Tour of Pharmacy

 
I am once again offering a tour of Helios Homoeopathic Pharmacy. You will learn how homoeopaths make remedies, see some of the crude substance from which we make them and be encouraged to medicate your own remedy.
I have arranged Saturday 8th January 2011 to be set aside for this tour which will start at 2pm and end at 4pm. Please let me know if you would like to join me at Helios Pharmacy, Tunbridge Wells. This is a free event.
Meditation and Spiritual Exploration

This is a six week course I offer to anyone wanting to look at aspects of meditation along with psycho/spiritual exercises as ways of exploring the subconscious. We look at various types of meditation, experience them, reflect on them, question them. We will also use techniques to uncover our subconscious which can be incorporated into our daily life. This is a course of quiet activity and safe exploration. No prior knowledge of meditation is necessary only the willingness to ask ‘Who am I’? ‘Why am I here’? ‘What do I want’?
Cost: £60 for 6 evenings over six weeks starting Tuesday 11 January 2011 from 7.30 – 9.30pm. Spaces are limited to 10 people. Please ring or email if you wish to participate.

Influenza

If you are concerned about the flu but don’t want the flu vaccine (incidentally, this year’s flu vaccine is combined with Swine flu but you won’t be told this unless you ask) I can provide a remedy which you take throughout the winter months. It has been used for the last 100 years. It is a prophylactic and whilst it has no guarantee of success, there are thousands of people who report not contracting the flu if they took this remedy.

Sleep

Now the clocks have changed we have increasing minutes of darkness until the shortest day in December. Different cultures have their festivals to bring in light at this time of year. But Mother Nature says ‘no’. This is how it is. Slow down, rest, and almost hibernate. Mad sounding statements in this 24 hour culture. One of the most common problems I hear from people is concerned with their sleep or lack of it. And, the media reports chronic sleep deprivation as the cause of many mental and physical problems. So let’s talk about sleep hygiene. Well, that’s a bit of a fancy title for something so basic and necessary. A good routine for sleep has to be put in place. Simply try to be in bed at the same time each night. Avoid having a television, mobile phone or computer in your bedroom. Read some uplifting text before going to sleep whether it is poetry, words of wisdom or a soothing novel. Keep the window ajar and wear only natural fibres in bed. It is also wise to sleep in pure cotton bed linen. If you do wake frequently, avoid the temptation to get up or put the light on. It’s boring and frustrating but with a little perseverance these disrupted nights will pass. Keep your room totally dark and if your curtains let in street light, consider lining them with blackout lining. The darkness supports the production of Melatonin which is essential for our immune system. Endeavour to wake each morning at the same time without the aid of an alarm clock. The body is all about rhythm and our goal is to establish this rhythm in sleep, digestion and evacuation. Sleeping at the same time, eating at the same time, and emptying our bowels at the same time indicate a harmonious physiological response. Our sleep can be disrupted in times of worry and anxiety. Try to unravel the worry with the help of counselling or by seeing a homoeopath who will also help with the acute disruption to your sleep by providing remedies.

Inspiring words…..

Author: Jeanette Winterstone
We have all experienced negative darkness – those long stretches of the night when we can’t sleep, and worry about everything, and so we know that “dark time” can seem interminably long, compared with daytime. Yet this slowing of time can be the most relaxing and beautiful experience. Spending the evening in candlelight, and maybe by the fire – with no TV – talking, telling stories, letting the lit-up world go by without us, expands the hours, and alters the thoughts and conversations we have.
I have noticed that when all the lights are on, people tend to talk about what they are doing – their outer lives. Sitting round in candlelight or firelight, people start to talk about how they are feeling – their inner lives. They speak subjectively, they argue less, there are longer pauses.

Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966

For the happiest life, rigorously plan your days, leave your nights open to chance.
Finally……
I am available for appointments at Gaia, Forest Row 01342 822716 on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

Words matter. They are our foremost mode of communication. To say, ‘I have been lucky’ is different in meaning to ‘I am fortunate’. Luck implies randomness, chance, lack of input to the outcome. Fortunate implies that the success is obtained by the operation of favorable circumstances more than by direct effort. Lucky, a more colloquial word, is applied to situations that turn out well by chance: lucky at cards; my lucky day. This may all sound pedantic and anyway, we all know what a person means. Or do we?  I would like to suggest that the words a person chooses to use, tell us more about each other and ourselves than we realise.  Was I fortunate to have been asked to speak at a seminar or lucky?  Well, I had worked at building up a reputation which equals some effort so I would use fortunate as it acknowledges the bit of effort whereas to say I was lucky implies that it was a lottery and me as a person had no influence.

We all know the gradations of sadness. We may say we’re ‘a bit down’, or ‘so, so’.  Neither of which  provokes concern. However, a person reporting, ‘I feel sad’ or I feel depressed’ will evoke a different response. Being more conscious of the words we choose to use not only helps us in our daily life to be understood but it also helps to develop an emotional awareness.

Practicing this awareness will initially feel clumsy. But stick with it. Finding the right words to say what you mean creates a feeling of completeness. We have been clear, hopefully concise and spoken our truth. There is little doubt about the power words can exert and furthermore, how they can reinforce a collective belief which, at times can deny the right to express a personal belief. I’m not talking about big, important issues but the small personal day to day exchanges where we often give away our personal belief to fall in with the collective.

An example I had of this was when I visited my bank to lodge some money and at the same time pay some bills. I laughed as I said ‘In and out’ to the bank clerk . She responded, ‘Yea. its frightening isn’t it’? I was on the verge of agreeing as it seemed easier but I didn’t. I simply replied with my own personal belief ‘Ah no, its not frightening, its just great I can do it’.

I’m sure you are getting the idea. This was my moment to say how I felt without colluding with her fear and maybe many people’s fear about money. I truly believed what I said.

So become aware, stop before you answer and think about the words you want to use and whether you are in agreement or not. Say how you feel. The standard response everyone gives to ‘How are you’? is ‘Fine’. Maybe you are. Maybe you are more than fine. Maybe you feel brilliant or great or top form. Maybe you’re not fine and to say so is not congruent with how you actually feel. Maybe the response could be ‘Not brilliant, but I’ll be OK’  if that’s your true belief or ‘a bit below par’, ‘a bit down’ etc. You know the words you want to use. Don’t worry, you don’t have to go any further  in explaining yourself unless you want to.

Clients are often amazed when I ‘flag-up’ words or terms they have repeatedly used in the consultation. Most of the time we are not aware. That’s ok but its being a bit sleepy in our response to life. Watch your words, not obsessively or in a pedantic manner but observe the words you use to communicate. Its creative, expressive, true and quite liberating.

1. Nature never allows more than one disease e.g measles and muumps to co-exist in the human body. The body simply cannot do this. So why give these childhood diseases in compound shots and how does the body then cope with this onslaught?
2. The main reason for promoting and giving vaccines to young children are simple; one is fear by the parents and the other is straightforward marketing. Get parents to participate when they are still visiting baby clinics and they become  a captive audience.
3. Ask yourself, ‘what’s in it for the doctors and pharmaceutical industry’? The answer is money but I would also say, some doctors truly believe they are being altruistic and  that vaccines are good for humanity.
4. Ask yourself, ‘whats in it for the perople against vaccination?’ Nothing.
From this baseline start doing your research in order to make an informed decision. There are hundreds of websites for and against a vaccine or vaccination programme.
5. Vaccines bypass our natural defence mechanisim. I liken it to leaving the house door wide open at night only to be suddenly woken by burglars at the end of your bed. There has been no warning, no perceptible sense that something was ‘afoot’, no time for preparing a defence. This is what happens with a vaccination.
6. If having done your research you decide to go-ahead with vaccination/s then ensure you have the following information:
The manufacturer’s name
The Batch No
Date of vaccination
The type of vaccination
Where is was administered into the body.
Don’t be passive about asking for this information. If you or your child become ill after receiving a vaccine it is important you report all symptoms to the GP and insist on it being recorded on the Yellow Card system (UK procedure). This system collates all adverse affects of a drug or vaccine in order for the medical and pharmaceutical profession to gauge the efficacy or otherwsie of a drug or vaccine . Frequently this is not used and patients are often ‘fobbed-off’ with a response from the practice that the symptoms are normal. Yes they may be normal but its your child or your own body and if, further on in your life you get the strong impression that you have not been well since, then you have had it recorded at the time of early symptoms. I do not adhere or believe in scare-mongering but it seems almost irreponsible not to know exactly what is being put into your body. If in the future you feel strongly you have suffered adverse affects from the vaccination, you have recorded and had recorded your journey. This is vital if you ever have the misfortune of starting litigation.
Don’t be timid or cower to peer pressure. Make a well researched and informed decision. Many parents  verbally attack parents of non-vaccinated children wrongly stating they are the cause of allowing these childhood illnesses to proliferate. If vaccination works, why do vaccinated children still get the illness.

Everything in nature has a rhythm and when out of kilter, problems arise. So do you have rhythm in your daily life?

1. Do you wake up at the same time each morning without the aid of an alarm?
2. Do you defecate at the same time each day without a stimulus i.e coffee or a cigarette? Is it effortless?
3. Do you feel hungry mostly at the same time each day? (Amazingly, a large number of people find 11a.m just right for a big snack irrespective of whether its an official coffee break).
4. Do you have your meals at the same time each day?
5. Do you go to bed at roughly the same time each night, fall asleep within 20 mintues and stay asleep?

6. Menstruation should be fairly close to a 28 day cycle with little variation and the duration of menses should usually be the same length each month. Is this the way it is for you?

7. Is your body temperature even, neither constantly too hot or too cold?

If you answer yes to all of these then you are probably in fairly good shape. Doesn’t mean you won’t or don’t have problems but it indicates the foundations are reliable. A derangement in any of these areas is an early sign that something is wrong albeit in a minor way. Take notice of these signs and do something to rectify them whilst they are still  minor problems.  But don’t worry if you answered ‘no’  because you defecate every two days and always eat at 3pm or menstruate every 30 days.  As long as  you have regularity, then you’re reasonably ok.
Homoeopathy is all about balance. Use it to get your foundation strong and reliable.

Stay in rhythm. Its the way your life beats.

IF you are taking a Gap year it would be good to invest in a homoeopathic first aid kit. For GAP year students there is a Travellers Kit.  This is designed to cope with acute illnesses in more remote parts of the world.  It consists of 36 remedies in a sturdy and durable plastic box.  The size is small and it would fit into the front pocket of a rucksack.

Travel to these far away places often indicate that a vaccination programme is ‘recommended’.  Please be aware this is only a recommendation and not mandatory  In fact there are very few countries where vaccination is mandatory and in those few, it is usually only for Yellow Fever. Some cover may be conferred by taking a remedy made from the disease state of the proposed recommended vaccine.  This is popular.  I also have a homoeopathic regime for Malaria along with the usual precautions of sensible clothing, mosquito net and a good insect repellent such as ‘Fly Away’.  The latter smells fantastic and IT WORKS.

Remember, only drink bottled water which you have unsealed yourself.  Also use bottle water to brush your teeth.  Despite the heat, resist the temptation to have ice in your drinks.  Keep your diet very simple until you acclimatise and only eat thoroughly cooked foods for the first couple of weeks or for the duration of your trip.
If you wish to purchase a homeopathic First Aid Kit, please contact me through my website www.sheereenkhan.com

Do you suffer from ME, Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia?  If you have been given this diagnosis it may be that your thyroid is actually involved.  It is estimated that 1 in 3 women (more common in women than men) suffer from a thyroid problem.
From my work with a Doctor who has specialised in treating thyroid problems naturally, it has become clear to me that this is an area where homoeopathy can be extremely effective along with supplements and adrenal support.   Even if a routine blood test for thyroid function returns a normal reading but you still have excessive tiredness, weight gain, aching limbs, mental fuzziness and mild depression, it is certainly worth considering a problem with your thyroid.

A blood test only gives a snapshot of that moment in time.  A more reliable test is a 24 hour urine collection which is not available on the NHS.  However, there are other non-intrusive tests I use to determine the health of your thyroid some of which can be carried out by yourself.  Having established a problem or symptoms which may be precursors to a thyroid problem, we can together work with homoeopathy and other aids to help it stabilise.
If you have been diagnosed with a hyper or hypo thyroid problem and are on Thyroxine, this regime can still be effective.  Throxine can help many people but usually after an initial period of stabilisation, the symptoms return.  On reporting these symptoms again, a patient is often informed that nothing more can be done and, is either offered anti-depressants or more radical treatment which again does not solve the problem.
Possible causes of Thyroid Dysfunction
Hereditary
Childbirth
A history of Glandular Fever
Whiplash
Leading a hyperactive, stressful life
A major life trauma

Babies born to GENERATION X-RAY may be on the fast track to humanity’s genetic DEAD END.

The term “Generation X-ray” refers to youth addicted to communicating and recreating with wireless devices—cell phones, PDAs, WiFi computers and music/gaming equipment. These wireless devices emit high-frequency microwave radiation, recently demonstrated by European researchers to efficiently inflict the same horrific damage on human cells as X-radiation.
Surveys reveal that the average American child under 18 now spends several hours a day irradiating himself with his cell phone “toy.” Meantime, Swedish scientists report that children and teens who use cell phones are up to five times more likely than non-users to suffer glioma brain cancer. Gliomas are among the most difficult to treat and deadly of human cancers. Children who use cordless household phones have over four times the risk of developing brain tumors.
The far-reaching health hazards to children and teens from wireless technology are well-documented in part one of this Idaho Observer series:
Generation X-ray: Child Victims of Technological Abuse. While the European Parliament and governments around the world are calling for stricter limits on wireless exposure for kids, Gen X-ray continues to ride the down escalator towards disintegrating health and premature death.
Most tragically, because our young people have received no official warning from U.S health agencies, they unknowingly micro-cook their sperm, ova and fetuses with a radiation known to be just as mutagenic and teratogenic as gamma wave radiation from nuclear fallout. The science is clear. Babies born to the hard-core wireless generation will suffer a high probability of genetic corruption from their very seed.

More of this article on electromagnetic pollution plus information on the over use of scans of pregnant women, can be obtained on the following link: http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20081120.htm

If after reading this article you want to change the equipment you use, then check out Plusnet for Broadband connection and buy a regular plug in phone from Argos, cost approximately £3.00.

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Comment from Sheereen Khan
From a homeopathic point of view, I ask that all remedies be kept away from mobile phones, telephone base stations, microwaves, computers and TVs.

An extract from the book The Reader, now an award winning film:
When I started to feel feverish, I enjoyed it.  I felt weak and light-headed at the same time, and all my senses were pleasingly muffled, cottony, padded.  I floated.

He could have added feeling rotten but he didn’t.  He had started to withdraw from the world due to the illness.  This is exactly what the body wants to do.  Caring for a sick child or adult during an acute illness requires skill and sensitivity.  So often the word ‘nurse’ comes on the label of a bottle i.e Day Nurse and Night Nurse.  The advertising world know how to create the notion and desire for care and attention, you simply bottle it.  But real home nursing has far more benefit but requires effort and thoughtfulness.
When anyone in the family is sick with an acute illness there are simple and curative steps to aid recovery.

1. The person should go straight to bed.  No slumping in front of the TV or playing on a play-station.

2. If a fever is developing then ensure the patient is warm and monitored regularly.  Fevers have their purpose and suppressing the process makes recovery a protracted affair.

3. Ensure there is fresh water by the bed and a bowl of easy to manage fruit.  The gift of grapes brought to people in hospital is not due to lack of imagination.  This fruit along with others are easy to eat and digest and are refreshing.

4. Food should be simple.  Nothing heavy or greasy.  Chicken broth for meat eaters or a light vegetable soup are nutritious and also easy to digest. Adults often recall how a certain food was always given when they were ill as a child and continue to ask for this in adulthood when feeling unwell. Present the food on a decorative tray accompanied with a flower in a beautiful little vase.

5. Plumping up of pillows and straightening the bed clothes is a gesture of bringing freshness into the sickroom.

6. Keep your movements slow and quiet.  Less chatter and more gentle touch.

7. The worries of the world and household should be left at the bedroom door.  The patient is in another world so leave them there to find their way back.

8. A special box containing a handful of soft and simple toys can be brought out each time a child is ill. The same box each time.

9. Often the child or adult hasn’t got the strength to read but wants something to match their temporary residence in this other world.  Read to your child or adult. Not books of adventure or trouble but soothing, gentle, simple stories which require nothing of the patient but to simply listen.  Books along with TV or films can call forth forces within us which are not there when unwell.

10. If there are other children, ask them to write a little get-well note to either the adult or child and to slip them under the door. A get-well card or letter allows the person to read it when they want, look at it again and have it put by their bed as a reminder that they are being thought about.  Visitors should be told to wait until the person is feeling stronger.  So often the person simply hasn’t the energy to talk and it takes energy to be nice to someone.

11. Once the person is feeling stronger, there comes the recuperative process. Whilst they immerse themselves in a hot bath, change all the bedding, air the room and have warm towels and clean pyjamas at the ready.  Everyone feels the benefit of cleanliness and order and more so when recovering.  It signals a change on all levels.

12. The move back into the arena of everyday life can be facilitated by bringing the person down for a family meal or simply to sit for a short while with the family.

13. The signs of full recovery are easy to spot.  Boredom, chattiness, great hunger and a re-appearance of their old self.

14.  Back to their normal routine, the person should be watched for any signs of relapse.  So often in these times, quickness is the message which underlies all of life’s events.  A quick recovery is seen as strength and it is but the process to get there needs attention.

This is guidance for any acute illness with or without a fever.  For more serious acute illness you should contact your GP or homoeopath.  Most people first encounter homoeopathic remedies when administering them for acute illnesses.

Overall, allow the person to experience the illness as a special time.  A time when everything seems to change and almost stop.  We have all experienced the difference in the dynamic of the household when a person is ill in bed.  We too have to stop and change our routine a little.