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Dying to Get Well

Discussion in 'Health and Wellness' started by windcatcher, Feb 15, 2010.

  1. windcatcher

    windcatcher New Member

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    http://curezone.com/upload/pdf/Dying_To_Get_Well.pdf

    or from this site
    http://curezone.com/ig/i.asp?i=19116

    160pages pdf. Free Online.
    Author: Shelly Keck

    I found this an interesting read this morning.
    While the author is not a 'professional', she has researched her own health issues and offers much insight to problems and solutions discovered in her quest for a return to health from the 'trash can' diagnosis of fibromyalgia. While I'd like not to admit it, I'm inclined to believe she is on target regarding the convenience foods, and the technology such as the microwave and irradiation destroying the nutritional content of our foods.... especially as I have talked to more than one person well acquainted by schooling and work in areas of radiation and chemistry who have told me their own agreement that molecules undergo a structural change through these processes which they believe destroys or alters the nutritional value of the food and may cause harm to the body over the long term of dependance.

    I do not totally agree with her on fasting.... particularly for extended periods of time.... which, if the reader is careful in observing that even the author recommends a professional such as a doctor be consulted before begining a fast. Neither does she mention the diabetic or the hypoglycemic as a person of special consideration for supervision of a fast. Neither do I intirely agree with her on a meat free diet or total raw food diet. However, considering that most of us eat that which is grown on a livestock farm where the feed may contain GMO grain and hormones and antibiotics and the meat is not processed in the Biblical 'kosher' method of a quick kill preceded by a low stressed environment and then well bled out before being quartered up... there may be some merit to consider. She seems to equate fish with other meat: I disagree totally: However, once again, the source of the fish.... whether grown in a fish farm or caught in the wild.... such as the Alaskian Seas.... may have a bearing on the contaminants of the flesh which is consummed.

    To follow her suggestions sounds considerably extreme for persons in good health. However, if one considers that a person in desperate need of help and exhausting both time and resources consulting those who are supposed to be 'the experts' and finding no relief for a continuing or worsening of a condition, may find some benefit in crusing through this material, which is free, and which, in my estimation, gives a brief but somewhat realistic picture as to why a doctor may not be able to help you. It certainly is a free start into some understanding on the layman's level, of some of the processes and the interactions which occur inside our bodies regarding its response to injury, disease, and toxins.

    I would not conclude that her 'scientific' understanding of the body and its defenses or repairative processes are correct in every aspect, nevertheless, considering this is the summation of her own experiences and research by a person who had no entering background in the mechanics and physiology of the body, should be an encouragement to the average person concerned with chronic or crisis health issues regarding themselves or a loved one.... to realize their own capacity and power to do research for themselves and not succumb to being a passive participant or ginea pig when their health and alopathic medical treatments hit a brick wall.

    The author does not mention dietary supplements nor herbal remedies nor specific 'cures' for disease. What she focuses on is cleansing the toxins from the body through water and diet and giving the organs a periodic rest (i.e. a water or juice fast) during which the liver, blood, and kidneys are allowed to flush without additional loading and use.

    ----------------------
    After reading this brief book, one may appropriately conclude that given the 'immediate gratification' of our life style for abatement of symptoms.... if not cure for disease..... and the time it would take for a physician to adequately assess the cause and train a patient in the cures for disease processes.... and follow the changes and make subtle adjustments along the way..... tis no wonder that very few doctors become actively engaged in seeking cures and few patients could afford to pay them for their time if they did. This is all the more reason for a person to become an active participant in learning to 'listen' to their own body and knowledgable about its basic functioning, and ask God to guide them in the making of those personal decisions regarding lifestyle changesas well as therapies offered by professionals.

    In the end, our loving heavenly Father, who made us, knows all the workings of our parts, and wants us to depend on Him. It is His good pleasure when we ask. It is also His good pleasure when we bless Him with our thankfulness and rest with assurance in Him.

    I hope someone will find this helpful.
     
    #1 windcatcher, Feb 15, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 15, 2010
  2. Benjamin

    Benjamin Well-Known Member
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    Ahh, you share my battle cry! God and the therapies offered, not only wise, but an ethical thing for a Christain to do.
     
  3. Benjamin

    Benjamin Well-Known Member
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    Thanks for the read, I did some skimming and reading of this book last night, 160 pages is a lot more than I can read during a couple cups of coffee.

    I’d note that the author follows a vegan/raw foodist approach, also refers to it as a “Hygienic raw food diet” she is against cooked foods of any type and also against grains, says we weren’t made to eat it. She is big on removing the toxics from the body by using a raw diet of fruit and vegetables, cleansing, and removing as much exposure to as many chemicals as possible. Some of this is very extreme from my point of view and impractical in some ways for active lifestyles, for example she suggests the body recycles protein if needed and therefore the body only needs 25g of protein per day and can accommodate her type of diet.

    Personally, I have found that juicing vegetables has proved to be very effective in curing a cold, run down feelings, and has really made a noticeable difference in uplifting my energy level and alertness at times. I’ve figured this may be due to not having eaten enough vegetables and my body appreciating the natural vitamin rush.

    She strongly believes in the body’s ability to heal itself and the importance of a good organic diet to allow this process. She talks about the misuse of drugs such as those which stop mucus flow which is trying to clean the body, or stopping a fever which is a helpful defense against germs along with using drugs to prevent diarrhea and vomiting which are trying to remove toxins. I tend to agree that we should more often let the body do its job.

    Something I haven’t heard of before is “skin brushing” as skin is largest organ and is responsible for ¼ of the detoxification that takes place in the body each day.

    She goes into a lot of detail about fasting to give the body a rest and the importance of good pure water.

    Her acronym for "Standard American Diet" – “SAD” will probably remain in my vocabulary and be borrowed from time to time.

    She has a 12 step process which includes diet, fresh air, exercise, sunshine, attitudes and cleansing, good water, and YES, faith in God.

    Anyway, I share many of her concerns and try to avoid a lot of the unnatural elements she speaks of as it only seems common sense to keep things more natural and to listen to your body. I wouldn’t mind trying her diet for a short time if she was to do all the work to provide it for me for a good cleansing, but she’s probably way too obsessive for me to put up with for long.
     
  4. windcatcher

    windcatcher New Member

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    Benjamin,

    I also found her recommendation on 'skin brushing' rather interesting.
    I got a bath gift pack some years ago complete with soaps and lotions and a candle, body splash and brush. The brush has a wooden handled with the bristles embedded into the wood. I tried it a time or two in the shower, thinking maybe its for lathering up and then discarded it for my ole standby..... the oversized wash rag. The wooden structure didn't seem appropriately resistant to water or soap.
    I now rethink this..... if I still can find that brush...... it might be a good habit as a preshower treatment before getting into the shower.... provided I'm not already too dirty to require showering before brushing. It's interesting that she instructs sweeping towards the heart.... which is in accordance to lymph flow, and blood return to the heart and internal organs.

    I agree with you: It does sound reasonable that a fast of a day or two would allow the body's organs to cleanse themselves and rest and recover without having to do additional duty. I suppose another modification, which is slight and not a fast in the truest sense, could also be accomplished by taking water with lemon juice sweetened lightly with real maple syrup, or honey, or molasses. I'm seriously thinking about adding one day of fasting or a modified fast to my week and seeing how it goes.
     
  5. Deacon

    Deacon Well-Known Member
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    So why would having faith in God be considered important for good health?

    What if God wants you to be ill?

    Faith is important for a healthy spiritual life (period).

    Rob
     
  6. Benjamin

    Benjamin Well-Known Member
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    I believe God interacts with His creatures, within time, and this is involving a relationship of blessings through faith, trust, and love of our Father to His children.

    God commands: 1 Corinthians 6:20
    (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

    In obedience to the above, if we ask in faith for good health and we act upon that while seeking His blessings will He not give His children good gifts, blessings?

    Matthew 7:9-11
    (9) Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
    (10) Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
    (11) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

    Strictly speaking, my body is not my own, it is dedicated to Him and inhabited by Him. We are told to glorify God in this body, because it is the temple of God, how can one divide a healthy spiritual life from a healthy body?

    1 Corinthians 3:16-17
    (16) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
    (17) If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

    I don’t believe God predestines His creatures to be ill, if that's what you're getting at.
     
    #6 Benjamin, Feb 23, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 23, 2010
  7. Deacon

    Deacon Well-Known Member
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    Sounds strikingly similar to a prosperity gospel.


    As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
    John 9:1–3 ESV


    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
    Ephesians 1:3 ESV

    Rob
     
  8. Benjamin

    Benjamin Well-Known Member
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    I thought it sounded more like a Gospel promoting obedience and responsibilty to the Father’s command of taking care of one’s body, while expressing the love and trust of a child in his Father’s Goodness and the truth that the Father loves us, is near us, and is interacting with us according to His will. His instruction including that His children, in their liberty, are still to respond in obedience to His influences and are blessed for doing so:

    James 1:25
    (25) But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
     
  9. windcatcher

    windcatcher New Member

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    Faith in God's faithfulness as our provider, protector, defender, and friend, is just as practical and REAL as God our Salvation. God as our friend is relationship. Have you not read the Pslams? In everything God is given thanks and is sought FIRST in a time of need, any time of need, and is credited and given praise for everything .......whatever it may be..... however small .....or large. When a person has, through the grace of God, established a relationship to God, he is given many opportunities to acknowledge God and depend on God as his provider in relationship. In submission to God, he learns through various experiences that there are some things God allows him choice and control, and there are many things where God is in control and the relationship walk is that of faith and trust. Concerns for one's health is just as much a part of life and in the control of God as anything else.

    God does not always hold a person accountable for the choices and things of which that person doesn't know: This is frequently compensated for by God's mercy and grace.

    But, even then, we are not saved from every circumstance of the consequence of our error or our own responsibility: For example, regarding faith, for a long time I've been consumming food which I believed to be planted in soil much as the method of many generations prior; with the elements in the soil and the methods of propagation much as accustomed in the past; and with the nutritional value sufficient to sustain health, energy, and repair, much as many generations did in the past. For much of this time, I was unacquainted with the difficiencies in soil minerals, the retention of chemicals of production left as residue in the food, or the genetic alteration which changes the nutritional availability of food which has been genetically modified as opposed to the normal hybridazation or crossing of plant genetic material. Yet, I truely believe, every time I thank the LORD for my food and ask Him to bless it, I am committing to him my trust that he will use it to supply my needs and cleanse and purify it for the purpose for which he intended.

    In the keeping and maintaining of my health I praise him. In the processes of ill health I defer to his power and control and advance knowledge of his will and submit to His control and trust him for the outcomes. I don't defer from that responsibility for which He gives me guidance and knowledge of...... and I do my best to try to search out the truths... but have to admit.... even my search or that of anothers is according to the wisdom of man..... so I do what I can within the limits of my own understanding and become weak and dependant on Him for that which I have no responsibility or control over or that which my own understanding is in error. Even when I would desire to do good, that is according to knowledge, I must admit I am incomplete in knowledge and understanding, so I depend on God.

    It is not a matter of understanding some of the physiology of the body, nor appreciation for how God built into the body the mechanics for repair and healing, but it is because of knowing Him and depending on Him and His adequacey in all the areas of our insufficiency on which I depend on Him. In health or in its absence, I depend on Him. God, who is good and love, who is a judge, but is merciful and gracious, is the provider of my salvation: And that endures to the end whether in sickness or in health, and may he be gracious to somehow endow me with the opportunity and make that successful to bring the purpose of my life to give Him all glory and praise!

    It may seem like a small thing, such an insignificant thing: Last summer I felt overwhelmed by the prospect of cutting my grass. My 2 bedroom house is built on a 210 ft. x 210 ft piece of land minus the road. I'd purchased a 30in push mower with grass PU, but was unable to control the growth of my grass. I called my own aged dad, in tears, acknowledging to him my inability to push my mower through the grass to control the growth. We briefly talked about the riding mower which went down 2 years before. The final result of the conversation, w/o boring any of you with the details, he purchased for me a riding mower so I could keep the grass short. Such a major thing for me, considering his age and the importance of maintaining his own financial security in these times: such a minor thing from him who was hopeful of his continued ability to provide protection and provision for his children. How much more does our Heavenly Father wish to be called upon when we are in need, and to provide for our help? Not all earthly fathers are as responsive as my earthly father. But not all people believe in a Heavenly Father who is as responsive as ours. Yes, I had sought my Heavenly Father's wisdom before checking with my dad. The lesson is, a good Father actually desires to know the needs of his children and to be consulted by them: and a good father is desirous to give them of his arsenal of provisions to provide for them what he deems to be necessary, either to grow in responsibility, or to provide methods and ways for the growth of their own confidence and faith and experience, or to give them of his good pleasure.
    I have difficulty in understanding what you mean by 'prosperity gospel' and more especially so by the scripture which you give as evidence or support. One verse speaks to the superstition of the people in that day and their automated judgement of othes...... which were neither supported by evidence nor scripture, but had become a part of their mind set concerning beliefs in the absence of a relationship of faith. The other scripture is also not applicable to 'prosperity gospel'. It is spiritual in its context: Whether in this life or only in the next..... we know that we prosper in Him in whom we have committed our souls and our being, in whom we trust for our salvation, whether we prosper and are in good health or not in this life, we have eternal assurrance of a glorified reunion in and with Him in whom we have believed.

    --------------
    As a side note: We are not all called to do the same things or to the same ministry in this life. God has a purpose for each thing and each attention to which he specifically calls a person. God has given me a family in him through which I learn and grow and receive encouragement and support for things which I could not know by my self, and has possibily given me some insight by which I hope He is able to bless others in his service. It is not so much the messanger as it is the message and that in all God is glorified and His Only Begotten Son is exalted.
     
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