About this Blog

This blog will discuss and share views on topical issues pertaining to religion/soulful wisdom/energetic truth and links with health, illness and disease and other forms of human suffering. The posts may share views that combine my medical knowledge and also the energetic understandings based on esoteric philosophy and healing along with personal experience and as such may present views or understandings that are not in mainstream evidence-based medicine. It is therefore for the reader to discern and feel whether they could be true or not and where applicable, whether to live them or not.  

If you come across interesting articles that you would like to see discussed on the blog from an esoteric perspective then please contact Eunice and your article will be considered. For an introduction to the meaning of 'esoteric' see the initial blog post.

Please be respectful to others in discussing the ideas/comments and please refrain from ad hominem comments. The blog holder reserves the right to remove posts that are deemed unsuitable or abusive.

 

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12 Feb

A Needle too Far....

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

I recently sustained a 'sharps' or needlestick injury whilst operating. This is not unusual in the field of surgery and is under-reported and under-estimated. One study reported that the rate of sharps injury per surgeon per operation was 23% and another found that 44% of those surveyed had sustained a sharps injury. In the latter study, only 9% followed the locally agreed policy, with 70% performing first aid measures and 21% ignoring the incident and continuing. 

In the recent case, I followed the locally agreed policy which requires form filling and blood sampling of the patient for viral screening with the patient's consent and also blood from myself.  However, I have not always folllowed this practice and have on different occasions behaved like the surgeons in the above study - either performing my own first aid measures or ignoring it all together.  The latter can be associated with a certain surgical bravado and dismissive attitude to any attendant risks. It was not unusual for me during my training to see other surgeons do likewise. 

The main concern for needlestick or sharps injuries is the risk of blood-borne viral (BBV) transmission for viruses like HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. The risk of BBV transmission is higher for hollow bore needles but in principle can occur with any needle or sharp injury that allows any exposure to blood. The risk of BBV transmission via sharps injury to a healthcare worker from an infected patient is quoted at 1 in 3 for those infected with Hepatitis B and e antigen positive, 1 in 30 when infected with Hepatitis C and 1 in 300 for those infected with HIV. There are reports of documented transmission between patients and healthcare workers, although the overall risks are low ( 0.3% HIV and 3% Hep C). The immunisation of Healthcare workers for Hepatitis B has effectively reduced the risk for this group to contract Hep B. 

It is not just sufficent to rely on the patient's own history and knowledge of whether they do or do not have one of these infections but blood testing must be performed. For example it is possible for people to be infected with Hepatitis C and not be aware that they have the infection and many are oblivious to the fact until it presents with end-stage liver disease. The incidence is rising and it has been called a viral time-bomb, thus potentially increasing the risk to healthcare workers or anyone where there is the risk of blood borne transmission.   

Thus whilst the overall risk is low, it is not zero and thus adherence to good practices, techniques and policies is required in order to reduce the risk for any one individual. One of the main sources of transmission of Hep C has been needle-sharing in the drug-using community. Even within these communities there is growing awareness around the risk of needle sharing and measures being taken to reduce this.  Of course within the medical profession and surgical community it would be unthinkable to re-use needles, sharps or scalpels that had already been used on another patient. However, there have been reports of Hep B transmission and possibly HIV due to repeated needle use in acupuncture where the needles were not properly sterilised between patients. In addition, there have been reports of bacterial infection in acupuncture patients due to the re-using of incompletely sterilised needles.  

Once any needle is removed from its sterile packaging and handled by a doctor or practitioner and inserted into an individual it is no longer sterile. The needle will be colonised by bacterial flora from the skin of the practitioner holding the needle and also the skin of the person on whom the needle is inserted. So if that needle is re-used without complete sterilisation procedures there is the risk of bacterial infection as well as BBV transmission. These bacterial infections are usually localised and minor but can be more serious.

From an esoteric perspective, the manifestation of illness and disease comes back to the individual and the development of individual responsibility. In addition, illness and disease are seen as the body's way of clearing that which is energetcially harming to it. This may mean not ingesting certain foods or substances that are toxic to the body and likewise means not taking undue risks with behaviour that is dismissive or disregarding of the known risks eg. permitting use of unsterile needles.  

As I have become more self-caring, it makes sense to adhere to the local policy for sharps injuries as well as adhering to good practices to prevent such injuries and to drop the disregard and self-dismissive attitude I had before. For me, it is consistent with energetic integrity and responsibility to adhere to such practices - even if at times it seems like over-kill.

Esoteric chakrapuncture is a healing modality that also uses fine needles with minimal skin penetration. Even though the risks of BBV transmission are most likely to be even lower with this technique than with surgery or standard acupuncture the same principles apply. Having recently undertaken a course in esoteric chakrapuncture it  was clearly presented that the disposable needles used are only for use on one person. To do otherwise would go against both true energetic integrity and responsiblity and standard medical practice. It could even be argued that it is part of one's own personal responsbility to ensure that all needles inserted are fresh sterile needles thus not permitting the disregarding practice of repeated needle use that has been reported in the above acupuncture studies.

Some have suggested that in order to reduce the risk of BBV transmission we should treat every needle as if it has come from a patient with a viral infection, with strict adherence to the 'one needle for one patient' rule. With the increasing incidence of patients with Hepatitis C. who may not even know they have the disease. this would be wise practice. 

 

05 Feb

Sugar, sugar - more toxic than alcohol?

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

This article reports on research published in Nature by Dr Robert Lustig and colleagues on the toxic effects of sugar. They are claiming that added sugar in the diet is more toxic to us than alcohol and that it has a bigger impact on public health than either tobacco or alcohol. They are calling for regulation and a ban on sugary foods in schools claiming that it leads to fatty liver, insulin resistance and is the underlying factor leading to obesity and diabetes and is a slow killer.

The article also points out that there are those who disagree with these views and claim that sugar is not the problem and is not as toxic as alcohol. There is no doubt however, that man's consumption of sugar has dramatically increased since the days it was limited to natural sources in fruit and honey. Over the same time period the rates of obesity have also dramatically increased along with the development of processed foods. Indeed according to WHO there are now more obese people than those undernourished!! 

There is also growing awareness around the harm of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)  or cane sugar in particular and it is found in many soft drinks, cereals and processed foods. This study in rats showed that they all became fat and developed fatty liver with HFCS, much moreso than those given sucrose or fat diet. One of the dangers with HFCS is that it is empty calories - so no matter how much of it we have, it doesn't make us feel full unlike protein/fat/carb diet. 

In addition this article discusses whether salt or sugar is worse for one's health and concludes that both are harming. They point out that prior to 200 years ago both salt and sugar were not readily available and we now consume far in excess quantities that have a significantly detrimental effect on our health. 

These reports support what is already known from an esoteric and energetic perspective and can be known by anyone who is willing to listen to their own body - that sugar, salt and alcohol are harming to our physical health. All have an instant effect on the body that can be felt. They stimulate the body making us racy or excited and take us further away from our true nature.

So why do we like to consume foods and drinks that in fact are harming us?? Not only that, we do not need a scientific report or research to know this - we can if we so choose, listen to the body and it will tell us itself that these substances are harming. 

However, we live unaware and in ignorance to what our true nature is - that it is love, joy, harmony and stillness. We live unaware that we are energetic beings that are affected by all that we consume and indeed by all our choices on a daily basis - every thought, word, deed, movement, action and interaction. In that unawareness and the daily process of living we often give our power away, don't honour what we feel, don't speak our truth, react emotionally to daily events. All of that depletes and drains us energetcially and thus we reach for the sugar or alcohol to give us a boost, a hit, to stimulate or exicte us and take us away from the misery we are living or existing in. 

The key then is not just to stop drinking alcohol or taking sugar but to address the underlying causes for being drained, depleted and unfulfilled that lead us to seek some outer stimulation. To begin to make more conscious self-caring choices, like going to bed early, eating healthy noursihing foods, honouring what we feel, being able to say no, not reacting emotionally, not giving our power away and a myriad of other ways that can help us live in a way that does not drain and deplete us. 

This is a journey and an unfolding and it has been that way for me. I use to eat and drink everything and anything with few exceptions. I would have easily dismissed any of the above points as 'rubbish' or 'nonsense' or 'new age psychobabble' whilst consuming another drink or eating junk food. I was quite dismissive of people who said they couldn't eat this or couldn't eat that - the so-called 'picky eater' and I never imagined I would one day find myself choosing to not eat certain foods and become in the eyes of some people a 'picky eater' myself! 

However, as I have eliminated certain foods/drinks from my diet I have become more aware of how different foods affect me and more able to FEEL how they affect my body. Instead of ignoring and dismissing the messages my body is giving me and overriding the body with my mind as I use to do all the time, I am more able to listen to it and honour it on a more regular basis.  If I now have a food containing sugar I can usually feel it in my head, making me racy, and sometimes even giving me a headache. That said, whilst I have eliminated alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, gluten and dairy - sugar is the one that sneeks a peek into my diet every now and then! So whilst it is not yet eliminated, it is far, far reduced compared to the days when I would easily consume several bars of chocolate a day. 

Hence the unfolding continues - the more self-caring I become, the more I honour what I feel, go to bed early, speak my truth, stop reacting emotionally or getting stressed at work then I will have less need for a sugar hit or boost at the end of the day to give me a lift or as a reward/treat. The other week I was like a kid in a sweetie shop when walking around St George's market in Belfast (enjoy the video on site) I came across a host of fresh fish, fruit, olives and vegetables but also a stall with dairy and gluten free cakes! So yes, there is more for me to do before sugar is eradicated but that is all part of the journey of becoming more self-loving and allowing the time and space to let it unfold without judgment, criticism, 'must-dos' or 'shoulds'. So now and again I am having my gf/df cake and eating it - fancy a slice? 

Feel free to share your experiences with sugar/diet etc and what you have noticed in your own journey. 

 

 

14 Jan

Assisted Suicide - is it really the end?

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

This BBC News article and this Q&A report on the findings of The Commission on Assisted Dying which says that there is a 'strong case' for allowing assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill in England and Wales. However, the Commision was set up and funded by campaigners who want to see a change in the law and the findings therefore are likely to be biased.  

The group are advocating that people who are over 18, terminally ill and judged to have less than a year to live and who are not mentally impaired should be allowed to undertake assisted suicide. It also suggested that the individual be assessed independently by two doctors prior to permission being granted. In addition, the individual or patient should administer the drug and not a relative, friend or doctor. 

The government has apparently indicated that there are no plans at present to change the law. 

Those who support assisted suicide claim that it is an act of compassion, in order to prevent potential suffering and loss of dignity through the effects of a terminal illness. They propose that an individual has the personal 'right to death' and should be allowed to choose when to die if confronted by a terminal condition. Those who support assisted suicide believe in one way or another that death brings a final ending to the suffering of the individual and presumably fail to see any opportunity for healing during the last months of a terminal illness. 

There are those who argue otherwise and put forward religious, moral and legal arguments to support their view that assisted suicide should not be legalised. Some argue that it is the start of a 'slippery slope' and could result in vulnerable or disabled people feeling co-erced towards choosing death in order to not be a burden on their families. Assisted suicide also relies on the medical experts getting it right every time - re the diagnoses and prognosis with no margin for error. However, there are reports of misdiagnoses and of people living for much longer than predicted by doctors and this also needs to be considered. 

Interestingly in a UK survey of medical practitioners re attitudes towards euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, opposition to both practices was highest amongst Palliative Care Physicians and Care of the Elderly Physicians, with more than 90% of Palliative Care Physicians against a change in the law. These are the doctors who work with the terminally ill on a daily basis - the ones most aware of the experiences of this group of patients at the end of life.  Some may have expected this group to be pro-assisted suicide as they are perhaps most aware of the suffering patients may experience with advanced disease. However, the other side is that they may also be most aware of the journey a patient with terminal cancer is on and that these patients can have valuable, rewarding, meaningful and even healing experiences right up until the time of death. 

But what if we do not just have one life, one incarnation? From an esoteric perspective there is a bigger picture to consider. What if this life is just one of many, many lifetimes or incarnations? What if how we live and die in this life, influences the quality of our life and experiences in the next incarnation? This is not as a form of punishment but just the consequence or fulfilment of energetic laws and is entirely consistent with a God who is Love. Esoterically, we are all on a return journey to God, to Love and we get to choose our path and how long it takes to get there as a consequence of our choices.

Esoterically, there are consequences to all our choices - every single one of them. Illness and disease arise because we live and make choices in separation to the Love that we are. Knowing that lovelessness and the emotions are the energetic root cause of illness and disease, then it is also possible for healing opportunities to occur right up until the patient's death and death itself is also healing - healing our separation from God, from Love. Even though the body dies from the cancer or terminal condition, the patient can have the opportunity to heal the underlying emotional disharmony that led to the condition in the first place such that this is not carried through to the next incarnation.  It is possible for someone to die with cancer in the body and to be healed of the emotional condition that led to it as understood energetically and esoterically. In addition. there can be healing experiences not just for the individual but also between the individual and other family members and the family as a whole. 

Furthermore, if someone has re-connected with the Love that they are and truly knows who they are, they can say 'my body has the cancer, but I do not have cancer,'  for I the soul is pure Love. There is then also a greater acceptance as one realises that this is but one of many incarnations on the return journey to God. 

Thus there will undoubtedly be consequences for those partaking in assisted suicide, should it be legalised. Whilst it may appear to end the suffering in this lifetime, the unhealed emotional conditions that led to the cancer or terminal condition, will be carried through to the next incarnation and re-lived again and again until true healing occurs. So instead of cutting short a life in the belief that it will end suffering, would it not be preferable to provide true healing opportunities for those with terminal disease, if they so choose?  True healing is where we come to know who we are in-truth as Sons of God, Sons of Love, and live from the innermost of our being that is pure Love and discard the emotional and mind-driven ways of living and being.  To finish, I include a modified version of the Expression - I am Love ©

I am

Love

No hurt, nor wound,

No word, nor deed,

No illness, nor disease,

Can alter that

Immutable fact,

I am 

Love. 

 

EJ Minford  ©

Feel free to share your thoughts/feelings/experiences re terminal illness and healing and/or your views on assisted suicide.

14 Jan

Red wine myth - part 2

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

One of the researchers involved in presenting the beneficial effects of a substance found in red wine, resveratrol, has been found guilty of 145 counts of fabrication and falsification of data. The relevant journals that published his research have been notified. This obviously throws into question the research that claims that red wine is beneficial for the heart. However, it has been suggested by other researchers that this will have little impact on resveratrol research. 

Another study has reported that 13% of scientists surveyed (clinicans and academics) have witnessed intentional alteration or fabrication of data in order to get results published. However, it is possible the actual figure for deliberate alteration and fabrication of results could be higher. 

indeed, it is not just the research based on deliberately altered and fabricated data that we need to be wary of or concerned about. Research that is 'bona fide' in terms of conduct and where no deliberate fabrication has occurred may also be false. John Ioannidis published this paper entitled "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False". In it he explains why this is the case and states that most claimed research findings are often just 'accurate measures of the prevailing bias.'

He goes on to state that there is "increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research claims." In addition, he says 'it can be proven that most claimed research findings are false,' and he elaborates further on this. He also suggests ways to improve the situation. 

Thus it is important that we do not give our power away to so-called research findings - bearing in mind that they are probably more likely to be false than true. When it comes to alcohol, as previously stated in another blog post, one does not need research to identify that it is harm-full to the body - a hangover does that job very well. However, we have not been taught to honour what we feel, what the body feels and so we ignore and over-ride its sometimes very loud messages - and go out and do it all again! 

Indeed it is considered by many people to be abnormal to not drink alcohol and normal to drink alcohol - I use to hold this view myself and could not understand why everyone didn't 'enjoy' drinking as much as I did. However, now I know that so called 'enjoy' was not truly joy-full but a false state of being. In addition, for me now, saying it is normal to drink alcohol, is the same as saying it is normal to drink poison. 

There is nothing more joy-full than being who you truly are, without any false stimulants or substances - yet so many remain unaware of the true glory and amazingness that rests within them. In the separation and disconnection from their essence many people use alcohol to numb out and not feel that which they don't want to feel, oblivious to the fact that beyond the stresses, hurts and wounds there is a place of Love within that can melt all of those away. 

01 Jan

Joy-full New Year!

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

All around the world people have been welcoming in the New Year. Multi-million dollar displays of fireworks were staged in major cities across the globe, people partied and celebrated and counted down to 12 midnight wherever they were, perhaps hoping for a kiss under the mistletoe, welcoming in 2012. 

It is a time of year when we may reflect on the year just gone, the good times and bad, the challenges, the struggles, the highs and the lows, and perhaps hope that this year will be different, will be better, will be the year that it all goes my way....the year when we lose weight, get promoted, meet Mr or Mrs Right, travel or any one of a myriad of hopes and dreams that people aspire to. New Year's resolutions are made with the conviction that this year will be different .....only to find a few weeks later that perhaps it won't be so different after all. And so the cycle repeats itself....year after year, often without us making any real change, repeating the same old habits and behaviours.

We can begin to feel that change isn't really possible, that we are just one of those people who will always be fat, who will always smoke or drink, who will always be passed over, who will always be single, who is the way they are because .....well we've been made that way and that's just the way it is and there's nothing we can do about it.  We give up and resign ourselves to living the type of life we have always lived.....stuck in a treadmill of existence that goes round and round and round......year after year..... instead of truly living and being free to make truly healthy choices on a consistent basis.

So why do we find it so difficult to change the behaviours we know are no longer serving us??  Part of the problem is that we are not as free as we like to think we are. We carry with us the consequences of all the choices we have made and all our experiences that lead to the behaviours we have today. We have the momentum of the past in the present and in order to make changes in the present we have to deal with the past. We have to deal with the hurts and wounds that are part and parcel of growing up and being human - for not dealing with them, just keeps us stuck on that treadmill. However, it is important to not get stuck in 'woe is me' for the deeper truth is that each person is Love in essence because we are made from and with Love. Knowing that we are Love can give us the space to look at the yucky parts of our lives and ourselves - to heal them and align with the deeper truth that we are Love. 

In this way we can be truly empowered to make choices based on what is loving, healing, caring and gentle rather than that which is harming, self-destructive, hard or disharmonioius. The latter choices are coming from the false beliefs and perceptions we hold about ourselves, from the yucky stuff, the self-hatred and self-loathing instead of our true nature. 

Esoterically and energetically we can either make choices from Love or that which is not Love (eg emotions, ideals and beliefs). The reason that New Year's resolutions fail comes down to 2 main areas - 1) we have not addressed the past, we have not healed the hurts and 2) we do not make choices from and with the energy of Love. The latter is very important for if we continue to make choices from that which is NOT love there will never be any true change or healing.  It is like using poison to treat poison - ie. using that which is not love to heal or fix that which is not love and surprise, surprise - it doesn't work. All too often we use food, relationships and jobs to fill an emptiness we hold inside but do not want to feel and so we keep the cycle of filling ourselves up with food, new projects, holidays, relationships etc to keep it at bay. 

 Instead, we can reconnect with our innermost, our inner heart and know that we are love and that by making self-loving, self-nurturing and caring choices we can build that Love in the body also.  This isn't some overnight transformation but a conscious choice to say NO to that which is not loving (eg alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, gluten, dairy, sugar, late nights, checking out with TV/computer,  abusive or toxic relationships, emotional ways of being - anger, frustration, jealousy etc etc) and to say YES to that which is loving, caring, gentle and nurturing.

It is by addressing the past and making conscious self-loving choices that I have been able to heal my own self-destructive ways and to lead a life now that is in complete contrast to where I was before. I was even in bed asleep well before midnight on New Year's Eve - something the old me would not have believed possible! It has been an unfolding that just keeps getting deeper the more self-loving I become. My diet is ever changing as I feel the effects of eating different foods in my body and having once been a choc-aholic I have now not eaten chocolate for over 3 years - and that still amazes me! I don't even have to resist it for the desire for it just isn't there. However, I am still unfolding, healing, building love and will continue to do so - such that some foods that I was eating yesterday, I may no longer be eating tomorrow or next week depending on how they feel in my body. Of course being self-loving doesn't just apply to food but to all areas of life.

So I know from my own experience that it is possible to make changes, to heal and to live a life that is more vital and joy-full on a consistent basis by first and foremost making choices that are self-loving, caring and being gentle with one's self in all ways. By listening to the wisdom within, by feeling what feels true, feels gentle, feels loving. To say NO to that which is not loving, which is coming from an emotion, an ideal or belief or driven from the mind. 

It is recognised that 2012 is a significant year with some predicting the end of the world, that armageddon will be upon us. But what if instead of the end of the world it just represented the end of an era and the start of a new era? What if it is the start of a new era when people will awaken to their true nature, to know that they are Love, that they are in fact Gloriously Amazing but have been living and choosing to be so much lesser? A new era where it is easier than ever before to re-connect with the Love that we are and make truly self-loving choices, rather than choices based on filling our emptiness. Of course if that is true then it is also possible that for those who resist being the Love that they are the consequences may not be so pleasant - as Love brings up all that is not love for healing as a consequence of energetic laws. 

So perhaps as well as a Joy-full New Year to you all, it is also a Joy-full, Love-full New Era - one where we can make true changes by truly choosing to Be Love, to be still, before thinking, moving, acting, speaking, eating, walking and of course making love. En-Joy Being You, Being the Love that you are in 2012. 

Feel free to share your experiences of making changes or New Year's resolutions or anything else you feel to share as we enter 2012. 

lovely words from a lovely

Submitted by Anne Malatt (not verified) on Mon, 02/01/2012 - 06:30.
lovely words from a lovely soul! with love, Anne
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