alchemy

Can you read this? Either the Chinese characters or the significance in the herbs listed here? You can? Call me. If you don't have my number, you can send a happy thoughtform and just wave. For myself, I've begun to take these herbs while I have some hours ahead in research.

I continue my path of listening as best I can to the Holy Spirit. One of the scores! of my recent cross-country drive was knowing I "needed to do a cleanse." After my 5 days with the great now-friends from Hallelujah Acres in Golden, MO, I became a lover of organic vegan cuisine, more than three-quarters raw as best as I can. I had no intention of becoming a vegan or raw foodie, but hey, I've jumped on the bandwagon and feel pretty darn good in the process.

Another listening decision was wanting to explore Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). As it happened, my core consulting physician at Preventive Medical Center of Marin, Dr. Elson Haas, pointed me in that direction: Call Michael Broffman at the Pine Street Clinic in San Anselmo.

And so I did. After sending him copious pages in advance of our 1-1/2 hour session, scores of paper describing key crossroads in my life and healing journey, after sitting down and taping every brilliant word, after ordering a not insignificant array of herbal supplements from their website and then picking them up, I feel as though my group of allies is becoming more dear. The formula above, which I have just begun taking twice a day, is specifically for AML... that thing which is hacking coarsely on the sidelines while I praise God for today's abundant remission. It is part of a considerable array of healing herbs I had mostly chosen following my own research. They are being wisely fine-tuned by Michael Broffman and, dare I say, the Holy Spirit.

Part of the pile of paperwork I sent him included not only what I had been taking but a list of things I was considering..... suggestions from friends, a link here, another thought there... and for which I was waiting to connect with a California-based healing practitioner. Really now, there are only so many pills I can take in one day. As well I neither wish to fling myself at the feet of ANY human and say, "...just tell me what to do and I'll do it!" nor snort, "Thank you very much, I have this all figured out myself." It's important I find not only a way of living that will enable me to do just that - live! - but to work with people as a team and not just as an obedient and dim-witted patient. I was quietly delighted to hear from Michael, as he looked over my pile of paperwork, "What you're doing now is quite a good program." He then gave me some brilliant guidelines on HOW to choose with wisdom and discernment, which may be another entry. And he made his own suggestions. I nodded. I resonated.

I felt happy to reconnect with Elson Haas and extremely fortunate to connect with one of the core practitioners at Pine Street. Incidentally, if you click on the link, also click on the link for the Pine Street Foundation. There is a wealth of wisdom here!

The Clinic has two cancer-sniffing dogs ambling and lounging in the very Eastern-feeling waiting area, two large and somewhat indifferent-seeming standard poodles. While not a big fan of canines, I did begin to warm when I saw on one of their tags, "Talk to the paw." One of them later scratched at the door to the consulting room while I was with Michael. He let him in. Ling or Ming walked over and began to sniff my calf. "Oh gee," I blanched, "this makes me nervous."

Michael smiled. "Actually, they're trained to sniff out only four types of cancers. Yours is not one of them. Right now, he's just being a dog." And with that, the four-legged plopped down in a corner.

It's not just about the herbs. It's not even just about being a mostly raw vegan. My whole life rewiring has as its core my walk with Christ, from prayer practice to singing in the choir, from how much I give to my church in dollars as well as showing up at social events and moving past my history of nervousness in groups. I invite this spiritual walk with me everywhere, from a crowded 12-Step meeting to picking up the phone. It involves the laborious and not always fun process of catching up with WAY long-avoided paperwork. It involves making my way back into earning an honest crust so I can pay my rent and buy fun furniture for this new casa of mine. It's taking a quiet evening to write this post.

So the healing trek continues. We're past the winter solstice and move towards the spring.

Please pray for Haiti. Send them money if you can.

Alchemy takes disparate bits and turns them into something holy. Once it meant turning lead into gold. For me today, it means gathering up a basket of threads and asking God's breath to make it whole....

.... even beautiful.