Teaching our kids

So, I did something today to teach my child the importance of dental hygene.  This morning I told him he had to brush his teeth.  He fought me.  He's got a cavity in every tooth and the dental bill is gonna cost about $2700.  We have no dental insurance.  So brushing is important.  I told him I saw a picture of a person who had such a bad cavity that it ate away half his face!  I didn't show him the picture, I just told him about it.

Right about now, I'm having memories of my father.  He took me to see the Texas Chainsaw Massacre when I was in kindergarten.  That was about 1978 or so.  I'm OK today, I just have a phobia of chainsaws and demonic possession. Why demonic possession?  Well, when VCRs first became popular, my dad got a copy of The Exorcist.  I sat and watched it with him.  I was six years old.  He reassured me that it wasn't real and it was all make-up, pea soup and a doll spinning it's head around. He showed me that scene where she pukes on the priest about 20 times to show me how it was just pea soup coming from a doll. So, yeah, I don't eat pea soup either...  This was quality time with my dad.

It's interesting that I had nightmares about The Exorcist until I was 12 and it's now one of my favorite movies.  I still get scared watching it in the dark and by myself.  Just the opening titles gives me the chills.  Texas Chainsaw Massacre, not so much.  I couldn't watch that movie again until I was a sophomore in college.  I was amazed at the level of detail I remembered that movie.  Every minute until the end was burned into my memory like I was the one experiencing it.  I don't ever need to see that movie again.

Funko Figures are my son's favorite toys.  They are so cute and funny looking!  You can buy a Funko in almost any character from a game, movie or cartoon.  I'm trying to get him to pick the Beatles Funkos from Yellow Submarine.  Right now he's got George Harrison and a Blue Meanie.  But there's one that he keeps asking for,  Leatherface. I can't believe they made a cute little doll of Leatherface!! He asks for it because he knows it upsets me but he mocks me anyway. "But, mommy, look at how cute he is!" I tell him that Leatherface is evil with no redeeming qualities.  The Joker, Riddler, Lex Luther, they are villains, yes, but they have heroes that counter them, Batman and Superman.  Leatherface has no hero counterpart.  He just kills people with his chainsaw and wears their skin.  And the Funko Figure of him is so cute an funny looking, even though he's sneering and holding a chainsaw.

This evening when I came home from work my darling son asked me about the guy who lost half his face because of a cavity.  He wanted to see the picture.  Now, the picture I mentioned was a man suffering a rare condition of necrotizing faciitis caused by a tooth abscess.  Seriously, half the guy's face was gone, it was terrible.   I told him that it was a disturbing picture and it might be scary for him.  The more I warned, the more he wanted to see it.  So I showed it to him.  I could see the horror of it stir in him.  I felt ashamed.  I traumatized him.  I lead him to believe that cavities could eat your face away if you don't brush.  Tonight, he brushed his teeth 3 times before bed.  I told him he has to brush in the morning and at night and after eating anything sugary.  I don't think I'll have to tell him again. Ever.

Am I a bad parent?

"Ode to Labor Pains" or "Women, Fear Not!"

So, I'm getting ready to have my second child.  I'm also getting ready to leave my business in the hands of my spouse for my maternity leave.  I'm still working right now, gently adjusting all the men, women, children and mommies-to-be that come to my office.  I'm also due to have my second baby in 3 weeks.  It all seems so overwhelming when I think about it.  So let's not think about it.  Let's think about something I truly have no control over; LABOR!

Now, contrary to what other women may feel, labor pains really aren't that bad.  I mean, it's really nothing you can't handle.  Sure, it's going to be the most uncomfortable you will ever be, but only for a short while... relatively.

If I can describe them to you , it would go something like this.  Imagine the worst menstrual cramps you've ever had and multiply it by three.  Combine that with the biggest poop you've ever had to take and multiply that by three.  That would pretty much describe what a contraction feels like.  Combine that with the feeling that your body just made another human being and is bringing it out into the world.  I mean, wow!  Your body, just made a person!

Amidst the miraculous experience that was my first birth, there is one thing I am grateful for; chiropractic!  I got adjusted throughout my first pregnancy and my labor only lasted about 2 hours! In fact, it happened so fast that I didn't even make it to the hospital!  I gave birth on the floor of my bedroom with my husband, two cops, and my mother taking pictures.  It was quite exciting!

 So, of course, I've been getting adjusted throughout my second pregnancy.  Not only has it helped me stay physically healthy, but also emotionally and mentally in balance.  And this time, we're actually planning a home birth.

The neuro-system is the first system to develop and from there all the other systems come forth.  While my body creates another human being, I want it free of any subluxations that might get in the way.  Wouldn't you?

What is God? Really?

I never realized how many atheist friends I have.  Not only that, but there seem to be a lot of questions and speculations about the existence of God or Jesus lately.  To me denying God is like denying the obvious.  How can you deny what's right in front of your eyes?  Unless of course you can't "see" it.  

Sacred Breath

Take a deep breath... a deep natural breath.  Now, doesn't that feel good?  Do you ever notice how blissful it feels to simply breathe?  How naturally it occurs? 
 Take another breath...
The wind in the trees, the waves in the sea, sounds like breath... just listen...
 Have another Breath...
In most religions The Name of God is a forbidden word.  It can not be spoken and it cannot be pronounced.  Why?  If it can be spelled out in a Holy Book then why can't it be pronounced?  If you were to spell the sound of your breath, how would you spell it?  What letters would you use?  Would it be Ahhlllahh?  Or YYYWWAAHHYY?  Or Yeshhuahh?  
God's name can't be pronounced because it is not a word!  It is the Sound of the Breath! 
 Now, Breathe...
Everybody breathes.  Even the wind and the water and the trees.  We are ALL part of God's Creation and Divinely connected to each other through the intelligence that makes God manifest within us and around us!  
  So Breathe, and know that You Are God.


Breathe on that...

CHIROPRACTIC IS LIKE VIAGRA

Great :)
Now that I got your attention, let me explain. 

The idea that Chiropractic is like Viagra has been rolling around in my head for a little while now.
Have you seen the episode of House where Dr. House is being reprimanded for prescribing that little blue pill to a patient with a heart condition? It's quite funny to watch him sarcastically remind them that Viagra was originally intended for a heart condition! How funny, but true! Due to it's "adverse side effect" it became the most prescribed (recreational) drug ever written. 
When I got into chiropractic school I was shocked to learn that many chiropractors never really learned the history and original intention of chiropractic. How Chiropractic was channeled to DD Palmer through a spiritual medium, explaining, not just how to do it, but how it will help humanity evolve, by connecting the physical body with the Spiritual. 
What happened? It became about the symptoms, back pain, neck pain, relief from asthma or high blood pressure or ear infections. These are all "side effects" of chiropractic! Health, Healing, improved quality of life are the results of Chiropractic! By focusing on side effects, and not its original intention, it became all about the" bling" and lost it's way. 

Now, I don't mean to include all chiropractors in this, I know many that are quite aware of Chiropractic's history and intention, but the challenge is communicating it to the average person. 

And that's when this analogy came to me.

Y'know, I've heard that in 2012 there will be a great shift in the consciousness of humankind. Perhaps now is the perfect time to make people aware of what Chiropractic was intended to do.

Peace

The Origins of The Little Goddess

Little Goddess is the name that my Satguru AMMA gave to me.  "Devika" Devi = Goddess, ka=little.  I waited patiently and longingly for a name from AMMA.  I came very close once. She had stopped giving names just before she got to me, so I decided to ask her during my Darshan.  To my delight, she decided to give a few more names, again I came so close! I had a choice to allow someone to go before me.  So, I did. And AMMA gave him a name.  And I sat there and cried.  AMMA and Swamiji kept leaning over to look at me.  I figured I had to let go of my WANTING a name so badly and allowing it to be given to me at the right time.  I wondered if she would give me a name like "The Patient One" or something.  Finally, about a year or so later, I got to AMMA's side where Swamiji opened a small piece of paper and said to AMMA, "Devika, Devika".  AMMA looked at me and said, "Devika".
So that's me in a nutshell.
www.amma.org  that's AMMA's website in case you're curious

The Miracle of Science

Ever stop and think about how you were created?  One day, two cells, from two separate bodies, each containing half of the chromosomes of every other cell in the body, got together.  When these two cells got together something amazing happened, they began to form a human being!  Science can explain each step of this process in detail, from the blob of cells, to the development of the various systems and organs of the body, to the first breath and then some.  Science also states that matter is neither created nor destroyed it is merely changed, this obviously does not apply to the creation of life.  Mathematics states that one plus one is two.  Yet, in the creation of a life it is the only time where one plus one makes three!  Think about that for a moment.  Think about the simple and profound Intelligence that can defy the laws of science and math, that is Life.  This Intelligence, that put us together with molecules that could be traced to the cosmos, did not abandoned us when we left our mother's womb and took our first breath.  It stayed with us and grows with us, it is within us.
The power that created us, can also heal us.  Now, unfortunately, so many people have lost their faith in this power that is Innate within them.  This power can heal the deepest wound and the most horrible sickness, if it is free to express itself, without any interference.
Symptoms like coughing, sneezing, vomiting, sweating, fever, runny nose, diarrhea and the like are the result of our bodies immune response kicking in and getting whatever is ailing us out of our system to restore us to health.  Let me elaborate; say someone sneezes on you or coughs next to you, your body immediately takes action and recognizes that there is a foreign body ready to enter you and by the time that virus has found it's way into your body, those white blood cells or T-cells or whatever cells have been called forth are ready and able to attack it, kill it and get rid of it, by coughing, sneezing, fever, etc.  You see?
If you were to take a cold pill and suppress these symptoms, all the junk that your body needs to rid itself of stays in your system.  You may be symptom free, but you certainly won't be healthier!  This will build over time if the cycle continues and could develop into something worse.  If you take a vaccine to prevent an illness, you must understand that by injecting the vaccine directly into your blood stream, you bypass all the levels of defense your body has to fight the virus naturally.  These vaccines not only contain the virus they claim to inoculate you from, but also preservatives like mercury and formaldehyde.  Your body has a lot to defend itself against all at once and without warning.  A vaccine is like a sneak attack on your system!
So, how do you allow Innate to express itself without interference?
Simple, Chiropractic
That's another blog for another time