-comes-to-victoria-college/



AUDIO RECORDINGS

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2014/02/28/holocaust-survivor-students 



VIDEOS

https://youtu.be/efdB4Kp0fU8 

https://www.pbs.org/video/conversations-leslie-schwartz/



FILMS

The Muhldorf Train of Death

2012

Beatrice Sonhuter

https://www.beatrice-sonhueter.de/the-muhldorf-train-of-death/


The Samuel Project

2018

Directed by Marc Fusco

https://vimeo.com/223920819



21 April 2021

FOUR SIMPLE, EASY, EFFECTIVE & HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS STRATEGIES


 

1. Proper sleep, proper hours: without proper sleep in terms of the hours, as well as the time of day, it is very hard to lose weight as your body is always on hyper alert producing too many of the stress hormones and not enough of the hormones that promote healthy weight, recovery, and muscle building. The best hours are between 10 pm and 5 am--get as many sleep hours within that zone as possible. Short naps of around 20-40 minutes during the day are fine, too, but not too close to bedtime as that may reset your internal "clock" and keep you up. The worst thing you can do is expose yourself to blue light from screens around your bed time or worse in your bedroom--additionally, the room should be dark with no light and electronic devices unplugged around you. Great, too, if you can get sunlight in your face in the morning when you wake up.


2. Probiotics: an often overlooked aspect of weight loss is digestion, and probiotics will make your digestive system more efficient and make you less prone to binge eating or junk food cravings. Simple, plain, whole milk yogurt a few cups a day--around or with meals even--add local in-season fruit like strawberries or blueberries in the summer months to make a great "dessert" in lieu of sugary desserts like ice cream or cookies.


3. Core exercises like Pilates, Yoga, or other similar workouts: working the core as in Pilates will promote fitness in the most important regions of your body regarding health and wellness, your core areas. Forget the marathons, all you need is 20-30 minutes a day on a mat. This is low impact, safe and effective--you'll see the inches melt off your midsection in no time. Get some exercise bands or ankle weights as you will eventually work up to adding more resistance. there are so many free videos available, you don't even need to pay for a gym membership. You can also add walking whenever possible in your normal, daily routine.


4. Intermittent Fasting: this concept is kind of a trendy, hipster key word search these days, but it has been around since our hunter-gatherer days--when people ate only when they could secure food--they might eat a lot on one day and then not again for three days-simply stated, you are just fasting for certain periods of time, usually hours, and this changes your metabolism and eliminates blood-sugar dips and cravings, too. You stretch out the times in between meals--say, eat a 6 pm dinner and then try to go until 9 am the next morning for a 15 hour stretch--you try to put these stretches together without overly stressing your body. 

11 April 2021

Healing Ginger Chicken Soup

This recipe is warming and healing for any kind of virus or infection, like colds and flu or simply to aid in breathing, esp. for elderly people. Ginger is an incredible healing herb with so many restorative and immune building properties. I'd caution not to put too much ginger, only because it will drown out the other, more subtle flavors. Ginger is legendary for relieving nausea and promoting appetite, normalizing blood pressure, regulating blood sugar, lowering inflammation, and helping digestion, and so much more!

Healing Ginger Chicken Soup

 Chop up 3 (three) medium-size onions and several cloves of garlic in a food processor.

Add those to a large pot of boiling water—add sea salt and dried or fresh oregano.

Chop up several carrots and add them to the soup.

Take a decent sized bunch of fresh organic parsley and remove the excess stems, then chop up the parsley along with a few small pieces of ginger (the more ginger you add, the spicier the soup will be, but too much will ruin the other subtler flavors in the soup—I suggest starting with less and learning how much ginger you like from experience).

Add the parsley and ginger to the pot.

Simmer for 20-30 minutes over a low boil.

Add your cut up chicken pieces with skin and bones intact—rinse the chicken but leave the skin—you can use breasts with the bone or even legs and thighs, any parts really.

Cook on a slow boil for an hour minimum, preferably longer, but this isn't really a broth, so ten hours is not required!

You'll notice all that green parsely, which when combined with the ginger and oregano, makes a potent healing soup!

You can serve alone or with the rice of your choice or various "soup" pastas and home baked bread if you fancy.

22 July 2020

NOTES ON UTERINE FIBROIDS & HERBS/NUTRITION

from NIH website https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/chasteberry



UTERINE FIBROIDS
Very common, esp. in women who haven’t had children—perhaps up to 70-80% of women have them

Not really a big issue unless they cause pain/discomfort or excessive bleeding/or require surgery

Disappear after menopause

250,000 women have surgery every year—98% of these surgeries are unnecessary

There are different kinds of surgery—some techniques can save parts of your tissue/organs

IDEAS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
PROBIOTICS AND FERMENTED FOODS—PLAIN WHOLE MILK ORGANIC YOGURT, KEFIR, ETC

SLEEP IN A DARK ROOM, AWAY FROM ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS, BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 10 PM AND 2AM MOST IMPORTANT

THREE SISTERS VINEGAR—LIVER SUPPORT

ELIMINATE ALL RAW FOODS

AVOID ALL VEGETABLE OILS

AVOID FASTING

AVOID SOY PRODUCTS

AVOID ALL PLASTICS AND ANYTHING IN PLASTICS ESP. BOTTLED WATER—DO NOT MICROWAVE OR HEAT ANYTHING PLASTIC

INCREASE EXERCISE LEVEL BUT NOT TO EXCESSIVE LEVELS—PILATES, CORE WORK, GLUTES, ETC. AND GENTLE PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES ARE BEST—EXERCISES WHERE YOU STAY ON A MAT ON THE FLOOR IS THE BEST

STRESS, ESPECIALLY EMOTIONAL STRESS, IS EXTREMELY DAMAGING

HAVE HERBS THAT STOP BLEEDING ON HAND—TO AVOID A TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE THEY WILL DO EMERGENCY SURGERY: VITEX/CHASTEBERRY TINCTURE  25 DROPS (THAT’S 1 DROPPERFUL) 2-4 TIMES A DAY FOR A LONG TIME—WE’RE TALKING YEARS—GIVE IT 1-2 MONTHS TO SEE SOME IMPROVEMENT

SUPPORT THE LIVER WITH DANDELION ROOT TINCTURE OR MILK THISTLE TINCTURE

LEAFY GREEN VEGETABLES

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES

DIARY IS FINE AS LONG AS IT IS GRASS FED, PREFERABLY LOCAL AND RAW IF POSSIBLE—AGED CHEESES, THINGS LIKE THAT

FISH—FATTY WILD FISH LIKE SALMON AND TUNA

BEANS AND RICE

MUSHROOMS

BONE BROTHS

HERBAL INFUSIONS: STINGING NETTLE AND OATSTRAW AND LINDEN FLOWER

DITCH THE COFFEE AND GO FOR GREEN TEA WITH LOCAL HONEY IF POSSIBLE

GREEN TEA EXTRACTS?

VITAMIN D have you had your levels tested?
In the first group, small pumps implanted under the skin delivered a continuous dose of vitamin D for three weeks. The researchers then examined the animals in both groups. Fibroids increased in size in the untreated rats, but, in the rats receiving vitamin D, the tumors had shrunk dramatically. On average, uterine fibroids in the group receiving vitamin D were 75 percent smaller than those in the untreated group. (source under "Reading Material")

NOTES:
LOOK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS CHEMICAL/PESTICIDES?
Reduce fibroids by reducing your exposure to estrogen: avoid birth control pills, ERT/HRT, estrogen-mimicing residues from herbicides and pesticides used on food crops (eat organically- raised products). Tampons that are bleached with chlorine may mimic the bad effects of estrogen, too. (Source under "Reading Material")


VIDEOS/SOUND FILES:
SUSUN WEED DISCUSSES FIBROIDS
START TO LISTEN AT 1:09:35


SOME READING MATERIAL:

WHERE TO BUY HERBS:









19 May 2020

HONORING LESLIE (LASZLO) SCHWARTZ (1930-2020)

"Misfortune is virtue's opportunity." 
Seneca

"Forgiveness is a mystical act, not a reasonable one."
Carolyn Myss

LESLIE SCHWARTZ died in Florida on May 12, 2020 at the age of 90. While this news wasn't wholly unexpected, I thought he would somehow bounce back. Leslie was always superhuman to me, resilience personified; through all the normal misfortunes, diseases and bad breaks we all endure, to the unthinkable horrors he lived through in Auschwitz and Dachau, Leslie could survive, even thrive, in almost any situation. He always told me, "it's not what you achieve that matters most; it's what you've overcome." I figured in a few more months he'd be back on his feet, out of the hospital and doing what he loved best, talking with students, educating them about the Shoah--speaking with all his heart, mind, body and soul, and the unbelievable strength he always seemed to muster, again and again, while traveling the world doing this holy work.


with German students
"This is where my healing started, by trusting and believing in the new generation of Germans."

HE SPOKE WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS, from the United States to Europe, and especially in Germany, his adopted country--and while the irony of a Holocaust survivor finding a home in Germany wasn't lost on a lot of people, his reconnecting to the nation that murdered his immediate family was essential to his own healing journey, for it was the descendants of the people who had orchestrated the war and inflicted genocide upon untold millions he sought most to reach, so a better future for them and for the world might someday become a reality. He told me many times the older Germans, those who had been alive during the war, weren't so eager to embrace their history. Once when acting as an impromptu "tour guide" at Dachau, he met an elderly man who had been an SS Guard there. Leslie casually told him, "I was once a prisoner here". The man replied, while sizing up Leslie, "I guess I didn't do my job."

HE HELD MANY DREAMS close to his heart his entire life; in addition to being reunited with his mother, after being separated from her when he was just fourteen years old in the lines at Auschwitz, he wished for the human race to learn from the dark times and unimaginable horrors he endured during World War II. That we not repeat the Holocaust. That we help to heal each other--without regard to borders, race, religion or personal biases--anything that separates us from one another had to go, for in his wisdom, peace and justice without healing were impossible.

IN THE PAST DECADE OR SO, Leslie Schwartz and I  wrote a book together, presented lectures and facilitated discussions at many different venues, large and small, from elementary schools to college campuses to the United Nations--corresponding with world leaders and children alike, our work was recognized by major media all over the world from The New York Times, NPR, and Fox News in the United States to Süddeutsche Zeitung and Bavarian Television in Germany, and so many other outlets I can't even remember. A frequent speaker at international events of remembrance, he was given many honors and awards, even the Knight's Cross for his service to Germany, but the impact Leslie had on my life is still hard to put into words. He was the fourth person who emerged from World War II to educate me personally, so that I could understand how something that ended sixteen years before I was even born was still affecting me in profound ways. Today they call it inter-generational trauma or epigenetics, but all I knew is something wasn't right my entire life. How many other millions and millions of people, the children of Holocaust survivors or combat veterans or anyone who has experienced severe trauma, have felt this same unnamable void? My father, a US Marine who fought in the Pacific, brought home severe, although often invisible disabilities I couldn't make any sense of as a child, yet these disabilities had incredibly detrimental, very real effects on my family; then Bob Worthington, another Marine from the Pacific, who is largely responsible for my career path, literally forcing me to tell his story--he made me become a writer--came into my life, and I began interviewing other World War II veterans from that point on.  Although Bob's life was completely destroyed by the war, and his disabilities wrecked havoc in every aspect of his life, he always sought healing. He wanted to change his brain entirely, to see the world in a new way, and he prepared me for that mindset.  Then my friend Jimmy Mirikitani, world renown artist who spent World War II in a Japanese internment camp in California--that experience altering the trajectory of Jimmy's life to the point where he wound up homeless on 6th Avenue in New York, well into his 70s--yet another person I met who was seeking his voice and some kind of healing experience--that the world not forget what he went through. And finally Leslie came along. Leslie was a child during the war. Leslie had the opportunity to heal simply because he had more time than the others. I helped Leslie find his voice as I've done for my writing students throughout my entire career. I helped him to communicate his deepest feelings to others, and we shared a simpatico that was instantaneous. I so enjoyed our conversations, sometimes several times a day, for many years. We shared the joys of this newfound recognition. People sought him out for appearances. Suddenly he mattered to a whole new generation, and he loved the connection with those younger students--they laughed with him and cried with him and hugged him like they would their grandfathers. For the German students, the war was a distant memory to their parents and grandparents, but the echoes of the war still affected them. With KZ camps literally all over Germany, they walked through the shadows of their ancestors' crimes everywhere they went, and students and teachers there resonated with Leslie's quiet message; he'd first simply inform them of what went on--to speak for all those whose voices were forever silenced-- and then he'd allow the students into his emotional aura, healing together, no longer alone, to face the impossible task of coming to terms with darkest parts of the human psyche the world has ever seen to create something life affirming out of that spiritual poison.

1972 with Agnes Reisch

Barbara Huber and spouse

WHAT LESLIE FEARED MOST was that the stories of those who had been murdered might one day be erased from history--he also longed to find his mother again; every minute while in the camps he wished to be reunited with her, and he also feared becoming just like the Nazi's, like an animal that preys on other, vulnerable or weakened animals. He feared hatred like we fear a contagious and deadly virus and desperately wished not to be infected. And, strangely, he also wanted to understand everything--even the reasons the Nazi's had created this hell on earth. He had an insatiable curiosity about life, and he wanted to understand his persecutors. But the real reason he wasn't able to hate was because several German civilians helped him stay alive. Martin Fuss, the railroad worker  brought him liverwurst sandwiches, and Barbara Huber and Agnes Reisch were farmers' wives who nourished him with bread and love directly in the face of SS Guards. Agnes called him "my son." Her biological son was in a prison camp in Russia. All she saw was a scared little boy who needed a mother--she once asked him, "how can you be a political prisoner?" The guards once confronted Agnes Reisch when she was caught bringing bread to Leslie at Dachau; they told her, "if you keep this up, we'll put you in here." She replied, "I don't care; I'm old." If these good people were also German, how could he hate all Germans? Leslie kept in touch with Reisch and Fuss for decades after the war, even visiting Reisch, bringing her a loaf of bread in 1972 in a famous photograph that made the New York newspapers. She fell on hard times after the war as her husband was murdered by concentration camp survivors in Dachau upon their liberation. He was just riding his bike home one night and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Leslie wound up sending her care packages for years after the war. He was reunited with Huber in a sense when he discovered her identity a few years ago--she had long since passed away, but he never forgot her kindness. One afternoon in April 1945 she fed Leslie and a few of his fellow prisoners delicious bread with creamy butter and, as Leslie would say many times, the best milk he ever tasted after they had escaped (briefly) from the infamous Muhldorf train of death, only to be captured by Hitler youth later that same day--a woman invites you, a starving, emaciated concentration camp prisoner into her kitchen and gives you milk, and you remember those few hours for the rest of your life as one simple act of kindness alters forever the future. You can't tell Leslie's story without mentioning these people. He never would have reached out to the German people with so much love had those brief moments of peace in the middle of war not occurred. And how many lives did he later affect in Germany because of his openness and willingness to connect with people? And so the cycle of hatred is forever broken. Who needs nuclear bombs when we have love?






Max and Leslie at Tutzing Ceremony


















MAX MANNHEIMER WAS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING. Max and Leslie had known each other in the camps. Max was older and spoke German, so he was a great asset to Leslie, who at that point, spring 1945, saw his chances for survival dwindle with every passing day--Max encouraged Leslie to keep fighting--that somehow he could make it through slave labor, disease, starvation and torture. That had a friendship of sorts that flowered sixty years or so later. Max Mannheimer spent his life educating German students, helping them to heal from hatred's poison, loving fearlessly the nation that tried to murder him--from the first days after the war, he stayed in Germany and began working for peace and promoting education, spreading hope that change was possible and a better future could emerge if people were willing to face things directly and, first, simply listen to each other. Max and Leslie were not normal people, and when Leslie saw first hand what Max did, especially speaking to German students, Leslie thought to himself, I want to do that as well. And so he did, beginning around 2008 and for many more years to come, and that's when everything began to change for Leslie. He even had an apartment with his spouse in Munster and looked forward to traveling to Germany every summer. Finding his voice and connecting with students and teachers who realized what an incredible blessing it was to have Leslie there, alive, standing right in front of them, willing to answer any question and help them understand what happened in their own backyards and all over Germany--this experience was something rare and Leslie was a treasure to them. He felt their love and appreciation very powerfully, and the experience genuinely gave his life new vitality.


Meeting Chancellor Merkel

THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE he brought students and to anyone struggling with impossibly difficult situations is that hatred is useless and damaging--even if justified--being a victim is a powerless and lonely existence compared with that of a survivor--even better--a survivor who uses all experiences as a portal toward wholeness, knowing we all need each other to heal, and the world is a very small place. Turning enemies into allies is no small feat, yet some of the most important healing work happens when you forgive and bring your adversaries into the healing process with you, requiring truth telling and active listening, and ultimately action, for forgiveness is an active process that demands a lot of hard work--and time and patience--and you still need miracles to happen after all this, but they will come, though not always according to our schedules. These miracles took more than sixty years in Leslie's case.

IN THE END Leslie Schwartz understood our sacred task is not to pass along shared trauma but to create a better future and to hand down to younger generations tools for healing and reasons to hope, and Leslie gave us all plenty of hope. The best way we can honor Leslie Schwartz is simply to keep his work alive--resolve conflict without violence--and always to remember him. If you were lucky enough to spend any time with him, you were made better for the experiences. You couldn't look at anything the same way afterwards--your first move, no longer to react, with fight or flight, but to stay and face things, no matter how difficult--to reach for compassion, to find kindness and to value honesty and storytelling as important though often overlooked conflict resolution methods. You find hope, no matter what mountains lay ahead of you in your journey. The simple act of one human speaking to another--listening to each other without judgement--allowing for all the inevitable, uncomfortable silence to be filled with something new--unimaginable miracles--things you couldn't dream up in any parallel universe. And these miracles happened frequently for Leslie, like the time he met Chancellor Merkel--seventy years after the small boy who was supposed to have been worked to death by the Nazi's--greeted and honored by the German Chancellor--that kind of experience far too improbable for any Hollywood screenplay. Even Leslie's famous cousin, American screen legend, Tony Curtis, never made a film that far fetched. I'll never forget you, Leslie, and all I can do now is say "thank you for sharing so much of yourself with me and with the world." Leslie never liked to say good bye, so I won't either.


At Bowling Green University, April 2013
Some links to past stories:

Leslie's speech on the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation at Dachau.

Memorial Speech

Leslie Schwartz BIO

Meeting Chancellor Merkel

My First Meeting with Leslie

Leslie's Talk with Teenagers

Regarding Barbara Huber

An Evening With Leslie Schwartz with Videos

Our Book Freedom From Hatred

More photos from Leslie's amazing journey! We'll update as new pictures come in.





Leslie on his last trip to Hungary a few years ago








Anne-Frank Gymnasium in Germany






with German students







at Tutzing memorial




At Brookdale Community College--site of many of Leslie's presentations--watching his life in a film!













Dachau



My favorite photo of Leslie





memorial in Bavaria







with his mother in 1933 or 1934










22 April 2020

Nine Home Remedies for Inguinal Hernias That Really Help!

While I should note that an inguinal hernia requires a medical diagnosis and treatment by a competent professional, if one were to find oneself in a situation where that medical help weren't available, say in the middle of a global pandemic, when elective surgery is cancelled until further notice, what would you do?

Are there actually home remedies that help?

The answer is yes.



1. The Edgar Cayce "Castor Oil Treatment" is actually incredibly worthwhile--while again, this isn't going to replace a surgeon, it may buy you some time while providing significant relief. Apply food grade Castor Oil to a damp, heated cloth--be careful not to burn your skin! You can also put the Castor Oil directly on your skin, and then place the warm, wet cloth on top of the affected area. Next take a dry towel and place that on top on the wet compress and place a heating pad on top of the towel. Lie down with a pillow under your knees and stay warm and covered up with blankets for about half and hour; take a nap if possible; breathe deeply from your belly and relax--listen to nice meditation tapes or relaxing music. You'll find the hernia immediately retreats and the area becomes relaxed as the blood flow is increased. Two or three times a week and you'll notice a big difference regarding the pressure, tension, pain, and general feeling of weirdness or discomfort.

2. Eat a mostly plant based diet and do not over eat. Avoid constipation at all costs. Any food that causes an inflammatory reaction in your body will make a hernia MUCH worse, especially fried food or foods with vegetable oils or foods high in sugar or overly processed flours--you want to tone down inflammation, which is always a good idea anyway. Any food that causes gas should also be avoided, as gas pain added to a hernia will have you thinking you need to go to the emergency room! A natural remedy for gas is Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, a tablespoon in a glass of warm water will do the trick. Wormwood tincture, 10-15 drops in a small glass of water will also expel gas. Losing some weight is also advisable.

3. Motherwort Tincture is beneficial because it relaxes your insides and would be preventative of a strangulation or other obstruction--I would have some good quality Motherwort tincture made from the fresh flowering tops on hand at all times, and take a good size dose 25-50 drops, if you are feeling tension or stress down there; repeat the dose in a half hour if you don't feel relief, but you will feel relief in a few minutes.

4. Gentle Pilates exercises performed mostly on a mat, on the floor, can be very helpful--just don't over do it, and if it feels wrong, move to another exercise--usually glute workout series are best--take it easy on the abs though--you work your abs when you do glute work anyway.

5. Pelvic floor exercises, again, I stress gentle exercises, preferably seated or on a mat on the floor, not standing, these exercises will prove useful.

6. Linden Flower herbal infusions are great as they help lower inflammation and make everything slippery in your gut.

7. Comfrey Leaf infusions are beneficial to build up the strength of the muscles, ligaments and tendons, etc.  You need to be careful where you get Comfrey leaf, as some strains are toxic. I only trust www.redmoonherbs.com for mine.

8. Deep breathing, meditation, relaxation--Reiki if you know it--or gentle healing touch, laying on of hands--gently place your hands over the area and think of glowing light radiating from your hands into the area, repairing the damaged cells. I like listening to healing meditation tapes and putting an eye pillow over my eyes--this can also be done during your Edgar Cayce time (see point #1). Simply lying down when you've been on your feet too long also helps! Take naps when you can. Be gentle with yourself. Avoid strenuous lifting or bending or ESPECIALLY pushing anything heavy. Envision healing angels standing around you healing you with their hands and with light beams. With a hernia, you need to get off your feet frequently during the day as the pressure during standing pushes everything from the inside out.

9. Burdock leaves soaked in apple cider vinegar and warmed up in the oven at a low temperature can also be applied to the area much like the Castor Oil treatment mentioned above. Burdock leaves are readily available in the summer months and are gentle and soothing when applied directly on the skin. Afterwards, discard the used leaves in a compost pile. Do not throw away any plant you wish to heal you!

Warning: Always seek prompt medical attention if you feel anything unusual or dangerous might be going on, like a strangulation or obstruction, which can be life-threatening conditions and require emergency medical attention.

Be well friends.


10 April 2020

Flower Essences for Extraordinary Times from Mark D'Aquila

Extraordinary times - extraordinary flowers. Flower essences offer unparalleled support for emotional, mental,  spiritual balance and well being. In many ways I feel the magic of flower essences shine best in times like this. And, my goal as a flower essence therapist and researcher is to help people move through challenges with confidence and perseverance.



To address the energetic challenges brought on by these current times I have put together the Extraordinary Times Kit. This is a collection of 14 flower essences to help your energy system maintain strength, balance, peace of mind and well being. The flower essences in this kit help with anxiety, fear, loneliness, resilience and grounding; as well as other mental, emotional and physical challenges we are confronting.
 

Key Points that form the basis of my approach.

1.) Support the nervous system
2.) Energetic Protection
3.) Emotional Well being - being with, processing difficult emotions
4.) Staying Grounded
5.) Uplifting
These serve as the foundation. And with good foundational support we thrive, make clear decision and we trust in our ability to meet challenges.

Important flower essences from The Extraordinary Times Kit


Calm: This blend supports the nervous system to come down a notch. Useful when feeling ‘keyed up’ and unable to unwind. The Calm formula supports us to let go of tense emotions and settle more into ourselves. Use it at night to support sleep.

Olive Flower Essence: A deeply restorative essence, good for adrenal stress and exhaustion, helps us with long term recovery on all levels. Useful for recovery after struggle, long term illness and trial. A very useful essence for those suffering from deep fatigue and needing rest. .

Protection Formula: This formula is a combination 5 flower essences that helps to create a strong energetic shield of protection. Our energy field is weakened from stress, overwork, fear and anxiety. This all-around useful formula is superb for anyone who feels they need more protection. A key to well being is to maintain a strong energy field. This is our first shield of defense. Us this daily to keep your energy field strong.

River of Support: This is a special blend of essences created to compliment this collection. The flowers in this blend support strength, flexibility, lightness, balance and protection. It is designed to keep our energy system primed and buoyant. It is also a wonderful essence for those who in isolation who feel lonely and cut off.

All the essences listed above and 10 others are part of the Extraordinary Time Kit. 

Enjoy 15% off with code Extraordinary. This code applies to the full kit as well as individual essence from the kit.

All Essence Alchemy flower essences are bottled at the stock level dilution. Because they are bottled at the stock level they can be used together. For example you can use Calm and Protection at the same time without them cancelling each other out. To mix and match essences means you can tailor them to your specific needs that day or week.

I wish you much health and well being in these Extraordinary Times.

29 March 2020

Cosmic-Ice-Breaker

Recently, one student in my creative writing class shared insight into her life during ice-breaker introductions; her response to the ice-breaker prompt of exploring one's heart's desire resonated with me on a deep level.

While saying she still wanted to enjoy life in this present moment, she also described how she cares about her future and setting up her later-on life by making sound choices and good decisions now, in her teenage years--to have a "set future" as she called it, which I took simply to mean a future, a future life one could rely on to some degree, temping fate and randomness.

Then she added something unexpectedly profound: wanting and hoping to connect to the infinite and lasting while realizing, "everything I do will be wiped away by time." That idea caught us all by surprise. After a short time, I offered that perhaps "everything" isn't wiped away, but I felt disingenuous suggesting a more specific answer to her dilemma.

I think of her notion as a bit of a mixed blessing; wouldn't that realization take off some of the immense pressure to which we humans often subject ourselves about things that really aren't that important? Maybe that this thing that seems so giant in the present moment really won't amount to much once washed away by some infinite river of time--OK, but while that might help, it doesn't really speak to her question. How do we connect with something greater???

I thought perhaps should I direct her to the Stoics and "Memento Mori'? Stoics and their followers have used that realization of ever-present death and mortality as a charge to act and to decipher what is vital and meaningful to oneself and to honor these deeper values, no matter what life throws at us, in fact in spite of what life throws at us--a personal code for living, or living well with that eventuality that everything turns to dust.

That might help, but she's seeking something deeper, I think. Although her realization and implied questions are important; perhaps something she'll spend her life exploring, I can offer, in a muddled, but somehow still oddly confident way, something about acts of kindness, moments of oneness and union, experiences when we transcend the obvious limitations of the human form--tapping into some other place, for lack of a better word--something more than this life's matrix-like quality, the structure of what we call reality--I know there's something more, but trying to put it into words or even concepts isn't easy. Fact is, our human perception is genuinely and severely limited, so why do we trust this reality so absolutely anyway? And even if we find the land beyond the yellow brick road, when we come back to earth, will that trip have really changed us or anyone else in any profound ways? The current state of the world might indicate "no" since many travelers have gone before us and come back to this black and white world without effecting dramatic changes, but there are subtle shifts and moments, when put back to back, that lead us somewhere different and perhaps better?

Just a few less-than-brilliant tips for would be inner-space travelers like her: the body is a vehicle, not an impediment. There is a physical connection to this infinite cosmos linked within our human experience. Conversely, when seeking guides and fellow travelers, look beyond their immediate or obvious physicality--soul mates along this trip will come in all shapes and sizes, ages, races, genders, etc., and sometimes the one's who might be most important to you might seem most unlikely candidates.

Approach the way with genuine integrity and compassion for others--helping others is one way we change ourselves. 

The present moment is the infinite we seek.  The link to making all of this happen is to be completely present, to have access to all that we are in this moment, with these people, in this place--meaning don't think you haven't got what you need for the journey right here and now, already.

Nature will often bring you out of this fake human matrix--experience it. more about the fake human matrix?

Keep doing the work, whatever the work is for you. And when you find nuggets of experience and wisdom, let them pile up and add up to something greater than the sum of the parts, like a bank account accruing compound interest. Just do the work and keep hope alive, always bolstered by your unique and personal experience--the experience is not flighty or merely subjective--that's your validation and your currency, like a salary for your work--don't cheapen it; treasure it and let it build upon itself.

Basically, let the path take you where it leads, however much faith is implied in that directive. You will find signs and navigation techniques along the way.

That's all I've got in this moment.








26 February 2020

RESPIRATORY INFECTION PREVENTION 2020: HERBAL & NUTRITIONAL HELP

UPDATED MARCH 27, 2020

Please note: I have many other blog posts on flu prevention which you can search here under the search engine provided in the blog. Quite obviously, COVID-19 is different than anything we've seen previously, yet the same herbal green allies that protect us from the effects of other viruses, including colds and the flu will also have a strong correlation toward protecting us in the case of new and strange pathogens. As with all herbal medicine from a Wise Woman tradition (as my teacher Susun S.Weed refers to it), using these plants will only nourish you and continue to make you stronger and healthier, whether or not you ever get sick. There is no downside to using these safe, local, inexpensive and abundant plants. And remember, prevention is invisible--you may never know exactly why you didn't get sick. Most people will contract this virus and experience only mild or even no symptoms--the people who are at higher risk especially need all the allies they can find.





FIRST LINE:
Elderberry--the herbal superstar for cold and flu prevention and healing--use in every form from jelly to syrup to tincture. Take it daily all winter long as a preventive measure, as well as when you actually have an infection or virus. I've been taking a dose of tincture about 50 drops twice a day; upon rising and before going to bed. Generally, Elderberry isn't always thought of as a protector, but more of a remedy when we are sick, but since this COVID-19 virus is stealthy and we could have it and not show symptoms, I think daily doses of Elderberry are fine. I prefer homemade tincture to anything else.

Linden Flower--make linden flower infusions and drink them frequently during the flu season! I have them almost every morning in place or in addition to my normal tea or coffee. Heat up linden infusion, not to the boiling point, and add honey for a tasty and effective morning drink! Linden is a fantastic upper respiratory ally all year long.

St. John's Wort--nature's herbal viral defender--take it daily during the flu season and even several times a day if you feel you might be exposed to something--use only tincture made from the fresh flowering plants, NOT CAPSULES. If I had to fly, I'd take St. Johns before during and after my flight or whenever I was confined in a closed indoor space or felt I had potentially been exposed to something!







SECONDARY/IF YOU GET SICK:
Echinacea--take only if you are sick, and even though Echinacea is mostly for bacterial infections, it can help during a viral infection by preventing secondary bacterial infections. Take your body weight in drops, divided by half, and take it several times a day and for a few days after you feel better, too. Use only tincture, NOT CAPSULES.

Marshmallow Root Tea and Boneset Tea--are legendary herbal helpers for flu-like infections; marshmallow root helps soothe mucous membranes, and Boneset is an old time, natural fever remedy.

Poke Root--the most powerful herbal ally for those with an active infection--not to be used as a preventative. Take a small dose, between 5 and 20 drops--if no effect, take again in a few hours. Be careful with Poke, as it is very powerful--only take as needed and stop taking when the infection is over. Do not use on children! My teacher recommends 2 drops a day, then 4 the next day, then 8--perhaps up to about 25 drops (which is a huge dose) if you're not getting the response you need.



HELPFUL DIETARY IDEAS:

Vitamin D--a most important protector, especially for pathogens that attack the lungs. Get sun on your face for at least 20 minutes a day, and then when the weather warms, get sun on as much of your skin as possible--20 to 40 minutes a day is sufficient. Vitamin D deficiency is rampant in our society.   

Probiotics/Fermented Foods--eat more yogurt and fermented foods during flu season. Probiotics are the post powerful protection you have against invading pathogens! Sauerkraut is fantastic, inexpensive and available everywhere, for example. I'm sure you have your favorites--personally I love old fashioned plain yogurt!

Garlic--can be used with food on a daily basis to boost your immune system. I'm allergic to it, but if you're not, and don't mind the superb aroma you will emit, go for it. At least you'll keep people away from you in crowded places!

Red Onions--red onions are super for your immune system--you can eat them raw or cooked. I like a raw red onion chopped fine on top of black beans, for example. They contain quercetin, which is a powerful ally for your immune system. I've read not to cut too much off the outside because there is a higher concentration of quercetin towards the outer part of the onion.

Green Tea--is an old standby that most people have around the house, and green tea is a known anti-viral. Add honey and you've got anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties; plus the warm liquid is also good.

Vitamin C--many people like to load up on Vitamin C--I don't endorse supplements here, but if it works for you, use it. I prefer naturally occurring Vitamin C as found in fresh squeezed orange juice and lemon juice. My mom's old family recipe is the juice of one lemon, the juice of one orange, honey, and a pinch of cream of tartar in a quart of water when you're dealing with colds or flu. She calls it "Imperial Drink," and it is very soothing for the throat and quiets coughs. I heard stories that they are using IV vitamin C in China to treat people with the virus. Those doses would be very high.



HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES REALLY WORK:
Homeopathic Flu Remedies--check out Boiron and Umcka's remedies, and have them on hand and, most importantly, use them at the first sign of illness--homepathics work best when you can recognize you might first be getting sick--take them for a few days after and  at regular intervals to allow them to work. There is no hard evidence, as far as I know, but I believe Oscillococcinum might be useful in cases of COVID -19





SOME OTHER IDEAS:
Tone Down /Avoid Overly-Strenuous Workouts--stay out of the gym and tone done your workouts--hard workouts depress your immune system in dramatic ways making you way more susceptible to invading pathogens.

Stay Away from Crowded Indoor Spaces, Especially Air Travel--if you can avoid it, please do so. Nothing worse than an closed off in door space for breeding illness. If I had to be in such a space, I would protect myself with massive doses of St John's Wort tincture before, during and after my time spent in these places.

Be More Aware of Personal Hygiene-health crusader Gary Null said many times he carries a little bottle of alcohol around with him in public places and wipes down any surface areas he comes in contact with--not the worst idea, I think. Probably more effective than masks I'd imagine. And try not to touch your face and eyes if you are out in public places.

Avoid Undue Emotional Stress--emotional stress can greatly weaken the immune system--people can and do die of broken hearts! A severe emotional stress can really limit the ability of your immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria. Fear suppresses your immune response.

Stay Home if You Don't Feel Well--most important is to rest and give your body a fighting chance; staying home also prevents the spread of the illness to others.


Keep Your Kids Home if They're Sick and Keep them Home an Extra Day Even if They Feel Better--I always liked the idea of an extra day home even when the kids feel better. Viruses have a way of rebounding even when you are feeling better, so the extra day is not a bad idea at all. Master Herbalist Paul Bergner recommends rest for every day that you had a fever after the fever has passed to prevent the virus rebound effect, which actually kills many people with COVID-19--they seem to be doing better and then take a turn for the worse.


Good luck and don't panic--fear and anxiety won't help! 

Taking action will make you feel more in control, and, again, most or all of the herbal remedies are good for you whether or not you ever get sick!



Here are some links to videos and podcasts; Susun S. Weed (Wise Woman Approach) Susun Weed also has a free course she is offering--go to www.wisewomanschool.com  You need to register, but then the flu prevention course, "Healthy Immune System Coronavirus Help" is free.
Gary Null (Heroic Healer).







15 December 2019

Unacknowledged Grief, Addiction & Mental Illness

In my experience there seems a force equivalent to a solar wind of unacknowledged grief running through many mental illnesses, especially addiction, depression and anxiety to name a few.

The universal experience we undergo on this planet is loss and closely-related grief, and as I've spent most of my life running from this emotional pain, I think the running in various forms is also the developing of a wide range of dysfunction and disease, like addictions, anxiety disorders and depression just to name a few.

As we try to distance ourselves from reality, that reality being an ocean of grief, and like a fish swimming in that ocean, forgetting it is surrounded by water, we naturally hide everything from that grief, like burying a box of treasure in the backyard where no one can steal it . We think loss unnatural or wrong, as if death is wrong somehow. As a child, when encountering death, what adults actually allow you to process the experience? That's absurd, right? The thought is a child can't handle it. We're taught early to be normal and not dwell on the negative, right? So we're taught early on(whether overtly or not) to find ways to hide from the single most universal experience of all beings on this planet--that of experiencing loss, pain and grief.

Perhaps we all believe on some level these emotions will weaken us, make us vulnerable, take us away from normal, functional, productive life. So then, why would the Creator put us in this world-- mostly as a cruel joke, where we spend so much time and energy avoiding the unavoidable grief, running around like rodents on a treadmill, so that we're not even alive?

If you've ever felt the intensity of that emotional pain even for a fleeting second, you can understand why anyone would run from it. Yet that grief is so universal maybe it is actually the entire reason for us being here, the spiritual or energetic (much better word) reality that this grief will break us into a million pieces and isn't wrong but right, and that is actually what is supposed to happen, because by being broken apart we connect with all beings on this planet and recognizes our oneness to them while having the opportunity to lose our egos that mostly torture us in the process. Doesn't every religion preach and teach that? We come here not to come and go as the same entity, but to be changed, and this experience of loss will do just that. Reminds me what I've heard my teacher, Susun Weed say, "whatever is, is right."

Otherwise, as we seek to distance ourselves from the grief and loss, we also cut ourselves off from all other emotions, like joy and even bliss, because to feel something you need to feel everything. The disease and dysfunction is really a strangling or twisting into knots the flow of energy throughout our bodies, until I'm sure at a certain point our physicality is altered by this dysfunction to the point where the disease becomes (structurally) real and ingrained into our physiology, like the way an addiction changes your brain structure and function, for example.

We think we need to cut out the illness, like a mass of cancer to be removed surgically, when maybe what we really need to do is use all this experience as a force for healing, healing not being defined solely by removing the problem, but by some new realm of existence.

And when normal life becomes so unmanageable that literally it cracks apart and we're sick, really sick, everything stops anyway. There is no more normal. We're ill, but maybe we're also healthy at the same time. The illness is there to get our attention like nothing else could to stop us.

Might swimming in that ocean of grief be the medicine that can heal us, by opening us up, breaking us apart and connecting us to something greater?

What does that frontier life look like? Where are completely transformed, quite literally, into different beings, and we acknowledge the debt and the grief and also our connection to all living beings, sharing in this samsara, if you will, and transformation. 

Existing in this sea of grief and debt is an opportunity for growth, a portal into a radically transformed life--the one we came here to experience.