How to become healthier

“La enfermedad es la gran maestra en nuestra vida. Ella es la semilla y la causa de cambio en la vida. Ella es el camino donde nos encontramos con el reino mineral, el reino vegetal y el reino animal. La enfermedad nos une con todo y con todos.”

This was displayed on the wall of our homeopath’s office in Spain. Roughly translated…

“Illness is the greatest teacher in our lives. It is the seed and cause of change in life. It is the road to the kingdoms of minerals/ vegetables/ and animals. Illness unites us with all these things.”

Has to be one of the most profound things I’ve ever read. Certainly, gave us focus when Maureen was ill. Now makes me realise how short life is, how we should spend what’s left wisely, by becoming even more tuned into nature.

This page is rather long to scroll down, so if you only want to read about a specific topic then just click on the chapter heading below to access it:

we are what we eat

Despite an abundance of information available about nutrition and how to eat healthily, as well as a whole food industry churning out what they claim to be wholefood/ natural/ organic/ plant-based/ raw (plus all the other food fads that come and go), we have now let others take total control over what we eat. They are the ones that grow our food and in most cases these days even prepare the meals too. This is not the way to stay healthy.

We have been seriously misled. Not only by the NHS, the government and the media, but particularly by the food industry. Every day that passes, instead of becoming a healthier and longer-living species there is more obesity, more serious health problems, and an ever shortening life-expectancy. All because we eat what they sell us, which is nothing like what our body was designed to exist on. Even the basics, stuff like grains/ beans/ fruits/ vegetables and raw non-homogenised dairy products, are not actually real food. They are just yet more products created by an industry who is constantly looking for easier and cheaper ways to make even more money.

Most scary of which are processed an ultra-processed foods. Which basically are the cheapest raw materials, most of which are not normally edible, turned by science into something that looks like food (coal into butter for example), but of no food value. Plus, many of which can be carcinogenic or affect other vital organs. If you buy and regularly consume any of the following you are risking serious illness or worse:

carbonated drinks and energy drinks – sweet and savoury confectionery and snacks – packaged breads, pastries, cakes and biscuits – margarines and spreads – breakfast cereal and energy bars – milk and cocoa drinks – fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks – instant sauces – vegan/ plant-based meat and cheese – ready to heat meals.

There’s more. Did you know that of the 20,000 plants we used to eat (when we lived by foraging), there are now virtually none of those left in our diet. The majority of what we eat today is now made from just 20 extremely genetically altered plants (to make them quicker and cheaper to grow), all raised artificially without soil, hydroponically using toxic chemicals. Taste the difference for yourself, compare fruit or vegetables bought from TESCO with homegrown. Two completely different things.

We have also been made to believe that this new form of food is totally safe, because it has to be approved by government. Sadly this is not true at all. Just like the pharmaceutical industry, the inspectorate responsible for safety is deliberately under-funded so it can only assess new products based on the information provided by the manufacturer. They test nothing themselves. And each year there are more and more of these new unnatural foods entering the market. Each using less and less ingredients, thanks to ultra-processing. As well as each having had far more toxic treatments applied during the growing phase to protect against an ever growing number of pests and diseases. The product ends up so tasteless it then requires the addition of lethal synthetic flavourings to make it palatable.

So powerful is the food industry today that they can and do spend vast fortunes on marketing, in order to make sure we believe everything they tell us. They also pay the medical world for their unconditional support. Only a fool would eat any of it thinking it was doing them any good.

This is why my partner and I have spent so much of our lives growing our own food. Planting edible forests. In order to escape being dependent on an industry which is clearly very bad for you. We also wanted to put back those plants in our diet that used to exist. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to save Maureen, but Pauline and I are continuing if only to stay healthy and create an example others can follow.

where and how we live

Procreation

There is a finite number of our species this planet can sustain, as in providing enough water/ air/ natural materials for shelter etc, without damaging the planet’s ability to recycle/ replace what we’ve used. This is obvious to anyone with a brain, and for 5-8 million years we managed to do it without thinking, keeping our total globally to approximately 1 million. No, this is not a mistake, this is the greatest number of us that can exist without endangering any other species.

Then 10,000 years ago something strange happened. Instead of carrying on as we always had, respecting the natural order, we invented religion and from then on things just got progressively worse. Today virtually everyone has a firster mentality, believing the planet was designed solely for their benefit. The consequence of this is we are reproducing faster than ever (in the last 100 years our total population has increased fourfold) and we are a lot wealthier, with the result the majority of other species have become extinct. Pure water, clean air, and uncontaminated food is getting harder and harder to find. Mortality rates are increasing. And we have reached the critical point now where one major crop failure could lead to 90% of us starving to death.

Happiness/ mental health

We are creatures born of nature, designed to be part of that, so the only healthy/ true way to live is to reconnect with that. Anything else simply destroys our equilibrium and leads to illness. More on that later in the section on stress.

Pollution

We believe that government ensures that all products are safe, and that what industry discharges and discards creating those products is similarly benign. This is a myth. The only safe things in life are the ones we make for ourselves, using materials we have grown for ourselves.

The combustion engine

If the planet wasn’t polluted enough by overpopulation and our relentless need to buy things, the internal combustion engine is adding yet another toxic load, covered up by government. Fact, if you live anywhere within 2 km of a road/ petrol station/ airport/ or where fuel is pumped, if you drive a car/ take a bus/ cycle/ or walk near a road, then you are exposing yourself to a dose of carcinogens which is way above safe.

EMF (electro-magnetic frequency) radiation

Fact, every single thing our species has invented has had a negative effect on humanity and the rest of the planet. One of the latest being EMF radiation, which affects the immune system, an incredible function which keeps living things healthy and repaired. Originally detected near pylons, it is now known to be generated by anything powered with electricity. The highest levels being transmitters for mobile phones/ radio/ tv/ radar, which have an effect up to a kilometre away. Then wireless appliances, especially phones/ computers/ and wi-fi, up to 30 metres away. And even wiring in the home/ office, and appliances switched on all the time carry a risk. The only safe place is to live and work as far away from any of them.

Mobile phones

Long proven to cause tumours in the brain (two of my friends have had them), so why does anyone continue using them? And why are manufacturers allowed to sell ever more powerful versions?

Nuclear radiation

It only takes ONE nuclear explosion/ accident to irradiate the entire planet for thousands of years. This is because it remains lethal for so long (typically more than 500 years) that it can travel the world on the wind and tides. What else do you need to know? There is NO argument for continuing to use nuclear power or weapons.

The importance of clean pure water

After clean air, pure water is the next most important/ valuable element on the planet. More so than food. Without it we would all die within days. Yet most people don’t realise this or what pure actually means. Pure water is what provides our body with a unique kind of nourishment that is unavailable from any other source.

Read more about this in LIVING WATER, which describes the work of Viktor Schauberger, written by Olof Alexandersson 0-946551-57-X. Also, WATER & SALT, by Dr F Batmanghelidj 1-903571-24-3.

Ideally, we should only drink from mountain springs, but obviously this isn’t a possibility. The next best source is from any other kind of (unpolluted) spring or borehole. Bottled water doesn’t count. Equally important, we need to drink enough, but more on that in a minute. Mains or tap water is not healthy. In fact, it should come with a health warning, along the lines of drink this at your own peril. Personally, I wouldn’t even wash with it, especially heated in a shower (as this creates an even more toxic vapour), and certainly not swim in pools filled with it, which have an even higher chemical load. Don’t think fitting a filter helps either, it doesn’t.

None of this should be a surprise. You only have to spend a moment to think about where water comes from to appreciate the vast differences between pure and the rest. Pure is as healthy and nutritious as it is possible to get, and this is because of the amazing journey it has gone through. Starting out as rainfall, a process of cleansing from impurities. Then falling onto plants and soils, percolating down through many different types of rock, each with its own unique salts/ minerals/ and other qualities, which the water homeopathically absorbs. This journey also carbonates it, the force which brings it back to the surface, literally imbuing it with a life force.

Meanwhile tap water has very different journey. First with the rainwater being stored in vast man-made lakes and reservoirs, where the effects of sunlight cause it to immediately start the process of stagnation/ putrefaction. Air pollution is also added to that mix. As is river water, which has to be the most lethal element imaginable. Why? Because our rivers today contain the greatest number ever of lethal chemicals/ viruses/ and diseases, the legacy of 200 years of legal and illegal dumping by industry/ seepage from landfill/ agricultural run-off from fields/ petrol, oil, and exhaust contaminant run-off from roads/ and the sewage system, which is legally permitted to pump waste onto fields and direct into our rivers. An ecological nightmare.

Sewage alone contains not only the stuff we knowingly but nevertheless flush down the toilet, sinks, and drains. Products for the house, garden, and motor vehicles which are clearly labelled as hazardous. But also, ALL our personal diseases as well, along with the pharmaceuticals we take and the medical treatments we are given (radiation/ chemotherapy). None of which are rendered safe by dilution or the so-called process of treatment at the sewage works. I’ve worked in these places; they essentially are no better than landfill.

Meanwhile, back in the reservoir, all these ingredients mix together in one big soup. Until the moment comes to send it to our homes, when it undergoes one last chemical treatment, designed to kill off selected bacteria/ pathogens, using yet another form of industrial waste, cleverly repackaged as benign and perfect for the job. Then finally makes its way to us, along a network of distribution pipes, all made from materials long known to leach their own load of toxic chemicals. Am I alone in wondering why the government is allowed to continue poisoning its people like this?

Cleanliness is not always next to healthiness

Washing has become a symbol of protection against infection. Yet it isn’t that straightforward. Hot water, for instance, removes essential oils we need. We don’t need to shower/ bath daily either, two or three times a week is more than enough. Soap/ shampoo should never be used, as both contain harmful chemicals, even the natural/ pure/ organic ones. Best is the juice of a lemon, diluted in a bowl of warm water. Lemon cleans, plus has powerful herbal qualities, no need to rinse off afterwards either.

Never use detergents to wash your clothes, especially scented. Or empty the wastewater afterwards down the drain. An overnight soak in plain water is usually enough, having first brushed off any obvious dirt spots, or if absolutely necessary use the tinniest amount of pure liquid soap.

Under-arm deodorant is a really nasty product, especially for the lymphatic system. If you sweat so much that it smells then you should be asking yourself why, not trying to mask it. If absolutely necessary, use a rock crystal but beware many of these products are not what they claim.

Sunblock, and anything containing it, should never be used. In fact, our skin needs far more exposure to the sun, not less, and it is quite possible to do this without harm, aware of when are the safe times. Otherwise, dress appropriately to protect the skin.

Clothes made from synthetic fabrics, or tight-fitting, prevent the body from breathing properly and maintaining an optimum temperature. They cause overheating which opens the pores and allows toxic chemicals from the fabrics/ dyes to leach into the skin. This is especially worrying for areas of major sensitivity (covered by underwear and bras). For the same reason avoid all internal feminine hygiene products/ chemical-based lubricants/ and contraceptive spermicides.

Even the most natural sounding toothpastes contain lethal toxic ingredients, while not actually protecting teeth/ gums, just yet another product that industry that has grown rich on. Far better than brushing with toothpaste is to cut out all food/ drink containing sweeteners, and use flor de sal (flowers of salt, 1/2 teaspoon in 1/2 shot glass of water). Afterwards gargling with the remaining liquid and swallow. Kills everything and proven from centuries of use preserving meat & fish. Also contains essential minerals the body needs.

finding a real health service

Believe it or not, what we currently take for granted as the only effective form of healthcare (known as conventional medicine) is a relatively new invention. It didn’t appear until the nineteenth century, and then only for those wealthy enough to afford it. Only since 1948, and the creation of the NHS, has it been pressganged on to everyone else. The reason why we aren’t aware of this now is because the practitioners of this new medicine have been working hard at erasing the past in order to convince us that they alone know best. Even though, since their reign began people have become less fit/ less sane/ contracted more illnesses and diseases/ and now dying off in far greater numbers much younger.

Thankfully, despite their best endeavours there are still other options left.

Conventional medicine is where you go to see a GP, who typically has a caseload of 5000 other patients, so can only give you 5-15 minutes of their attention. They are also only there because their primary motive for becoming a doctor is the vast salary and status is offers. Anyone with a passion to help others having been weeded out during the training period or worn down by the sheer workload. Not surprisingly then they make assessments far too quickly, offer remedies that only reduce/ mask symptoms, and generally hope that things will get better on their own to get through their appointments as quickly as possible. Only if a patient is persistent will they refer them for a more in-depth assessment with a specialist.

No surprise then that the NHS, post-BREXIT, has become known as The No-hope Service. It would even surprise few to see signs at Health Centres and Hospitals with the following message: Through here is the way to eternal suffering. Through here is the way to join the lost people. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Conventional medicine relies totally on medical science to evaluate and treat our illnesses. Through invasive surgery, radiotherapy and a whole range of artificial drugs. All are toxic and most will do us more harm in the long term. All will be outlawed in the future.

Conventional medicine is also under the total control of the pharmaceutical industry, one of the most powerful and ruthless global businesses on the planet. Whose sole interest is not in greater healthiness, on the contrary it wants more and more people to be sick. They have become the most profitable parasite ever, with us as the host.

There is also an unhealthy link between government and the pharmaceutical industry, most leaders and their ministers are shareholders of these companies.

Despite various acts of parliament over the years, there still is no mandate for the government, or their representatives (doctors), to inform us about anything they do which could make us ill. Which includes any method of screening, even if it is dangerous (toxic/ destroys our immune system/ or causes cancer – mammography being a classic example).

Why should you not trust the medical profession? Because it exists solely to serve itself. Their mantra should be: WE SERVE YOU RIGHT. They are a private members club who select only those with the right attitude/ background. Who have the will to succeed, to increase the corporate and personal profits of its members, and protect/ promote their corporate sanctity. We are merely the means for them to ensure that. Anonymous units to be passed through their ever more cost-effective, one-size-fits-all, system as quickly as possible. Which is why they prescribe so many painkillers/ anti-depressants/ antibiotics/ and anti-inflammatories. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than trying to do something that will really help. But then if they don’t work there are plenty more equally bizarre and short-term cheap drug/ surgery-related therapies they can try. The quote: the operation was a success, but the patient died, should be enough of a warning to anyone.

Don’t expect anything different with rural GPs either, who have far less patients, or the private sector. The latter seems like a better choice, but on closer inspection is most run by the same NHS consultants, working privately in their free time, offering exactly the same type of service, except with the implication paying is more efficient/ faster/ better. Remember, millionaires die just as prematurely and pointlessly as everyone else does.

Complementary medicine. This is a very confusing, grey area, of healthcare. Not qualified to act as a GP. Compared to a conventional practitioner barely trained enough to diagnose. Anyone can set up in practice, doesn’t require qualifications. The best way them is offering symptom relief. An osteopath for example.

99% of complementary practitioners are scammers. Offering treatment at an affordable price, by someone who claims to care about you as an individual, in a pain & stress-free environment, with the hint of ancient/ eastern know-how, appealing to those who have more time and money than common sense. The bottom line being they don’t accept any responsibility/ liability. It’s mall-culture, another fly-by-night business exploiting the fallibility and suffering of others.

Original medicine is what it says, that which existed for the millions of years before the current medicine ideas (which in themselves are always in flux, changing daily). A totally safe, tried-and-tested, alternative which will never refer a patient back to the NHS.

Their approach is also very different. You will only ever be treated by your practitioner. No diagnostic tests involving machines or body samples. No surgery. No drugs or other toxic treatments. No relationship with any other business.

Consultations last as long as necessary, there is no time-limit.

Symptoms are noted, but it is always the root cause which is sought.

Treatment is based on getting the body’s own system to do the repair.

it is more important to know the person, who has the disease, than to know the disease the person has – hippocrates

Every individual is considered unique, so no treatment will be suitable for another person.

This is the closest to getting your own personal mechanic, who not only understands how your body & mind functions but knows your full-service history.

The problem is finding a good one (just like in conventional medicine), I’ve only met two in 30 years.

Also, it’s also a very big leap of faith, taking back responsibility for your own healthiness. You will need to change everything about your life, not just the GP bit. Live in a place and way that doesn’t risk your health any more than possible. You will also have to accept that no-one can keep you healthy if it isn’t meant to be.

If you still want to do this, then how do you go about finding/ choosing a practitioner? If only there were a trustpilot app for this, because what you are going to find out very quickly is most of these people are charlatans too. They may have had some kind of training, been awarded plenty of qualifications, but in real terms all that is meaningless. Likewise, membership of impressive associations or governing bodies should be taken with a pinch of salt, anyone can get on their registers, just a matter of paying the fees. Personally I would recommend first trying to find a conventional doctor who has seen the light and decided to swap sides. Someone who has had many years as a conventional GP, enough time to gain a wide experience. Who has a good rapport with people, intuitive, empathetic. However avoid doctors who are still doctors, they are not alternative practioners.

I would also ask if they are prepared to offer a full refund if the treatment has no effect. Ideally, you would pay a set amount each month, like an insurance premium, except when you are ill.

They should also practise what they preach. Avoid practitioners living in cities, who smoke, are overweight, not good examples.

Avoid anyone who has a large number of patients. You should be able to contact them whenever you need, and not have to wait more than a few days for an appointment.

Original medicine is not a business, it is a talent/ gift. Walk away from anyone who makes you think otherwise.

At which point this is beginning to sound too utopian to be possible. Which probably is the case in the UK, though not in other countries. Though there a plenty of wonderful homeopathic vets here.

Natural or original medicine involves none of the above. This is the way we lived sustainably, more healthily for nearly 8 million years, instinctively. In theory our DNA still carries all that information/ knowledge. But how do we access it again? And if we could, are all those plants etc still available? Given that 84% of the planet’s flora & fauna has been made extinct by us in just the last 50 years, and we’ve polluted the planet so much, hard to imagine. But no reason not to try and find out.

acupunture

This is one of the treatments we’ve both tried successfully. Very briefly, because you can read about it in far more depth elsewhere, there is no doubt this works, even in situations where you’d be seriously worried that not going to a GP/ hospital would be a big mistake. Nor is it in any way painful. There are no toxic side-effects either. Though, as with all original medicine, treatment does take a lot longer than you’d think, typically weeks or months, depending on how healthy you are already.

homeopathy

I have used this on and off since 1991, always with amazing results. Now, thanks to technology (ZOOM video conferencing), a practitioner can be on the other side of the planet, which is handy because finding a good one in the UK is nigh on impossible.

Your first consultation is where the practitioner gets to know you, as opposed to just asking what is wrong. This is the big difference between conventional medicine and alternative. It embraces that we are all unique physically, had a lifetime of unique things happen to us mentally, all of which is important to take into account when determining the right treatment. This first session will therefore take some time, around two hours on average. You will/ should also have been asked to complete an extremely detailed questionnaire about yourself. After this the practitioner will spend some time considering everything then send a remedy by post.

Treatment is based on cause, not symptoms, which means it can take several sessions and remedies to find exactly the right one that works for you. Talking is also a very important part of the treatment, both for the practitioner to learn more and for you to appreciate how emotions can affect our health. Many illnesses are caused by stress, rather than pathogens. Whatever the remedy chosen, it will either stimulate emotional change or instruct your body to restore any balance that has become upset. Remedies generally come in the form of tablets. Follow-up sessions are typically every three or four weeks.

Speed of recovery depends on whether the symptoms are sudden or chronic/ long-term, and it is not unusual for nothing to happen for several weeks, as well as the symptoms worsen.

Cost (which usually covers all the medication) is roughly between £40-£150 for the initial consultation, then around £40 for subsequent follow-ups. Phone calls in-between are free. Some practitioners offer payment by donation, one UK charity even offers the first five consultations and first remedy for free, but my experience of them was terrible.

When choosing a practitioner make sure they have trained before 2000 and worked full-time since. This is very important. UK trained homeopaths since that date have had insufficient training and use software instead of learning their Materia Medica. In France, where homeopathy is an accepted conventional medicine, practitioners have to qualify as GPs first. The standard here in the UK is so bad that homeopathic vets are better qualified. As previously mentioned avoid all of the so-called professional registers.

A perfect choice of practitioner would also include a training in Chinese medicine, so they can utilise the acupuncture pulses whenever you have a session.

Personally, I wouldn’t accept anyone less than all of the above to treat me. Especially as it is going to cost me money.

The remedies are tablets, and they are totally free of side-effects, 100% safe. In fact, they contain so little it is almost impossible to scientifically measure, having been diluted to the thousandth or millionth degree.

Homeopathy works whether you believe it or not. Created by conventional doctors, who were losing faith in a medicine that was getting more and more brutal/ toxic/ life threatening (the operation was a success, but the patient died). It can be used on people and animals (all our cats in Yorkshire were treated homeopathically, an experience that was a million times better than any conventional practice). It is also a complete medicine, so there will never be a need to refer back to the NHS at any time.

While there are many books and internet sites offering advice on first aid & self-help treatment, I would advise avoiding them and find a practitioner instead. Even homeopaths don’t prescribe for themselves.

Finally, having recently had several bad experiences with UK homeopaths recently (spanish & portuguese ones are so much better), and not wanting others to suffer, I advise folk to steer clear of these:

LINDA HUMMEL – 30 Park Road, Gifford, Haddington, East Lothian EH41 4QS.

ANJUM RAHMATULLA – Santosa Yoga and Meditation, 21 Albert Street, Edinburgh EH7 5LH. West End Osteopathic Clinic, 233 Perth Road, Dundee DD2 1EJ.

ELAINE HAMILTON – Dumfries & Galloway Clinic, Cat Strand, High Street, New Galloway DG7 3RN.

NEIL SPENCE – Holos Homeopathy, Ward of Turin Cottage, Forfar DD8 2TF.

DR KIM JOBST – https://functionalshift.com.

fasting

First off, let me begin by stating the obvious, that fasting can be really dangerous if not done properly.

Before starting a fast try to spend several days gradually cutting back on what you eat and coming off rich/ cooked foods. Then do the reverse afterwards.

If you’ve never fasted before try with a 24 hr fast, then wait at least a month before doing it again.

You should NEVER fast for more than 14 days.

The various fasting options are:

8-12 hrs – lowers blood pressure and stabilises blood sugar – I do this one every day, simply by making sure my last meal of the day is early enough so there is 12 hours of no eating before breakfast

12-18 hrs – weight loss and clarity of mind

24 hrs – the body starts to repair itself

36-48 hrs – muscle regrowth

72+ hrs – immune system repair

If you’ve never fasted before it may help to eat something during it. This can be fruit, oats (for breakfast, as porridge for example), and a sandwich using unrefined flour, with something like yeast extract and olive oil (no butter or margarine). No sugar whatsoever. But for best results it is best not to eat anything.

You must stay hydrated. Drink one glass of water as soon as you get up and then a glass of water at least every 2 hours until bedtime. No other kinds of liquid.

Expect to feel tired and headachy during this, so don’t overdo anything. No strenuous activity demanding a lot of energy. Light-headedness is common too. As is feeling cold, so dress appropriately. Toxins will be eliminated (in the usual way) more quickly if you rest. Stop immediately if you experience ANY pain.

The following day can be even worse, so don’t rush into to getting back to normal. By the end of that day you should feel better, and the next day really good, an improvement on how you usually feel.

The primary function of fasting is to reduce the workload on the body’s repair system. One of the jobs it spends a lot of precious resources on, is processing food, often far more than the body needs or recognises as food. Another spectacular example of why conventional medicine hasn’t a clue. No hospital (and especially hospice) EVER considers that the food they serve patients could actually be making them worse. The very last thing you need when you are ill is to fill yourself with food that is going to slow down the healing process.

As always, it is our body that cures us, not medicine or surgery (never forget this). In desperation, fasting can often be the only cure. I have done this myself, when I couldn’t find a practitioner, and ate absolutely nothing for two weeks, only drinking water and my urine. It wasn’t a wonderful experience, but it did work.

herbalism

Having grown and used fresh herbs as medicine for over thirty years this was the one form of original medicine I thought would abound in countries like Spain & Portugal. But no. Which meant teaching myself, and this is why my kind of forest garden only has herbs in it. For books on the subject I recommend Juliette de Baïracli Levy who has had a lifetime’s experience treating not only people but animals. THE RHS NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HERBS & THEIR USES by Deni Bown (ISBN 0-7513-3386-7) is good in that it is extremely comprehensive, but that is because many of the plants listed won’t survive a Northern Europe climate. The ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HERBAL MEDICINE by Thomas Bartram (ISBN-13 978-1-85487-586-0) is extremely alternative but based on practical experience.

We started by growing herbs to use fresh as tea, and at El Pocito had over fifty different types to pick from fresh each day. They taste so much better fresh and are probably better medicinally too. If you are interested there is a downloadable plant-list (showing which herbs can be used for tea), click here.

We then went on to make our own tinctures and cold infused oils, for first-aid and to use after the growing season was over. I would particularly recommend doing this with thyme (brilliant for tickly winter coughs and chest infections), sage (colds, sore throat, fever), st johns wort (wounds), arnica (bruising), marigold (skin problems), selfheal (allrounder) and comfrey (allrounder).

swipe to see more photos

For tinctures (to be taken internally, usually one teaspoon a dose) all you need is to collect enough of the fresh herb (the newest top growth) to fill a clear glass jar (one litre size is enough, with an airtight lid). Cut into small pieces and pack into the jar until it is full, then pour in enough apple cider vinegar (or better still vodka/ ethanol, which increases the shelf life considerably) to fill, and seal. Store in a warm darkened room and shake every day for 2 weeks. Then strain off the liquid and bottle in dark glass containers.

For cold infused oils it is just as easy to make but needs plenty of sunshine over a long period. Prepare as before, this time using virgin olive oil instead of vinegar. Then place the jar in full sunlight for at least six weeks (the longer the better), inverting each day (having made sure the lid is on really tight or it will leak) to mix thoroughly. Strain (or use a press) and bottle in dark glass containers.

Finally, with regards to my personal experience of herbal practitioners, I would definitely suggest not using SUZI WALKER – Roadside Cottage, Hamnavoe, Shetland ZE2 9LA.

reiki

Is a nasty con, on a par with clairvoyance and healing. Avoid.

bowen therapy

Another sick con.

eye remedies

These all take time to be effective, weeks if not months, so be patient.

Cataracts. I was diagnosed with cataracts in 2016, and at that point couldn’t see anything in low light or read by artificial light at night. Everything was blurry too. As there was no way I wanted to go down the route of having surgery, which I still believe is only a short-term solution, I searched for other ways to treat them. Today my eyesight is vastly improved.

I have tried a wide range of therapies. The ones that work best for me are:

Urine therapy: bathing each eye for 1 minute each day every day.

Eye exercises. One of the reasons we get cataracts is the same as with general fitness, modern living doesn’t exercise our eye muscles enough. So I spend about 10-15 minutes each day doing that, based on the ideas of Aldous Huxley/ Dr Bates/ Harry Benjamin/ & Meir Schneider. Here is the synopsis of their teachings:

In order to restore tone to eye muscle, we need to cut down on the amount of time we spend looking at things only a short distance away. Wearing prescription spectacles and sunglasses also make our eyes very lazy.

Exercise 1: Cover one eye and focus the other on an object about a mile away. Keep it in focus for a minute. Then swap eye and do the same. This will also let you know if one eye is better or worse than the other.

Repeat, but this time on an object half that distance.

Repeat, half the distance again.

Exercise 2: The eye chart. Basically this is the same as above but with smaller and smaller print. You can download a chart by clicking here then print it off and have it laminated.

Hold or place the eye chart at arm’s length and cover one eye. Start reading from the top. When you get to a paragraph you can’t read, change eyes and start again.

Don’t worry if one day is worse than before. Your eyes change all the time, literally every second (which is one reason why getting prescription glasses is not such a good idea), depending on your health, mood and the quality of light in the room. When you can read the whole page your eyesight is not only perfect but better than most people’s.

If you can read any part easily then skip that and start with the one that takes a bit of effort. Repeating this exercise several times in one session is a really good workout.

Exercise 3: Increase the healthiness of the eyes. Using the tips of both hands massage the skin around both eyes simultaneously in a circular motion. This is to stimulate blood flow. Do 15 times. Then widen the motion to massage the face/ scalp/ and neck. Feel where there is any pain, and massage more.

Slow blinking. Very gently hold down the eyelid of one eye with a finger while focusing with the other on a point in the distance. Then as slowly as you can, blink. Do this 15 times. Change eyes and do the same. After that blink both eyes very slowly together.

As I said, these solutions improved my vision dramatically. Not only is everything a lot sharper now, I can see further, in the dark, and read in artificial light. Most surprisingly though was discovering I no longer need to wear my prescription glasses. I have had these for over 40 years (to correct an astigmatism). I was also able to dramatically reduce the amount of magnification in my reading glasses.

chilblains

You can make an inexpensive salve to help increase blood flow with just cayenne pepper/ chilli powder and olive oil. Simply mix a teaspoon of the chilli with just enough oil to make it into a paste, then rub onto your hands/ feet. The secret is to keep rubbing until the skin has totally absorbed it, this action alone promoting increased blood flow. Repeat 3 or 4 times a day, for at least a week.

teeth, mouth & dentists

I have had a lot of dental problems recently, and trying to deal with those has revealed some rather nasty aspects of conventional medicine, particularly dentistry. It seems there has been little progress in the way they treat problems from 100 years ago.

Root canal work, now standard practice with fillings. If you are prone to sinusitis (like me) this should always be refused, as it will probably lead to a deep-seated infection that not only causes abscesses, painful enough, but can lead on to full-blown Ménières (see, the chapter on sinusitis & dizziness (Ménières) below), and if the tooth isn’t removed early enough spread to infect the brain and the heart.

X-rays have always been an extremely dangerous diagnostic tool, but they are also very ineffective. Despite this the NHS will also refuse to treat you if don’t want them.

Antibiotics are not a miracle cure. They do not treat the underlying problem and will also destroy the lining of your gut, leading to further health problems.

Any amount of sugar in your diet will eat away the enamel of the teeth leading to decay.

Toothpaste with fluoride is highly toxic.

To maintain a healthy mouth avoid alcohol, tobacco and all products with sugar. And after each meal briefly brush your teeth.

Each night gargle with a pinch (as much as you can tolerate) of cayenne pepper and half a teaspoon of salt dissolved in a third of a glass of warm water. This will kill any bacteria, reduce pain if you any and improve gum health.

If you do get an abscess, don’t worry it will eventually burst and then the pain will stop, often quicker than using antibiotics, so don’t compromise your gut health by taking them.

If you are prone to mouth ulcers, particularly on the tongue, use the same remedy for gum abscesses (above) but hold it in your mouth for 5 minutes (longer if possible). Do this first thing and last thing every day until they have gone. Also brushing your tongue (with a toothbrush, but just water) every time you brush your teeth will really speed things up too.

sinusitis & dizzines (menieres)

Sinusitis is where the honeycomb cavities in the bone of the skull, typically those situated around the cheeks/ nose/ and forehead, become inflamed and infected. Chronic sinusitis is being born with a tendency for these to become affected whenever there is a virus going around.

Symptoms can be very painful and include: brain freeze/ difficulty breathing through the nose/ phlegm/ earache/ throat infections/ and mouth and tongue ulcers. Or develop into something a lot worse, like Ménières, which includes: tinnitus/ deafness/ short-term memory loss/ depression and suicidal thoughts/ seeing flashing lights/ a rise in temperature and inability to feel cold/ extreme dizziness followed by nausea and extreme vomiting/ and impaired vision (if you do suffer from this I would definitely not recommend having an eye test until it is cured).

Conventional medicine considers Ménières to be a disease. This is not true, it is a condition which can be triggered by sinusitis, auto-toxaemeia, vitamin-B deficiency, menstruation and malaria drugs . They also claim it is incurable, which is also not true. Basically they haven’t a clue, or the slightest interest in learning what causes it, not when they have a whole range of addictive and toxic drugs to hand out instead. If you go to a GP all you will get is a lot of pointless, intrusive and possibly very harmful tests, followed by experimental surgery (which rarely works, and often ends up making things worse), and then being put on permanent medication for the dizziness. All of which can and will lead to further complications and more serious health problems. It is truly horrifying the way conventional medicine works today.

I was born with sinusitis and have suffered the various forms throughout my life. Though none as bad as during the last nine years, when (in 2016) I got the COVID bug (yes, it didn’t just appear in 2020), which turned into LONG COVID, effectively scrambling all my cranial nerves, and since then I’ve had all the symptoms on the Menieres list. I have also had all the tests and medication, none of which has made any positive difference.

In the end I gave up believing in a conventional cure, ignored all their advice, and set about finding a way to heal myself. And am pleased to report there is.

First off, you need to do is make sure your body can always fight off infection and cure itself. You can do this by considering all of the following:

Adopting a healthy diet, one that fortifies the body. Which means fresh organic ingredients. No processed food whatsoever, or anything containing ultra-processed ingredients. No dairy, this is really important. Very little alcohol. No smoking. No drugs. No added sugar or artificial/ modified sweeteners (one of the worst things to consume when you are ill or have a disease). No added salt.

Adequate hydration. I drink five glasses of water a day, either on their own or as a herbal infusion from my own plants, nothing bought in. I drink just one caffeine drink a day (coffee), and make sure that this is at least an hour after or before eating (as caffeine weakens the immune system).

Get plenty of daily physical exercise outside, with as much sunshine on the skin as possible.

Fast daily (12 hrs), details about that in the fasting chapter earlier. This will give your body the chance to rest from processing food and concentrate on healing instead.

Every morning start the day with a glass of water, to which has been added (and stirred vigorously):

1 tsp of powdered organic turmeric root + a sprinkle of ground peppercorns + 1 tbsp of organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother and unpasteurised) + 1/4 tsp of powdered thyme and 1/4 tsp of powdered sage. With regards to which ACV (apple cider vinegar) to buy, I would advise caution. Many companies are selling it now and some of these (Willy’s for example) are making claims that simply can’t be true. I would all ignore these and go with a well-established company (like Biona for example) instead.

For the best taste, it is better to make this up the night before. Start by dissolving the powdered ingredients in a small amount of hot water, then top up with cider vinegar and cold water, store in a fridge.

Every now and then add to meals a couple of spoonfuls of either kimchi or sauerkraut, but only the homemade/ unpasteurised kind (see the recipes to make them by clicking here), as they contain natural probiotics and will help your gut function properly.

Always sleep with the head well elevated and make sure you wear as little as possible in bed. Overheating (at night and during the day) can bring on blocked sinuses and dizziness.

When you are suffering from any of the Menieres symptoms, refrain from reading/ watching television/ using a smartphone/ or any other close-up work/ activity. Being outside will make you feel a lot better than lying down indoors.

If you have any deafness or pain in your ears, then lie on your side and have someone syringe some drops of warmed garlic oil into them. Do this regularly and best at night in bed, but remember to place a towel over your pillow to prevent any spillage getting on the pillowslip. You can make your own garlic oil by chopping several garlic cloves and putting them in a small jar, covered with virgin olive oil. Place on a warm radiator to help the oils to mix.

Infected eardrums are one of the main causes of dizziness, so make sure you do not ever put anything dirty in the ear canal (fingers, for example).

When you need dental treatment make sure you tell them you suffer from chronic sinusitis and do not want any root canal work (see chapter above on teeth, mouth & dentists).

Visualisation can help shift mucus, see the chapter on back pain & stress.

Visit an acupuncturist regularly to ensure everything about your metabolism is functioning correctly.

haemorrhoids

Suffered with these for over 30 years, progressively getting worse. Even the homeopathic cream I’d been reliant on no longer worked. Then I read a post about using comfrey.

Applying it directly proved impossible, so as there were plenty of plants in the garden (over 100), tried adding fresh young comfrey leaves to my three times daily herbal tea, along with yarrow (which has similar attributes), and within just a couple of days they shrank. Not convinced yet it is a cure but will keep taking the two each day while the leaves are available.

urine therapy

This has to be one of the most weird and wonderful things I have ever encountered. We first heard about it when a friend sent us a copy of THE WATER OF LIFE, by J W Armstrong (ISBN 0-85032-052-6), and at that time Maureen was ill so we decided to give it try.

This book really only describes the theory, not how to treat yorself, so you’ll need to search the internet for that (try http://universal-tao.com/article/urine.therapy.html) or read the THE GOLDEN FOUNTAIN by Coen van der kroon (click here to download). Very briefly though, it’s about using your own urine as a medicine, in the same way as homeopathy. By drinking it mainly, but also applying urine to an infected area. Sounds truly nasty (dangerous even) but is actually perfectly safe and with time even becomes totally normal, honest. The benefits being:

Homeopathic – helps kick-start a lethargic self-repair system into action.

Recycling – all the precious nutrients our body discards, because we don’t eat properly.

As a complete medicine – both for self-treatment (first aid/ minor ailments), or in the hands of an experienced practitioner to cure virtually anything (works on other species too).

For self-treatment on wounds use either fresh urine, rubbing into the skin to stimulate blood circulation. Or decant some into a bottle (of dark glass). This can be used then for up to a year and is far more potent, both in killing off any bacteria and encouraging healing.

And an indicator of healthiness – the colour/ smell/ and taste will indicate how well your body is functioning. Try it for yourself. Next time you pee catch some in a glass, ideally mid-stream, then hold it up to the light and sniff. A healthy person should have transparent/ crystal clear/ and odourless urine. If not, drink two glasses of water and check again next time you pee, repeating until there is a change. If after 24 hours there hasn’t been any improvement then try discounting the reasons why, one at a time. By cutting things out, like – meat/ coffee (the safe limit is one espresso a day)/ all milk products/ anything with white flour in it/ alcohol (no more than a glass every now and then)/ smoking/ anything with sugar or artificial sweetener added (honey is fine), or salt (use flor de sal instead). If after all those there is still no improvement, then you need to see a practitioner as soon as possible.

Earlier on I mentioned how important drinking enough water is. However we are all different in this respect. The best way to find out what your requirement per day is to keep checking your pee for a few days, and drinking enough to keep it clear. Also get into the habit of starting off the day with drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake (before anything else).

In the past urine was far more highly respected, revered even. Crofters used it to clean the raw wool prior to spinning/ weaving. Soap was made from it. And the Romans even bathed in pee, which is something we used for many years. There’s no doubt it is as effective as soap, takes nothing positive out, and in fact moisturises the skin. It also stimulates and improves blood circulation (excellent for frostbite or chills). The only reason we stopped using it was a slight lingering odour, which we later discovered could be avoided by simply rinsing off in hot water afterwards. However as we stopped heating water for washing in 2000 it hasn’t been an option.

Urine can also be used to wash clothes, even in a washing machine (which has a heated cycle), totally replacing the need for any detergent/ conditioner. At the very least we should all be saving it to put back into the eco-system, either by peeing outside, or better still (avoiding any build-up of smell) in a bucket which is then added to the grey water or compost heap.

the importance of a good night’s sleep

This is the part of the day when the body is free to get on with repairing/ healing. Make sure it can do that, uninterrupted. Some ideas we have tried:

Our bed was deliberately constructed from wood. No chemical treatment was applied, and no metal used that could hold an electrical charge. Originally, we had a futon mattress on top, but when that wore out couldn’t find an equal so now have natural latex instead.

Whenever we are in houses with AC mains electricity, we switch it off at the fuse box at night.

Can’t get off to sleep? Try toe therapy, it really does work and only takes about fifteen minutes. Done by squeezing the appropriate acupressure points. Instructions can be found at:

http://www.reflexologyworld.com/brazilian_toe.htm.

earthing/ grounding

This is a way of removing the harmful electrical charge (electro smog) that builds up in each of us when living in a man-made rather than outdoors. You can do this in several ways. The first we tried involved putting a conductive copper sheet on the bed, attached to a cable which led out to an earthing rod buried in the soil. To buy ready-made they were super expensive, so we made our own, knitted from ultra-thin strands of copper wire. Great idea, but like the princess and the pea, impossible to sleep on.

Next was something even more bizarre, sitting outside with your feet bare on the soil. A friend suggested this, for eczema. I had some on my back and given up ever finding a cure. The first session was for an hour (luckily it was warm enough, though a friend in Perthshire will sit outside in all weathers, including once in the snow!). Not surprisingly I didn’t feel a thing, but when Maureen had a look at my back it was on fire. Two further sessions cleared the eczema completely. I have also found this works well for severe mood-swings.

You can buy all sorts of grounding mats and bed sheets now, but whether any of them work will only become apparent after parting with the cash. However, if you make sure it comes with a free return guarantee, there is a way you can check. All you need is a multimeter/ voltmeter.

This is also a good way to see just how much electrical smog there is in your home or workplace.

Simply connect the black lead of the multimeter to the COM port, and the red to the ΩHz port. Then switch on and select Volts, followed by AC, and with a decimal scale of one zero (0.000). Now go outside and push the bare metal probe of the black lead into the soil, not letting the bare metal of the red one touch anything. The reading should be 0.000. Touch the end of the red probe. This is how much electricity is in the environment and in your body. When I tried it mine showed 0.005 volts or 5 millivolts.

Go inside and insert the black probe into the earth of the nearest electrical socket and repeat. The reading will be a lot higher.

To test whether a grounding mat or bed sheet you have bought actually works, earth the black lead as above and touch the red one while your bare skin is in contact with the mat or sheet. The reading should be 0.000.

depression

…and why doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors will never be the solution.

Because they base their treatment on trying to understand how the brain works (the scientific approach). But there are as many other reasons why people get depressed as there are people. Something they (and the drug companies) don’t want to consider, not when a one-size-fits-all solution is far more cost-effective and profitable.

I have suffered from depression all my life, as has virtually everyone else at some point. Most of whom were prescribed antidepressants, others invasive medical procedures, neither of which will make them feel as good again, and all of which will be proved useless in the future. Others have wasted their money on complimentary medicine.

This doesn’t have to happen. There is another way to deal with the illness. And that is to find the cause yourself and work at addressing it.

Starting with making a list. Of all the reasons we think make us feel the way we do.

This is mine:

Whether we like it or not we are all born physically flawed, the strange mix of two very physiologically different parents who are by no means physically/ mentally perfect. In my case, at least one of those, possibly both, had a disposition to depression as well as a medical condition which exacerbates it.

We also live in a period of intense national and global uncertainty.

Personal rights and freedoms won during the 1960s-1980s, are being systematically taken away from us, replaced by dictatorship. Hate is being promoted as a way to divide people, making it socially acceptable (and legal) to behave as a fascist, racist, homophobe, transphobe, biphobe, sexist, patriarch, bigot, anti-abortionist, creationist, fundamentalist, extremist, evangelist, royalist, nationalist, to taunt, bully, maim, even murder, anyone who they consider different.

The family and education system have a profound influence on us as children. Not surprisingly, when it is such an abnormal concept. Abuse by both parents and teachers is commonplace, physical/ sexual/ and mental. None of which will ever be reported or believed.

Having to get a job to earn money to live is extremely stressful. Society is underpinned and driven by the stupid notion of competitiveness, that only through winning and making more and more money can you hope to be successful and find happiness. However this theory falls down when you consider that most people in this system will be the losers, therefore resentful and unhappy. Succeeding at getting and then passing an interview is hard enough, but after that you have to work even harder to keep the job.

Fear is another influence we are exposed to daily. Fear of becoming infected, fear of social unrest and war, fear of immigrants, fear of not having enough money, fear of unprovoked violence, fear of unemployment and homelessness, fear of being falsely accused/ imprisoned, fear of not doing the right thing, not fitting in.

At the same time, any respect we once had for our planet and its ecology, that entity which grants us life, has long disappeared. Replaced instead by a headlong rush into embracing the construction of totally artificial environments. Places where the majority now feel safer and are more normal than the wild countryside.

Our diet has similarly been altered, to one which is totally unnatural and unhealthy.

Even what we do to stimulate our minds and senses is created for us. To make your own entertainment these days is considered very strange.

Growing old and death has also become something people don’t want to talk about or address.

Plus our weather has begun to affect us, as climate changes make it more and more unpredictable.

There are probably a lot more reasons why we feel the way we do, but most important is to remember that depression can be the sum of a whole host of things.

Depression affects everyone in different ways too. For me, the most frightening and thankfully not too frequent, is attacks. Which happen when I get exhausted. When I forget to keep hydrated and haven’t eaten enough. I call these moments meltdowns. They take the form of suddenly finding myself at complete odds with whoever I am with and getting angrier and sadder. A feeling that continues to grow until the only way I can deal with it is to retreat into myself, stop communicating, and with a strong need to sleep or run away. Followed by deep despair, where the only solution is suicide. This is the normal pattern, and an attack like this can last from an hour to twelve hours.

My everyday version, the one I have suffered all my life, starts on waking. I have always found it difficult to get up in the mornings. But even when I am, I still feel like a zombie. Unable to bear bright lights or noise, talk to anyone, or cope with anything out-of-the-ordinary. The overwhelming feeling is sadness and grief.

This got a lot worse in 2016, when along with everyone else in Almonaster la Real I got the Covid virus and started experiencing Ménières symptoms (you can read more about these in the chapter above), which then turned into Long Covid and is still happening. This had the effect of prolonging the getting up hangover feeling until much later in the morning, often into the afternoon. The reason for this (I finally discovered, for myself) is because one of my inherited genetic flaws is a predisposition to sinusitis. This is where the body creates too much phlegm/ mucus, especially at night. Lying down it accumulates in the honeycomb areas of the skull, instead of dissipating naturally through the body, which in turn puts pressure on the cranial nerves that control hearing, vision, balance and taste. In order to prevent this I now sleep almost upright, and also make sure I don’t get too hot either, as the body overheating makes the symptoms of Ménières a lot worse. As I said, normally I feel better after a few hours of waking, but if I catch any kind of infection then almost always end up with full-blown Ménières attack, which can mean spending up to a fortnight in bed.

That’s the very simplified version. The point, once again, is we are all bombarded by a lot of factors which can make us feel sad, stressed and depressed. To overcome these we need to understand what they are rationalise them.

For example, I no longer respond to any of the negative feelings I get during the mornings, because I know that by the time the mucus has dispelled the world will seem completely different.

Staying healthy, eating well and making sure I am fully hydrated, has become a number one priority.

I have also totally rejected everything I was taught by my parents and educators, and now think for myself.

All the negative influences of the internet/ tv/ radio/ and newspapers I avoid.

Nor do I allow myself to be put into situations where there will be other people who don’t think like me.

Most important of all, I spend more and more of what is left of my precious life immersed in Nature.

back pain & stress

All original medicine is founded on the belief that illness is not directly caused by toxicity (otherwise everyone would be dying off), but by the body’s repair-system failing to deal with our exposure to it. One of the reasons this happens is when the system also has to deal with a lot of stress. This is why some people can smoke 40 Woodbines a day, drink like a fish, and still live forever without ever seeing a doctor. Because they are happy with their life. While others, like Maureen, die far too young.

In her case I blame the stress of our nine-year search for the right/ healthy place to live. Because up ’til 2000, when we started travelling, neither of us had been to a doctor since we were children. Six months into the trip and she started to have problems. This developed over a couple years into becoming so ill she had to be rushed to hospital for a blood transfusion and operation. A couple of years after that she ripped her sternum lifting a sack of flour, followed by the cancer.

My problems started when Maureen was hospitalised. I developed a hernia of the muscles of the spine, which was so bad I couldn’t walk for several months. Two years later this led to an inguinal hernia, which for lack of an alternative practitioner required conventional surgery. Then came Maureen’s death, after which I became severely depressed and suffering with Menieres symptoms. It has to be all stress-related.

So how do you deal with it? Answer, not easily. Firstly, there’s the mental aspect, about not getting upset when things don’t go according to plan. For me that has been the hardest to accept and work at changing. Then there’s the physical effects. Luckily I had a wonderful friend (Shirley-Anne Hardy no less, sadly no longer with us) who sent me a copy of THE ART OF BACKSTRETCHING by Neil Summers (ISBN 0-9538123-0-8). Don’t bother looking for it, long gone now and anyway mostl rubbish. But what mattered was it showed me a way to treat myself, both physically and mentally, and over the years I have honed it down to just two simply exercises. A daily regime which I still follow. Involving no painkillers and best of all, no doctors.

This is what I do:

You’ll need a carpet/ rug/ or yoga mat, enough room to lie down comfortably, and about 15-30 minutes undisturbed.

Exercise one. Lie on your back, arms stretched out above your head, close your eyes and begin to concentrate your mind totally on just visualising your heels. Do they feel the same? Are they parallel, or is one slightly off to the other? Keep concentrating until you feel a tingling sensation in both (this may take a while, but stick with it). Then when you’ve achieved that slowly move this to the calves and then when you can feel them tingle move on (doing the same) to the knees, thighs, buttocks, base of the spine, shoulders, elbows, and finally wrists and fingers. Take your time, don’t rush, and don’t allow anything else to distract you. When you’ve done one circuit start over again. Eventually you can do this faster and faster and it will feel like a ball of energy is passing through your body. This is actually an acupuncture exercise, it is tracing meridians, unblocking energy channels, that run from your feet to fingertips.

If you suffer from Menieres/ sinusitis you can vary this visualisation by imagining the energy flow as water passing through your body, cleansing as it goes. This time, instead of going from the shoulders to the finger tips it passes up through the front of your neck, just below the surface of your chin/ nose/ eyes/ forehead, and then exits. With practice this will shift blocked mucus.

By the time you’ve done these exercises you should be relaxed and fully stretched/ aligned.

That’s the basic version. But if you’d like to take it to the next level, I heartily recommend getting a back stretcher. I first saw them featured in THE ART OF BACKSTRETCHING, but at the time I didn’t think the high price was worth the risk . Big mistake. They are absolutely brilliant. Luckily I eventually saw one for sale in a local charity shop at a very affordable £3, and now use it every day.

Unlike simply stretching, the backstretcher massages the vertebrae in a natural S curve shape, in a way that is just not possible to do any other way. Bringing instant relief from any tension or strain. It does take a bit of getting used to at the beginning, and is definitely not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, but after making an adjustment to accommodate the length of my spine, this has become a joy to use.

To get the right fit, measure the length of your vertebrae and make sure the length of the curve on the back stretcher matches that. Easy if you are making one from scratch. But if you are adapting one then either add more height to make it longer, or trim the feet for shorter. Ideally, when you lay down, the base of your spine should begin at one end of the backstretcher and your skull touch the floor at the other. To give you some idea I am 185 cm tall and I’ve made my back stretcher dimensions 685 mm along the curve, 615 mm horizontally, 235 mm vertically and 115 mm wide.

When doing Exercise one, your head should be touching the ground and jaw stretched as far forward as you can bear, so you can feel in the muscles on the front of your neck pulling. Your heels and the whole length of your legs should lay flat on the floor. The base of your spine pressing down onto the backstretcher, along with the rest of your vertabrae.

When you finish the exercise, and before you do anything else, place your hands behind your head and very slowly try to sit up. Take your time, and you should be able to eventually sit up without aid, though on many days it may feel impossible.

From there you move gently onto exercise two. In a sitting position, with your knees bent under you, then leaning forward until your forehead touches the mat, swinging your arms back to the sides. This is a really good stretch in the opposite direction, and helps relax the spine totally (so much so I often fall asleep during this one). You can almost feel each disc pulling apart. Do this for at least 5 minutes, more if possible. This is also an excellent emergency/ first aid exercise, if you get sudden back or stomach pain.

Finally, come out of that by slowly lifting your top-half, while remaining sitting upright. All that remains is to thoroughly exercise your neck, by turning your head in as many different directions as possible and as far as you can.

That’s all there is to it. Try them for a couple of days, see if it makes any difference. For me it has been a life-saver. With a chronic hernia in the muscles of the spine it means I can live a normal pain-free life.

De-stress. Apart from the obvious, trying not to take anything too seriously, we discovered that feeling rooted to a place, nesting, helped dispel that constant need for instant gratification. Having to go out, buy things, binge, travel, anything you feel you need to make you feel good. Apart from the expense these things incur, which is destroying the planet, getting everything you need from a home is far better. Now we only go out once a fortnight, from necessity to shop, and that is more than enough to remind me I’m not missing anything.

What haven’t stopped though are the panic attacks, which I’ve had all my life, especially with sudden bad news, or when in crowds. There’s also the strange sadness which overwhelms me upon waking and can last several hours. To try and solve these I have tried several therapies.

bach flower remedies

To be totally honest (and that is what this site is all about) I had no luck with these, although the RESCUE REMEDY has always worked with our cats. I even bought the books, which Dr Edward Bach wrote specifically to enable anyone to treat themselves: THE TWELVE HEALERS (ISBN 0-85207-01-1) and HEAL THYSELF (ISBN 0-85207-301-1).

I guess in my case it would be better to be treated by a practitioner.

If you are interested in trying, I would recommend THE BACH FLOWER REMEDIES – FORM & FUNCTION by Julian Barnard (ISBN 1-58420-024-3).

I would also suggest if you were buying remedies to use the HEALING HERBS (http://healingherbs.co.uk) product over the A. Nelson & Co Ltd ones.

more on eyes

This is another area of the NHS which really pisses me off. That they have hived off this to a totally unsupervised private sector, which of course exists only to make money. And, as with dentistry, offer a really poor, if not dangerous, service.

Conventional optical medicine, be it prescription glasses/ surgery/ or medication, causes permanent damage to the eyes. This is because it doesn’t take into account that seeing is not just the eyes, but how the brain interprets the information they send. Which means you see the same things differently, depending on your mood and state of health. Making glasses pointless. Conventional optical medicine also fails to appreciate how the eye can heal itself (even cataracts). I would suggest therefore:

Wearing glasses only when absolutely necessary

NEVER contact lenses (they are a cause of cataracts)

Only use lenses made from glass, NEVER plastic (it is vastly inferior optically and scratches). Clean them by washing first, followed by drying on a soft cotton fabric, NEVER use paper tissue

NEVER wear sunglasses

Treat any injury or infection to the eye with neat honey first, it will sting like hell but does the trick.

useful reading

With the internet removing so many links to alternative health pages every day it is more important than ever to have as many reference books of your own as possible.

For me the most important overall has been Bartram’s Encyclopaedia of Herbal Medicine by Thomas Bartram. Followed by The Illustrated Herbal Handbook for Everyone by Julliette de Bairacli Levi and Neal’s Yard Natural Remedies by Susan Curtis, Romy Fraser & Irene Kohler.

finally – how society turns us into addicts

I’ve already touched on this with regards to stress. If you really want to become healthier and lead a happier life, then you have to appreciate what is normal/ conventional (ie man-made) is no more than an illusion. A vast marketplace/ bazaar, where everyone in it is trying to sell you something so they can earn enough to stay alive. You have to be able to switch off from that. We first noticed this about 30 years ago when we stopped watching television. A friend (an ex-cop in fact) told us about this loophole in the tv licensing act which allows you to have a set but not pay the licence if it is used solely for playing videos/ DVDs. So, we did that. Not long after I began to realise, I was losing my patience reading THE GUARDIAN and the INDEPENDENT. Followed swiftly to Radio 4, then Radio 3. It felt like there was this conspiracy to keep everyone fearful and stupid. Cutting out those made us feel a lot happier. It also had the knock-on effect of inspiring us with new ideas and views of our own. Based on own experiences, as well as others we discovered, mainly in independent bookshops. We began to realise that perceived knowledge/ wisdom, that body of information we all accept as true without needing it to be personally validated, what shapes and dictates our behaviour/ lives, is nothing of the sort. Just another creed to get us to be compliant. As the saying goes: believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you hear. Follow our example and live as far away from conventional people as possible, and I guarantee you’ll feel far a lot more positive, able to work out what it is you really want from the rest of your life, along with the zest/ energy to make it happen.