Home » Blog

A Needle too Far....

12 Feb
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. 

 

Recent Posts

08 May

Transforming education with love

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

This blog post will be short as its purpose is to highlight and recommend this article for reading, pondering and digesting. Briefly Lincoln high school in Walla Walla has reduced school suspensions by 85% by developing a new approach to discipline and punishment. They have come to realise that kids blow up and misbehave because of other things going on in their lives and so instead of yelling at them or sending them home, they are taking time to find out what's behind the child's blow up and teaching them new ways to deal with situations and strong emotions.

The teachers have 2 main principles or rules they follow -

1) when a student blows up, don't take it personally and
2) Don't mirror the kid's behaviour, breathe, wait for the storm to pass and ask them questions to find out what's going on, in a gentle way.

They have in-school suspension that gives the student a chance to reflect on their behaviour and to discuss any issues with a member of staff. Consequences still exist for misbehaviour but they help the students to develop ways to cope with their emotions rather than punishing them.  Most of all the students feel met, listened to and cared for - often far more than they are receiving at home. Indeed, as the article points out, it is this unconditional love that the teachers have for the students that makes the difference - their willingness to be there for them and to see them as much more than troubled cases. Thus they have found that this approach only works when the teachers involved are willing and open to embrace it and live it and put it into practice.

There is much contained within this article including the effect of childhood trauma on long term health and emotional wellbeing as well as the impact of the new approach to discipline in the school. The former is the detrimental consequences of lovelessness and the latter is the healing consequences of love in expression. How amazing would it be if educationalists in all fields realised the true potential of this 'new approach' to transform education and the traditional punishment approach - which ultimately just reinforces the types of behaviour it is trying to prevent! This one school has dramatically reduced its rates of expulsion by making simple changes in how they manage these problems - with profound  results not just for  the statistical figures but to the actual lives and hopes of the students they are teaching.

The fact that 'love heals' is an age old wisdom but one that is all too often dismissed and ignored as being some new age fluffy woo woo idea or concept that has no basis in reality or in a scientific world. Yet here it is being lived and practiced and is transforming and healing the lives of students in many ways that are not yet fully realised and providing practical evidence for the doubters that Love does heal.

29 Apr

Marathon Madness...

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

This time last week the London Marathon was taking place. Over 37,000 people took to the streets of London to run, walk or hobble the 26.2miles. The participants ranged from 'elite athletes', the average 'fitness' person to 'fun runners'. Some actively competed to win the race or to get their own personal best time and others just wanted to finish the run and were not concerned about the time.

 

Many people believe that competing in such a race is not only a demonstration of their fitness but that it is a good thing to do for the body. That it is a way of keeping the body healthy and toned and in good shape, that it is a good workout for the heart and lungs. Even when the body says very loudly to some people that it is not good for them, they go back the following year and try again!! One celebrity runner collapsed last year at 23 miles and rather than realising this was a message from the body to say “no more please”, she returned this year determined to finish the course this time and did so.

 

From an esoteric and energetic perspective, marathon running is extremely harming for the body. In order to push the body through that sort of endurance exercise one has to shut down and ignore all the messages the body is giving that say, “please stop,”  “this is hurting me”, “this is harming me, my muscles are sore, I can't breathe, my legs are weak” and so on. Indeed for some, running a marathon is fatal, as the heart is pushed too far and runner collapses from a heart condition and indeed a young woman did lose her life this year running the marathon. How many deaths will it take? How many people need to collapse exhausted? How many injuries are required? ……before people realize the harm that running a marathon does to the body?

The awareness that running a marathon may not be so good for the body is even reaching mainstream press. More evidence is accumulating of the harm of such endurance exercise and the detrimental effect it can have on the heart and in particular, right heart function. This report highlights that people who undertook endurance exercise showed evidence of right heart strain. Even Prof Sharma who is medical director for the London Marathon and therefore presumably pro-marathon running states that "my personal feeling is that extreme endurance exercise probably does cause damage to the heart in some athletes. I don't believe that the human body is designed to exercise for as long as 11 hours a day, so damage to the heart is not implausible." However, the more one becomes aware of the body and honours it, it becomes quite clear that even lesser forms of exercise than 'extreme endurance' are not beneficial for it. 

 

Marathon running is a totally loveless form of exercise. In other words, someone who runs a marathon has to shut down the natural loving messages from the body and override them with the mind in order to keep going against everything the body is saying. The more attuned we become to the body, the more aware we are of how our every choice affects it. The consequences of those choices are either healing or harming and very simply marathon running is very harming and not at all healthy or healing.

 

Why do we put ourselves through such intense and harmful forms of exercise??

Many people feel it is a great achievement to run a marathon and that is their motivation. However, the need for achievement and recognition comes from an inner emptiness - that is part and parcel of being human. Until that is, we waken up to who we really are and realise the fullness of our being with and in love. It is only the love that we are within that can truly heal the inner emptiness - all other outer forms of stimulation and achievement are simply temporary fillers that do not fill at all....but simply keep us distracted from feeling the emptiness. The more we connect to the love that we are, the more we can catch ourselves looking for these outer fillers and identifiers and realise how false they are. Also, we become more aware of the importance of listening to the body and honouring it's feelings and not overriding them with the mind.

 

This takes time and practice and I know in my own journey it is all too easy to get caught by engrained ways of being and behaving. It takes effort and conscious choice to say no to those behaviours that are not self loving and which are actually harming, but the more we do it, the easier it becomes. There is much more to being self loving than one might think initially and the most frequent word to be used by someone developing self love is no.....no to late nights, no to alcohol, no to caffeine, no to dairy/ gluten, no to judgement, no to emotions, no to gossip and no to aggressive forms of exercise - like marathon running!!

 

I use to think it was good to be tough, to be hard, to push my body beyond any pain factor – following the old but untrue adage that ‘no pain, no gain’. Whether it was in the gym or on a mountain bike or climbing up a hill – no was not an option, giving up was not an option, I was determined to make it up to the top of the hill no matter how painful it was or how tired my muscles were or how short of breath I was! How crazy is that! I totally disregarded the messages from my body, driven by my mind to get to the top! All for what? To say I had achieved something? I had reached the summit? So what?? All of that need for achieving, to be recognized for something, no matter what it is, comes from not knowing who we are in-truth. When we know who we are, there is no need to do or achieve any of those things. The focus completely changes. The purpose and motivation completely changes. Everything is the same and yet everything changes. Love, connection with people not need for achievement, recognition or acceptance becomes the true operator, the desire to express with the energy of love and gentleness in whatever one does at work, at home, at play and with people everywhere.

This begins with us being self-caring and self-loving for we cannot truly care for or love another if we do not care or love ourselves. We need to realize our own preciousness, our own beauty and delicateness and begin to treat ourselves accordingly by being gentle with ourselves in thought, word and deed eg being self-accepting of our self-perceived flaws and stopping the self-critical and judgmental ways, being gentle in exercise and not pushing our bodies harder and harder in the gym, going to bed early and not burning the candle at both ends, eating nourishing and healthy food and drink and stop the poisoning with alcohol, gluten, dairy, junk food and sugar, honouring the feelings of the body and not overriding them with the loveless mind.

It is time to realize, accept and embody that we are already precious, we are already beautiful, we are already more than worthy of our own love and affection  without ‘doing’ anything or going anywhere or climbing any mountain or running any marathon. For if we do not love and accept ourselves, why should we expect another to do it for us? The greatest source of love is within, in your inner heart is the true source of love, strength and wisdom that no amount of outer fillers or achievements can surpass. So why not invest a little time coming to know the true you, that is already pure love, that needs not and cease the endless route of looking for love, for recognition, for achievement, outside of yourself?

 

How mad is it that we have become so separated and disconnected from our true nature of love and the wisdom of the body, that we can believe we are being healthy in running a marathon, when the truth is the complete opposite - we are in fact being extremely harming, completely loveless and in total disregard of the body!! Marathon Madness….

Marathon Madness

Submitted by The Soulful Doctor on Mon, 30/04/2012 - 08:03.

Thanks everyone for your comments - great to have more voices and experiences on the blog than just my own!

Also thanks for sharing your story Laura as someone who use to be into runnning and thought it was healthy and who has made the changes and can now see/feel the harm running does and has found a healthier way to exercise and live. As a previous runner yourself you have the advantage of knowing both sides of the story, so to speak, both ways of living and thus other runners may relate/connect with your experience. Thank you

running helped me numb my body

Submitted by Laura (not verified) on Mon, 30/04/2012 - 06:50.
Hi Eunice, Thank you for sharing Marathon Madness. I started running about 6 or 7 years ago, when some friends persuaded me to join the work gym. I totally fell into the over riding of my body. I thought it was great to be able to run for a long time to be fit. Initially, I hated it, and I reallly had to put a lot of effort into ignoring the pain, and had many tricks to help my mind over ride, I'd listen to certain music to make me run faster, and I would also begin running if I was feeling rubbish, to clear my head, or upset etc. and ended up feeling great if I could run really fast and long distances. I remember my body changed very quickly, I became much thinner, lost my curves, and my ribs and hips would poke out. My family and friends commented & were concerned about my eating, however, I generally ate more than most people I knew, I love food, and thought I ate 'healthy', although I was one of those annoying girls who also ate a lot of chocolate croissants and brownies but was still very thin... so I didn't think there was an issue, I was also under the illusion it was good to be thin, although looking back at pictures I didn't look amazing. It took some time before I began to question why I would eat so much, and was so thin, i ate 4 meals a day because i didn't want to loose any more wieght. I had to admit something was very wrong, and that what I was eating was not nourishing me. I cut out the gluten and diary, and lots of sugar. I also started realising that running wasn't supporting my very thin body and eventually I stopped. It took well over a year for my body to start looking more healthy, and for my ribs and hips to disappear. I can only now look back and see the harm I was doing to myself, and what a great way of stopping myself feeling running was. Now I see people out in all weathers running in shorts and vests (even snow), and have friends who have completed many marathons, as well as knee operations, twisted ankles, etc etc. but they still think it's good. I now go for a walk each morning along the river close to my house before work, sometimes only 15 minutes, it helps me connect with my body, give me time with myself, and moments where I enjoy the magic of nature. I still catch myself checking out in my head, but usually come back swiftly. I'm far from perfect but working on more loving choices and not over riding what my body tells me..... : )

Marathon Madness

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Mon, 30/04/2012 - 06:35.
Great article it gives another level of understanding as to how harming extreme sports, or for that matter anything extreme or in excess can work against ourselves. We may come to the conclusion for ourselves that these things somehow don't feel right, but do not further question why that might be..... see others doing it so carry on.

Marathon madness

Submitted by Felicity (not verified) on Sun, 29/04/2012 - 12:43.
What a wonderfull article, it puts together so many aspects of modern life in the context of the marathon "pushing ourselves" mentality and shows how this is actually harming, rather than helping us....it then simply and easily shows how we can turn back from living in this manner to truely embracing ourselves and how uncomplicated it is to begin the process with saying no. Well done Eunice, I really appreciated reading this, it's very inspiring.
10 Apr

About Serge Benhayon

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

In order to find out more about Serge Benhayon, Founder and Director of Universal Medicine continue reading here. This is a new page on my website to explain a bit more about Serge, who he is, what he does and how he knows what he knows.

Please feel free to comment or share your personal experiences of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine as well in the comment boxes below. 

09 Apr

Western Medicine & Esoteric Medicine - One Surgeon's perspective

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

Some of you will already have received this article in a different format but for those who have not or who are just perusing the website I have posted this blog to provide a link to the page with the full document. It outlines how Esoteric medicine and Western Medicine can work harmoniously together to provide true healing.

07 Apr

Heart disease and diet and more...

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

This article by the cardiac surgeon Dr Dwight Lundell, concerns the link between diet and heart disease. In it he admits that science and medicine got it very wrong when it comes to diet and heart disease. He exposes the fact that medicine use to blame high cholesterol/fat diet as the cause of heart disease and thus advised people to eat low fat diets. He comments that this advice is now scientifically and morally indefensible. He reports that the science that saturated fat causes heart disease is non-existent. He states that despite lipid lowering drugs and low fat diets, more people will die of heart disease in USA this year than ever before. Thus medicine/science has indeed got it very wrong. 

The low fat diets were heavy in carbohydrates, sugar and processed foods and he acknowledges that these diets have in fact been harm-full to the human body. He states that such diets have contributed to the rise in diabetes, obesity and indeed also heart disease and Alzheimer's along with a host of other conditions. In addition, he states that medicine made a grave mistake by advising people to replace saturated fats with foods high in omega-6 fats like soybean/corn/sunflower oil. 

He reports that the real reason people get heart disease is due to inflammation in the arterial wall that over time leads to damage of the lining of the artery, resulting in plaques and areas of narrowing or stenosis. He cites the fact that certain foods contribute to this inflammatory process as the reason why a diet high in sugar, carbohydrates and processed foods is so damaging.

It is great to see such an honest exposure of the errors in diet advice/heart disease by mainstream medicine from an experienced cardiologist. However, from an  esoteric and energetic perspective there is more to the root cause of heart disease than inflammation. Inflammation is definitely an important step in the whole process and diet does affect that also. But we need to broaden the horizon of the different factors that contribute to the inflammatory process to more than diet.

The field of psychoneuroimmunology has been doing just that and demonstrates the links between our thoughts and emotions and the inflammatory process. Hostility is heartbreaking and is one of the emotions linked to heart disease and PNI is demonstrating how that can occur by stimulating the inflammatory process. It has long been recognised that the so-called typical 'type A personality' who is prone to angry outbursts, is driven and competitive is prone to heart disease and this can also be understood to be a consequence of the emotional state of being of such people rather than some permanent trait.  

Energetically and esoterically it is known that the emotions are the root cause of illness and disease including heart disease. Undealt with emotions are also linked to our dietary choices that can exacerbate the inflammatory process as reported in the above article. Energetically our true nature is love and there is no emotion in true love.   The emotions are harming to our body because they are of a different energy to our true nature and over time this affects the immune system, leading to inflammation and ultimately illness and disease. More research is required before this is confirmed scientifically but it can be known and felt within oneself that the emotions are harming to our true nature and state of being. The root cause of heart disease comes back to the lack of love we have for ourselves, manifested in emotional ways of being like anger, hostility, rage to name a few. Likewise, pushing oneself in a driven, competitive way is also harming. 

Thus, rather than wait for science to admit it got it wrong, we can make the choices to develop a more centred and less emotional way of being today realising that that is a more harmonious way of being, a more loving way of being.

I previously would have disputed these esoteric and energetic understandings and the role of emotions in illness and disease and used the fact that science said otherwise to support that view. However, I now know without doubt through my own healing experiences that the emotions are toxic to the human body and that it is possible to heal the underlying emotional disharmony that gave rise to the illness and disease.

I have a family history of heart disease and can recognise that I use to display many of the emotional traits that lead to heart disease combined with a lifestyle that was far from self-loving - so I am 40+ years down the road to a heart attack! However, I also know that I have addressed many of the underlying emotional issues that lead to that behaviour and way of being such that I am now generally more centred, with much less anger and the so called A type behaviours that I previously displayed. Rather than being subject to a family history of heart disease that I can do nothing about, I recognise that alot of those behaviours were learned in one way or another and passed from one generation to the next and as such can be stopped and healed.

I now make choices that are much more self-loving in terms of what I put into my body and how I live on a daily basis, endeavouring to be gentle and self-caring. That said, I also recognise there is still work to be done!! Conscious effort and choice is required to live in a way that is truly self-loving and because I have lived in a way that was so far removed from that, it takes a bit of time to unfold and deepen the truly loving ways of being but hey.... I'm worth it - and so are you!! :-)

Feel free to comment or discuss any of the points raised in the blog. Did you follow the low fat diet advice? Have you had any of the consequences of a so called healthy diet that wasn't so healthy??

Heart disease

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Mon, 09/04/2012 - 20:29.
Hi Eunice, A couple of week ago I happened to watch a part of either 5 or 6 o'clock news and learnt that each week 12 people in uk under the age of 35 die of undiagnosed heart related illnesses! In the news they also had a family whose 11 year old son collapsed and few hours later died, (heart failure) whilst playing football at school. His family have started a charity that has started to introduce defibrillators in some local schools and they are looking for government's support to introduce the machines in every school in the country, because of the high death rate in people under 35, including many young children, like their son. with love Dragana
07 Apr

The Cross - symbolic of Love, Christ or something else?

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has called upon Christians to "wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ" every day. This is in the background of a case going to the European Court to allow employees to wear crosses at work. Some argue that as long as it does not interfere with one's work then people should be allowed to wear a simple symbol of their religion if they so choose. 

Whilst the Cross is often associated with Christianity it is in fact an ancient symbol that pre-dates the time of Jesus or Yeshua. It comes from the latin, crux, and was a Roman symbol of death and torture. So how does a symbol of death, torture and suffering come to be representative of The Christ - which is the energy of pure love that was embodied by Jesus/Yeshua?? Something about that just doesn't feel true to me...

From a Christian perspective, it is put forward that the Cross does represent the love of God as he gave his only Son to die on the Cross that we may have our sins forgiven and be saved. But what if, that is simply not true? What if, that is a mis-understanding, mis-interpretation or even a bastardisation of the true teachings of Jesus and The Christ? What if Jesus was crucified not because of God or being given by God, but because of Godlessness, Lovelessness in those who did not recognise him as the Soulful Master that he was, who did not recognise him as the embodiment of The Christ? What if Jesus was not the Only Son of God but that every human being on the planet is a Son of God who has the potential to embody and express the Love of The Christ as Jesus did? What if the only way to be 'saved' from suffering is to know that one is a Son of God and to embody and live that love on a daily basis? 

Of course some do use the symbol of the Cross to remind them of the suffering of Jesus, that suffering is a part of life that cannot be escaped by anyone, that they believe it can make it easier to accept their own suffering, knowing that Jesus also suffered, as the story goes. But what if this again is simply not true?? What if suffering is a necessary part of life only because we live in ignornance of our true nature, contained in a prison of our own making until such time that we come to a deeper truth? A deeper truth regarding our true nature, who we really are and how to live from there in such a way that what once would have caused suffering, no longer does. I know for myself, that even the experience of losing a loved one, something that for most is associated with a great deal of suffering, can be totally transformed, when we live from our essence of love and all that that brings. It has shown me that there is a different way to live and understand life rather than the somewhat limited perceptions I previously held. Of course, as always it is a work in progress for me such that when I slip into old ways of being, or am suffering in some way, I know that I am not living from my essence and can take steps to choose again. 

Thus the Cross can have many meanings and interpretations even within Christianity and for some it has none of those meanings. Indeed for many years I wore a variety of cross shaped necklaces with no religious or spiritual meaning whatsoever - it was just a piece of jewellery I wore and I didn't give it too much thought. However, knowing now that it was orginally used to mean death and torture, that that was the initial energetic imprint or seed of the Cross, I no longer feel to wear those necklaces. I will now often wear a heart shaped necklace instead - as for me that is symbolic of love. I could even say that that is symbolic of my religion, the religion of love, the religion of the soul. However, I do not need to wear a heart or symbol of the soul or argue that I should be allowed to wear it at work at all times as that is a symbol of my religion - far from it! To argue that the wearing of any symbol is required for one's religion is to miss the point altogether if we are talking about religion as being that which concerns one's relationship with God, rather than the man-made institutionalised versions we have today. Much more is revealed about one's religion through our relationships and way of relating and being with others than it is by any symbol. Thus, if I am wearing a heart necklace, but being angry, rude or judgmental towards others - it is the latter that truly reveals how I live my religion rather than the necklace! Rather than encouraging people to wear a cross every day as a way to portray their religion, how much more effective might it have been, if Cardinal O'Brien had asked people to be gentle and caring each day, both to themselves and each other??  To bring the love and gentleness of Christ into everyday activities and expressions - rather than putting the Cross around one's neck and arguing with one's employer??

The point is this, the wearing of a cross or a heart or a symbol of the soul or any other symbol of one's religion is not what it's about. And thus any argument or court case to insist upon it is equally fallicious. Anyone who knows the Christ, who knows the Love of God, knows that 'by their fruits ye shall know them,' not by their symbols and adornments. In other words, what matters is not the wearing of a cross or 20 crosses, a heart or 20 hearts, or any other symbol, but the purity and quality of the love and gentleness expressed through one's eyes, one's hands, one's words, thoughts and deeds. 

Feel free to discuss or share your views re the cross or other religious symbols or any of the points raised in the blog. 

23 Mar

Healthy staff impact patients

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

This article highlights the increasing awareness that exists regarding the importance of maintaining and improving staff health and wellbeing in the NHS. Decreased abstinence and improved motivation along with improved care for patients are just some of the benefits mentioned. It also points out the importance of having senior board backing for such projects in order to ensure implementation of the specific activities that improve staff health and wellbeing. 

Rather than reducing workforce numbers in times of financial hardship, it suggests trusts could make savings by improving staff health and wellbeing, thus reducing absenteeism, reducing use of locums or agency staff and having a more engaged and productive workforce. They cite the example of York teaching hospital and the changes it has made to have a holistic approach to staff wellbeing, with the ethos being that they want staff to 'enjoy coming to work.' They have seen a reduction in absenteeism and long term sick as a result of the measures introduced. 

Certainly it makes more sense to reduce absenteeism by improving staff health and wellbeing rather than the punitive approach that some trusts seem to adopt. Whilst research and common sense would say that improving staff health and wellbeing will reduce absenteeism, improve motivation and enhance overall care in the NHS, it is also clearly understood from an energetic and esoteric perspective that improving staff health and wellbeing will impact the care of patients. How is this? 

According to Esoteric Philosophy and the Ageless Wisdom teachings as presented by Serge Benhayon of Universal Medicine, we are energetic beings and as such we are all interconnected even though we may appear to be solid and separate. "No man is an island" is a very accurate saying - for we are all one in the ocean of energy. Thus everything we do, say or think impacts not just ourselves, our body and our health and wellbeing, but those we are in contact with and indeed even those further afield.

If someone urinates in a swimming pool, the urine does not just stay in one little pool or spot but ultimately affects the whole pool - likewise, everything we do/say/think has an energetic effect on the whole of the world, the universe, indeed the cosmos! If that's a bit too mind-blowing, just stick with the fact that everything you do/say/think affects your own health and wellbeing and that of those you come in touch with. For example if someone loses their temper and is angry that anger impacts the health and wellbeing of the individual who loses their temper but also can detrimentally affect those nearby, especially if they take on the person's anger or react to it and become angry themselves. 

Esoterically the emotions are harming to the human body and part of maintaining good health and wellbeing is to be able to remain centred, non-reactive and non-emotional no matter what is going on around us. The ability to stay cool in a crisis, a still point in the midst of chaos are all beneficial to maintaining health and wellbeing. The NHS is a stressful place to work, with frontline clinical staff often under pressure from many directions, be it the need to meet targets, or the ever-rising demands and expectations of patients. Anxiousness, frustration, irritation, interpersonal difficulties and stressors of many kinds are all too common. However, there are tools and techniques that can assist people in addressing these issues such that they are less affected by such stressors, more able to 'observe rather than absorb' (SB) what is going on around them. 

It is  esoterically true to say that what we do to another we do to ourselves and what we do to others, we do to ourselves. Thus the more judgmental and critical we are of ourselves, the more we will do that to others. Likewise, the more self-caring and nurturing we are to ourselves, the more we will be caring and nurturing towards others. Hence, improving staff health and wellbeing also means empowering people to understand and know what it means to be truly self-caring and nurturing so that they do not harm the body by indulging in excessive exercise or other activities that may at first glance be considered beneficial but which are in fact harming when understood energetically. 

Thus when it comes to healthcare, it is imperative that staff tend to their own health, healing and wellbeing in addition to tending to the health of their patients. We need to walk the talk and not just talk the talk if there is to be true integrity in the advice we give. For example there is no true integrity if we advise patients to eat healthy, lose weight and give up drinking /smoking if we are obese, eating junk food, smoking and drinking ourselves! For many years I did just that and thus I can say quite clearly from personal experience that giving health advice whilst making choices that are contra to that, may have the right words but has no true energetic integrity and thus limited ability to truly heal and in fact can be energetically harming. However, I also know that it is possible to truly heal from making such self-destructive and abusive choices and to be empowered to live in a way that is more centred, less emotional and more harmonious and loving for the body. By making simple choices like going to bed early and getting a good night's sleep I can be well rested and more vital for the day at work and whatever it may bring. In doing so, I am more present, more focused with whatever task is at hand than if I am tired or exhausted. Furthermore, this does not just impact my own health and wellbeing, but all those I come in contact with whereby my way of being and living is energetically presented in full without me having to say a single word.  

Of course these understandings do not just apply to healthcare staff and patients but to all types and areas of work where people are involved. Feel free to comment or share experiences eg have you noticed how your way of being impacts others? Have you made any changes in your own health and wellbeing that has also impacted others? 

 

 

Healthy Staff

Submitted by The Soulful Doctor on Mon, 30/04/2012 - 08:10.

Thank you Jen for sharing your experience. It's great to have other people's experiences of making changes in thier lives that are more loving and seeing how that unfolds. In addition, how it was as you say, just making simple changes but yet they had a profound effect.  Also it reinforces the teaching that often it's not the job that needs to change but how  we are in the job, our way of being in the job that needs adjusting - something I'm working on too! 

staff health

Submitted by Jen Smith (not verified) on Mon, 30/04/2012 - 02:13.
Thank you for this article Eunice. I work as as nurse in a small rural town in Australia. I always thought that I looked after myself quite well, until I came to the esoteric work and realised that I was ignoring what my body was saying to me most of the time and I was looking for distractions to take me away from the fact that I didn't want to be at work. Since coming to the esoteric my life at work (and my life anyway)has changed. What and how I eat has changed, the kind of rest I give I myself is so much more loving. I value myself so much more which has lead to an enormous change in how I am at work with people who are sick and dying and my colleagues. The most amazing thing that has happened is that I have found that I love my nursing work and the people that I look after and work with. All that from being more open with others and more loving with myself. It's been such simple changes really, but so profound. With love, Jen
18 Mar

Food Allergy, Intolerance, Lifestyle or something else?

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

This article highlights the growing numbers of people who are self-diagnosing a food allergy or intolerance. They suggest that many people may be saying they are allergic when they are intolerant or indeed that many may just be choosing a diet eg gluten and dairy free for 'lifestyle' reasons and not for genuine medical reasons. It points out the difference between an allergy where there is a definite immune response and there can be a serious medical condition and an intolerance which does not have the same immune changes and is perhaps more vague in symptoms as well. That said however, they also mention that there has been a significant rise (700% between 1990 and 2004) in children with anaphylactic reactions.

The article mentions that experts are concerned that too many people are self-diagnosing these conditions and restricting food groups that may be important. In addition they hope that people will stop self-diagnosing and refer to experts for advice before restricting foods. 

Unfortunately there continues to be much ignorance around the whole area of diet and how what we eat affects our health and wellbeing. Indeed, not just what we eat, but why we are eating it and how we are eating it will also energetically affect the body but more on that another time.

Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine present the energetic fact that 'the body is the marker of truth'  (SB) and reveals all our choices. It is by listening to our bodies that we can know for ourselves what is harmonious for it and what is not. The more we take the time to really feel how we feel after eating or drinking any substance, the more we will become aware of what is detrimental to the body and its health and what is beneficial for it. 

Is it possible that the rise in consumption of gluten free and dairy free foods is not because of a trendy food fad or a lifestyle choice that has no relevance to one's health......could it be that people are actually listening to their bodies and feeling the fact that these foods are detrimental to their wellbeing??? Could it be that there is growing awareness around the fact that neither of these substances are well digested by the human form and both are in fact energetically harmful to the human form?? A quick search on the internet will provide a number of articles on the fact that dairy and wheat are ill-digested by humans and have detrimental consequences. 

Of course both the dairy and wheat industries are huge and there are many people who would not want the real truth of how harming they are to be revealed. Thus why people are discouraged from listening to their own bodies and dismissed as just following a fad or a lifestyle choice as mentioned in this article.  

I use to eat everything and anything and I am certainly not one just to follow a fad. I 'loved' cheese, bread, wine and many other foods and was in complete ignorance of how they were affecting my body. I totally dismissed or ignored how my body was feeling and perpetually lived ruled by the mind. If I had listened to my body and honoured how it felt, then one hangover should have been enough to say alcohol is harming to my body if it makes me feel like this! Only by over-ruling how the body felt was I able to keep on consuming alcohol for many years. Likewise, feeling bloated after eating bread or heavy and sleepy after a big pasta meal were messages from my body saying this stuff is not so good for me. So when I said I 'loved' these foods, the 'I' that loved them was the part that was seeking comfort, numbness, distraction, reward, stimulation etc and that 'I' is the spirit that acts in disregard to the body. It is by listening to the body that we can come to know what is truly harmonious for it, what is caring and loving for it and what the soul would choose for it - where there is no need for reward and stimulation etc.  Instead we 'feel what to eat and not eat what we feel' (MB). So rather than allergy, intolerance, food fad or lifestyle - perhaps the true choice when it comes to food/drink is do we wish to be driven by the wayward spirit in disregard of the body or impulsed by the love of the soul to have a truly harmonious body?? Of course we have been so engrained in our wayward habits of eating and drinking that this takes time to unfold - but ultimately it is a conscious choice we can choose to make....or not!    A truly harmonious body will feel light, vital and vibrant before, during and after eating - providing we put into it foods that are harmonious for it. 

I have just been on holiday and ate foods that were just that and not once did I feel sleepy, heavy or bloated after eating. Fruit, eggs, fresh fish and vegetables lovingly prepared and cooked with garlic and chilli - yum yum! It is not correct to say that taking a dairy free and gluten free diet is cutting out essential food groups - rather it is essential to cut them out if we wish to be truly healthy and vital. Of course you don't have to take my word for it but you can be your own living experiment - try cutting them out for 3-6 months (it takes time for the body to clear them) and see how you feel. 

Feel free to share your diet experiences eg have you stopped gluten and dairy and if so, why? How have you felt since stopping them? Has there been any change in your body since you stopped them? 

04 Mar

Gay Marriage

 Posted by The Soulful Doctor

There have been a number of articles recently around the subject of gay marriage, with different people putting forward their support or criticism of the Government's plans to legalise gay marriage by 2015. Cardinal O'Brien, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, is the latest to voice his criticism of the plans, calling it a 'grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right'. Is that a 'universally accepted human right' for all people except gay people??  Other religious leaders, including Lord Carey and Bishop John Sentamu have also voiced their discontent at the plans for gay marriage, with Lord Carey calling it an 'act of cultural and theological vandalism'. He believes that the institution of marriage is under threat by the proposal to allow gay marriage.  Conservative MP Peter Bone also criticised the proposal, calling it 'completely nuts' and claims that marriage is only to be between a man and a woman. 

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone is a strong supported of the plans for gay marriage and states that the Church does not 'own' marriage. She points out that 'this is not a battle between gay rights and religious beliefs,'  and that it is 'about underlying principles of family, society and personal freedoms'.

Ben Summerskill, the Chief executive of Stonewall stated that the issue was neither religious nor political but about 'the freedom of a small group of people to be treated in exactly the same way as everyone else'. 

David Cameron is a supporter of gay marriage and states that this is not just about equality but about commitment and he believes that society as a whole is stronger when people, gay or straight, make such commitments to each other and support each other. 

So on the one hand there are those who support equality for all, with equal rights to marriage for all people and on the other hand, those who feel that gay marriage should not be supported and who tend to be coming from a religious background or who have religious understandings. The latter have been indoctrinated to believe that being gay is some sort of sin or affront to God or is going against God's will. They consider it abnormal to be gay and as such any action that normalises being gay, that gives gay people the same rights as non-gay people is to be rejected. Little do they realise that in doing so they are the one's going against God's will. How is this so? 

From an esoteric perspective God is love and loves all people equally irrespective of their sexuality or indeed any other identifier. Jesus said, the 'Kingdom of God is inside you'.....in other words the love of God is inside you. The essence of each person IS love - no matter who they are or what they have done. The universal desire of mankind is to love and be loved - because we ARE love. We are in essence, seeking ourselves through relationship, through the mirror of another. It is through relationship that we can learn more about ourselves, our needs, expectations and beliefs about ourselves and others - that we can bring up all that is not love to release it. Because we have lived in ignorance of the fact that we are love, we have acquired many ways of living and being that are not loving - and through a committed relationship we can work together to release those ways and develop a loving way of living and being. 

Marriage then is about commitment between two people to endeavour to live and master the ways of love. It does not matter whether the people are homosexual or heterosexual for each person is love and it is all about love. In every interaction and relationship we can express with the energy of love or that which is not love. Marriage is a recognition of the commitment two people make to say that we are willing to work together to build a relationship that is based on love. It will provide the space to allow that which is not love to be brought up for healing and releasing. Whilst legally the commitment in a marriage is between the two people, ultimately it is a commitment to love and the ways of love and endeavouring to master that with another.  

Because we already are love, we do not need to seek love from another. It is our lack of self-love, our ignorance of the fact that we are love and our loveless ways that lead us to falsely believe we need another to love us. Instead it is for each of us, whether married or single to live in a way that is self-loving such that we can be the presence of love in any relationship, not just in a one to one partnership. In any interaction we can express with the energy of love or that which is not love - whether it is with a shop-keeper, a receptionist, a family member or an intimate partner. A marriage then is the commitment to love, where each person endeavours to live in a way that is self-loving, that is honouring and respectful of self and other equally. 

Energetically love is an equalness and whilst it may be our experience that we love one person more than another this is based on human emotional love rather than what love is - where all are loved equally. It is clear that we are far from living that - but that is the journey we are on - to return to the love that we are, that we know all others also are and where it is known and truly felt that all are love equally. Marriage is a commitment between two people who commit to love, to develop a loving way of being and living with each other but not exclusively so. By developing a loving way of being with one person, we can bring that to all relationships and interactions, where all are honoured, respected and treated equally. The expression of love in a marriage is of course different to the expression of love in relationships outside the marriage and the expression of love through the act of making love is reserved for the married couple and forms part of the commitment. Disharmony or discord can arise if the commitment to love itself, to being self loving is not of equal potential between the two people.  

Thus it is irrelevant whether the people being married are gay or straight for marriage is a commitment to love, to love oneself and another equally. Whilst religious leaders may use mind-based biblical reasons or  theological understandings to justify their prejudice, there is in fact no true religious justification against gay marriage when God is known in the inner sanctum of the inner heart.  

Feel free to share your views re gay marriage. 

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. 

 

 

Syndicate content