March 24, 2014

Beyond Diet: Curing Illness and the End of Suffering

Two and a half years ago I was hit by a major illness that changed my life forever, in the best possible way.

I suddenly became very allergic to everything. I also became so sensitive to gluten that if I so much as kissed my boyfriend after he drank a beer, I would go into a "gluten coma" where I would space out, collapse onto the nearest chair/bed/sofa and slur my words, unable to carry on a conversation. I could not digest fruit, meat or grains at all. On top of that I had stomach pain and bloating so bad that some days I could hardly get out of bed. I lost tons of weight, my skin was yellow, my teeth were decaying, and I was utterly exhausted and miserable.

A gastroenterologist diagnosed me with IBS and told me I would be dealing with this the rest of my life. I was prescribed muscle relaxers to relieve my symptoms, but I never filled the prescription because I KNEW that if I kept searching I would find the answer. I saw countless doctors, specialists, healers, alternative healthcare practitioners, naturopaths... all of them genuinely wanted to help and their treatments were necessary steps in my journey, but ultimately none of them could tell me what was REALLY wrong with me. My search turned into an obsession.

Two and a half years later I have my answer, and I can finally say that I'm "all better". I am no longer gluten intolerant, whatsoever. My only remaining allergies are mild egg and soy allergies that I can ignore if I want to (I may get an itchy throat). No more stomach pain or bloating. I can eat anything I want without pain and discomfort. My tooth decay healed and I am back to a healthy weight. Here are a few crucial things I learned on my healing journey that I would like to share with you all:

First of all, diet is indeed important for someone dealing with health issues (especially digestive issues), because eating nutritious and easy-to-digest food can provide much relief and support to a body that is recovering. It must be emphasized however that diet is not the cure, it is only at most a very effective treatment!! After trying countless diets the one I settled on was a ​Weston Price diet (or "Pricean" diet, as the Weston Price community likes to call it!) I got an IgG food sensitivity test done and stopped eating everything I was sensitive/allergic to, including additional foods I noticed were giving me problems, which basically left me with vegetables and seeds. I was able to reintroduce nuts and beans once I learned to soak/sprout them, and dairy once I found a source for grass-fed raw milk (I could not digest pasteurized dairy). Over the next year or so as my digestion strengthened I was able to reintroduce fruit, sprouted grains and pastured meat, and a number of things I was no longer sensitive to. Today I can eat anything, but I still make almost all my food from scratch and follow the Weston Price principles when I can because it makes me feel great, tastes wonderful, and I have a lot of fun doing it.


The Cure

​As I stated above, diet is extremely helpful for supporting the body through its healing, but it is not the cure. I consider a person cured when they no longer need to use certain treatments to keep their symptoms from coming back, even if it's eating a healthy diet, taking herbal medicines, etc.

What cured me was basically finding and applying the answers to the BIG questions: Why are we here? What is our purpose? Why do people suffer and how do we end suffering? When I realized that no scientific literature could satisfy my lust for answers, I dove into spiritual literature. Luckily (or perhaps by fate) I met a number of wonderful "teachers" along the way who set me on the right path so that I could quickly lock on to the most powerful and useful spiritual teachings available today with little meandering. The Disappearance of the Universe and A Course in Miracles taught me everything I needed to know in order to understand what happened to me, and motivated me to apply that knowledge and change the way I see EVERYTHING. I learned just how powerful our mind really is, and I learned that I had chosen and created my symptoms as a way of distracting myself from memories and situations that I thought were too awful for me to handle. Furthermore, I learned that those memories and situations were reflecting back at me exactly who I believed I was.

By practicing Open Focus meditation (developed by Dr. Les Fehmi and outlined in his book The Open Focus Brain) and the unique form of forgiveness taught in DU and ACIM, I am learning to stop fighting my reality and embrace everything - including painful memories, uncomfortable/frustrating situations, physical pain, fears, you name it. All of these painful things have a message they are trying to tell us, if we are willing to listen. They are trying to tell us, "This is not who you are! It is only who you think you are!!!" Run and embrace your emotional and physical pain, because this is the joyful message it is trying to give you! By embracing it, surrendering to it and allowing yourself to feel it, you are letting it show you who you really are, which is powerful, blissful, radiant, immortal, untouchable, unconditional LOVE! Once this message has been communicated, there is no longer a need for the pain and it simply dissolves without a trace. It really is that simple (although nobody said it was easy!) ;)

I want nothing more than to help others heal, so I am hoping that by sharing my story I can inspire others to find out why they are experiencing illness and what their illnesses are really trying to tell them. I recognize that everyone's healing journeys are incredibly unique, however I've made a list of the resources I mentioned in case anyone is interested. And of course, don't hesitate to leave a comment or message me if you'd like to chat! That is why I'm here!! ;)


Highly Recommended Resources

*Note: I can send you electronic versions of Dr. Fehmi's books and CDs for free! Just use my contact page to get in touch with me if you want them!

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4 comments :

  1. Congratulations on healing yourself by diet and spirituality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My 6 (almost 7) year old daughter had the stomach flu for the first time a year ago (then a vaccine two days later) and has since had constant upper stomach pain and is now allergic to nearly everything she used to eat. She can no longer eat any nuts or seeds, soy, peanuts, beans, chickpeas, coconut and now wheat. I’m scared of what she’ll be allergic to next. Even eggs and milk bother her belly although she doesn’t have an immediate allergic reaction. We always had a clean diet,...raw milk, I made much of my own yogurts, sourdough bread which is mostly gluten free, no sugar other than fruits (most fruits now hurt her belly). We had chickens and she used to eat eggs no problem every day. I’ve seen 8 different doctors on several different occasions and still have more questions than answers. The GI specialist can’t test her for anything else and basically told me I’m on my own to figure this out.
      She used to eat everything, never any issue before.

      Delete
  2. My 6 (almost 7) year old daughter had the stomach flu for the first time a year ago (then a vaccine two days later) and has since had constant upper stomach pain and is now allergic to nearly everything she used to eat. She can no longer eat any nuts or seeds, soy, peanuts, beans, chickpeas, coconut and now wheat. I’m scared of what she’ll be allergic to next. Even eggs and milk bother her belly although she doesn’t have an immediate allergic reaction. We always had a clean diet,...raw milk, I made much of my own yogurts, sourdough bread which is mostly gluten free, no sugar other than fruits (most fruits now hurt her belly). We had chickens and she used to eat eggs no problem every day. I’ve seen 8 different doctors on several different occasions and still have more questions than answers. The GI specialist can’t test her for anything else and basically told me I’m on my own to figure this out.
    She used to eat everything, never any issue before.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very interesting post!! You have shared so amazing thing. Thanks for that. I really enjoyed to read it.
    Beyond Diet

    ReplyDelete