"Garlic and Vinegar"

"That's the only medicine worth a hoot!"

So said the farmer to Doc Baker on “Little House on the Prairie” when the kindly doctor tried to coax him into his office for a check-up.

I laughed out loud when I heard that during my winter LHOTP binge and immediately wrote it down, knowing it would one day find its way into a post.

Oh, if only the secret to good health was that simple.

Home remedies. They go back for eons. Consider yourself lucky if you grew up in a family with a plant person or anyone with a knowledge of healing.

I did not. The remedy I remember most was that awful pink bottle of Pepto-Bismol. 😳 Raise your hand if you remember that one. Oh, wait! It’s still on the market! I don’t know about you, but I thought choking it down was worse than the actual nausea. And I hate to feel nauseous.

Here’s a list of ingredients in today’s version of Pepto-Bismol:

Magnesium, sodium, salicylate, benzoic acid, D&C Red No. 22, D&C Red No. 28, flavor, gellan gum, magnesium, aluminum silicate, methylcellulose, salicylic acid, sodium salicylate, sorbic acid, sucralose, water. NIH

I don’t know - just off the top of my head, wouldn’t slippery elm, peppermint, or ginger be a better option?

Of course, garlic and vinegar are equally elevated or vilified as home remedies. For every herbalist extolling the virtues of garlic and/or vinegar, you’re sure to find a health guru or two who do not.

And then there’s the adage,

“One man’s food is another man’s poison.”

This I absolutely agree with. And so, of course, would Ayurveda.

The simple truth is that we are all different.

Based on one person's teaching, I once went for years without eating eggs. Now, I eat them almost daily.

I get them at my local farmer’s market, usually courtesy of Amy and Ethan at Again & Again Farmstead. I love knowing the people who grow my food and care for the chickens whose eggs I love. Sometimes, they’ll even deliver the eggs to my mailbox. Honestly, how lucky (and grateful!) am I?

When I asked Amy about who laid the beautiful blue egg in my carton, this was her reply:

Stormy!

She wears her emotions on her “sleeve.” She was once a fierce momma. She is the alpha lady chicken leading the Ranger flock. The Ranger flock is a 7 brood flock that move around the property creating disturbance and manuring of course.

Stormy

Diet is a hot topic these days, where judgment and righteousness abound. Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, omnivore, or carnivore (I’m sure I’m missing something), you’re likely to have been on the receiving end of criticism. Or, maybe you’re the one dolling it out.

I mind my own business as far as what other people eat. Hopefully, they are feeding their body whole foods that properly nourish them.

While healthy-minded people differ wildly in their opinions on what’s healthy and what’s not, ultimately, it is up to each one of us to get to know our own body. I want to believe that we all agree that processed, chemical-laden non-food is an absolute detriment to our health. Our body does not recognize these man-made ingredients as food.

It’s downright shocking what’s lurking down those supermarket aisles…

It looks like Halloween for breakfast. Talk about scary.

I’ll never forget back in the 1970s when my then-husband’s Uncle Ted (a food chemist) told me never to eat margarine—only butter. I wish my mother had known that. Now there are more fake versions like “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.” I gasped when I saw that in the refrigerator of someone recently. Uncle Ted knew…

I love butter!

Another simple truth is that it’s not all about food.

Consuming toxic information (movies, the Internet, the news, etc.) can be just as detrimental to our health as lousy food.

Ditto toxic relationships. Or even relationships that are just plain challenging. Caretaking is another major stress inducer.

We are energetic beings with an energy field/body of many layers.

I remember my teacher saying that all illness begins in our energy field and that if we don’t keep it clear, it will eventually find its way into the body. Once in the body with its density, illness and disease are much more difficult to heal.

Boy, is that ever true. I have lived it, but thankfully, it is in the past now. Knock on wood!

Cutting our energetic cords with people who may be a source of extreme stress and possibly illness for us is one way to begin healing.

We are connected by energetic strands/cords with other people and even our animals.

Here is a simple and effective way to keep our field humming…

Basic Energy Hygiene: 3 Simple Practices

And, let’s be honest, we might be the person causing the stress to another and should be on the receiving end of some cord-cutting.

We are powerful self-healers!

Our level of consciousness is another indication of our mental, physical, and spiritual health. I’ve been reading the book “Healing and Recovery” by Dr. David R. Hawkins. You may recognize his name as the creator of the Map of Consciousness.

The “Map of Consciousness®” illumines heretofore unknown aspects of consciousness. With each progressive rise in the level of consciousness, the “frequency” or “vibration” of energy increases. Thus, higher consciousness radiates a beneficial and healing effect on the world, verifiable in the human muscle response which stays strong in the presence of love and truth. In contrast, non–true or negative energy fields which “calibrate” below the level of integrity induce a weak muscle response…

Here is a good breakdown of Dr. Hawkin’s theory:

How to Measure Consciousness With the Map of Consciousness

Let's look at the Map of Consciousness. It’s not hard to fathom how the lower “levels of falsehood” (David Hawkin’s term) - shame, guilt, apathy/hatred, grief, fear, desire, anger, and pride are more likely to bring us to a place of adverse health, rather than the “levels of truth” such as courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace, and enlightenment.

Here’s one of my favorite healing words:

Boundaries!

Learn to say no when you need to - staying ever-vigilant about your own energy limits and needs.

A Self-Love practice can be a lifesaver. It’s not selfish; it’s just self-care. Like on an airplane - putting your oxygen mask on before helping someone else.

Just like we all have different body and mind types, our energy needs may vastly differ from others.

I was the “You’re too sensitive” child and remain highly sensitive to this day. Only now, I have the awareness and the ability to manage it.

Years ago, someone told me, “Not everyone feels things as deeply as you do, Barbara.” The way she said it to me was neutral. It wasn’t something to be proud of or ashamed of. I was dumbfounded that this could be true.

Finally, I have what it takes to say no when I need to, be careful about what media I let into my very sensitive visual brain, and have the tightest boundaries with people. I don’t make excuses for this anymore.

This meme is no joke:

And, just like good, healthy, organic whole food, boundaries, Self-Love, and maintaining proper energy can help us stay healthy…

We all know by now how vital water is to maintaining good health. I’m fortunate to get my drinking water from a spring just down the road or from the well on this property.

Some people are horrified that I do this, yet they think nothing of drinking water from their city tap, which likely contains fluoride and other toxins. Fortunately, honest dialogue has begun about cleaning up our water supply.

Meanwhile, I dream of drinking from the rivers again.

And, of course, water doesn’t just heal by drinking it. Just being in its presence can be profoundly healing.

Speaking of the sun, I think it might be at the top of my list this year for how healthy and strong I’ve been feeling.

Light Heals

The right kind, that is. Not LED, fluorescent, or too much indoor light, especially in the evening. Certainly not too much light from our screens.

Last year, I began a practice of getting outside at the crack of dawn, as they say, or at least - before the sun comes up. I don’t turn on any lights, and definitely not my phone. Well, I cheated the morning I took this photo:

Some mornings, I sit outside until the sun actually comes up. Now that it’s finally getting colder, I put on a pair of thick wool socks, a hat, and a coat. I might do a little qigong or sit, sip my tea, and watch as the first birds come to the feeder.

It has changed my life.

Throughout the day, I ensure I’m outside as much as possible, drinking in all kinds of light. I never wear sunglasses anymore.

My eyesight seems to be slowly improving. My skin doesn’t burn anymore. My nervous system has calmed way down. And I even notice my memory improving. I feel better overall.

I can’t say all this is due entirely to the light. I’ve also tweaked my diet a bit and am eating more meat, always at my noon meal. And I’ve returned to my regular meditation practice.

The same goes for my nighttime routine - no lights or screen time anymore. I light candles when it gets dark and chill before bed. I go back outside and sit with the moon and the stars. It has made an enormous difference in my sleep patterns.

For those of us who grew up without cell phones or computers, this should be easy, right?

I wish everyone could be as fortunate as I am not to have a light in sight where I live. When I rented this place, my landlord said, “It’s really dark here at night.” I was beside myself with joy after having to wear an eye mask and earplugs for years when living in the city.

I have learned a great deal about light, as well as EMFs, from The Power Couple here on Substack. There’s a plethora of information - especially for the science geeks among us (I’m not one of them! But I have learned a great deal from their newsletter.)

Sound Heals

Maybe not the sound of leafblowers and the buzzsaws chopping down trees in the forest. Maybe not incessant construction out of your apartment building in the city. Perhaps not the cries of a child.

But, music, humming, singing, chanting, crystal bowls, chimes, laughter, a babbling brook, and the sound of the wind through the trees! Who among us doesn’t find that those sounds relax our nervous system and aid in healing our body, mind, and spirit?

I was out early this morning, and my reward was a healing dose of sight, sound, water, and sun all rolled into one.

Gone-Away Pond medicine.

You might notice that drugs and supplements are absent from my list of healing practices. I remember when I was studying Ayurveda, we were learning about herbal remedies. My teacher mentioned that herbal remedies were just a step above pharmaceuticals and that what was more healing than any drug or herbal supplement was our daily routine.

The body loves routine. It wants us to eat and sleep at the same time. This is a challenge for many of us, but I do my best to honor my body’s circadian rhythms. It was one of the most essential practices when I healed from chronic pain in my 50s.

I do take a few herbal supplements here and there. But primarily potions that I like to brew myself. I made Fire Cider (medicine worth a hoot!), which contains garlic and apple cider vinegar. And Elderberry syrup to help keep my body humming throughout the winter months.

Because, as our ancestors knew, Nature is the original and best medicine of all.

Whether it’s consuming the gifts that we find in Nature (food is medicine) or just being in Nature, in my mind, it beats popping a pill full of chemicals.

In the end, perhaps we think and worry too much about healing—especially people like myself who have spent so much time and energy trying to figure it all out. Sagittarians will spend a lifetime in learning mode, so that’s my excuse. :)

Maybe we should stop thinking so much about healing and more about just living our best life, finding what brings us joy and purpose that leads us to a more conscious way of being.

Much Love,
Barbara

P.S. I forgot to mention that movement heals! More about that in another post…

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Barbara Sinclair
The Quaking Poplar
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