Adult Acne

When I learned that our skin is the largest organ in the body I was surprised. I had never thought about my skin in that way. To me skin was the body's outer covering---like a self made shoe, nothing more. If you would look in my closet you would see I do not take very good care of my shoes—they are in need of a good polish.

Like a shoe, skin protects us from injury, and environmental dis-comforts. Our skin regulates body temperature, protects us from light, fights infection, and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. The skin is made up of two main layers the epidermis (outer layer of the skin) and the dermis. The deepest part of the epidermis produces melanin, which gives the skin its color. The dermis (the inner layer of skin) contains blood and lymph vessels, hair follicles, and glands that produce sweat, which helps regulate body temperature, and sebum, an oily substance that helps keep the skin from drying out. Sweat and sebum reach the skin's surface through tiny openings called pores. Our skin allows us to experience the pleasure of touch, and the ability to interact with our environment.

When I was an adolescent I had problem skin, cystic acne. My parents got me appropriate medical care. At the time, I did not realize that acne can be a serious health problem, my adolescent point of view was skin was about beauty---what did others see when they looked at me? My treatments were successful and my skin was great for many years. Then as I got older I began to display the characteristics of Rosacea. NOT AGAIN---I had just gotten used to thinking of myself as attractive. However this time I was armed with knowledge gained as an herbalist.

Rosacea, sometimes called adult acne, is a chronic skin condition where the face turns red may swell and has skin sores that look like acne. Symptoms include redness of the face, blushing or flushing easily, a lot of spider-like blood vessels (telangiectasia), occasionally a red nose (called a bulbous nose), acne-like skin sores that may ooze or crust, burning or stinging feeling in the face, and irritated, bloodshot, watery eyes.

Rosacea is generally considered a harmless condition. Typically, women who are fair skinned and age 30-50 may display symptoms. When men develop Rosacea the symptoms are more severe. The cause is not known.  Symptoms involve swelling of the blood vessels just under the skin. Other associated other skin disorders include acne vulgaris, seborrhea, or eye disorders (blepharitis, keratitis).

Rosacea Phases:

1. Pre-rosacea—1. A simple tendency to flush or blush easily, 2. Then progress to a persistent redness in the central portion of your face, particularly your nose redness results from the dilation of blood vessels close to your skin's surface)
2. Vascular rosacea— 1. Small blood vessels on your nose and cheeks swell and become visible (telangiectasia), 2. Skin may become overly sensitive. 3. May also be accompanied by oily skin and dandruff
3. Inflammatory rosacea—1. Small, red bumps or pustules may appear and persist, spreading across your nose, cheeks, forehead and chin, 2. About 1 in 2 people with rosacea also experience ocular rosacea, a burning and gritty sensation in the eyes, the inner skin of the eyelids to become inflamed or appear scaly

Currently, there is no known cure for Rosacea. Your doctor will help identify the things, called triggers that make your symptoms worse. Avoid triggers to prevent or reduce flare-ups. Triggers are unique to the indivdual’s physiology and skin type. Triggers may include wind, hot baths, cold weather, specific skin products, exercise, or other factors.

Typical recommendations to ease or prevent symptoms include avoid sun exposure, use sunscreen every day, avoid a lot of activity in hot weather, try to reduce stress, try deep breathing, yoga, or other relaxation techniques, limit spicy foods, alcohol, and hot beverages. If you choose to use sun screen every day remember that sunscreen inhibits your skin’s ability to create vitamin D. Vitamin D is critical to being cancer free.

Physicians and dermatologists have specific treatment protocols that include antibiotics, medications, similar to vitamin A, and in severe cases laser surgery may help reduce the redness and remove some swollen nose tissue. According to standard medical thinking Rosacea cannot be cured, but may be controlled with treatment.

Steroid-Induced Rosacea has been called "The Great Impostor" because the long-term use of topical corticosteroids, a common skin therapy to reduce inflammation and redness, can actually cause rosacea-like symptoms. These hormones, Corticosteroid medications, are often prescribed to treat inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and inflammatory bowel disease. Topical corticosteroids may be used to treat some skin diseases, including dermatitis and vitiligo. However, they can be a potent skin irritant whose adverse effects often resemble rosacea. Typically the rosacea-like symptoms due to topical corticosteroids end when one stops using the medication.

Natural products for treating Rosacea

Aloe Vera gel

Green Tea Seed Oil

Camellia Seed oil

Kukui oil

Emu oil

Carrot Seed oil

Cypress

Lavender

Tea Tree

 I recommend that you try to develop a natural treatment program as many of the available medications can have serious adverse effects. A friend, with serious Rosacea symptoms, refuses to use the recommended medication because it is deadly to her cats. Over time I have developed my own Rosacea protocol based on natural products. My skin type is a medium fair. My first experiment was a yogurt facial mask (plain yogurt from the grocery store, straight out of the carton). The yogurt facial shrunk the blood capillaries, eliminated skin scaling, and eliminated inflammation. Ever since I have used a facial cleansing program that includes enzymes whether in a homemade concoction or commercial product. Rose water is a wonderful toner, pore shrinker. You can get economical rosewater at an Indian market.

Enzymes (which are in yogurt) are very good at eliminating dead skin cells. I believe the enzymes penetrate the skin and help tone the weak skin capillaries. I have found that salicylic acid  (an ingredient found in aspirin and originally gotten from willow tree bark) was very useful for getting the red out. During the winter I use a commercial cleanser that has pumpkin as an essential ingredient. During the summer I use a cleanser that includes white cranberries. After cleansing, I rotate between moisturizers, based on the weather. They include natural ingredients such as evening primrose oil, almond oil, olive oil, rice protein, calendula, and hemp.

I admit it—my favorite skin cleanser is a natural dish detergent made with enzymes, lemon and eucalyptus, which I dilute with water about 60% detergent, 40% water. (I went to see my dermatologist, who I had not seen in six years, her comment to me was your skin is so pale. She was expecting to see a flaming red face.)

Caution, if you have very sensitive skin, use enzyme cleansers with care they may be too potent for every day use. Also, pregnant women should not use salicylic acid.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001882/

http://www.rosacea.org/weblog/great-impostor-steroid-induced-rosacea

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/rosacea/DS00308/DSECTION=symptoms

http://www.mychelle.com/skin-care/Redness#.UddHwsu9KK0

The Versatile Beet

My favorite restaurant in St. Louis is the Cafe Osage. The Café Osage is part of an urban farm complex. This urban farm complex is associated with the local organic Bowood farm located in Clarksville, MO. My friends and I often enjoy a visit to the urban greenhouse and gift shop. The urban farm is an island of green, two city blocks of green houses, a vegetable garden and a roof top herb garden, in the middle of a transitional neighborhood of old Victorian homes.

Urban farming is a wonderful new trend. Many of the vegetables used in the dishes at Café Osage are grown in their 1/4 acre garden across the street. The café also receives many plants and vegetables from the 4th generation Clarksville family farm. You can take a tour of the rooftop herb garden where all the fresh herbs used at the café are grown.

I tried Café Osage’s fantastic beet salad. I gave myself the challenge of tying to replicate this pickled beet salad. After a quick check I find this beet salad is no longer on the menu. So if you are a beet lover like I am you will need to perfect your own version of this recipe.

West End Beet Salad

Ingredients

◦                2 cans of sliced pickled beets (if you use fresh beets, 8 medium-sized, the flavor will be milder and you will need to bake them first—beets are not meant to be hard) 

◦                1/4 cup celery

◦                1/4 cup thinly sliced carrots

◦                1/4 cup minced onions

        Mix together dressing in separate bowl

◦                1/2 cup sour cream/ or plain yogurt

◦                3 teaspoon prepared white horseradish  (use less horseradish for a milder flavor)

◦                2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1.               Use canned beets or, for fresh beets the best way to peel/cook beets is Baked Beets recipe (http://www.recipezaar.com/251586). Wrap each beet in a square of tin foil and bakes them at 400 degrees for a hour to an hour and a half. When beets are cool enough to handle, just slip the skins off.

2.              Slice, dice or chop the beets

3.              Place all the ingredients in a serving bowl, add the dressing and mix gently but thoroughly.

4. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to let the flavors marinate

BENEFITS OF BEETS

1. The ancient Romans used beets as an aphrodisiac
2. Beets are high in many vitamins and minerals
3. Beets cleanse the body
4. Beets help your mental health
5. Beets are a high source of energy
6. Nutritionists use beets and beet juice to test stomach acid levels—if you pee pink your stomach acid is too low
7. High in potassium
8. Helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, helps protect against heart disease
9. Have been used it to get rid of tumors, help blood diseases and leukemia.
10.  Used to treat and boils, abscesses and even acne
11.  Help cleanse the blood and the colon, and strengthen the gall bladder and liver

In my herbal studies program one of the first herbs I was introduced to was the beet top (beet greens.) But how can you discuss the beet top without discussing the beet itself. Beets are excellent blood cleansers. They cleanse the liver, work as a blood purifier, and demonstrate anti-cancer properties.

Beets contain high amounts of boron, which is directly related to the production of human sex hormones. They are very beneficial to pregnant women. The vitamin B, folic acid, and iron are beneficial to new growth cells and beets help replenishing iron in the woman’s body.

Beets contain betaine, which has been used for treatment of depression. They contain trytophan, which enhances a sense of well-being and calms the nervous system. Beets demonstrate properties that lower blood pressure. They are low in calories and high in a form of sugar, which is released into your system gradually making then very beneficial to the diabetic individual.

Beets are high in many vitamins and minerals including potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, iron; vitamins A, B & C; beta-carotene, beta-cyanine; folic acid, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, thiamin, calcium, copper, phosphorous and zinc. Although beets are high in sodium, they're also high in potassium too and one cup contains over 14 percent of the recommended daily amount.

A study investigated animals with induced high cholesterol and colon cancer. Those that ate a diet consisting heavily of beet fiber displayed increased numbers of CD8 cells in their colons. CD8 cells help eliminate abnormal cells, such as cancer. The beet fiber group displayed a lower incidence of precancerous changes. It was discovered that the animals fed beets had a drop of 30 percent in total cholesterol with the triglycerides dropping a 40 percent while HDL levels, good cholesterol, increased.

A study of nitrosamines revealed beet juice inhibits their formation. Nitrosamines come from the ingestion and breakdown of nitrates found in preserved, processed meat Nitrosamines are known to induce the creation of cancerous cells. Beet juice is a powerful inhibitor of cell mutation caused by nitrosamines.

According to and article by Detopoulou P, Panagiotakos DB, et al. in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" people with a high intake of betaine, a substance found in beets, had lower inflammatory markers.

BEETS ARE VERSATILE

They are low calorie and all parts of the beet provide good nutrition. Add some of the leaves the next time you make stir-fry or drink a glass of beet juice for your health. Beets can be eaten raw or you can boil, steam roast or sauté them. Raw beets can be easily juiced. If you enjoy your beets cooked, wash the exterior thoroughly and put it in boiling water. Leave the top and skin, to preserve all the wonderful nutrient of the beet, and remove them later. If you want the benefits of beet juice but can not drinking it straight mix it with some carrot or apple juice for a milder taste. The raw beet leaves are a wonderful addition to salad. The leaves have been known to counter "garlic" breath.

http://healthfood-guide.com/HealthBenefitsOfBeets.aspx

http://beetsnutrition.com/health-benefits-of-beets.html

http://www.bowoodfarms.com/

Thinking About: self-empowerment

I realize my thinking has been programmed by the politics of power. Powerful groups telling me they know the right answers. In the US these power brokers are governmental institutions, religious institutions, corporate industrial institutions and the media that programs our thinking and manipulates us to buy toxic products.

We do not really admit it in the US because we believe in “free speech and freedom of the press,” but often the media is nothing but a bought and paid for propaganda tool. This is sad, very sad because the media can unconsciously program us with beliefs that are counter to a positive, effective, healthy life. We feel we must have a particular medical screening, medication, or treatment because everyone is doing it--and we do not want to be denied anything. We believe if we fall in line with the program we will not be alone in our fear and misery and we just might get the cure we are promised.

My strategy to discern the truth is to ask---who profits from my decision? Does the action enhance my life? Or does it make profits for others at my expense? What happens to us when we abdicate our self-responsibility to governmental institutions, religious institutions, corporate-medical institutions? We have surrendered our life energy to fear. In a harmonious world all individuals are respected and there are no losers---you would not be asked by the physician and hospital to sign a waiver absolving them of responsibility. 

When governance, the corporate-medical establishment, and religion are used to dominate and control our thinking, the common person is victimized. It is true, society or culture cannot be sustained without shared beliefs and the US was founded on a concept of shared secular values and beliefs. The hope was that the separation of State governance from Religion would give the individual freedom to practice their Spiritual and religious beliefs without fear. This high level of freedom requires tolerance, acceptance and at times insecurity. 

This essay is actually about the insecurity that lies at the heart of free-will. (Free-will [belief in the right of personal choice] is a spiritual tenant of many religions) It is the feeling of insecurity that creates a lack of faith, which leads to doubt, which leads to hopelessness. How can anyone of us be empowered when in an emotional state of hopelessness? How can we create a healthy body when we feel hopeless? 

Can the individual live a healthy life in a constant state of disequilibrium, disharmony? The empowering principle enlivening one’s Mind/Body and Spirit is faith. It is the spiritual tension between Free-will and the choice to act on Faith that creates the opportunity for personal growth and evolution. If we abdidicate our self-responcibility to others we cannot demonstrate faith. All healing is faith healing. You can have faith in a medical model or particular treatment, faith in Nature and a natural life, faith in Self, faith in God. It is the choice to act on empowered, free-will that empowers Mind/Body Spirit healing, and Spiritual evolution.

Recently life challenges reminded me that making life decisions based on faith is a moment by moment commitment. There is no one point where I can say I will never be insecure, I will never question if my decision was the right, perfect, good choice. I can only make the best choice for me in the moment. But to be at peace with my choice--for me to feel empowered--I need to seek information, meditate with my guidance, review my belief system and accept the consequences of my decision in the moment. This process centers and balances me--it is a demonstration of the respect I have for myself. Self-respect is a demonstration of love for self. Where there is Love, fear cannot exist. 

Using Mantras for Healing

I, like Edgar Cayce, believe that the good things that are given to us from Spirit should be freely shared. That is an ethical discussion for another day.

Because I believe Spirit gives us information to be freely shared, I will tell you the mantra meditation I was given on self-healing.

My intuitive understanding is that a component of disease is encapsulated fear and anger in one’s body. To remove this encapsulated fear, anger and bodily symptoms of the disease, the fear and anger must be identified, acknowledged and owned as real. Then the disease/fear/anger can be transmuted in a Violet Flame. The Violet Flame is identified in esoteric knowledge as an energy quality of the Creator.

Esoteric means hidden, deep, buried. The true meaning of the end of the Mayan calendar was not the end of the world—it was the end of secret knowledge. Spirit will make knowing available if we choose to know.

The Violet Flame can be used to transmute energy. It is essential to realize that a disease is idea energy, or thought form, that one has created or materialized in the body. It may represent a current life stressor, or it may represent a karmic lesson or shock. To learn more about the Violet Flame, also known as the Violet Ray see the web link directly below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_rays

Cayce often prescribes a therapy that makes use of an actual violet light. My intuitive understanding has led me to know that we can meditate on the Violet flame to transmute the disease. The disease idea, or thought form resides in unconscious, subconscious, and conscious aspects of our Mind. These layers of Mind and Spirit are where the roots of the disease reside. We can use treatments and therapies at the body level where the disease symptoms reside, but until we address the roots of the diseases at the Mind and Spirit level, as well, we are vulnerable.  The original disease/fear/anger may return or manifest as another disease. The role of the disease is to motivate us toward Spiritual enlightenment and Mind evolution.

As an example, in the case of a tumor or scar tissue, one starts the healing process when the fear and anger are identified, acknowledged and owned as real. The one repeats the Violet flame mantra with an attitude of faith. After one has asked for the tissue to be transmuted in the Violet Flame, the tissue will be broken down by natural body processes, reabsorbed, and eliminated. Once the disease energy is transmuted and released, your personal life energy is no longer feeding the disease and can be used to rebuild your body.

My guidance tells me, we tend not to give up disease because we fear that we will be isolated and left unseen by our fellow man because people have given up on Love and Joy. We tend only to recognize fear and anger. Love is the opposite of Fear, and Joy is the opposite of Anger—these energies cannot coexist.

 I understand what the guidance is saying but I recommend meditating on this statement to find your inner truth. As a counselor, part of our ethic is to warn clients that change has consequences--relationships and family dynamics will change, if you know this before hand you can compensate for it.

My Guidance intuitively gave me this technique for working with the Violet Flame.

1.  First:

Accept that you need to forgive yourself and others for..................................that lead to manifesting this disease. Put into the blank the name of what it is you are angry about ---the whole idea, clearly review it in your mind.

2. Next say this mantra:

Father, Mother, God, Goddess I AM, All that Is, please send a Violet Flame of transmutation to surround and permeate all energies of ................name the disease.............all times, places, spaces, events, participants, and energies are cleansed and healed and brought into alignment with Gods will for humanity at this time. So be it. Amen.

3. Say the mantra 3 times.

Many diseases are the result of accidental occurrences, or exposures to germs and toxins that unintentionally get overlaid with emotional shocks--life happens. It is essential to remember that disease becomes a habit pattern, an energy habit pattern in mind, body, and Spirit. To overcome the disease you must break the energy, the body memory, by doing therapies at all levels of self--Mind, Body, and Spirit. We are a threefold being. Successful healing therapies must address the physical Body, the Mind and the Spirit. (In other words if you may need to forgive yourself---for forgetting to wash your hands, or forgive your child for dropping a hammer on your toe.)

It is also essential to remember you, and those you love, have a life plan. No one lives forever. The Christ demonstrated to us that he was a Being that embraced his Life Plan and saw death as a doorway to the next adventure.

http://www.edgarcayce.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Joseph_Sugrue

Spirit Connection to Health, part 1

Recently I was on vacation in Virginia Beach, Virginia attending the International Association for the Study of Dreams conference. In Virginia Beach I had the opportunity to visit the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE). ARE has grown out of Edgar Cayce’s medical intuitive readings. Edgar Cayce is known as the sleeping prophet.

There is a River, the official biography of Edgar Cayce was written by Thomas Joseph Sugrue. He interviewed Cayce, his friends, and family. This biography is a true representation of Cayce as he struggled to accept his amazing gift of medical clairvoyance and integrate this ability with fundamental Christian beliefs, and practical, workingman, country values.

I had many misunderstandings about Cayce the man and the validity of medical clairvoyance. Cayce was a product of his culture and farm life in late 1890s rural Kentucky. An introspective man, He worried about being a good person and not disappointing God and his family.

His autobiography is one of the most interesting, well-written books I have read. It displays true essence of what it means to be an individual in the US. (I worry that many individuals living in other countries have a misunderstanding of the US character from watching TV and movies. I do not know any one like the people displayed on TV shows, movies, or the news. These are entertainments, or shocking unique events. Oh no, I have just admitted that I am very ordinary and possibly boring.)

Mr. Cayce would fall asleep and go into a deep trance. During this trance Mr. Cayce was able to give clairvoyant or psychic readings about an individuals health and lifestyle. Although, his ability to view the human body from a distance and correctly diagnose medical issues seemed phenomenal at the time, and today as well, other individual have displayed this ability across time. However, it was ARE’s commitment to documenting the individual case studies that create a pattern of validity.

It is Edgar Cayce's life and work, which demonstrate to me the truth of the Mind/Body/Spirit connection at work for our health and healing. At first one believes that Cayce's work can't be real there must be something untrue or fake about what he does. But no one has been able to establish that. The information and documentation of his psychic health readings, collected over thirty years, are available for anyone to study and research.

One of the most striking examples of Cayce’s ability is the story of his son Hugh Lynn. In the 1890s, Edgar made his living as a photographer. At that time they used flash powder to create enough light to get the image on the photographic plate. His young son some how caused a large amount of flash powder to ignite and severely burned his face and eyes. Cayce picked the screaming boy up and ran to the nearest physician’s office. The physician did what he could. The physician consulted other local doctors. Their belief was that the boy would be permanently scared, blind and that one of his eyes should be surgically removed or the boy would die.

Cayce’s wife said if ever we are going to trust in the gift of the medical readings---now was the time. Cayces went home, he went in to a trance and Spirit gave them a treatment plan for their son. They followed the plan exactly. Hugh Lynn did not have any facial scarring and after about five weeks times scar tissue peeled off his eyes and he could see perfectly.

Our current allopathic medical establishment will never research these therapies because there is no profit to be made--you cannot patent these therapies as they belong to the ARE. The ARE makes the therapeutic knowledge available to members for free. By US standards membership is not expensive. The current complaint about the therapies is that they seem old fashioned.

The therapeutics are old-fashioned. When Spirit spoke through Cayce, Spirit gave therapeutic recipes using products available at the time. Spirit utilized established medical schools of thought when appropriate. They recommended the appropriate use of allopathic, homeopathic, osteopathic manipulation, chiropractic and psychological treatments. Medical readings often made recommendations on dietary change, toxic cleansing, herbs, and massage techniques.

The recommendations from Spirit never did harm to the individual, unlike current medications that have cumulative long term, and even deadly side effects. If the therapeutics recommended by Spirit did not work, the case was investigated. Lack of success was related to the individual not following the therapeutic plan exactly.

I believe one of the reasons individuals did not follow the therapeutic plan exactly was because it was free. We tend to look askance at, not have full faith, in things that are free. The nature of our current culture is that profit is king. Nobody gives anybody anything of value for free--supposedly. Therefore, ARE is an organization. When one pays money to join you support the workers and the buildings, the knowledge if free. A link to edgarcayce.org is below.

http://www.edgarcayce.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Joseph_Sugrue