Then one day, I became defiantly angry. I was sick and tired of always being sick and tired. I decided to take back my own medical power, and began to learn to take responsibility for my own health. I signed up for an herbalist certification course and learned to make my own medicines out of the roots, stems, and leaves of common plants. I threw away all of my pills.
Over the next several years I studied and read everything I could find on holistic medicine. My study of western herbalism helped me to replace chemicals with plant-based medicines, but eventually I realized that I was still only treating symptoms. I wanted to learn differential diagnosis techniques that would help me to uncover the source of a condition rather than just treat the surface issues. That desire led to my discovery of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I learned that it was possible to tell what is wrong with someone by checking their pulse and the condition of their tongue. I found that Chinese Medicine is geared toward keeping people healthy rather than treating symptoms after they get sick, and that aspect really appealed to me. My subsequent study of Chinese Herbalism led me to discover that food could be used as a healing modality; many chronic conditions can be managed simply by eating the correct food in the correct combinations. I learned that if we eat properly, if we listen to the wisdom of our body and honor its natural rhythms we will never need medicine, herbal or otherwise.
It was during the course of this period of study that I found myself in the lobby of the Washington Institute of Natural Medicine in Washington, DC. I had taken a job working for an interior designer and had left Florida to live in a studio office on Connecticut Avenue, right across the street from the school. I knew that fate had intervened. As I was there, asking for information about the curriculum, the woman standing beside me kept staring at me. It was really annoying. I was about to turn to her to say something rude, when she said, "You lost a baby." Excuse me?
I had, indeed, lost a baby. I was still grieving that loss. I had had a daughter about ten years before who was stolen by her father when she was four. For years I didn't know where she was, and the pain and guilt of that almost killed me. Then, ten years later, I found myself pregnant again, but the pregnancy had to be terminated at 5 months because of severe malformation, or whatever. Little Heather. I was devastated; I finally get up the courage to have another child and that one also gets ripped away. Clearly, I was meant only to be teased by the notion of having children of my own, but never to be a mother. Fine. I was dealing ... or so I thought.
"You lost a baby." She repeated. "It was a few years ago, but it's still the biggest thing about you. It is eating up all your energy. It is the reason you are sick." OK. She had my attention now. She apologized, saying she was only there to make an appointment, but my grief over my children was so huge that she just had to say something. She also told me to concentrate on my adrenals, because that was the root of all the issues. "How do you know all of this?" I asked. "I don't know. I just do."
That was my first experience with a medical intuitive. I didn't yet know the term, and didn't know that there were others out there like her who could sense a body's imbalances so they could be addressed. But I was fascinated at the concept, and wanted to know how I could learn to do that myself. The woman -- I never learned her name -- also told me some other, private, things that helped me to begin the process of healing from the pain of my losses. I will always owe her a great debt, and it made me wish that I had the ability to do that for others.
Years later, I discovered Carolyn Myss, and learned that she was called a Medical Intuitive. I was fascinated as I listened to the story of how she discovered and then learned to develop her intuitive diagnostic skills. I wished that I could make an appointment with her, to learn from her. Then last year, I met Rev. Jane Warner at Heaven Sent Wellness Institute in Melbourne, Florida. I visited Jane at the Institute, and she showed me her healing room. She had me lay on the table and waved her medicine stick over me, like some kind of Native American Cat Scan. As she moved the stick over certain areas of my body, she told me what she could sense about where I was imbalanced and what issues I needed to be working on. Clearly, I saw that medical intuition was not just a freak thing: many more people than I realized have that ability. I wanted very much to learn how to develop it in myself.
They say that if you keep asking the right questions you will eventually get an answer. In two weeks I will be attending the Hay House I Can Do It Conference in Tampa, Florida. One of the break-out sessions that I signed up for is being taught by Caroline M. Sutherland, and is called "The Body Knows." The program guide told me that I would be learning how to listen to my body's wisdom. Af friend heard that I was signed up for her class, and lent me a copy of her book, which I opened last night.
O M G! as they say. Turns out Caroline Sutherland is a Medical Intuitive. Go figure! And her book is a textbook on how to learn the art of medical intuition. I'm very excited to be getting the opportunity to meet and learn from Miss Sutherland, and can't wait to read her book. As I learn things, I will be sure to share them with you.
Meanwhile, I urge you to take back control of your own health. The last time I briefly had health insurance, I had a complete physical exam performed by a nice young doctor. After the exam, I asked if he had any advice he could give me on staying healthy. He said, "Stay out of doctors' offices. People who go to doctors are always sick." Good advice, doc. And just think of all the money we could save!
This was an excellent article, you have had such an interesting life. The book is yours, I had an extra one, she'll sign it for you if you wish. I like your progression from taking the herbal certification to learning about chinese herbal medicine, and then on to medical intuition. I too no longer take any medications. I let my food be my medicine or, when needed, herbal supplements. You rock, Valerie
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