Natural Health

With all the attention being given to the issues of health care recently I’ve been musing about the times of my wandering through the wilderness of life when I stub my toe or encounter other scrapes, bruises and bites that afflict my body, bringing with it pain and agony.  There are those times when infection sets in causing greater tenderness and discomfort.  These are typically minor ailments I normally endure with little treatment other than to wait it out for the body to heal itself.  My attitude about such matters is simply that “life happens”.  However, if these things are not properly taken care of they can turn into major traumatic experiences.  

Other times I have met up with the microscopic “bugs” that bring havoc and misery upon my body, knocking me out for the “count”.  Doesn’t seem to be much I can do except bed-rest and wait it out until I feel able to be back on my feet.  Not one wanting to take synthetic antibiotics, antihistamines or other foreign substances into my body I usually “tough it out”.  I have come to realize that the body is capable of healing itself when properly taken care of, but this is an area of life in which I tend to fail.  Though I don’t abuse my body by taking drugs, smoking, drinking alcohol and such that are harmful to the body, neither do I exercise as I should, eat properly or get the rest I need.  Seems to be a mixed bag of taking care of myself and not taking the care I should.  I would like to mention, however, that I have recently been making major adjustments to my diet and eating more healthy – benefitting in much needed weight loss.  Now I need to come up with an exercise regimen to build the body further, however being the procrastinator that I am I will start that “tomorrow”.

Although I have been blessed with basically good health the reality is my health is not at its optimum.  Though I am not aware of any life-threatening maladies I am completely cognizant that my body has many toxins which are deteriorating the physical substance of which I am made.  Because of today’s processes of chemicals, foods, pesticides, pollutants in the air and water we have become bombarded with many toxins that overload the body’s capability to rid these harmful elements without taking extraordinary measures.  Unfortunately most people are either ignorant about how to accomplish this task or just don’t bother to take the steps to do so.

The foods we eat (which I often argue isn’t really “food”) are so altered from their natural state that it brings about illnesses which are often misdiagnosed; this is true whether plants or animals being grown and processed for our dietary consumption.  As God is the One that designed us He knew exactly what we need to eat to sustain a healthy body, so the plants and animals He created for food were designed to meet those requirements.  But as is the nature of man we have decided to “improve” on God’s designs and have come up with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in order to increase profitability at the expense of proper nutrition and health.  Thus most of our food chain has been altered by these products making it very difficult to avoid.  For those who are conscientious about proper nutrition, and acquiring foods in their natural state, becomes increasingly more difficult to achieve.  These and other factors have lead to a greater increase in disease and illness, all but unheard of 100 years ago.

America is in a health crisis which is causing great concern to the population in general as well as government and medical science.  Adding to the problem are the pharmaceuticals being prescribed causing additional ailments through their various side affects.  We indeed have become a sick nation with little hope of recovery as a whole.  Compounding this problem is the change of our health care system making treatment more difficult to come by, and for those who can get the care the costs are rapidly escalating.

For the good news there are solutions to this dilemma but it does require some effort and education on our part.  Most of us are aware of the need for proper nutrition, exercise and rest to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  We can find natural, nutritious foods with some research and becoming more aware of the need to do so.  Exercise doesn’t require much education but it does require the right attitude to “git ‘er done”.  But what about the need to take care of health issues when they occur?  Because this has become such a critical matter I have become concerned about how I may be able to provide help to family members and friends having health issues who are faced with the need for medical attention.   Surely there must be a way to achieve wellness without the need for doctor visits, co-pay, and time spent for the visits as well as filling prescriptions, which all too often have adverse side affects.

There have been discoveries of non-conventional practices being utilized for wellness, bringing out the skeptic in me.  What seems so incredible to imagine these things actually working is the simplicity behind it – all natural methodologies.  One instance is the concept of “grounding” – making actual contact with the ground on our body to induce wellness.  Another study has come up with the use of vibrations/frequencies to stimulate the body into wellness.  Okay, where does one draw the line on this stuff? 

Over the past few years I have been hearing about aromatherapy having positive effects on the body, but I never gave much thought about it.  Not until recently, that is, as I began hearing about doTERRA (Latin for “gift of the earth”) Essential Oils and the tremendous impact they have on our well being.  This naturally made me go hmmmm…  Is it true they can relieve stress, change the mood and aid in eliminating depression?  Hmmm…  Some claim the use of essential oils have caused them to have no further need of prescribed medications.  Hmmm…  The more I hear and read about them the more I’m thinking “voodoo” medicine; this sounds too “new age-y” for me.  How can these things actually work to cause healing?  Scientific studies have been made to support this as being factual.

The more I have thought about this the more it seems to make sense as one considers the fact of God designing and creating our bodies, as well as the earth and universe.  It has been proven the body is designed in such a way that it is capable of healing itself with proper care.  If God did in fact create us (and He did) does it not stand to reason that He knows exactly what is needed for our health?  Science has discovered that everything, including our bodies, have set frequencies.  When parts of our body’s frequency gets out of kilter it only makes sense by applying the right frequencies to our body it will “re-align” itself back to health.  I suppose the same can be said for “grounding”, as we are made from the ground it stands to reason that being grounded – connected to the earth – we share things in common and with that connection wellness becomes realized.

God created many plants having the exact elements necessary for our consumption to maintain wellness.  By extracting the oils from these plants in a 100% pure therapeutic grade manner, which contain the exact elements our body utilizes, making it 50 – 70 times more powerful than just eating the plant, then it seems reasonable that it can aid the body to heal itself.  It is my understanding that doTERRA Essential Oils take many precautions to harvest the various plants under the right conditions and at the correct timing to ensure the highest quality of oils are extracted.  In addition they are sent to independent labs for testing to make certain that each batch is free of all pesticides, chemicals and other substances which would bring impurity to the oil.  They are also tested to make certain that no alterations have been made to the natural chemistry of the oil, ascertaining they contain all of their natural elements.  This is a process known as Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade.  So far I have not discovered any other Essential Oil company having this kind of standard.  It therefore seems to me that doTERRA Essential Oils would be worthy of consideration as an alternative to our health care.

However, to make it clear we certainly do need times of medical attention that require doctor/hospital visits.  They have been necessary throughout history.  On the other hand if there are measures we can take to minimize the need for medical practitioners it would be to our advantage to utilize them.  To apply an Essential Oil to many conditions we suffer from can often ease the discomfort and aid the body to heal itself.  When one can spend pennies to apply some oil to a malady versus spending many dollars on a doctor visit, plus the time spent to do so, it only make economic sense to go that route.  As in all things one must use common sense and know when one should go to a medical practitioner.

Is it time that you make adjustment in your health care practices and consider natural means versus chemical altenatives?  Perhaps more research/study about what has been shared by this wayfarer would be in order to discover for yourself if this be so.  One place you can look for additional information concerning the essential oils is:  www.mydoterra.com/carrollgleason.

Here’s to your good health.  Shalom.

Meaning of Dreams

Life’s journey is full of seemingly unexplainable situations, things which to some people appear to be “psychic”.  Perhaps we use that term simply because we know of no other way to explain such incidents.  For instance when someone comes to mind that you may not have heard from in awhile and suddenly you get a phone call from that person.  How many times does this happen during the course of our wanderings?

How about dreams which seem so realistic but make no sense whatsoever and yet they won’t leave our conscious mind for days on end?  Is there some meaning behind them which indicate a call to action, leaving questions what the action should be?  Is there the possibility that dreams could be some sort of revelation about events or meaning in our life, whose meaning remains obscure or doubtful?  So the musings on such matters continue, leaving no definitive answer for me.

My daughter, Sonrisa, recently relayed to me a dream she had a little over a year ago which turned out to be rather significant.  The dream was the result of an incident she had encountered previously.  {I’m sure I don’t have all the details totally accurate but that won’t adversely affect its meaning.)   It was some months prior she had been chatting with a Facebook friend who told her about a nine-year old girl that had been killed in a car accident in the Portland, OR area.  She had a younger brother and they were very close.  There had been some photos posted along with the news articles which Sonrisa read.  This saddened her to read about such a tragic occurrence and stuck with her, relating it to her two boys who were similar in age.  (I’m sure all parents can identify with such emotions.)  She felt strongly impressed to pray for this family for strength and comfort during such a tragic time and loss in their life.

It was a couple months later while chatting with a friend on Facebook who invited another person, whom Sonrisa had not met, to join in.  After a few minutes of talking the new person was sharing that she had lost a daughter recently in a car accident.  After showing photos of the little girl Sonrisa realized it was the same girl she had heard about a couple months earlier.  Sonrisa became a Facebook friend with this lady and kept in touch with her.

A short while later Sonrisa had a vivid dream that the mother approached her stating her daughter was missing and was asking for help to find her.   As dreams go, which often don’t make sense, Sonrisa saw the girl at Disney World in Florida on one of the rides.  The girl told Sonrisa to tell her mother not to worry and that she was having a lot of fun.

The dream would not leave Sonrisa alone and for days she felt compelled that she should share it with the mother, but was reluctant to because it was so weird.  She finally relented and sent an e-mail to the mother, prefacing it with the comment that she felt weird in sharing the dream.  She got an immediate reply and thanked Sonrisa for sharing it.  She had been planning for months with a friend of hers to take the kids to Disneyland in Southern California for the daughter’s upcoming birthday.  She was now struggling with whether it would be a good idea to keep the plans as her daughter was now dead.  When she read the e-mail from Sonrisa she took it as a sign that she should proceed as planned and had peace about it.

When Sonrisa heard this she was relieved to learn that her action was appropriate to the circumstances.  However, she was a little perplexed that her dream was about Disney World and not Disneyland so it was a little hard to make the correlation.  Sonrisa later found out that the mother had to change her plans and go to Disney World instead after her friend decided not to go.  This created a financial hardship as her friend was going to share expenses and now she didn’t have the means to finance the trip to Disneyland.  However, she has family in Florida and it made financial sense to go there in lieu of Disneyland as they would be able to lodge with family.

As I ponder about this I can’t help but believe it is a “God” thing that Sonrisa experienced.  What other, logical explanation can there be?  Many times I muse about the meaning of dreams and their significance and believe there are occasions when they are valid.  There are those who are said to be interpreters of dreams, and we read from scriptures dreams that God gave to kings which needed interpreting.  However, Sonrisa’s dream did not require interpreting but rather action.  So my question is when are we to act on dreams, seek interpretation and make discoveries from them?  Something for you to muse about as you drift off to dreamland.  Shalom.

America Weighed in the Balance

With so much to muse over this Wayfarer finds great difficulty getting through the quagmire bogging down the mind.  In spite of the muck that’s being trudged through there are some thoughts getting through worth examining.  One which comes to mind is the plight of Israel from the nations that stand against her.  There is so much going on in this arena it’s difficult to sort through, leaving much to muse about.  As if that’s not enough there are more issues surfacing which demand consideration, such as the Benghazi debacle, the IRS fiasco going on and the AP wiretapping.  Is there no end to all the madness?  Many people are greatly troubled by what is going on and are searching for answers, which aren't readily forthcoming.

It seems there may be some progress being made with the different hearings going on but their fruitfulness remains to be seen.  Many believe it all stems from Barack Obama but he denies it and claims no knowledge of these things.  Will the truth ever be revealed?  Harry S. Truman often quoted that, “The Buck Stops Here” and even had a sign with that quote placed on his desk.  From the accounts relayed to the public they would have us believe the buck never even reached the President.  And so it goes the never-ending story.  Or is there an end in sight and if so to what result?

All of this, and of course much more which will be left to another time, reinforces the belief that we must be living in the end of the age as Bible Prophecy has described it.  What other possible explanation can there be?  Pondering on this matter brings about some possible scenarios that can play out, but no certainty about the actual outcome until time reveals such things.  To put this in perspective from the Wayfarer’s POV (Point of View) America is caught in a balancing act, as though God Himself is giving America a final warning.  We are in a position to see one of two results from this current situation.  Either America will turn back to the constitutional rule of government or it’s going to tip into obliteration.  It is up to those who are “called by His (God’s) Name” to humble themselves, seek His face, turn from their wicked ways and repent.  (See II Chronicles 7:14.)  If this is done we will see restoration of America, otherwise this nation is doomed.

Does Obama get impeached and removed from office as a result of these investigations and hearings, or will he skate free?  If he skates America is doomed as Obama continues to “fundamentally change” the course of America.  As things are currently playing out the time is ripening for the possibility of a civil war due to the great division between the liberals and the conservatives; the Democrats and the Republicans.  Or will God’s judgment come from natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis or any other number of possibilities?

When our nation has turned its back on God after having been blessed through its history and God patiently waiting on us to turn back to Him there is a day of reckoning when His hand will no longer protect America.  Knowing this nation was built on Biblical principles, with a Godly constitution to govern ourselves; how we began our history honoring Him and conducting our affairs according to His ways, over time we have chosen to go contrary to them.  We have prospered and been a great nation, but now refuse to recognize it was God’s grace upon us that brought this about because we honored Him.  How can prosperity and blessings continue when we now ignore Him and His instructions to us?

We have become a nation of greed and handouts, choosing to give up freedom for our welfare.  We have bought into the lies of socialism and allowed ourselves to be deceived that big government is the solution for our needs.  It’s interesting to observe such activity, though very saddening to realize what is happening.  We have become deluded and accept the lie instead of truth.  So now comes the question, “Is it too late?”  It may be, but as stated above we may be receiving the final warning before the end of the age comes.  It is up to us to determine what we are going to do about the warning.  Will we be willing to humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face and repent, or do we rather go about our daily lives as though nothing evil is going on?  The choice is up to you and what you do with it.  Therein lies the fate of our nation.

May you have shalom and be blessed as you consider these matters.

Peace in The Midst of Chaos

The days stretch into weeks and weeks into months as the Wayfarer continues his journey through the many valleys and over the mountains of life; encountering struggles, self-doubts and the usual challenges met along the way.  The musings continue endlessly during his wanderings with the continual puzzles to be solved.  At times things appear hopeless and most certainly bleak.  As the journey continues storms rage more often than not, although the warmth of the sun’s rays manage to course through on occasion, bringing with it respite from the weariness and lifting of his spirits with new insight and understanding.

It’s been 73 years of travel for the wayfarer, giving many opportunities to muse over the myriad treks coursed through what seems eons of time.  Yes, many lessons have been learned, challenges met and puzzles solved.  However, the reality sets in that the more he learns the more there is to learn, hence a never-ending progression of discoveries and growth.  Each new assurance realized brings more doubt in different areas to ponder and bring before Abba, Father for added assurance and understanding.  Inner growth and development never ceases unless the choice is made to give up.  Hence he continues the trudge with new determination.

While taking a break beneath the shade of a tree, during a brief relief from a storm, the wayfarer ponders about the chaos in the world with all the upheaval going on.  There’s no getting away from the questions concerning the end of the age as we know it and if we are in fact facing that time now.  Is Bible Prophecy about the end of the age actually being fulfilled before our very eyes?  All the scandals going on at the top levels of government, the threats of wars in the middle east, the calamitous events of nature bringing much destruction and death.  All of these things and much more, are escalating at an ever increasing rate unlike ever before.  Is this not what was spoken of by the prophets of yore?

While musing on such things it becomes very obvious that regardless the circumstances before us there is certainty that all is well, enabling us to be at peace while pandemonium continues without.  There is much comfort in knowing that we are in the care of a loving Father who watches out for each of His own, which brings peace without measure.  This reality has been learned over the 73 years of wandering in the trenches, through the storms, over the mountains and in the valleys.

Thereby, during the times of doubt, questions about the struggles and complaints about the plight one finds himself in, when the wayfarer stops to pause a spell, from somewhere within the reaches of the mind discovery is made anew of that calm assurance which comes to the surface, bringing the peace to settle the raging storm within. It is at that time reflection on being a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords appears before the eyes and his spirit soars before Abba, Father in reverence and awe.

How refreshing it is to know that in the midst of all turmoil there is no need to get caught up in it, to fall victim in its wake, but instead to take refuge in Him with the understanding that He controls all things.  And as His child we can know He is watching over us because He truly does care for us.  In musing on this thought it becomes clear if that is the only lesson learned over 73 years that alone makes the journey well worthwhile.  The wayfarer hopes you find this discovery within yourself.

Shalom and be blessed.

O Wretched Man That I Am

We often go wondering through the far reaches of the mind to bring forth some obscure “lost” memory to muse over – perhaps as an escape from the blatant, constant negative thoughts bombarding our consciousness as we recall the words of “Rav Shaul” (Apostle Paul), “Oh wretched man that I am!   Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

“Okay, enough already.  I don’t need a constant reminder how rotten I am!”  And so it goes, the struggles, the conflicts we wrestle within ourselves.  It’s time for another excursion through the maze of the psyche to find respite from the stranglehold upon us.  Is there no escape?  Each personality is unique, making for many differing brands of problems to be encountered, relative to the way we may be “wired”.  This often causes difficulty relating one to another rather than alleviating the stress within.

For those attempting to live up to the standards found in the Scriptures it becomes even more vexing to know we are not measuring up.  There would seem to be a conflict of understanding about what the Holy Writ has to say how we should live.  On the one hand we find that we are helpless – even without hope.  There’s no way to measure up to perfection (if it can even be determined what that may be).  For those who are followers of Yeshua (Jesus), and stake their claim in His salvation, the understanding is we are made righteous in Him.  If this is true then why are we instructed to cease from doing the things that we find seemingly impossible to accomplish?  No one is without fault when it comes to measuring up to the standards we are commanded to do and keep.  No doubt everyone can identify with Paul when he stated, “…how to perform that which is good, I find not.  For the good that I would (do) – I do not:  but the evil which I would not (do), that (is what) I do.”  How well this wayfarer relates to the dilemma stated by Paul.

Stumbling through the foggy maze of the Cerebral Vortex the strains of a familiar melody can be heard wafting from the distance, as remembrance of the lyrics penetrates the subconscious, bringing the realization all is not hopeless.

 “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

After having been reminded “it is well, with my soul” calm settles over the troubled thoughts.  It clears the mind and dispels the fog as reality settles in and regardless the turbulence and negativity hope is in evidence.  Being a “Child of the King” does not mean freedom from troubles, but the assurance that you will rise above them.   Mourning turns to dancing; heaviness of heart turns to singing; the wretchedness becomes happiness; negativity transforms to positivity. 

Knowing that one must heed the instructions given on how to conduct our life we will fail miserably.  This is all the more reason to trust in the Giver of Life and work all the more diligently to be obedient to those ways.  Because harm comes when we dwell on failures it is imperative to recognize when we stumble – when we disobey – we ask forgiveness and continue to work for “perfection”, even when it may not be achieved.  This does not excuse ones misbehavior but knowing the grace extended to each one willing to receive it brings restoration and, hopefully, the resolve to do better.

This Wayfarer certainly has not achieved perfection – far from it, as a matter of fact.  But he does put his trust and hope in His Father that the work He begun in him will continue to perform it until the day of Yeshua (Jesus).  The Wayfarer is at peace with this assurance as the rays of sunshine have filtered through the fog.  May you discover this same reality and apply it to your life each day.

Be blessed and shalom.