Monthly Book Review (JULY) : Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler

Monthly Book Review: Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler

Every month - that is the plan, anyway - I will review a book selected randomly from my Paranormal Library. This month, I will review Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler.

Background: Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler is a manual that was given to me as part of a £1200 course that spanned over 8 weeks a couple of years ago. This was a self-help course which delivered the basics of a type of kinesiology called Systematic Kinesiology. Systematic kinesiology uses the concept of 'different systems' within the body, or different energetic circuits. Although it still uses the same muscle-testing idea, and though the same sceptics' arguments for general kinesiology practice would still apply to systematic kinesiology, this type of kinesiology differs from clinical kinesiology as well as the other sorts for various different reasons.

Kinesiology for Better Health by Brian H Butler review

I found this a useful guide to complement my practising muscle-testing during the aforementioned course. It provides an in-depth overview of all the diffferent concepts I learnt about on the course, such as the best way to go about testing the Strong Indicator Muscle (abbreviated to SIM), as well as explaining the concept of kinesiology behind the practice. It includes pages on all the muscles the course taught us about - such as the supraspinatus muscle - and which meridian and organ it is linked to. On these pages dedicated to the different muscles tested, photographs of how to test the particular muscle are included, as well as an explanation to provide more information about the position the muscle should be in before testing. Furthermore, it lists the sort of problems with the muscle that relate to its weakness, for example studying a new project or driving long distances. It lists the nutrition related to the muscle which gives the student a basic idea of what nutritional deficiencies may be causing the weakness of the muscle. This is to guide them to possible forms of treatment, because if a person is deficient in, for example, B-vitamins, this may be the reason why their supraspinatus is not as strong as it should be. Other forms of treatment illustrated are the 'Neuro-Vascular' points, which are acupuncture points normally on different areas of the head. Other points, which are supposed to be massaged, are called the 'Neuro-Lymphatics' and diagrams for where these are located for each muscle are included, to help the student massage in the right place.

The meridian location is shown on the photograph of a man, which is useful for students because it helps them to learn how to 'trace' the meridian, as a further treatment. The exact physiology of the muscle is given, as well as the 'Meridian Energy Interchange' instructions, which can be employed if required. 

Further guidance for muscle testing is given. The author explains what is expected should a muscle be "strong" - that the muscle should resist the slight pressure applied by the practitioner; that it should seem"locked" - it resists the pressure, which is seen as an indicator of good health. Should the muscle succumb as a consequence of the pressure, then weakness of the muscle is perceived and then the practitioner should endeavour to treat it by employing the techniques as already mentioned. The variables which may affect the functioning of the muscles is outlined, which is a useful aid for the dawdling beginner.

The book advocates the 'whole person approach' and this is illustrated by the fact that it starts off with a couple of pages delivering that whole concept at the beginning, and is encountered again some time later. 

Helpful exercises, which were also shown on the course I did, are given for the reason that these may benefit the person the practitioner may be working with as these help brain power, as well as co-ordination and memory. These exercises are also illustrated and are also great fun to do. These include cross-crawl which involves moving the opposite limbs simultaneously in different directions. 

The flow of energy, as well as further information about the meridian system is given, as well as more comprehensive diagrams of how to trace the meridians of the body for different muscles. 
Food is a major topic covered, due to the explanation of which muscles are typically tested for testing for food sensitivity, as well as emphasising the importance of having a balanced diet. The student is reminded also of the best place to put food when testing it - which is usually on the naval, or in the mouth, due to the greater senstivity of these areas - as well as the professional procedure to implement for testing food on the client. Common food sensitivites and the muscles they are related to are listed to help provide the student with a general overview. This is helpful because it can give a general idea of what to expect when a food sensitivity is encountered. 

Correction practices are further explained, which may be necessary to include in an actual treatment - for example, 'pulse sychronisation' which can, through synchronising the client's heartbeat with the practitioner's through toughing the pulse, resolve any imbalances. 

As the book progresses, the ideas for how to use kinesiology, as well as the treatments to use become more and more advanced. Before the pages of muscles as explained earlier continues, the Oriental concept of 'Wheel Energy Balancing' is explained, as this can be used for determining what to do when it comes to doing a general testing of the muscles. Each of the meridians and therefore their corresponding muscles and organs pertain to a particular element (out of Earth, Wood, Metal, Fire and Water). This author, however, assures the student that testing in this way is not always necessary.


I found the book a good read and very helpful during the self-help course. I would recommend it to anyone who might have some degree of interest in this form of complementary therapy. 

One criticism of mine is that in a social setting such as the treatment room of the practitioner, the client, if they are female, may feel uncomfortable when the muscle corrections involve her massaging under her bra-line (a Neuro-Lymphatic treatment). Presumably, the practitioner would avoid this particular treatment entirely, or ask the client to do it herself. Either the way, the book does not advise what to do.

My second criticism is that if I was to take this whole approach to healing further, I would need to bale out £10,000 in order to fund the professional training course. And whilst I enjoyed the course that the book supplemented, I nonetheless found it intense and difficult to absorb all the information I needed to learn. Although the book is a good taster, the course is not suited for the faint-hearted, and clearly someone needs to be affluent in order to be able to afford the final course to become a professional. 


Look out for the next Book Review - on Peter Chin Kean Choy's Tai chi chi kung book - out sometime next month!

Aromatherapy

Introduction

There is nothing like the smell of a rose. Its smell is irresistible - when people see a beautiful red rose, they will go over towards it just to take a sniff. The smell of blossom is also tantalising. So, what is aromatherapy all about? Smelling the scent of a beautiful rose, or is it something more? Scroll down to find out more.

How aromatherapy first came to be

Aromatherapy as it is known today was, actually, discovered 'by accident' . The story, as told on p.69 of The Hamlyn Encyclopaedia to Complementary Health,  - by Bradford is that in the 1930's, a chemist named Rene-Maurice Gattefosse burned himself in a laboratory. As a natural reflex action, he dunked his burned hand into the nearest glass of liquid - what he probably thought was water. It turned out to be lavender essential oil. What Gattefosse found was that his hand '...healed remarkably quickly, without infection and no trace of scaring'. At that time, essential oils were already around, but it wasn't until Gattefosse's experience that serious research into aromatherapy really began.

Aromatherapy consists of the different types of oils - see below. These are used for different purposes, depending on the issues of the client.

Oils

Carrier oils - such as sweet almond - have no particular scent. They cause no irritation or harm to one's skin and can safely be used to dilute pure essential oils. The dilution is usually given on the essential oil bottle and may be something like the following: 'dilute a couple of drops of essential oil in 5ml of carrier oil'.  Essential oils can also be diluted in oils found in the home - such as extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil.

Absolutes - these are the purest essential oils. These are usually the more expensive because they haven't been diluted (and so cost more because they contain more of the actual essential oil).

Essential oils -  Essential oils are the natural oils derived from plants. For example, lavendar, tea tree, ylang ylang, rosemary and rose. They are used in some cosmetics, shampoos, soaps, air fresheners, as well as in some foods. Some can be affordable - such as lavender oil - whilst others are pricey - for example, rose oil. Rose oil is extremely expensive because it takes an enormous amount of rose petals to produce a little bottle of essential oil. In my opinion, these natural oils are called 'essential' because they are thought to be - or contain - the 'essence' of the plant. These oils are derived through the process of distillation. The petals, stems or leaves may be used for this process, depending on which parts contain the greatest amount of natural oil. Generally, they are diluted in a base oil (another term for carrier oils). They can also be added to food, as well as to skin creams, or aloe vera gel and used on the skin. It is suggestd to dab a bit of essential oil to  small area of skin and then watch for any sign of irritation in the next one or two days, to check for possible allergy. If no irritation is present, it is possible to try the oil neat on the skin. However, for citrus oils such as lemon, it is best to just dilute it in carrier oil.

To give a general idea, the following provides a list of the properties of a few essential oils. Books list psychological conditions (e.g. stress, depression) that the oil can help alongside physical conditions it may help with (e.g. acne, cuts and wounds). Although I've given a brief excerpt from some books to give a rough idea of how the following oils may help, they are not at all complete, because usually a greater description is given of their medicinal properties and actions.

Lavender - Lavender Oil - by Lawless, Julia , from a brief flick through the pages, says it can help with ''Dizziness, herpes, acne, depression, fatigue, cuts/wounds, asthma, sunburn, stress, scabies, palpitations, muscular aches and pains'. The book is centred on the applications to be implemented for these conditions and so is a useful guide for anyone who wants to have an in-depth view of how lavender oil can be used.

A more well-known use of lavender oil is with its use for treating insomnia. A few drops of the oil placed on the pillow can encourage the insomnia sufferer to sleep by its soothing, relaxing scent. However, if the insomnia is due to lack or relaxation before sleep due to an over-active mind, then this method of treatment may help. However, if an over-active mind is not the underlying cause of insomnia, then this way of treating it may not work.

Lemon - according to p.12 of Essential Aromatherapy- by Jenny Plucknett, Lenib is 'stimulating, invigorating and astringent' and is 'deodorising, diuretic and antiseptic' and can be used to overcome an aching body, mental exhaustion or for lousy circulation. It must be remembered that this oil MUST be diluted in carrier oil because it can cause definite skin irritation, and, if it is taken, it MUST be ensured that the person is not exposed to sunlight for 48 hours (according to one book, though according to Essential Aromatherapy, p.13, it is a maximum of 6 hours that the person must not be exposed to sunlight. According to Aromatherapy by Nicola Jenkins - p.45, for Bergamot {another citrus essential oil}, the person must not be exposed to sunlight for 12 hours).

Tea tree oil, according to p.178 of The Encyclopedia of Essential oils by Julia Lawless, has 'Anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral, bactericidal, balsamic, cicatrisant, diaphoric, expectorant, fungicidal, immuno-stimulant, parasiticide, vulnerary' actions. This is why is can be found in some (more natural-based) mouthwashes, as well as some toothpastes. The Encyclopedia of Essential oils - by Julia Lawless provides a very comprehensive guide to the uses and actions of many essential oils and is highly recommended for those who want to find out more. 

  
Extraction

The price of essential oils depends, not surprisingly, on how much of it is made. If tonnes of the plant are needed to make even a drop of oil, the essential oil made will be expensive to buy. Although rose oil is commonly found in beauty products, usually the sort used is of an impure grade - it has been diluted. This, logically, is because pure rose oil is expensive. For this reason, the diluted rose oil is used because it is cheaper and makes the product that uses it more economic. Sometime earlier in 2015 - around May -  the extraction of rose essential oil was featured on Food Unwrapped on Channel 4 (Series 5, Episode 4.) According to the programme, 1.4 kg of rose essential oil is made from 4 tonnes of rose petals. This explains why rose oil is one of the most expensive aromatherapy oils to purchase. This episode (from YouTube) is below:

The episode parts relating to the distillation of rose essential oil can be found at 3.00 - 4.28 minutes in and 14.14 - 17.36 minutes in. The distillation section is from 15.11 minutes to - 17.36 minutes.

Aromatherapy in practice

Strictly speaking, it is always advised to dilute pure essential oils in a 'carrier oil'. There are exceptions to this rule, however. Lavender oil can be applied neat on the skin without dilution, and in most cases, so can tea tree oil. However, for those with sensitive skin, tea tree oil may cause irritation if it does not get diluted in a carrier oil. 

         The citrus essential oils can cause especial problems if they are applied neat to the skin. (I once applied a couple of drops of lemon essential oil neat on the skin and was overcome with subsequent itchiness that occurred shortly afterwards). Also, citrus essential oils are sensitive to light, so they are ideally used -diluted of course - on the skin with no exposure in 48 hours to light.

      A rule of thumb in aromatherapy - when it comes to blending different essential oils together - is to blend a maximum of four oils together (in a carrier oil). 

Application 

An aromatherapy treatment may consist of massaging particular oils into the skin of the client, depending on their needs. There are six different techniques for this.

Baths - Although some shampoos have essential oils in their ingredients, a few drops of a chosen essential oil may be added to the bath water. This is a great way of ensuring that one smells nice and floral after a bath.

Incense - A New-Age edition to any home is lighting an incense stick. Myrrh and frankincense are excellent choices, whilst Clary sage may be employed to "cleanse" the energy of a room that feels rather down-beat and depressing. Incense consists of a stick with essential oil already added and only requires lighting with a match and "swabbing" around the room. They are usually used to spice up the atmosphere of a room, or for energy cleansing a home.

Friction rub - One palm moves flat across the skin in a forwards motion, whilst the other moves backwards in the opposite direction, also flat.

Ingestion - Due to their intensity, it is not advisable to take essential oils internally. They may be taken safely in the form of food - for example, Nestle's After Eights chocolates contain peppermint essential oil, as well as Plamil's organic mint chocolate - or, as Shirley Price suggests in her Practical Aromatherapy, a couple of drops can be placed on a sugar cube and eaten. From personal experience, essential oils do not taste pleasant - rather, they actually taste rather disgusting.

Inhalation - Water is boiled and poured into a basin. A few drops of essential oil (e.g. lavender) is added to the how water and a towel is based over it as well as over the head of the inhaler. The person inhaling may have a blocked-up nose or a throat filled with mucus and inhaling the oil may help to clear this. 

Kneading - same concept as for when bread dough is kneaded: The fingers of both hands are kept next to each other, and the thumbs are left at 90 degree angles. Flesh is passed across, towards the other hand - like one does with sticky bread dough. The thumbs are used to move the skin towards the fingers.   

Plasters - A couple of drops of lavender oil may be added to a plaster and placed over a wound or cut. A couple of drops of essential oil that has been diluted with carrier oil may be applied to the plaster instead.

Pummelling - the hands are made into fists and then moved rapidly down onto the skin, in a drum-like motion. One fist follows the other, and parts of the fingers may also be used to complement the treatment.

Raking - The fingers are moved downwards, like one uses a rake to rake up the fallen autumn leaves from a grassy lawn. This can be a soothing, relatively gentle treatment. The fingers are moved down the skin.

Stroking - The fingers are traced lightly over the skin and the pressure may be light, or slightly more manipulating by increasing the pressure. This can be beneficial for tired, aching joints, as well as for joint pains. It can also encourage circulation to areas where the blood circulation is poor by stroking firmly the specific area.

Thumbing - The thumb is used for this and this technique is just an extension of kneading. The pad of the thumb is used, as well as its side, and kneads the skin firmly but deeply; the pressure may be placed and held for a time before being released in a stroking manner. It may be done in circular motions.


What should I do if I get essential oil in my eyes?

This is not a pleasant experience, because the oil actually stings the eyes. What is advised is to go and immediately wash the eyes with cold, running water until the oil has gone. A flannel may be used for extra effect to dab the cold water around the eyes. If washing the eyes with cold water does not do the job, the person should go and see their doctor. 

How does it work?

As is explained below, aromatherapy is believed to work through the effect of the constituent chemicals of the oils on the brain. If the oils are inhaled, then the chemicals will be absorbed through the nose, to act more directly on the brain because they are not dealt with by the liver first.

          If the oils are massaged into the skin, then they will be absorbed by the skin and end up in the bloodstream, to be checked with by the liver. After this, they will be carried (it is said) in the bloodstream to the organs of the body. A more thorough explanation is given below.

 
A recent study

On http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33519453, there is featured a recent study that looks into whether rosemary essential oil can improve memory - with interesting results. Although more research is needed, it does provide an interesting revelation: that perhaps aromatherapy might help people in the way it is claimed - to some degree at least. 

   For proponents of aromatherapy, the results of the study are not surprising, because how aromatherapy works is explains in terms of chemistry - how certain chemicals contained in the oils can have a healing effect on the person being treated - particularly on their brain. The article explains that one of the chemicals in rosemary oil is '...called 1.8-cineole -[and] as well as smelling wonderful (if you like that sort of thing) it may act in the same way as the drugs licensed to treat dementia, causing an increase in a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine.

These compounds do this by preventing the breakdown of the neurotransmitter by an enzyme. And this is highly plausible - inhalation is one of the best ways of getting drugs into the brain. When you eat a drug it may be broken down in the liver which processes everything absorbed by the gut, but with inhalation small molecules can pass into the bloodstream and from there to the brain without being broken down by the liver.'
In confirmation of this, '...Mark and his team analysed blood samples and found traces of the chemicals in rosemary oil in the blood.'

      References

Aromatherapy - by Sadler, Julie 

Aromatherapy - by Jenkins, Nicola

Aromatherapy - by Wildwood, Christine

Aromatherapy, A guide for home use - by Westwood, Christine
Aromatherapy, Esential - by Plucknett, Jenny

Complementary Health, The Hamlyn Encyclopaedia to - by Bradford, Nikki [et al.]

Essential oils, a guide to - by  Harding, Jennie

Essential oils, The encyclopedia of - by Lawless, Julia
Oil, Lavender - by Lawless, Julia

Herbal Remedies

Introduction

Herbal remedies - or herbalism - involves the use of medicinal herbs to help cure or alleviate suffering as caused by illnesses or ailments. It is a practice which is a great deal older than Western orthodox medicine, which constitutes pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to treat a patient's symptoms. Many of these drugs were originally derived from plants, although it is not a subject much talked about. Although other ways of treating health also use herbal remedies - for example, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM for short) and Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional healing system of India) - these will not be mentioned in this article for several reasons. The first being that those are unfamiliar to me, the second being that this article is concerned with the traditional way of treating illness as practised in the UK and Europe before pharmaceutical medicine drove up the road. Although there is a great deal of information waiting for curious eyes to find it, both in books and on the web, on the subject of pharmaceutical medicine, the topic will only be touched on in passing.

Herbal Healing?

Today's Western orthodox medicine seems to be in stark contrast to the traditional medicine of a couple of centuries ago. However, it must be said that much of today's pharmaceutical medicines are derived from plants. For example, the drug aspirin was derived originally from the bark of the willow tree, whilst digitalis was originally got from the foxglove. Some other examples can be found on http://www.rain-tree.com/plantdrugs.htm#.VZuTIvmFmhY. 

According to Herbalism, by Christopher Robbins, p.68, herbalists '...normally choose herbs for prescriptions on the basis of their actions on the body, and not because they match the patient's symptoms.' In other words, the herbalist will try to match the herb to what may be seen as the underlying cause behind the symptoms the patient presents them with. For example, if a person came up to the herbalist with symptoms that were seen as relating to a sluggish liver, they may be given liverwort to encourage their liver to function, rather than being given remedies that tackle the immediate problem. This is, of course, contrary to how practitioners of orthodox Western medicine practice. Medical doctors would prescribe the patient with medicines that are supposed to tackle with the symptoms. 

   Herbalism is one of the types of complementary therapies in which the whole person is considered, and not just their physical ailments which afflict their well-being. This is called the holistic approach and is the principle adopted by most complementary therapists. Indeed, the mental, spiritual, emotional and psychological aspects of a person are taken into account, not just their physical state as well their nutrition. The herbs given for ailments are tailored to the person being treated, to address the ailment on these dimensions.

     Although herbal remedies do not have side-effects - unlike pharmaceutical drugs - not all of them are suited to everyone. For example, some herbs are supposed to avoided in pregnancy - a fact which also goes for some aromatherapy oils. These are best looking into at length, should a pregnant woman take herbal remedies or aromatherapy oils. Also, some people may be allergic to some plants - which means that they can't take a particular herbal remedy. However, such allergies should be listed in the first session with the herbalist, as that is the time when they need a detailed background of the person's health, which included any allergies. This means that the herbalist should be able to prescribe remedies that are from herbs that the person is not allergic to.

 Taking herbs

Although herbs can be taken as "supplements" taken in tablet form, that is not the best way to truly enjoy their benefits. 

Poultice - A poultice is made by grinding up the dried herb, adding water - sufficient quantity to make it into a paste - then it is applied on the afflicted area with a bandage wrapped over to keep it in place.

Infusion - The herb - which can be dried or left fresh, but washed - is placed in a mug and hot boiled water is poured on top. The leaves are left to rest in the mug then taken out after about five minutes. They are then taken out and the tea is then drunk.

Tincture - These are made by chopping up the herb. This is then put into a clean jar of suitable size, with spirit mixed with water added. Ensure that this is labelled clearly. This mixture is then left in a cool, dark place for two weeks and the liquid is strained through a sieve into small, glass bottles that are clean. Label these with the name of the substance, e.g. 'lavendar tincture' and date made. Make sure you know how much to take of the tincture.

Herbal Remedies, by Christopher Hedley and Non Shaw gives an excellent account of how to make these, as well as how to make ointments and creams. However, the tincture of poultice of a herb can be applied externally if mixed with aloe vera gel, which can be obtained easily.

Some herbs and their uses

Aloe Vera - Can be used for burns, wounds, stings, bee stings, sun burn, burns, diabetes, antiseptic, antibacterial, astringent, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-tumour, anti-viral, blood sugar lowering, breastplate angina, bronchitis, bruises, cerebral trauma, coronary insufficiencies, cystitis, decongestive, diuretic, headaches, heart palpitations, hypertension, hysteria, inflammation from insect bites, insomnia, kidney infections, liver protection, lung virosis, moral depressions, muscle aches, nephritis, neurosis, nightmares, night terrors, paresis, rheumatic pain, semiparesis, sprains, superficial phlebitis, wound healing, haemorrhage, irritable bladder, bleeding... the list goes on and on! For burns, stings, etc. it can be applied externally. This is done by applying the gel from the leaves, which, although best fresh from the leaf if a plant is available, can be purchased from natural health shops. Aloe vera can be taken internally - as a tea made from the leaves.

Blackcurrent - in Grow Your Own Drugs, p.158, Wong says is

'...used to treat long-lasting inflammatory skin conditions like eczema, as well as PMS, breast pain, mild hypertension and rheumatic disorders. Blackcurrent oil outperforms evening primrose oil, though it needs to be taken over 6 months for best effect. As the oil comes from the seeds, it's probably easier to buy rather than make at home, as you'll need very large quantities of fruit. You can, however, make the leaves into a tea for use as a mild diuretic, to lower blood pressure and alleviate inflammatory sore throats. The berries themselves are also antiviral, protecting against flu.'

 

Chickweed - in Herbal Healers, p.16, Kindred tells us: 'Use an infusion of the leaves to soothe all inflammations of the digestive system, including stomach ulcers, colitis, cramps. It has an affinity to the lungs, and is helpful for bronchitis, pleurisy, coughs and hoarseness.' 

Milkwort - According to p.37 of Lust's About Herbs, milkwort '...is used for its milk-giving properties...'. Its root, when powdered, '...is prescribed for pleurisy, and in cases of dropsy three teaspoonfuls an hour of a decoction made from the roots has proved successful.' 

For more information on herbs, there is a list of recommended books for further reading at the end of the article.

 

Folk names

Sometimes, the folk names given to plants gives an indication of what their traditional uses in herbal remedies might be. But it is not always the case, and discrimination and logic must be exercised. To illustrate, lemon balm also goes under the name of Bee balm. This does not, however, mean that the plant is good for bee stings, or anything to do with bees. A bit of research may reveal why it has its namesake, as well as further investigation that shows that it is not necessarily good for treating bee stings. Usually, plants' names that suggest their herbal properties, include the Old English wort, which means, according to the Oxford English dictionary, means 'herb, plant', although, as the small list below will show, this is not always the case. 

Bone-set - Comfrey

Bruisewort - Daisy
Eyebright - A remedy recommended by herbalists for eye problems.
Feverfew - A remedy still recommended today by herbalists for treating headaches, migraines and fevers.

Heartsease - Wild violet

Knitbone - Comfrey
Liverwort - Used for ailments of the liver.

Lungwort - Common lungwort
Milk thistle - One use of this spiky plant is to take this (that is, the inside of the plant, which has the spiky outside sliced off) to increase the mother's supply of milk.
Milkwort - Traditionally, this was (and some people still use it as such) the remedy for increasing the mother's supply of milk

Motherwort - Recommended for motherly/female ailments
Pilewort - Lesser celadine

Piss-in-the-bed - Dandelion (in herbalism, dandelion is a diuretic!)

Ribwort - English plaintain
Scabwort - Elecampagne
Spleenwort - A type of fern, which, according to Wikipedia, 'was useful for ailments of the spleen, due to the spleen-shaped sori on the backs of the fronds.' However, I can't find any confirmation of this in books. Nonetheless, a branch of herbalism believed that if a plant resembled, in some way, a body part or ailment (e.g. the spleen, or piles), then that plant must be a remedy for the ailments of that body part, or for that condition.
Wormwood - This plant has been traditionally used to treat worms, as well as other parasites.

Applications

 

These 'case histories' below are completely fabricated but designed to illustrate how, practically, herbal medicines may be taken for real ailments.

 

Daisy has sore, tired eyes which are irritated by constantly watching television. Although she has stopped watching television after realising how bad her eyes felt, her eyes are still feeling sore and tired. 

She is prescribed eyebright, a herbal powder she is advised to mix in water and have a daily eye-bath twice a day, or each time her eyes feel tired. One or two teaspoons mixed in warm water carefully splashed on the closed eyes. 

Other advice: Daisy could give Bate's Method a go, to see if that can improve the condition of her eyes. Although it may benefit those with short or long sightedness, it may help her eyes to get better and recover from excess strain. 

Luke has worms. He is a black Labrador dog. His owner, Jane, who is a practising herbalist, decides to give him powdered wormwood in his dog food, twice a day, for a few weeks. She has also heard that one hundred pumpkin seeds, when eaten, can cure an outbreak or worms. She grinds these and mixes them into Luke's dog food. 

Penny is recovering from having broken her ankle. She applies the poutlice of comfrey onto her trouble ankle and takes comfrey tea internally.

Jake, a 5-year-old boisterous, rowdy lad is constantly covered in bruises. His parents apply poultices of bruisewort (daisy) onto the bruises, which help to reduce inflammation and pain.

Who was Nicholas Culpeper?

Culpeper is one of the most well-known herbalists of today. He was the author of Complete Herbal, a book which lists descriptions and uses for countless different herbs and plants that were available in his time. Today, the Complete Herbal is still available to buy, due to re-publication. His book provides an interesting insight into his herbal knowledge which also accommodated knowledge of astrology in relation to the planets. 

He was born in 1616 and died in 1654.  According to the Science Museum website, he was '...an English apothecary and physician.' Also, he '...published books in English, giving healers who could not read Latin access to medical and pharmaceutical knowledge.'

According to the Skyscript website, 'At the age of ten Nicholas started reading astrological and medical texts from his grandfather's library. In particular Sir Christopher Heydon's Defence of Judicial Astrology (1603) greatly impressed him. He was fond of reading and looking at the illustrations in William Turner's New Herball (1568). From his early teens he was familiar with all the local species of herbs that grew in his part of Sussex. BY 13 he was an avid reader of many of the books available in the library.'

Culpeper's book, Complete Herbal, was known as The English Physician, according to the Science Museum website. This had been first published in 1653. 

References

Herbal Remedies - by Hedley, Christopher and Shaw, Non

Nature's Medicines - by Digest, Reader's

The Country Way of Cures and Remedies - by Page, Robin

Grow Your Own Drugs (As seen on BBC) - by Wong, James

Herbal Healers by Kindred, Glennie

About Herbs - by Lust, Dr Benedict

Culpeper's Complete Herbal - by Culpeper, Nicholas

Neal's Yard Natural Remedies - by Curtis, Susan; Fraser, Romy and Kohler, Irene

Herbalism - by Robbins, Christopher

Nicholas Culpeper  

Science Museum 

Skyscript

Edible Wild Food 

 

The Problems Presented by the Future:Future Life Progression

Introduction

In a previous article, I described the practice of progressing a person to the future - something called Future Life Progression. However, I feel it is necessary to elaborate further on this form of alternative therapy. I have thought of some new ideas regarding Future Life Progression - something which I have personal experience of (I've done it myself) - and have combined these with those from the previous article. Although this article will look at the problems with trying to validate information garnered during the Future Life Progression, it will also explore the practice in depth.

Foretelling the Future

Marty McFly's travel-machine he used in Back to the Future

There is a plethora of possibilities regarding a person's "ultimate" path. And although fortune-tellers have existed for centuries, the possibility of travelling to the future is something that if not purely based in fantasy, is a gift possessed by the most spiritual chieftains of tribes - the shamans. 

    

Yet, the ultimate life-path a person takes - their career, as well as other life-changing opportunities, including meeting the 'special someone' - is not set in stone and is, of course, influenced by the decisions, education and perhaps even by their experiences in life, as well as their interests. 

So because the future is not set in stone, even if an individual did truly travel "to the future" - such as through visual impressions with basic information regarding key details - that "future" may only be the "future" in the current situation. Indeed, if a person saw their future partner during future life progression session, that may just be a mere visual, yet mental, image formulated from an accumulation of personal likes or tastes for how they may wish for their future partner to look. Yet, if their tastes for how they would wish for their future partner to look and to be like changed, then it would be logical to assume that not only will they come across a different visual impression of the "future partner", but also, should they come across the seemingly most perfect partner, they will go for a partner who is different from the original impression - different from the image of the future partner that they saw in the first session of future life progression.

Furthermore, the materialisation of the object seen in the future life progression may be subjected to whether the technological knowledge have scope for the development of a technology seen in the session. Indeed, if a the person came across a new, innovative form of technology - which hadn't been developed yet - the person may not only be unable to develop the technology due to a lack of knowledge for how it may be created and therefore made real, but also the equipment or knowledge to create it may simply not exist. So whilst the new innovation may have been seen to have developed in the "five years' time" slot, it may in reality take a great deal longer to be developed than in a matter of five years.

A note on the imagery

Most commonly, when people undergo Future Life Progression, they receive "images". These "images" are of the same nature as those one may see in visual meditation. Some people may also get feelings or sounds or smells in their sessions. 

When the Future Life Progressionist asks questions - such as what the client is wearing "in the future", after they have been progressed 5, 10, 15 years into their future - as well as questions like, "Where are you?" and more probing questions about how they feel regarding their current career (current career they have in the future). Questions asked by Future Life Progressionists include: "Where are you?", "How do you feel?", "What are you doing?", "Why are you feeling ... [happy/etc. depending on their reply to how they feel]?" ,"Who is around you?". 

   An FLP session is very much like an informal interview; the FLP practitioner guides the client into a meditation, then they ask questions that start off simple and non-probing, to more in-depth questions that probe a little more. The questions start off being classical and general, and these are asked of most clients. The following questions, however, are determined by the client's replies or remarks they make to the intital questions asked. The questions asked need to be relevant. The therapist will not ask "Are you a man or a woman?" because the therapy being done is not past life regression. The client may have travelled to the future, but they have not changed gender as a side-effect.

 A Sample Session

An example might be as follows:

(The client has just finished the guided meditation and has now stepped into their future, which is based on what might happen in 10 years' time).

P = FLP Practitioner; C = Client.  (As another note, the FLP practitioner will takes notes in response to questions that they ask and will go through all of the notes at the end of the session. They may tape the session too, or may just jot down the answers on a notebook.). Like how Dolores Cannon did, it may be a good idea to jot down behaviour that occurs in response to questions asked. These are written in the brackets [ ]. This reading is fabricated, though it is meant to give an idea of how a Q & A round goes in a typical FLP session.

P: Where are you?

C: I'm near the coast. It's very windy.

P. Okay. Is there anyone with you, or are you alone?

C: I'm alone. [pause] No, wait. There's someone walking towards me!

P: What do they look like?

C: [Uncertain]. They've got a fetlock of brown hair that ... uh... is over part of one eye. The left eye. They are very tall. 

P: Do you recognise them?

C: I'm not sure. I think they may be an acquaintance.

P: How long have you known them?

C: Oh, I've known him for a short time - a couple of months perhaps.

P: How old are they?

C: Thirty years old I think... . I think he told me he was thirty years old.

P: What do you see around you? Any buildings or anything?

C: I see a cottage nearby. There is a field with horses not far away. 

P: Is the cottage yours?

C: Yes. But I haven't lived in it very long. 

P: Would you like to go into it and describe it to me?

C: Okay.

As can be seen, this is very much like a flexible interview. The initial questions - which are of the more closed, 'Yes or No' variety - are asked to give the future life progression therapist a general idea of what the client is seeing or experiencing. The more open questions, such as 'How old are they?' are asked later on, to give a bit more detail in what the client is describing. The initial question are helpful, because they "warm-up" the client. The example above is short; much of the questions will be probed further, although the relevance of the responses will be assessed by the therapist, depending on what the client told them prior to the session. (The client is usually asked what they would like to find out regarding their future before the session.)

    An FLP session will normally be around an hour long, and may be longer if the client wishes. However, if the practitioner is very busy, they must be tight when it comes to how long a session will take. They must allow a good break between each session, as asking questions may tax them mentally.

Some people meet their future partners in FLP sessions, whilst others come across the future homes. Still others may see themselves in the future inventing new and exciting technologies ahead of today's contemporary science & technology knowledge. Still others may see themselves in their dream careers - or they may see themselves studying at university.

The problem of validation

A problem not like that of past life regression is that of validation. With past life regression, it is more clear-cut to see whether or not a past life personality actually existed or not, because the researcher can look up the records of people who lived in the past, provided they have enough data collected about and from the past life - such as the name, address and other details - and determine whether or not that person actually existed or not. That, in itself, has its problems, but future life progression presents further issues that are not encountered so much in past life regression.Of course, past life memories may just be constructions of fantasy that may relate to traumatic events that happened earlier in the recipient's life.

Regarding validating information collected in a future life progression session, the client will naturally be on the look-out for information or experiences that confirm the information or events predicted in the future life progression session. For example, if the client discovered that in five years' time they lived in a country cottage near the sea, with no children, but had a rough collie dog called 

Peter, they will be looking for information that fits this prediction five years later. 

But if, as mentioned earlier, the client's circumstances changed, the predicted future would ultimately also change. So if the client did NOT come across the perfect collage by the sea, they may not end up living in such a place in the predicted time slot. 

If this proved to be the case, and the client was a sceptic and so didn't believe that the prediction would come true, then naturally the client would notice that it did not come true.

However, if the client was a believer in future life progression, then they may strive to find proof that the prediction came true in the five years later time slot. 

But to illustrate, let's use a more elaborated example. Suppose Client X wanted to live in a cottage by the sea, with a large garden that had fruit trees, as well as windows overlooking the shore. If Client X came across a cottage by the sea, they may interpret it to be more likened to what they saw during the future life progression session (shortened to 'FLP' for convenience) than what it actually was.

Given that what was experienced in the FLP was a mere memory concreted in the past - five years ago - it is subject to the errors of memory, as mentioned in the previous article.

However, a further problem is that if the client looks for things in the five years later, which serve to validate their vision of the future, they may miss out key details that are contrary to what they saw. 

Details will, naturally, be forgotten - for example, the fruit trees or the cottage being by the beach. In other words, if Client X discovers key facts about what will to happen 5 years into the future, they may intend to find evidence that what was foretold came to be, 5 years later.

Indeed, it would be extremely difficult to objectively determine how correct theeverything that happens in the 5 years. Even if they tried to write down the events of every day (as, of course, anything predicted in the FLP session may - or may not! -  occur on any day in the 5 year duration) during the 5 years, they may still miss certain things that they may consider unimportant yet, on later analysis, would have been hugely important. For example Client X's Aunty Susan may die one day during the 5 years the prediction concerned, leaving Client X with their inheritance which includes Aunty Susan's Tudar-style chocolate-box cottage which has fruit trees and a garden that overlooks the sea. Client X may think, Oh yeah! The Future Life Progression therapist was right! Why would they think that? Well, because in the FLP session, they saw a cottage which later they recognised as Aunty Susan's. However, their memory of the session may have left some pieces out, so they may only recall the details that also are true of Aunty Susan's cottage.

Client X's future home?

FLP details would be, as Client X would be unable to recall
   However, whilst they may be left with Aunty Susan's cottage for a time, it doesn't mean that they will keep it forever and ever. Indeed, what if a worst-case scenario happened? Perhaps Client X decided to live in the cottage with his/her partner, two young children and 18-year-old lad. One day, perhaps 5 months later, the 18-year-old son had a party in the house with his friends and they got drunk and smoked. He was not usually interested in preserving history; nor does he like chocolate-box country cottages. He becomes careless - and the alcohol doesn't help - and, through major misfortune, the cottage burns down. Unfortunately, the parents and younger siblings were out...
  
Perhaps the FLP gives impressions to clients of a possible future, but the exact specifics are mere fabrications created between the client and the practitioner. Indeed, Client X may see the cottage in his mind, but thought that because he had fantasies of living in such a place, that what he sees is an image of what his future house is. This is, of course, his logical mind at work. It sees an image (the cottage by the see) and browses through Client X's mind or memory store or whatever to find a possible link, which will then provide meaning for why Client X came across it in the FLP session (e.g. anything of 'dream house fantasies' or Aunty Susan's cottage).
   Yet, the image of the cottage may have meant something else. Perhaps it meant that Client X would live in it for a time. Perhaps it meant that their Aunty Susan would die. Or maybe... Maybe later on in the 5 years later, Client X actually comes across the house they really saw (all selective memory and reconstructive memory explanations shoved to one side for a moment), yet because they are convinced that they had already come across the cottage they saw in the FLP session (Aunty Susan's cottage), they do not realise.

References

The Future Is Yours - by Jirsch, Anne