HIA -Healers In Action's topics - tribe.net

birth petition

2008-06-23T01:07:41Z

The AMA wants legislation mandating where we give birth.

Please join me in saying NO as loudly as possible:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/birthathome/index.html

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

TRUTH IS FREE; so is my RETREAT --Vermont

2007-11-24T21:07:58Z

I'm looking to network with folks, to extend an invitation to visit Bald Mountain Retreat (www.baldmountainretreat.com) as my guest. Like-minded people who appreciate rustic accommodations are welcome to come up at no charge. (Those who require a private room can inquire about those accommodations as well.)
Basically, I'm offering people the opportunity to come stay with a retired naturopathic doctor in a truly amazing natural setting, secluded, idyllic, peaceful...
Also, if you might like to lead a retreat, please contact me.
Thank you and you are welcome,
Dr David

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 2 replies

Herbs of the Sierra Nevada

2007-10-13T20:23:27Z

Ive created a new tribe regarding herbs and plants of the Sierra Nevada
i hope someone will find this useful...
come on by...
http://tribes.tribe.net/sierraherbalist

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

Help with a shaktipat support tribe

2007-05-19T19:53:05Z

It would be wonderful if you could join & help out.
http://tribes.tribe.net/shaktipatsupport
Peace

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

Healing the Lungs

2006-12-22T02:19:47Z

Burned my lungs with a hydro-chloric gas 8 months ago. Resulting oxidation has got me wheezing and coughing like an old lady. Seeking suggestions for long-term and complete healing. Thanks in advance!
liz

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 5 replies

HIA ~ Massive Rah Spekts

2006-04-25T20:03:07Z

MLK:

"There is something I must say to my people:
We cannot turn back.
This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or
to take the tranqulizing grug of gradualism.
Now is the time."

aloha healers!

....*....
. .
.

If travelling around on an Alternative Fuel School Bus and sharing healing with Zion children sounds like a fun and exciting thing to you then stay tuned and keep strong!

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

Midwives now legal in WI

2006-04-14T20:00:22Z

Doyle signs bills on midwives

Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Midwives who aren't nurses must obtain a state license under a bill
Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law Monday.

Under the law, Applicants must hold a valid professional midwife credential from the
North American Registry of Midwives or the American College of Nurse Midwives. The
state Department of Regulation and Licensing must develop rules spelling out
medications midwives can administer, such as oxygen, postpartum anti-bleeding agents
and intravenous fluids.

A licensed midwife also must disclose to clients his or her training and experience,
whether the midwife has malpractice insurance and procedures for handling medical
emergencies.

Nobody will be allowed to act as a midwife without a license or a temporary permit from
the state.

The legislation gained momentum after criminal charges were filed in the death of a child
during delivery.

*********************************************************************************************

NOTE from Grandma Midwife:

No fault was ever implied on the part of the midwife, but the prosecutor personally went after the midwife for no license, even though she was fully nationally certified and Wisconsin had no license available. We deluged Wisconsin with letters demanding that they start licensing midwives immediately to prevent bureaucratic abuses like this from happening again, and apparently they saw reason. Once in a while you win one.

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

dreamhealer

2005-11-02T00:38:50Z

http://www.shared-vision.com/2005/sv1811/adam1811.html

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

method

2005-10-08T00:29:56Z

what is everyones herbal medicine field or choice?

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 5 replies

clients in my home?

2005-10-07T23:45:49Z

Do those of you who work in your home with others bring everyone in? Where else do you do your works?
I'm resurfacing in my calling to assist others in transmuting their energy in a joyful and loving direction. As well as getting them in contact with their own soul and "higher self" I asked that the ones drawn to my ad would continue my learning, further me on my path, and connect with me in light and love, and be ready for what I can offer.
The first people I've connected with have been in joyus growth for me and for them. I had a young woman come to my home, and have arranged for another. (Others I've been working with by internet, and phone) I felt very comfortable making the arrangements for them to come.
I got a call earlier this evening from a man who seemed a little confused. He seemed nice, but a little scattered and needy. I'm not trying to judge the space he's in. My sense is that he's not malicious, or violent, but there is some confusion, and neediness.
When it came time to make appointment arrangements I found myself uncertain if it should be in my home. I'm a woman in my early 30's and have 3 small children. My husband might be in the house while my little ones nap during the appointment. I feel safe. I just wonder if this person may not understand clear boundries and may show up again at my house inappropriately. I now have a message from another man, who I need to call back.
I've always felt very safe and confident in my home. I want to assist those who feel I may be of assistance to them. Now I'm uncertain if I should let everyone I work with come to my home.
What do others of you do? Where can you work if you don't bring everyone to your home?

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 3 replies

healing ritual

2005-07-31T04:12:18Z

Hello,
What healing ritual you have you used when aware that it was time to mark the end of a pity party or big transition and begin anew. I'll have an opportunity to be in nature all day tomorrow. On a lake, hiking through trails and being with my beloved. He has danced this difficult dance with me.

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

help

2004-12-05T20:57:42Z

hi, looking for a remedy for my partner...he's been suffering of sudden migraine pains on the right side of his head/face. we've moved to a place with higher altitute...what can i do naturally to help him ease or prevent this discomfort?

thanks.

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

help

2004-12-05T20:57:22Z

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 0 replies

paralysis

2004-09-18T19:51:16Z

I need some suggestions to take the swelling down from my brother who has a swollen spinal column. It has made him paralyzed from the waiste down. It occured within a two week period of time. the docs are baffled as to what to do.

I've never ran into this type of problem before so do not know what type of herbs or alternative healing methods to recommend.

Any suggestions.??

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 8 replies

Ginsing Taste

2004-08-26T04:15:42Z

I love the taste of ginsing,
anyone else?

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 11 replies

!change of name!

2004-08-24T04:03:40Z

It was abit egotistical of me to call this tribe herb teachers united, for we are only students of the green world and tutors to others, so to rectify any karmic imbalances I chose to change the name hope you folks like it

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 4 replies

ok ok...

2004-08-21T16:02:30Z

This is a little of the Tribes Topic but...
maybe someone here knows something about this...

so my friend one night turned off all the lights, went into the bathroom, in total darkness...
he stared at his hand untill he saw a faint glow coming from it...
he did this a few times more, then one time he felt like he left his body, he could see himself moving away from it.
anyhow, every since then, when its dark he can see a glow from himself and from others, he can see aura maybe? what does everyone think?

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 11 replies

love

2004-08-20T23:38:15Z

just a side note...
I love you all

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 5 replies

Colliodal Silver

2004-08-15T08:35:43Z

Hi Gang:

I thought I would post this article that I have had hidden for a while and had the need to dig it out onight, so I thought I would share it with you. **Warning** Its rather long.

Colloidal silver appears to be a powerful all-round antibiotic capable of fighting a multitude of infections caused by single-celled disease organisms effectively. It reportedly can also be a preventative against such infectious diseases. Acting as a catalyst, colloidal silver disables enzymes one-celled bacteria viruses and fungi need for their metabolism. They are killed on contact with colloidal silver while friendly single-celled organisms in the human body remain unharmed and the body's immune system unchanged.

Colloidal silver was in common use until 1938 as the most effective antibiotic then available to medicine, only to be outdated by modern antibiotics in the wake of the discovery of penicillin.

Mankind's knowledge of silver's antibacterial, antiseptic antiviral and antifungal properties seems to be as old as its history though. The properties of silver were known to the Egyptian Pharaohs and think of the European aristocracy's use of opulent silver tableware: Cups. plates and cutlery. Food was often stored in trunks made from silver.

Read any biography of Kings or Queens. or a good history book and look up their death causes: You will hardly ever find one of them died at an unduly age from a disease spread by bacteria, Viruses or fungi. Henry VIII, e.g. was reportedly very worried about his extended family's health during the plague in London, that killed almost half its population, but none of them ever succumbed to it. Is it a far fetched conclusion that minute traces of silver ingested with the daily use of silver ware might have made the difference? Read on and make up your own mind.

Early Research

Only recently have researchers started to rediscover what silver can do for all of us. At the turn of the century scientists had discovered that the body's most important fluids are colloidal in nature. permanently suspended ultra-fine particles of substances. Blood, for example, carries nutrition and oxygen to the body cells and collects their waste products. This insight led to studies with colloidal metals and minerals and their interaction with the body and the basic antibiotic property of colloidal silver was discovered. Colloidal silver was then used by physicians as a mainstream antibiotic treatment, and it was considered quite "high-tech". Production methods however were costly. The pharmaceutical industry moved in, causing colloidal research to be set aside in favour of development of fast working more toxic and potentially dangerous drugs:

Modern antibiotics.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today classifies colloidal silver as a pre-1938 drug. In a letter from the FDA dated 9/13/91 it is stated:.'.These products may continue to be marketed ... as long
as they are advertised and labelled for the same use as in 1938 and as long as they are manufactured in the original manner..- Some of the manufacturing methods used before 193 8 are still used today, including the Electro-colloidal process, which has proven to be the best method.

Contemporary Studies

While studying the regeneration of limbs spinal cords and organs in the late 1970s. Robert O. Becker.
MD, author of "The Body Electric'', discovered that electrically charged silver ions promote growth and kill surrounding bacteria.
The March 1978 issue of Science Digest reported in an article "Our Mightiest Germ Fighter": "Thanks to eye-opening research, silver is emerging as a wonder of modern medicine.
An antibiotic kills perhaps half-dozen different disease organisms, but silver kills some 650. Resistant strains fail to develop. Moreover, silver is virtually non-toxic." The article ended with a quote by Dr. Harry Margraf, a biochemist and pioneering silver researcher who worked with the late Carl Moyer, MD, chairman of Washington University's Department of surgery in the 1970s: " Silver is the best all-round germ fighter we have."

How It Works

In the electro-colloidal manufacturing process extremely small ( submicron size ) clusters of approximately 15 silver atoms form, each atom charged with a tiny electrically positive charge, which keeps the silver clusters suspended in the colloidal medium, distilled water. This suspension is possible because of one of water' s physical anomalies called Brownian movement, which potentially keeps the silver infinitely suspended in this medium.

The presence of colloidal silver in the body near a single-celled pathogen, be it bacterium, virus or fungus, disables its metabolism to work and it dies off: Unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics which also destroy beneficial bacteria, colloidal silver leaves the body's beneficial bacteria intact. It is thought to be the electric charge on the silver, that allows this to take place. Thus colloidal silver is absolutely safe for humans and animals, in fact for all multi-celled living matter. It is non-toxic, has no side effects and can be used simultaneously with any other medication, as it does not interfere with it.
Taken orally, the colloidal silver is absorbed in the mouth, where it is quickly enters the bloodstream. Swishing the colloidal silver under the tongue before swallowing ensures fast absorption. After
a few days of intake the silver will have accumulated in the body's tissues sufficiently for benefits to begin. Since colloidal silver is eliminated from the body by the kidneys, liver and lymph system after a
few weeks, many people take colloidal silver on a daily basis to maintain a certain silver level in their
body. Claims made by maintenance users are often that this prevents new infections successfully and
that it is in fact a powerful preventative health measure in general.

Topical Uses

Colloidal silver is painless on cuts, abrasions, in open wounds, in the nostrils for a stuffy nose and even in a baby's eyes because, unlike antiseptics, it does not destroy tissue cells. Use it on burns and boils and actually any skin disorder from spots, pimples and acne to athlete's foot, eczema and warts.

Colloidal silver eases itchiness and pain from bug or mosquito bites. For treating skin problems it is
best applied onto a thin band-aid or another thin sterile material, that is cut to size. Wet with colloidal
silver and let this air-dry.
Colloidal silver can also be used to make a cream or balm, which would preferably be used on skin
conditions, that shouldn't be moistened further.

It seems to be most important to place the colloidal silver as near to the infection as possible. So with
an ear infection it is advisable to put it into the ear, as it would take considerably longer to accumulate
enough silver near the infection if it were taken orally. On the otherhand it usually is of additional value to treat an external infection topically and by ingestion at the same time, as this in most cases will speed up the healing process.

Maintenance Dosage

Most adults for a start take one half tablespoons - 4 times a day for four to seven days to build up the
silver level in their body, then cut down to about two half` tablespoons a day ( half tablespoon doses
have the advantage of avoiding unnecessary spillage ).
Used this way a 500ml bottle of true colloidal silver will provide you with a daily maintenance dose for
approximately 7 weeks.
Colloidal silver works in different amounts and different time-spans for each individual. Some people
report instant beneficial effects from taking it just once. Others don't get results until they've taken it for weeks.

One way to determine a dosage is kinesiology or muscle testing and optimum dose may require more or less colloidal silver. But you can be patient and experiment with dosage yourself. e.g. if the maintenance dose doesn't do much for you after a week. double the dosage for a week to see whether it makes a difference. On the other hand you could lower the dosage when the maintenance dose proves very effective. This way you should be able to determine your personal requirements.

Treating Children

Children or babies would use a proportionally smaller dose. Do not put children on a maintenance dose though. Children need to get ill in order to build up their immune system. Use colloidal silver to assist recovery, when signs of illness do show up.
Children apparently react much quicker and more profoundly to the effects of colloidal silver. Should
your child tell you, that it now feels fine and doesn't need to take it anymore, you should rely on mutual trust and stop treatment.

Children usually are not interested in taking medicine. You can learn to empower them by offering colloidal silver instead of administering it. This is a similar way to how you've come across this remedy and you should try to use it in a sharing and loving way of equality. Doing this you will find them coming to ask you if they can use it for whatever they find necessary treating. You will this way not only give them a chance to learn about human ailments, but also learn a lot more about them yourself.

Use in case of an Impaired Immune System

People suffering from an impaired immune system can improve their condition considerably by using
colloidal silver on a daily maintenance dose and by increasing intake should infections occur. More and more people develop allergies to conventional antibiotics or suffer from severe side-effects, when taking them, which outweigh their benefits. Colloidal silver can be a real, valuable alternative route to fighting infections for them when conventional, modern antibiotics fail altogether, as is increasingly the case, Reports on efficiency of colloidal silver where people already given up by their medical doctors have benefited from this alternative antibiotic are not rare. Especially cases of viral infections and fungal or yeast infections being mistakenly or unknowingly treated with conventional antibiotics (that only kill specific bacteria) are commonplace.

The rediscovery of colloidal silver as an all-round germ fighter comes at a time when mankind and nature in general are prone to an ever faster mutating spectrum of pathogens. The hepatitis virus e.g. has mutated from hepatitis A and B to C,D,E,F,G and H in less than a decade. Some researchers fear, that the backlash of nature on man's conceited victory over disease will have disastrous consequences for all of us.
The misguided use of conventional. modern antibiotics for useless treatments of common ailments like sore throats (that are most usually caused by viruses) and in animal husbandry are repeatedly being addressed as a cause to this effect in the public newspapers. Colloidal silver might help to bring about change and should be promoted by everyone who has benefited from its use.

Dosage For Chronic or Serious Conditions

Reportedly the daily intake has to be doubled or tripled for a period of at least 40 days to tackle chronic infections. Make sure to have enough colloidal silver to maintain such a dosage for the required time, because stopping intake before the infection has completely disappeared will almost always result in a new infection. Whereas conventional antibiotics are acting quickly, colloidal silver may take a longer course of treatment. This was one of the reasons, why it was abandoned in the 40's.
It is widely recommended to drop to the daily maintenance dose after the infection is gone.

Same dosage appears to be sufficient for serious illnesses. Do not overdose for a start, because if pathogens are killed too quickly the body's eliminatory channels may become temporarily overloaded with their debris, resulting in flu-like conditions, headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea or aching muscles. This is known as the Herxheimer- Effect. Some people also refer to this as a healing crisis.
Ease off on the colloidal silver to the maintenance dose and increase water intake.
Regular bowel movements are a must to relieve the discomforts of detoxification. Resolve to reduce
sugar and saturated fats from the diet and exercise more. Given the opportunity, the body's natural
ability to heal itself will amaze you.

Though it is virtually impossible to overdose with true colloidal silver (see Product Quality), as to receive an amount of elemental silver considered toxic from a 10 ppm true colloidal silver product would require you to ingest approximately 250 litres in a couple of weeks, do not overuse it unnecessarily. One tablespoon full of IOppm true colloidal silver will contain approximately 100 meg elemental silver
in 10 mil of liquid. This must be considered a sufficient maintenance dose for the average adult. A multiple daily dose on top of this is certainly a therapeutic dose and should only be taken to treat serious or chronic infections for as long as it is necessary to overcome them.

Silver - The Missing Nutrient?

In 1940, R.A.Kehoe reported that under normal circumstances, the average daily intake of fruit and vegetables would provide between 50-100 meg of silver as trace element. Since that time, the commercial farm soils of western industrialised countries have become extremely deficient in trace minerals. It can be speculated that since the levels of soil based minerals in North America have dropped over 85% since 1900 (according to the Earth Summit report issued in 1992),
Our ancestor's diet used to contain trace silver but undoubtedly our diet today has greatly reduced levels of silver due to decreasing trace elements within the soil

That said, it should not be assumed that electro-colloidal silver is equivalent to or has the same metabolic effect as receiving silver from our diet. Research in this field is missing completely. Take any of the books on nutrition and look for silver in the index, you will not find it listed there. Small scale research on colloidal silver used on plants and animals, "healthy" and "diseased", however is showing astonishing results and it can be suggested that silver is of major importance to the growth and maturing of plants and animals.
Bio-dynamic farming takes the importance of "bio-metals" into account to some extent but sadly is the only agricultural practice in western civilisation that is doing so. The importance of the quality of all of life's building stones is recognised and resulting in a practice of rebuilding Nature's cycles. Many more activities in this wide opening field of research and practice are urgently necessary and will
certainly be addressed with the re-awakening and growing interest in the workings of Nature.

When man started to burn the primeval forests for room, the bio-mass contents stayed on the land as ashes and thus became available to man's crops, but then he started to remove the forests' timber for building, construction of ships, mining and power generation. This was when the cycle was broken for the first time. The bio-mass contents were removed from the land and went missing. Then with modern civilisation we accustomed ourselves furthermore with stopping to bring back our faeces to the soil as our ancestors used to do. This second time the loss was irretrievable: Flushing one of the earth's noblest content, along with all those trace elements, down the drain.
Modern agriculture only brings back to the fields, what agro-industry and modem science supporting it recognise as necessary for plant growth, but of course not those intrinsic building stones of health, all of the biosphere's trace elements, that are being lost continually through our mindless actions.

Since there are very few plant sources of trace silver available today and resourcing them might actually destroy the very basis of their existence, colloidal silver is most probably the best elemental substitute for dietary silver we have left.

Tolerance to Disease Organisms

It is impossible for single-celled germs to mutate into silver-resistant forms, as happens with conventional antibiotics. Therefore no tolerance to colloidal silver ever develops. Also, colloidal silver cannot interact or interfere with other medicine being taken. Inside the body, colloidal silver forms no toxic compounds nor reacts with anything other than pathogens. It is a truly safe natural remedy and a great alternative to conventional treatments.

Colloidal Silver in Advance of Illness

When taken orally each day and applied topically when there is a skin problem, it is like having a second immune system. Older folks feel younger because their body's energies are used for other than fighting disease and digestion is better.
Medical research has shown that silver promotes rapid healing, with less scar tissue. even in case of severe bums or deep cuts.
Fantastic successes have been reported in many cases previously given up by established doctors.
Colloidal Silver is almost tasteless, does not sting sensitive tissues and won't upset your stomach. It is absolutely non-toxic except to pathogens and it is not addictive.

Other Uses of Colloidal Silver

Colloidal Silver works just as well for pets of all kinds. Used in proportion to body weight it brings the
same sure results safely. On plants just add some to the water or soil and they will do the rest.
You can also use colloidal silver to preserve food. Spray it on fruit and vegetables and it will keep them from browning, or add it to milk and other diary products to prolong their shelf-life.

More than 650 Diseases

The following is a partial list of the more than 650 diseases that colloidal silver has been successfully used against: acne, AIDS, allergies, appendicitis, arthritis, athlete's foot. bladder inflammation, blood parasites, blood poisoning, boils, burns, cancer, candida, choicral colitis. colds, cold sores, conjunctivitis, cystitis, dermatitis, diabetes, dysentery, eczema, fibrositis, the common flu, gastritisl gingivitis, gonorrhoea. hay fever, hepatitis, herpes, impetigo, indigestion, keratitis, leprosy. leukaemia, lupus, lymphangitis, Lyme disease, malaria, menengitis, neurasthenia, parasitic infections viral, fungal and bacterial pneumonia. pleurisy, prostate pruritus ani, psoriasis, purulent opthalmia rhinitis, rheumatism, ringworm, salmonella infection. scarlet fever, septic conditions ofthe eyes, ears, mouth and throat. seborrhea, septicaemia, shingels, sinusitis, sore throat, skin ulcers, staphilococcus and streptococcus infections. stomach flu. syphilis, thyroid, tuberculosis, tonsillitis, toxaemia, trachoma, all forms of viruses. warts, whooping cough, yeast infections,
stomach ulcer, canine parovirus and other veterinary uses and all fungal bacterial or viral attacks on plants.

Colloidal silver is emerging as one of the wonders of science that the medical establishment is just beginning to rediscover it's being used in bone surgery in the United Statesand in 70% of US burns units; Swiss biochemists are studying silver's ability to interrupt the cellular replication of HIV at various stages, and in Canada, Switzerland and the US, doctors use various forms of silver to treat a multitude of infections.

Article by John T. Wilson
In one of the Monty Python books there is a comic advertisement for the spoof Welsh self-defence art Llap Goch in which it was pointed out that it was so powerful that you would be able to attack and disable your enemy before he had even thought of attacking you! It is a thought that those who have been mugged in the street relish, for even if the police are informed and the attackers caught (unlikely) you have still suffered the attack, with all the pain, loss and trauma involved. Our attempts to defend ourselves against illness are a bit like that - the enemy illness strikes, we call in the doctor, who gives us a prescription for antibiotics and we mop up the remaining symptoms with it, wishing we had been able to avoid catching the illness in the first place. Why can't we take the antibiotic first? Interestingly, genetic engineers have recently been working on research to deal with the hundreds of bacteria which threaten our health by altering one of the bacterial enzymes (called RnaseP) so that their resistance to antibiotics is lowered. In the fight against disease, medicine is increasingly coming up against bacteria which have developed resistance to modern antibiotics, and these "super bugs" represent a great threat to health as they multiply and spread. The result is a worrying increase in the incidence and virulence of traditional viral and bacteria-caused diseases which we thought we had all but conquered- tuberculosis, bronchitis, candida, diphtheria, dysentery, meningitis, salmonella infection, etc. Modern antibiotics have, of course, other disadvantages. You cannot buy them over the counter, so, for those ailments such as colds, flu and other minor infections, you have to make a doctor's appointment, sometimes waiting for two or three days before you can get a prescription - by which time the infection has virtually run its course. Also, many people are allergic to various modem antibiotics and suffer side effects that can be as bad (if not worse!) than the original complaint. In fact evidence is now emerging that in some instances antibiotics are implicate in the increase in some forms of serious illness. A team of specialists in Gloucester found that in towns with meningitis clusters there were 50% more prescriptions for antibiotics and nine times more cases of B group bacterial meningitis than in comparative towns with a lower incidence of the disease. While the team has been unable to conclude that the greater frequency of antibiotic prescriptions is actually responsible for the increased incidence of meningitis, it did conclude that there are strong reasons for further investigation. However similar enquiries in the United States and France suggest that antibiotics may kill pH neutral bacteria in the respiratory tract which are natural protectors against meningitis. More disturbing, perhaps, is a report in Newsweek Magazine which stated that in the USA 13,000 hospital patients died of infections that resisted every drug that the doctors tried. More and more people are becoming disillusioned by the "take this prescription" syndrome which is the hallmark of modern medicine, which waits until a disease develops and then simply prescribes a dose of powerful antibiotics. This is a short sighted policy, particularly when we know that continually taking antibiotics weakens our resistance to illnesses in the long term and plays havoc with our immune system - the body's natural defence. The immune system is a highly complicated group of mechanisms (antibodies, antitoxins and white blood cells) that go into action to protect the body from invasion or attack by foreign or harmful organisms. There is increasing evidence that over-prescribing of antibiotics can lead to damage to the immune system and its ability to respond effectively to infections and other threats. Added to this is the ever-increasing threat from free radicals Free floating molecules within the body that seek to attach themselves to healthy cells causing the damage known as oxidisation which leads to cell and tissue degeneration and disease. Many scientists and researchers believe that it is this process which is the root cause of many of the degenerative diseases such as arthritis, rheumatism, heart disease - perhaps even cancer and AIDS. Given the above, it is not surprising that in the UK we now spend £1.4 billion in over-the-counter medicines, from vitamins and herbal preparations to non-prescription drugs and potions, as Mintel has reported recently. Another survey by MORI also showed that 47% of 1,000 adults interviewed said they were more likely to buy over-the-counter drugs for self-treatment than they were two years ago. Significantly, more than half the adult population were shown to suffer from colds, flu, headaches, coughs, sore throats, stuffy noses, indigestion, chapped lips and diarrhoea - and these are the areas where both prescription medication and alternative medicines are most used. The interest in natural and holistic approaches to health is growing in pace, with an increasing recognition of the importance of a positive approach to health through a better diet, regular exercise and a return to some of the traditional ways of keeping illness at bay. One of these, you will be pleased to know, works on the Monty Python principle of attacking a wide range of illnesses before they even think of attacking you! In other words, there is something you can do to give yourself prior protection against a whole range of bacteria and viral-caused infections and illnesses before they strike you down. Interestingly, this is based on a substance used by the ancient Creeks and Romans, and later by the Wild West settlers, to keep liquids pure- silver. While it is thought that silver was used as a remedy in ancient Egypt, the first written mention oi its use in a medical context is found in a pharmacopoeia published in Rome in 69B(:, while the first clear record of its use as a medical agent is in the writings of the Mohammedan
School founded by Geber (702-765AD). Much later, in 1834, the German obstetrician E Crede used a one per cent solution of silver (silver nitrate) on the eyes of new-born children, virtually eliminating the incidence of blindness from disease in new-born babies Among many other results reported by medical researchers and practitioners was that of Mark Howell, who wrote in the British Medical journal in 1917 of his successful use of colloidal silver for septic renditions of the mouth (including pyorrhoea nlveoiari.z - Rigg's Disease), throat (including Meniere's symptoms and closure of Valsalva's inflation and in generalised septicaemia, leucorrhoea, cystitis, whooping cough and shingles.

Dr Robert Becker noticed a correlation between low levels of silver in the body (the human body naturally contains about .001% silver derived from the soil through the food we eat) and their vulnerability to ailments, concluding, since those with low silver levels were frequently sick, had innumerable colds, flu, fevers and other sicknesses, that a silver deficiency in the body was the reason for the improper functioning of the immune system. "What we have actually done", says Becker, "was rediscover the fact that silver killed bacteria, which has been known for centuries. When antibiotics were discovered, clinical uses for silver were discarded." Further extensive research carried in the early years of this century and in the 1970s and 1980s established colloidal silver (minute particles of silver suspended electronically in a pure water solution) as a highly effective agent against over 650 pathogens, with none of the side effects found with the powerful modern antibiotics. For example, in 1910, Dr Henry Crooks, a pioneer in colloidal chemistry wrote that: Certain metals, when in a colloidal state, have a highly gennicidal action but are quite harmless to human beings... it may be applied in a much more concentrated form and with better results... Bronchial tuberculosis. What we have actually done", says Becker "was rediscover the fact that silver killed bacteria, which has been known for centuries. When antibiotics were discovered, clinical uses for silver were discarded."

losis... Staphylococrus pyogenes, various Streptococci and other pathogenic organisms are all killed in three to four minutes: in fact, no microbe is known that is not killed by this colloid in laboratory experiment in six minutes, (and) the concentration of the (silver) does not exceed twenty-five parts per million...". (There is, in fact, a small number of silver resistant bacteria which have so far been documented, including: Cifrobacter Freundii Enterobacter Cloacae; enterobacteriacea (some strains); Escherchia Cell (some strains); Klebsiclla pneumonize P. Stunteri (some strains); Proteus Mirabilis; and Vegetative B. Cereus Spores.) That assessment has been borne out by all later research - indeed NASA, in common with over half the world's airlines. uses silver to provide its space crews with safe drinking water. It would seem that the researches of the genetic engineers referred to earlier in this article could be largely wasted effort, given that, for most practical purposes, the problem has already been solved (but subsequently forgotten about) over eighty years ago. Silver began its more recent comeback in the 1970s when the late Dr Carl Moyer, Chairman of the University of Washington's Department of Surgery was given a grant to develop improved treatment for burn victims. Dr Harry Margraf of St Louis, the chief biochemist working in the programme under Dr Moyer, tested 22 antiseptic compounds, finding drawbacks to all of them until he focussed on colloidal silver, which proved to be the most effective and is now used in all major burn centres throughout the world.
In 1971 Dr E. Henderson, Professor of Microbiology at Temple University's School of Medicine reported his experiments which tested colloidal silver's ability to block production of HIV in human
T-cell Lymphocytes (white blood cells). At very low doses the colloidal silver dramatically blocked viral production with little, if any, toxicity. With the widespread loss of confidence in the medical establishment, at least as far as everyday ailments and medications are concerned, people are increasingly taking more responsibility for their own health, returning to folk and herbal medicines and realising the importance of preventative health care. The growing interest in the benefits of colloidal silver is part of this general move towards taking responsibility for one's own health rather than waiting to be cured once illness has been allowed to take hold. The experts, who have revived interest in this effective, traditional cure-all recommends taking approximately a teaspoonful of colloidal silver a day. This has the effect of strengthening the immune system and giving protection against a wide range of disease- causing organisms. Colloidal silver can also be added to plant water to prevent disease and kill mould and various other harmful organisms and can be sprayed on fruits and vegetables to keep them from turning brown through oxidisation.

Colloidal silver is emerging as one of the wonders of science that the medical establishment is just beginning to rediscover. It's being used in bone surgery in the United States and in 70%~of US burns
units; Swiss biochemists are studying silver's ability to interrupt the cellular replication of HIV at various stages; and in Canada, Switzerland and the US, doctors use various forms of silver to treat a multitude of infections. Silver can save lives and, on a less dramatic but nonetheless important scale, it can keep us free of many of the irritating and debilitating illnesses that modern antibiotics are becoming increasingly powerless to ward off. Silver has always been a synonym for wealth; now, it appears it has equal importance as a determinant of health.

References
· Colloidol Silver, the Antibiotic Aternative, Canty 8
Baronowski, Association for Advanced Colloidal
Research, Oregon.
· The Body Electric and Cross Currents .R. Becker .MD.
· Colloidal Silver, Where Hove You Been!. Iris A.
Moore.The New Timer, Seattle WA. May 1994.
· Remembering the Wonder Cure Time forgot
colloidal Silver Onita d'Raye, Ten Minute Read
Company,Oregon. 1996.
· More News on Silver .Leonard Herrchbeg.John
Hopkins Hospital.
· Colloidal Silver, the Hidden Truths. Keith F.
Courtenay
· Antibacterial Efficiency of Colloidal Silver Compkx,
L. Bretano 8 H. Margraf. Surgicol Forvm.Vol. 17.
1966.bp 7678.
· The Molecular Mechanics of Copper and Silver ion
Dizinfktion of Bocterio ond Vinrser. 4 B.Thurmm
& C. Fl Cerba. paper presented at the Firn
International Conference on Gold and Silver in
Medicine;The Silver Institute,Wath.Yol. 18,4,4
295-302, 1989.

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 3 replies

Plant Spirits and herbal ways

2004-08-12T05:50:03Z

Hi, I also joined this tribe because I was invited, not because I consider myself an herb "teacher." We all teach each other and we are all babies in learning.

But we are all, I think, experienced enough in the use of herbs to have some knowledge to share with others. (Me, I have never had health insurance, so I have always had to take responsibility for my own health care, and herbs have been a big part of that.) And some reflections came to me that I wanted to share with other herbal-experienced people.

I really appreciate the fact on that the herb-oriented tribes I belong to here, most people who post seem plant-oriented. What I mean is that, if you notice, for a lot of people nowadays, taking an herb means first thing running out to the drugstore and looking for a bottle of pills with that herb's name printed on it.

It is not that I am against taking herbs in capsule form. If I cannot get a particular plant any other way, I would do that, except that the capsules are absurdly expensive and I more or less live money-free as much as possible.

But, I would consider that to be a last resort. The first resort would be to find the herb growing wild. The second resort would be to cultivate it. The third resort would be to buy the herb in loose form. The fourth resort would be to buy an herb in teabag form. The last resort of all would be to buy the plant in a bottle.

The reason is because each successive "resort" means a little less direct contact with the plant and its spirit, to me. When you find the plant growing where it has chosen to grow, she has a very united relationship with all the beings around her, a kind of special strength there. Even though to me a cultivated plant has slightly less power, it is sort of made up for if you develop a close relationship with the plant through her life cycle. The plant may have less power but you can tap into it more so it's a trade-off. And some plants really enjoy that cultivation relationship.

Next, buying dried loose herbs in bulk. I used to do this. It used to be easy to find -- loose bulk herbs were available in every herb store and health food store. I used to buy herbs in bulk if I couldn't find them or grow them. You don't get to see them through their growing cycle, but you can still handle and touch and smell them. You are in touch with the fact that these are leaves, or pieces of bark, or pieces of root.

About 25 years ago, a lot of herbs started becoming available in teabag form as well. Aside from the much greater expense that way, you can't touch the herbs when they are inside teabags. You can smell them but you still have less sense of it being a living plant.

Then I noticed that the plants available in teabag form started disappearing from being available in bulk form.

And then capsules started coming in. And you can't even =smell= the herb in a capsule. Well, you sort of can. When I have herbal capsules, I still can see the color of the contents and smell it a little bit. But I think that some of the people who buy herbal capsules don't even do that much. It's like a pharmaceutical drug you get in a pill. I ask myself, what is the point of taking an herb if you can't get in touch with the Plant spirit? You might as well take something synthetic in that case -- what other difference is there?

Now, some years ago I got a shock. I was with someone in a store and I saw some herbal capsules that sold some very common herb, think it was something like red clover or chickweed, something you could pick anywhere. I laughed at the thought that someone would pay those prices for a plant you could go out and pick. My companion said -- "I'D RATHER BUY IT." Those words stunned me. The revelation that in the dominant culture, given a =choice= between a direct relationship with the plant and one mediated by money, given a choice between seeing and touching the Plant in her own world and talking to it, thanking it, maybe singing to it as you pick it (and giving it a tobacco offering if you follow our ways, but I know that many non-Indians have been taught a negative attitude toward tobacco) .... anyway, given a choice between that and buying the plant in a form that you never have to touch it, smell it, look at it or even think about who the plant is as a being.... that even with a plant that is so easy to find and recognize that you could find it with almost no effort, some people would PREFER to spend a lot of money buying the herb in a form disguised as a pharmaceutical pill. They PREFER that!!!! It's not their LAST resort, it is their FIRST resort! This revelation stunned me.

But, I think that those people are the herbal =consumers=. I mean, I thought about it, and if some people have a consumerist relationship with the world in every other respect, they would automatically as a reflex think of herbal medicine in a consumerist way too. But those of us who actually use herbs in our lives, I think that we are almost always people who have a more or less direct relationship with the plants.

Connected to this, I have always felt as though anything I learned from the plants directly from another human being who has direct experience with a particular plant is more valuable than anything from books. When I recommend a plant to someone, I say whether I have first-hand experience with it (and describe what that experience is), whether I know other people with first-hand experience with it, or whether I have only read about it through a book with no confirmation in my experience or that of anyone I know personally. This may be because, as a Native person of Turtle Island, I know how inaccurate written sources may be, and I never take any book source about indigenous culture to be accurate except to the extent that I can back it up with personal experience. But I know that in the dominant culture, books are often taken as being "better" sources of knowledge than personal experience.

Money and writing -- two ways of removing us a distance from direct experience.

Just some thoughts, was interested in the thoughts of other herbal "teachers" here.

Gayle

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 6 replies

welcome

2004-08-05T18:07:58Z

so the birthing cry bubbles forth, bring your stories, questions, friends, photos, ponderences, post till ya can,t post no more. Its summer herbs are everywhere, happy gathering..currently I am stalking the elusive sassafrass..shhh

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 3 replies

good books and authors

2004-08-02T20:41:22Z

BACK TO EDEN, GREEN WITCH, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MAGICAL HERBS, NECOBS FIELD GUIDE, GREYS MANUAL OF BOTANY. ANYMORE

posted in HIA -Healers In Action - 1 reply