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Old dog, new tricks for longevity.

Longevity in dogs.

jerry

Large dogs are prone to health problems. I’m told that the majority don’t live past 11 or 12 years of age. It’s rare to get to 13 and above.

Today our Doberman, Jerry, celebrates his 14th birthday, and he’s not doing too badly. Yes, he’s slowed down a lot, but he still jumps pretty well, and loves his daily walks.

A year ago, though, he wasn’t looking so good, and I was a little worried that his days were coming to an end, so I used a trick I had used on my German Sheppard.

I put half a cap full of Swedish Bitters into his drinking water every day, and then every other day.

The results certainly seemed to speak for themselves, as he did get that extra perk, and he stopped stumbling when walking and had more vigour.

Back in 1994, my German Sheppard, Gypsy, was also displaying the symptoms of Hips Dysplasia, and could barely walk 10 paces without collapsing. As it was, I had been reading about the benefits of Swedish Bitters the day it started, and figured that if it was supposedly so good for human, it would be good for my dog, too.

So, I did the half a cap full in the water every day, and within a few days, he stopped stumbling, and within a week, he was running about like he was 12 again. He lived another 2 years in good health, until he just finally reached a point where I needed to euthanize him.

Jerry, the Doberman,  has been looked well after, and we take him on monthly chiropractic visits, which also help, but the Swedish Bitters appear to have given him the edge.

Curiously enough, no one takes much notice when I tell them this information, in spite of the longevity in the dogs I’ve given it to.

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Depression Series – Anti-depressants or how depressing, they’re screwing me up.

Anneli Rufus

Anti-depressants

It’s fortunate that depression is finally recognized as a real problem.

There are help lines out there, organizations (Where I live, there is one called Beyond Blue, which is a wonderful initiative) and they are developing drugs to help us cope.

Medical treatment is still in the early stages, though, in my opinion, but at least they are doing something.

That being said, I have tried anti-depressants. I was going through a terrible time, and my partner at the time suggested I see a doctor. He prescribed them to me. I tried several types, but found they did not work for me.

What I found was that it seemed to cut me off from my empathy, and I felt like I was walking around in a vacuum. I also found that it has a negative effect on my moods and certainly didn’t like my body. It was a very unpleasant experience.

I know that anti-depressants certainly help people, but I suspect that many empaths are not doing themselves any favours by taking them.

They mask the symptoms, not heal the causes.

If you are on anti-depressants, do not go off them without medical advice. It can harm you.

As mentioned, I believe that the Bach Flower Remedies would help many with dealing with depression. Personally, I know I’d be a basket case many times over without them. For those who are interested, I will start blogging about them, and all the ways they can be used to help heal depression soon.

The remedies do work well with any other type of treatment, and this is because they don’t work on a physical level, so they are not like homeopaths, drugs, aromatherapy, and the like, each of which has their own particular set of dangers.

That being said, if you wish to try the Bach Flower Remedies, it’s important to note that they are preserved in alcohol. While the remedy itself is completely safe to take, and does not work on a physical level, some people cannot tolerate alcohol.

There are some solutions to this:

You can dilute the remedies into a dropper bottle of water, and then put 4 drops into a glass of water. The alcoholic content is said to be too small to measure.

You can rub the remedies on your wrist or temples or other pressure points. That does seem to work. My partner responds amazingly well, and she’s sensitive to alcohol.

You can try making your own remedies. There are books on that subject.

I understand that the Bach Centre is making non-alcoholic versions of the remedies. Most certainly they have put out Rescue Remedy in different forms now.

If anti-depressants are working for you, then this is a good thing. I just have spoken to too many for whom they do not work for, and they are in an even bigger mess.

Whatever you do, make sure you know exactly what you are doing. Find out as much about them as you can. This is your body and your quality of life you are dealing with.

Depression is an epidemic and not understood enough yet. But it can be cured. I’m living proof of that. (And others I’ve treated, too.)

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Spirit Guides – Part 7 – There are voices in my head (and they don’t like you!)

Contacting your guides – Part 1

The following blog  is a 8 part series on Spirit Guides, my experiences, and what you might do in order to contact your own. 

Enjoy

The heading is flippant, but couldn’t resist.

From time to time, I’m asked how someone can get in contact with their guides. All I can do is pass on my own personal experience.

I’ve always had thoughts in my head. Sometimes they might be my own, of course, but much of the time they feel different, as though they are more rarefied.  In both cases, they are a voiceless voice:  Thoughts that come to my mind without any logical connection or volition on my part. The energy attached to each one is quite distinct though. The best I can put it is that it’s like listening to different musical notes. Each one sounds quite unique.

I’ve had two main kinds of communications of this sort.

The first is just a general conversation, like you would have with a 3D person.  This is a very interesting experience as it’s like carrying a chat partner around with you 24/7. This type of chat tends to be mostly discussing philosophy, teaching me information I need to know or just giving me insights. I used to spend a lot of time arguing with them in the early years, even before I acknowledged them as guides. I don’t do this much anymore.

Every ‘but’ stops you from becoming who you wish to be.

I also find that the conversations come through strongest when I’m walking, or am in certain areas such as a closed off room. Also, I get my strongest messages when having a shower.

The second kinds of communication are short messages.

These are often just a few words long, but will repeat over and over until I understand the message. This can and has taken years in some cases. It also seems that no sooner do I comprehend one message that it gets replaced with another. As an example, one of the most prolific ones I had, which would lasted a good seven or so years were the continual words: “Who are you?” and “You are the phoenix.” (for those who know me, that message will make sense.)

I got these many times an hour, every day until I made sense of it. I must admit, I’m a bit slow as I never noticed the two statements as being connected.

I find the best way to talk to my guides is to ask the question and then let things come naturally. Trying to force an answer will result in no answer or an answer that comes from your own thoughts.

A forced answer tends to be a tainted answer, especially if you have an attachment to the answers. The more you push, the further away it becomes.

I often find that when someone asks me: What do you guides say? I try to get an answer, but I don’t hear them. It’s actually pretty annoying, but the moment I relax, information starts to come through.

In my case, I get those short messages every time my guard is down and when I’m chatting with my guides, I treat them as though I’m chatting with another person. When you have a conversation, you say your piece, but you don’t have to focus on making the other person respond, they either will or they won’t. If they do, it will take no effort on your part.

Many people often dismiss guides as their own imaginings. What they fail to understand is that sometimes your imagination can be used as a means of communication.

Of course, this does not automatically mean that everything you receive is from another entity or if it is, it’s automatically true. In fact, you may find the opposite to be true.

Always run the words and the source past your feelings. If something resonates, then it’s right for you. If it doesn’t, then take a closer look.

Next: Other ways of communicating. 

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I’m having a bad day and I DON’T want to talk about it!

Sometimes things don’t go right. You know those days where everything seems to go wrong in clumps?

You might have had a rotten night’s sleep and the traffic was unusually bad on the way to work. Your car chooses that day to develop some problem. Your co-worker or staff rings in sick so you end up having to do their work and yours, but problems that never happened before (or since) occur when you’re at your busiest, stopping you from getting what you need to do done… and so on.

I’m sure most of us, if not all have those days.

And I’m sure that most of us are tired, grumpy and just over it by the time they get home.

All you want to do is just zone out, rest, or do something that will amuse you or make you happy.

However, there are people who want to talk to you, and that is the last thing you want to do right then. You tell them, I’m sorry, I’ve had a really crappy day and I’ll deal with this tomorrow.

Then they’ll say, do you want to talk about it? You tell them no, but they insist, saying it might help.

No, what will help is if you leave me alone, and give me time to rest and re-centre! And no, I don’t want to friggin’ talk about it today. I just want to let it go and move on!

People certainly mean well when they want to help, but unless someone has asked for that help, then it’s certainly best not to try and insist on giving it.

Probably the best thing to say to someone who’s had a bad day is: Understood. You know where I am if you need me. (End of communication.)

We are surprisingly resilient, and get over our bad days pretty fast. We know what we need to do and as long as we’re left alone to do it, we will be fine the next day.

Bad days happen and it’s all okay.

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Depression Series: – Exhaustion or I’m too tired to read this right now.

Many depressed people have more than just depression going on with them. They also suffer from exhaustion.

I’m not talking about the kind of gosh-I’ve-been-up-all-night-and-I-really-need-to-get-some-rest type of exhaustion, I’m taking about long term, utter weariness, where everything is a struggle and just getting up and facing a new day is a challenge that is almost insurmountable.

This weariness saps our strength, our internal fortitude, and our resolve to get a move on. Worse, it adds to the depression because it means when we have to deal with things, we don’t have the energy to do so.

Exhaustion is that will make you collapse on in on yourself.

It also triggers the self-recrimination, victim process, and you become very hard, and self-depreciating. You may well blame yourself for all the things you can’t do because you’re tired, and feel that you need to go to extremes in your behavior to change things.

All the while, you know, in the very back of your mind, that you’re in a victim / poor me cycle, and you’re hoping others will notice your extreme behavior and understand that you are pushed way past your limits, and probably can’t take much more before you implode.

This is a very, very serious state to be in, and rest and renewing energies are what is needed. Unfortunately, for some, even proper sleep is a luxury rather than something that just happens.

Those with sleep disorders will be quite prone to this type of depression.

Depression is a drain on the soul, and that leads to the exhaustion people feel.

Exhaustion leads to greater depression, which in turn causes even more drain on the soul.

You can see it’s a vicious circle and one that is very hard to break out of because many other emotions tend to kick in extreme, almost undefinable levels, such as guilt, terror, panic, and the feeling of being a victim.

We are so screwed up as a society that we would rather people repress their emotions and not bother anyone than seek to heal the causes that produce such things.

This has to change.

This will change.

Even if we do it one person at a time.