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I’ve talked a lot about the immune system over the past year and more and each time I’m planning to write next week’s newsletter something comes up in the news to bring the subject back in focus. This time it’s the Indian coronavirus variant and the daily paper I’ve just picked up describing people who haven’t had the vaccine as Refuseniks! For a moment there I thought I was in Russia under Putin’s heel. Dr Michael Yeadon, an ex-Pfizer vice-president and scientist is obviously a Refusenik as whilst reminding us that no vaccine in circulation has yet received full marketing approval -in other words, still under trial, he is concerned these gene-based vaccines are reprogramming the immune system with outcomes no one can foresee.

So, who are you to believe?

As you know I don’t take sides in these matters, my aim has always been to advise on natural health support, so this week I’m listing the kind of foods you can eat and supplements you can take that will strengthen the immune system. Just a few words of caution before deciding on what you want to mix and match and go to town on. To know if the immune system is functioning as it should then daily you should have a movement of the bowels and otherwise urinate with ease. If you are in physical discomfort prior to bed or have headaches on waking -these also are signs that the immune system is struggling to function efficiently. These words of caution are to account for the simple fact that sometimes we eat at the wrong times or otherwise have a sensitivity to some foods and supplements.

Your immune system has many integral parts.

For example, lymphoid organs release white blood cells called lymphocytes that help regulate the immune system. This response causes inflammation, similar to how your body produces a scab and swells up if you scrape your arm. Generally, this response is acute or short-lived and your immune system returns to normal. However, prolonged inflammation can impact your health and make it difficult for your body to defend against common illnesses. Where does food come into play? You need vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to keep your body in peak form. You can cause harm to your immune system with poor diet choices — refined sugars, refined carbohydrates, processed and packaged foods, and certain fats (especially trans-fat; Artificial trans-fats are created during hydrogenation, which converts liquid vegetable oils into semi-solid partially hydrogenated oil and can cause inflammation -some can be found naturally in meat and dairy.

These foods can trigger the C-reactive protein (CRP), which alerts your body to an inflammatory threat. Many processed and refined foods are also void of important vitamins and minerals. Diets low in iron or vitamins A, C and D could lead to decreased production in white blood cells. As a general rule of thumb, natural anti-inflammatories can help keep inflammation in check and limit symptoms when you’re ill. Antioxidants protect you from free radicals and can also repair cells and tissues that become damaged during an inflammatory response.

As a general guide you should strive for 50% fruits and vegetables, 25% whole grains and 25% lean meats and proteins.

Here are some food groups to choose from:

Fruits and vegetables:
Leafy greens (lettuce, kale, spinach)
Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower)
Tomatoes
Apples
Citrus fruits (grapefruit and oranges)
Berries (blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

Whole grains:
Whole wheat, Barley, Oats, Brown rice

Lean meats and proteins:
Seafood, Poultry, Beans (legumes, lentils and peas), Nuts (almonds and walnuts)

Cook with Olive oil, Coconut oil, instead of butter and other oils high in saturated and trans-fats. Don’t be afraid to add herbs and spices, either. Basil, cinnamon, curry, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and turmeric can help reduce inflammation.

Here are more examples of ways you can boost your immunity through your diet.

Garlic is a building block for many food dishes, but did you know it has health benefits? Garlic releases allicin when impacted by some sort of friction, such as chopping or chewing. This sulfuric compound has antioxidant properties that can help protect your cells and produce more white blood cells. Ginger is similar to garlic in that it isn’t a primary food, but its addition to meals or drinks can give your immune system a boost to fight infections. The use of ginger for medicinal purposes dates back thousands of years. When you’re not cooking with ginger, try adding it to your tea.

Prebiotics and probiotics.

Gut health is key to the microbiome diet. Probiotics and prebiotics help replace the good bacteria your body loses when fighting infections. Think of probiotics as live bacteria that help your digestive system, while prebiotics are dietary fibres that provide food for probiotics. Greek yogurt and other fermented foods have high levels of probiotics. You can also find probiotics in sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha. Many common high-fibre foods, such as apples (leave the skin on), bananas and beans, contain prebiotics.

Vitamin C is an important antioxidant that can help control infections by increasing white blood cell production. Oranges, lemons and grapefruits are popular sources of vitamin C. It may come as a surprise to know they’re present in vegetables, too. Feel free to load up your plate with bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.

You won’t find vitamin D present in as many foods, but it still can help with immune health by reducing inflammation. Your best bet is fatty fish such as salmon, tuna or mackerel. Many commercial milk products have vitamin D added, and cheese, mushrooms and egg yolks contain small amounts of vitamin D. Your skin also absorbs vitamin D from the sunlight, so take advantage of the warmer temperatures outside.

Supplementing your diet

Your supermarket is likely to have hundreds of supplements that claim to work wonders for the immune system. These supplements can help you if you have a deficiency, but natural foods remain the best way to absorb key vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D supplements remain popular because it’s harder to get your daily amount through food. You can take anywhere from 600 to 800 International Units of vitamin D. Anything more than that can likely cause harm.

Immune-boosting teas

Teas have been popular for thousands of years, primarily for their health benefits. Our guide on the basics of tea provides a refresher on the types of tea and their uses. All forms of tea come from the Camellia sinensis plant. This plant has polyphenols, which are micronutrients that can boost the immune system, improve heart health, and lower cholesterol. Green tea is especially good but nonetheless if you like black teas -they help too.

We are in May -down the winding lane I walk… the natural world has much to teach us! I hope you like this week’s poem.

Seeking Winds of May

Down the winding lane I walk
hid by hedge and under bough
that skirl their leafy sounds anyhow
in the seeking winds of May.

Going nowhere with a purpose
talking secrets with my feet
marching to the cyclic beat
of natural worlds at play.

Pausing at the path smooth head
over which the white clouds scud
stopping, watching cows chew cud
hear the dark horse neigh.

Ambition-less, I am asexual
just conscious of my nose
down I go where the river flows
to greet the end of day.

Not wanting less than everything
I sit rod-less on its banks
eyeing the silver fishes’ shanks
oblivious of time.

Then someone overshadows me
Bow in hand, feminine and fey
and about me She draws a line
in the seeking winds of May.

The ‘she’ in the last stanza is Diana the huntress

Worries and concerns are a permanent part of life’s tapestry

…. but when they refuse to lessen and go away and insidiously become part of daily life, they affect our entire BodyMind and unbalance us. We become uncertain of outcomes -constantly anxious and lose touch with our sense of identity.

There are many forms of anxiety.

Persistent and excessive anxiety and worries about activities or events —even ordinary, routine issues, where worry is out of proportion to the actual circumstance, difficult to control and affects how you feel physically, emotionally, and mentally. It often occurs when a person is depressed.
Panic disorders involving repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety, fear or terror reaching a peak within minutes that characterise panic attacks. Feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or heart palpitations. Disorders of this kind may lead to worrying about them happening again or avoiding situations in which they have occurred.

Social anxiety disorders (social phobias) involving high levels of anxiety, fear, and avoidance of social situations due to feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness, and concern about being judged or viewed negatively by others.

Separation anxiety -usually associated with children, has become much more widespread due to restrictions on meetings and movements during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some physical and mental health conditions give symptoms of intense anxiety or panic. Obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) can take a number of forms; fear of contamination -physical and/or mental, fear of harm and taboo thoughts, symmetry obsessions -the need for things to be perfect, exact, or ‘just right’.

And of course, there are other types, such as Agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed. Selective mutism, a consistent failure of children to speak in certain situations, such as school, even when they can speak in other situations, such as at home with close family members. Substance-induced anxiety disorders are characterized by symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are a direct result of misusing drugs, some medications side effects, and being exposed to a toxic substance or experiencing withdrawal from drugs.

Common anxiety signs and symptoms

include: Feeling nervous, restless or tense, having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom, increased heart rate, breathing rapidly (hyperventilation), sweating, trembling, feeling weak or tired, difficulty concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry, trouble sleeping, experiencing gastrointestinal problems, inability to control worrisome thoughts, having difficulty controlling worries.

What all anxiety states have in common -is the frequency and complexity of the phenomenon. It’s constant, difficult or impossible to self-assess cause and solution.

To fix the problem you need to slow down and simplify your lifestyle and maintain outward awareness of the environment you occupy. Meditation and mindfulness can be a healing process for some -but not all, because they cannot make the shift in consciousness to switch from busy to idle. Hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an approach favoured by people whose anxieties have reached fever pitch and need someone to interact with to begin the healing process.

Because extended lockdowns during the pandemic have given cause for anxieties to develop, a cost-free approach I recommend too slow down and simplify is as follows:

1. Begin your day with a walk before you eat anything. By all means have a non-stimulating drink if you feel the need of one but don’t eat. Reason is because any amount of eating has a comforting effect and gives you a sense of security. Anxieties will latch onto feelings of comfort and security and maintain their presence. Walk for the sake of walking -it shouldn’t have a destination purpose. Maintain an outward physical awareness of your immediate space projecting forward a couple of body shapes. If you find anxieties come flooding back into your mind, reassert your conscious focus. 15-30 minutes walking like this will slow the mental subconscious inputs into consciousness.
2. Do one thing at a time. If you are eating -eat for its own sake. Don’t switch on the TV or listen to the radio, because both of these actions will stimulate the subconscious into activity and stimulate anxiety feelings in the background of your mind. Task-wise apply yourself to one task at a time. Complete the task or shut it down if it can’t be completed. The next task is what the mind suggests, or it maybe what you have already defined as a necessary next task, however if it is a task you associate with anxiousness -dismiss it. Instead do something completely different.
3. If you find worries, concerns, or repetitive thoughts breaking into the pattern of tasking, despite your best efforts, you need to change the atmosphere -that means get out of the place you have been spending time in. Ideally that is going outdoors. Environments we frequently occupy for any length of time become saturated with our thoughts and emotional energies and playback to a worrisome mind.
4. Lastly, as and when you get positive guiding thoughts, for example, you might say to yourself ‘what I need is a good laugh’, or you might read something that strikes a positive chord -an affirmation like; ‘my body, mind, and spirit function harmoniously’. Write the words down on a postage sticker and put it somewhere in plain sight -don’t try to remember it. As you practise looking outward these messages will come into sight every now and again. Whatever you do, don’t try to remember the sayings -your anxious mind will dispute them.

The poem I’ve written for this week is a celebration of the natural Self.

The Rite of Spring

In secret place I dance the mystic rites of Spring
forswear the binding that illusions bring;
slough the old skin and dissolve the marriage ring.
Here where no man-made thing may live
I touch the earth, seek my darkly distant self,
press my body to the boles of mighty oaks
until I hear their drumbeat in my head.
Then dance again until the trees are fiery red,
the sun is risen gold and my fears have fled.

In last week’s post I said the rune-master would throw the sticks and read you the fortune of an alternative world. I guess I need to explain myself. One of my communicators who I know as Lone Wolf, as illustrated by my psychic artist wife Pam, has guided me on matters concerning BodyMind development for many years. He has taught me body movements and guided my understanding of the energy body, which I teach to my pupils and is often present when I am in healing mode.

Why runes?

To say that Lone Wolf is not all he appears to be is an understatement -from what I know of him his soul history stretches way back into the distant past. The incarnation I’m aware of when I see him is of a North American/Canadian Indian, but he has a soul link to the old Norse world. Could that be of Norseman who landed in the Americas -likely from Greenland way back in the first millennium AD? He shows runes that originate with the Vikings.

As some will know runes are symbols seen and interpreted in the spread they fall. So, I asked the question and the first thing he reminded me about was the history of the coronavirus.

‘Your scientists became aware of it soon after you were born.’

Digging around I find that scientists in England first identified a human coronavirus in 1965. It caused a common cold. Later that decade, researchers found a group of similar human and animal viruses and named them after their crown-like appearance -hence the name, and of these seven were identified that could infect humans. Ongoing research found that in temperate climates, respiratory coronavirus infections occur more often in the winter and spring than in the summer and autumn.

Data revealed that coronavirus infections contribute as much as 35% of the total respiratory viral activity during epidemics. Overall, the proportion of adult colds produced by coronaviruses was estimated at 15%. Epidemiologic and volunteer inoculation studies found that respiratory coronaviruses were associated with a variety of respiratory illnesses; however, their pathogenicity was considered to be low. The predominant illness associated with infections was an upper respiratory infection with occasional cases of pneumonia in infants and young adults.

These viruses were also shown to be able to produce asthma exacerbations in children as well as chronic bronchitis in adults and the elderly. Given the enormous variety of animal coronaviruses, it was not surprising when the cause of a very new, severe acute respiratory syndrome, called SARS, emerged in 2002–2003 as a coronavirus from southern China and spread throughout the world with quantifiable speed. This virus grew fairly easily in tissue culture, enabling quick sequencing of the genome.

Sequencing differed sufficiently from any of the known human or animal coronaviruses to place this virus into a new group, along with a virus that was subsequently cultured from Himalayan palm civets, from which it presumably had emerged. Again in China December 2019 a new coronavirus SARS variant was identified and called Covid-19 and declared a pandemic in March 2020.

Asking why this virus spreads so easily and causes so much illness, he replied, ‘It’s the way you live. The rise in populations. The density of living spaces -man made environments which recirculate the atmosphere you breathe. The intermingling and intermarriage of peoples throughout your world -each having a genetic history of immunity associated with the countries and climates their forebears experienced. When different immunities are joined, and peoples share the same man-made environments common colds and other viral transmissions can become virulent.’

‘What then do you advise as the way forward?’

‘Your futures point to a parting of ways. Man is by nature a hybrid of many forms, and each of these influences has seen and unseen counterparts. The consciously pointed Self continues to promote itself as the power of change and divisions within accelerate what you are pleased to call progress, the way forward. That which you call good; the caring of the environment, endeavours to reduce harmful gases, scientific advances in healthcare and modes of living, all have their side effects. I have called them futures, and each may be modelled to harmonised with the natural forces present in your world. Some will have cause to claim betterment, others not so.

To understand himself Man has always defined his consciousness by the battle of good against evil -right against wrong. And how it is interpreted gives cause for more and more divisions. The way forward can only be defined and acted upon by each and every individual -and there will be evidence of betterment because more people are becoming aware of the differences between Man’s creations and the natural world.

Tell your people this -the world you live in is the smallest part, a place of beginning, and life is much greater than you can imagine. Indeed, I am limited in what I can tell you because your consciousness is still bound by its earthly roots. Just tell them as you have been taught before -there is only one law; the Law of Good, but in interpreting that disharmony arises, and from disharmony the force to harmonise is born.’

There… I will leave you to think on that. What echoes in my mind from what Lone Wolf has said, is the absolute need to assert our own individuality. It’s so easy to allow yourself to be shepherded -to leave decision making to others.

I am reminded of some suggestion I made early on in this pandemic when the need for face masking was about to become mandatory in public places. Masks are not healthy things -just causing us to breathe back in some of the carbon dioxide (and germs) we have just breathed out. Now that face masking rules will soon be relaxed in the UK and we can yet again move about close to one another in public places -particularly indoors, let me readvise the use of coconut oil. Just apply it on a cotton bud up your nose.

Coconut oil contains lauric acid and monolaurin which can disintegrate the virus envelope, inhibit virus replication, and prevent the binding of viral proteins to the host cell membrane. Coconut oil is made up of about 50 percent 12-carbon lauric acid. When lauric acid is digested and interacts with body fluids, it produces monolaurin. Both of those funny-sounding things can kill things like bacteria, viruses and fungi. So, coconut oil can be linked to killing bad stuff.

The poem I’ve written for this week is a reminder of how little we know of Nature.

I am a Legion not a King

In the water green world under the wych elm tree
live me and my kin, birthing and dying unseen
in the light dark seasoning cycle of time,
quite unlike men’s expectation of body shape.

We are benign, threatening, handsome, shape shifting,
Sun dialling, moon tiding, invisible touch conscious life.
If only you knew how to look- what sounds to recognise.

The stones that you walk on and think dead

are concerts of sound singing to this river’s urge.
The water spirit in harmony seeks the still dark depths
Worlds distant: satisfied never to know.

Leaves its memories for you to find

And is free as you cannot be.
Here where the wild crocus grows, dies and re-seeds
and a myriad of things have but a day to live
I am a legion not a king.

I am many not a thing.

And you walk here as a prison in the shackles of feet
under the wych elm tree like a sleeper
dreaming of freedom awake.

And know nothing of me, yet
lay claim to what you see.
Come now instrument being, speak out,
let all that comes be unreasoned, unfelt.

When earth reclaims the form you have shaped
migration will not mean turning back,
For as I sip, so you also can be refreshed

truly a legion, never a King.

The clarion call from government is we are on track to return normality to work and social life. To garnish these expected salad days everyone (bar the dog) is being offered the vaccine, and politicians have changed their daily focus, returning to the party infighting we care less about. The damage lockdowns have done to people’s sense of well being more than matches the covid-19 statistics we have had repeat ad nauseum on TV and radio. The sheep have been corralled -soon the fences will be lifted, and they will be free to graze in the wide blue wander. The alternative press which has raised doubts on the efficacy and safety of vaccines continues to rage in the background. The rich have got richer, and the poor have got poorer.

And all the while, whether you are for or against, in tune with government guidance, lawful do’s and don’ts, everyone (including the dog) has suffered undue stress.

You cannot separate the mind from the body -you cannot manifest change in one without affecting the other. When this happens (and it has happened) the BodyMind becomes unbalance The BodyMind’s reaction to challenge or demand is to supply tensions and pressures to quicken changes -this is an ongoing 24-7 activity physically, emotionally, and mentally. In normal times most people make adjustments to their social and work environments to feel better in themselves -of course there will always be a few that continue to make a hash of things, and they will pay dearly for doing so, having health problems which could easily have been avoided. During these extended lockdown periods the BodyMind’s constituent parts have been in continual contention with one another.

What is the part that links both body and mind?

In the broadest sense -the human BodyMind is physical and non-physical, seen and unseen. The ‘seen’ BodyMind is a composition of light matter energies which our senses are perceptive too, are scientifically measurable and comprise solids, gases, and fields of bio-magnetic electricity. The ‘unseen’ BodyMind consists of energies which vibrate at frequencies beyond the measurable ability of science -having said that, molecular physicists acknowledge there is a form of matter, described as Dark Matter, composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation. The behaviour of these particles defies the known laws of science and can travel at speeds faster than light. Research suggests planets, stars, asteroids, galaxies –physical bodies we can actually see – constitute less than 5% of the total universe. 70% is composed of Dark Energy, whilst the remaining 25% is composed of Dark Matter.

Long before the ancient Greeks laid the foundations of our modern sciences Man developed an occult view of life from his known native ability to transcend the barriers of normal perceptual consciousness. Historically this is largely remembered as a religious belief strengthened and supported by the mystical experience of ‘chosen’ people recorded as saints on the one hand, and magicians, wizards, and witches, on the other. Divisions between the righteously led and the misguided people having ‘evil’ intent.

History is written by people who want to be remembered, whether that be as an observer or as an active mover of events. For the mass of humanity, the day-to-day experience of consciousness is only fragmentarily recorded by historians and their purpose in writing carries a bias which will never accurately record the momentary nature of its development, but it is remembered and brought into our present day by the correspondence of family memories and genetic transfer at birth. It is quite wrong to suggest our physical foundations of life do not receive memory of prior generations. So, a goodly part of our BodyMind is what we inherit -and it plays a large part in shaping our character.

What this means is we are interactive and inter-reactive. Environment is everything.

We can give too much dominance to rationality and refuse to listen to the inner guiding voice -or we can become over polarised the other way and become a victim of the facts of life but what we all cannot stop doing is interacting with one another. No matter how small or large our social and working worlds are we are dependant upon interaction and inter -reaction with others. Limit or take away that ability and the BodyMind is in contention with itself.

The result is not only mental and emotional ‘starvation’, but our physical nature is also affected as well. During the last year some have suffered a crisis of faith, not only in long held beliefs, but they have also lost confidence in their abilities -in their talents. Some have suffered depression and resorted to pills to put it right -only to find they don’t. Some have eaten their way into a corner and their clothes don’t fit. Some have found themselves crying and distressing over events they would in normal times not given a second thought too. And the body has lost its rhythm’s and old ‘wounds’ remake their appearance -issues that you would fight against or ignore until they no longer posed a threat, hang about like skeletons on the closet. Not to mention the months and years some are now having to wait to have their health problems fixed.

I’m sorry to sound like a harbinger of doom, but the harsh truth is people have been changed by these lockdowns and what happens next isn’t a return to the old ways -it’s a search for a way to manage ongoing, because that history will not go away.

And yet this dark cloud does have a silver lining. We can do better than we previously did for ourselves. Today many people are questioning their way of life -seeking answers.

How well do you sleep? Consider this….

Right before you go to sleep at night, your core temperature begins to drop, which is a signal to the brain to release melatonin. The exact same thing happens on a smaller scale between 2 and 4 in the afternoon. It’s a mini signal to your brain to get sleepy. Often, the 2pm slump stems from a dip in your temperature that naturally occurs in the afternoon. This can trigger the release of melatonin – a hormone associated with relaxation and sleep. According to a 2018 study of more than 10,000 people, the body’s ability to function declines if sleep isn’t in the seven- to eight-hour range.

Next week the rune-master will throw the sticks and read you the fortune of an alternative world.

I’ve not written a poem this week, instead here is a quote from Kahlil Gibran.

The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.

The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding.

The musician may sing to you of the rhythm, which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it.

And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither.

For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.

And even as each one of you stands alone in God’s knowledge,
so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.

As many of my correspondents know, I’m a healer and have been so for well over 50 years, I have run a complementary health business, am the life long president of the JCPF charity; https://www.jcpf.co.uk/ , which is dedicated to healing, and currently applying my energies to assist people get the best out of life, whilst restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of coronavirus have given rise to all kinds of health problems. Self-healing is my major theme. For many the need to do the right thing, what best actions should be taken, are prompted by fear -or in the very least worry about what is best to do.

Does the constant keep safe messaging in the media reassure, or does it make you resentful for loss of liberty?

The UK government is telling you it is guided to make decisions by data -as most other governments dealing with virus are also doing. Statistics -or as some would say damn statistics are formulations of data which can be presented in different ways to voice ‘truth’. For instance, recent week’s news show France, Italy, Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands, have joined a growing list of European countries suspending or restricting the rollout of the Oxford Covid vaccine. The ‘data’ response in the UK from Prof Andrew Pollard is the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is safe, and that “safety is clearly absolutely paramount” but about 3,000 cases of blood clots occur every month in the UK from other causes.

What are you to make of that? Are European leaders being fed ‘bad’ data?

Personal awareness of vaccine side effects are not ‘data’ driven, and of course largely don’t feed into the statistics we get given. In my position I get to hear of peoples health problems as and when they reach out for help. Some people have had the vaccine and not experienced any side effects affecting their current state of health -but some have. For example, a lady in her late sixties who has ongoing leg problems which give her pain noticed the pain has increased significantly since having the jab, a lady in her nineties, generally healthy and a keen gardener, experienced dizziness and fell heavily, smashing the upper part of the humerus arm bone and chipping the wrist only days after receiving the vaccine. Previously not subject to dizzy spells. Another woman, much younger -a key worker, suffered hallucinations whilst negotiating stairs -another became so ill, she had to take sick leave from work. Persistent headaches and gut issues have been reported in the belief their un-wellness occurred or was exacerbated after having the jab. And I’ve also been informed of the unexplained death of a young man who had no underlying health conditions -who died 7 days after getting the vaccine.

By and large vaccine side effects are not life threatening on their own account, and medical diagnosis can and does in the majority of cases identify and record ‘other’ causes. The current range of Covid-19 vaccines have all been produced for rollout within a year -setting new records on vaccine development. The FDA, for example, have only approved the vaccine for emergency use at present, the EMA has given it conditional approval and are currently being lobbied by European countries who have suspended use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. In the past vaccines had a profile of development ranging from 3 to 15 years, and no doubt these new vaccines will continue to be in development for years to come. There is a body of informed medical opinion which states it’s too early to decide if the vaccines are safe and effective -equally there are strong voices in the pharmaceutical industry and Healthcare services who are adamant it is safe, though they are not unanimous on the degree to which the vaccine is effective.

So, who do you believe?

The vast majority of people can only express faith in accepting, or in some cases for refusing, the vaccine. We (the majority) are not technically competent to evaluate it. Much of our life is influenced by knowledge we ourselves do not possess. If your phone stops working you might get a knowledgeable person to repair it -you might dump it and buy another. If you shop for something and they don’t have it -you go to another shop. You don’t ask yourself can I make it myself, you assume the need can be met by someone skilled in that service. And when someone you care for, or a pet for that matter, is unwell -what is your first question you ask? Have you seen a doctor? What treatment are you receiving? If not why not?

If you are unwell -what is the first thing you do?

Interdependence is good -the sharing of skill, the sharing of service, and the giving of care, but if that interdependence is faith driven, it means you live most of your life on the assumption ‘everything will work out fine’. And I don’t need to tell you it doesn’t -do I? this post is not about me making a case for or against taking the vaccine -it’s your choice. It’s about having you realise when all things are taken into account, be it about your lifestyle, your passions and work interests, or your health -you and only you are the final arbiter.

My interest in promoting self-healing is to restore and strengthen your identity, advise ways in which your own voice can determine need without being dependant upon the ‘voice’ of others, be they campaigning you to engage, or its your voice seeking out answers to strengthen personal security. We can -and we do -refer to our mind and body as separate entities. The way we think causes us to do that, but in reality they are one and the same. Mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. Your identity is not the product of a composite -separates with the need of one another. No.

Your identity arises and develops from the harmony of the BodyMind -and dare I say it, designed to be self-sufficient.

Hamlet’s famous soliloquy reflects the agony of not knowing the true self.

To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to?

… and so it goes on, to end in this fearful proclamation

….. conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of Resolution
Is sicklied o’er, with the pale cast of Thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment,
With this regard their Currents turn awry,
And lose the name of Action.

In future posts I’ll further this theme of self-healing -ways and means which maybe have never occurred to you.

As I write this blog the UK news and in many countries around the world is focussing upon vaccination programmes -seen as the first line of defence to defeat the virus and put an end to the pandemic. In the UK the programme is geared to treat front line workers and the vulnerable first. The vulnerable are classified as having underlying health conditions.

So, what is meant by an underlying health condition?

It’s a medical definition that applies to any person, irrespective of age, who has an illness which weakens the immune system. The vast majority of people who contract an illness will go to their GP for diagnosis and treatment if it persists and over counter medications do not relieve it. In some cases where the nature of illness attacks the immune system, such as Immune system disorders, Rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes, Multiple sclerosis, and Psoriasis, will be treated with immune suppressing drugs that include steroids in order to ward off the illness. Unfortunately such treatments are more apt to develop complications of COVID-19 compared to those who don’t use these drugs.

Generally speaking older people have weaker immune systems, but that doesn’t mean it applies to everyone over the age of 60.

A weakened immune system, which makes you vulnerable to COVID-19 can be caused by a number of factors besides certain medications treating illness as already mentioned. Lack of sleep, anxiety, low vitamin D, too few fruits and veggies, high-fat diets, too little time outdoors, lack of exercise, too much alcohol, grief, and of course, nicotine. You’ve only got to scan this list to realise current restrictions on movements, inability to work, loss of face-to-face contact, can develop discontent, destroy your sense of purpose, and cause overindulgence and inactivity.

Over time the human immune system will develop antibodies that will neutralise viral infection, as was the case in the 1918 flu epidemic. And one has to be reminded the superpowers of the 18th and 18th century globalising their influence wrought havoc amongst indigenous peoples whose immune systems had been environmentally protected before invasion. And people who have little or no interaction with allopathic medicine can have adverse effects from being introduced to it.

It is recognised the majority of people who get the virus are in the under sixties age groups.

The majority of these age groups are people who work for a living -many who now are furloughed or have lost their means to earn income. So, the difficulty we face is whilst restricting peoples movements reduces transmission of the virus -at the same time these restrictions are having unhealthy effects.

So, what can we do about it?

In my mail last week I pointed to ways in which we could strengthen our immune systems and actions we should take to minimise the risk of getting the virus. This week, I would like to add something about foods and lifestyle.

We need to shop more discerningly!

Some foods are loaded with nutrients called antioxidants -look for these; Elderberry, button mushrooms, Acai Berry, oysters, watermelon, wheat germ, low-fat yogurt, spinach, sweet potato, broccoli, garlic, chicken soup, pomegranate, ginger, and tea (choose your favourite)!

Every time a sheep baa’s he loses a bite!

The old saying also applies to us when we talk whilst eating -the damning difference is we unconsciously eat whilst we do that. Feel what you eat and drink -the emotional nature of our body system will then capitalise on the nutrient value of what we ingest. Eat and drink for its own sake -if you do so watching TV some part of the nutrient value will be wasted.

What else can you do?

And talking about TV, as most people are watching more, or playing games -tune in to programmes which benefit both mind and body. Laughter is a good medicine -helps stimulate, try for comedic films and shows. A bit of romance does you good as well! Try to avoid programmes that portray violence, health problems -and, dare I say it; news. Particularly news about the virus! Oh, and by the way whilst games stimulate grey matter they also shut you off from body awareness -not to mention being addictive.

So, the message is if you are still struggling -try, try, and try again!

The poem I’ve written for this post is:

The Reassuring Voice

Ah, winsome love what aches your heart
breaks the rhythm of mentor’s rhyme;
stuns you into silence?
Does the world debase, sully your native innocence,
trade on gentleness, draw on the giving Self?
Do you fear the well has gone dry,
your effort a hoist of cold rocks?
Brain tired of strictures, of duty
and of duty denying the Self?

Fear binds good with bad
Gives security cutting edge.

Let go, let go.

Give your mind a rest,
pulse your heart in Nature’s way.
Feel the moment,
Rebirth your innocence…

And know
this is a better way.