Learning as Self-Care With 3 Stories Featuring Maria Talamantez and Sister Athenasius
As we grow up and experience adolescence, or adulthood, many of us leave our religious beliefs behind. Or maybe we never had a childhood religion to leave behind. This can create the experience of having no beliefs at all.
Mother sent me as a young child to local Vacation Bible Schools every summer. That meant I spent a week each with Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, and the Church of Christers when I was quite young. The Catholics didn’t have Vacation Bible School and I never quite understood why.
I absorbed different things taught by different Christian Sunday School teachers in an unsophisticated format intended for preschool and elementary school children.
Elementary school influenced my religious beliefs, but not how you might think. This was the American Bible Belt in the early 1950’s. In the classroom each morning, right after reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, a student recited a prayer.
For some of my classmates, this experience may not have been so bad. For others, it was excruciating.
Standing in front of the class is hard on a lot of little kids. Standing in front of the class and reciting a prayer can be excruciating, especially if they don’t really know a prayer. It was hardest on the Catholics because they began and ended each session with the sign of the cross.
My memory always brings up Maria Talamantez when I recall the morning prayer. Standing at the head of the class, Maria appeared embarrassed, flustered, frightened. And, while she struggled with the Sign of the Cross and the Our Father, I was over at my desk praying quietly and fervently to God and Jesus and anyone else I could think of just thanking them that my name hadn’t been called that morning.
Meanwhile, Maria prayed as fast as she could and so quietly that she couldn’t be heard by most of us in the room. I don’t think the teacher cared, really. She was simply filling a slot required every morning and looked forward to escaping into a math exercise or reading a story.
For me, this was a time of pure torture. And I was so grateful that I was an Episcopalian because I didn’t use the Sign of the Cross. And the Episcopalian Lord’s Prayer seemed shorter and faster than Maria’s Roman Catholic version.
This is part of my journey into adulthood.
Both adolescents and adults spend time thinking and rethinking things they read, heard, and believed as children.
To dismiss these experiences as part of the move into adulthood is a gross oversimplification.
Abandoning our childhood beliefs can be difficult. It’s challenging to move beyond the childhood religious stories we either grew up with or didn’t experience at all.
As a pre-adolescent, I attended a Catholic School in my middle-school years. (The Sisters didn’t call it middle school.) Sister Athanasius had a whole list of books we weren’t supposed to read. And, since I wasn’t from a Catholic family, Sister suspected every book she saw me carry.
Several years later, as a student at St. Mary’s University, I found all of those books she was looking for in my book bag. They were in the university library, sitting on those shelves for the students. Amazing! Forbidden fruit in middle school became the main course in college.
Later in life, my best Reiki therapy and Reflexology students admitted to me that they were struggling with their meaning-of-life path.
Now, as an octogenarian, I find myself smitten with Mother Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ.
If you find yourself at a moment in time where you are taking a look at your life, now can be a good opportunity to explore your childhood teachings. They may be holding you back from focusing on things you otherwise might be interested in.
This place in time opens an opportunity for self-care.
As an adult, you can slow down, seek the solitude, and listen to the silence. Allow your intuition and life experiences to guide you along your path.
The answers you seek may not come immediately but they are there. As you journey on your path, you may encounter changes to your lifestyle which help you connect with your own truth.
You can develop an understanding of your own experience.
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Thurman Greco
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Visit the website and see what books might interest you. The first edition of “But for Gabriel” is available as an eBook.
Finally, include a Reiki therapy or reflexology session this week.
Eczema is both a spiritual disease and a way of hiding.
Spiritually, you have negative attitudes about unpleasant events in your life. You want to hide yourself and how you feel.
Eczema is a fairly common skin condition which is become even more common. Your skin becomes inflamed, red, and itchy, as you react to soaps, detergent, household chemicals, food, house dust, and other environmental irritants.
Eczema’s itchy patches appear on your skin before the redness. Allergies, immune system overload and stress cause Eczema. Flaking skin and a rash appear on your legs, hands, face, neck.
Eczema likes inner knees and elbows of children.
If the condition doesn’t improve within a week, or if it becomes infected, you need to see a medical professional.
Regular reflexology, Reiki, and chakra healing sessions will help manage its side effects during treatment. Regular sessions will also encourage homeostasis as your body normalizes itself when immune system overload is minimized as you clean up your environment.
Eczema triggers which cause outbreaks include animal dander, anger, cleaning products, drugs, foods, fragrances, poor circulation, stress. One of your tasks with Eczema is to identify which products are your own personal triggers.
The most common foods provoking Eczema attacks include milk, eggs, wheat, fish, and foods with soy.
A journal may help you. Keep a diary and pinpoint some potential food and environmental triggers. This will make your eczema experience easier for you.
Eczema happens when your immune system is overloaded so a clean environment is critical. This includes air, your body, car, home, work place, and the water you drink and wash with.
When you clean out the toxins, your health will have a chance to improve. When this happens, your reflexology sessions will be more effective, and you will have a better chance to manage Eczema’s side effects.
In the middle of this, try to get a little sun every day.
This information may be a bit daunting. However, cleaning up your body and the environment where you live and work is easier than you might think. For starters, throw out all your cleaning supplies and cosmetics. Replace them with non-toxic products which won’t worsen your situation.
Then, clean up your diet by cooking and eating only foods which have no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives. Eat nothing with additives.
It has been said that health begins and ends in the color. You may decide to have a colon cleanse followed by a liver cleanse. The important thing is to treat your digestive disorders.
When you clean up your environment and clean out your body, it will be easier for you to cope with stressful situations.
I cleaned out my body and my home and my car and my workplace. It was an effort but much easier than it seems.
First, I identified the products I felt were the least threatening to my body. I did my research and identified Dr. Bronner’s soap as my household cleanser. I chose my creams from three companies: Dr. Hauschka, Jurlique, and Weleda. I chose Jurlique and used it for years. I finally switched to Weleda because I could buy it locally at Woodstock Apothecary.
But, I never replaced the cosmetics I threw out. I decided I didn’t need them. I’ve saved myself many hours and much money by not wasting money on or time applying make-up to my face every day. I saved the cosmetics for parties.
Dr. Bronner’s soap worked well for me because my body liked the product. I chose the peppermint formula and still use it every day My transition to Dr. Bronner’s was easy because the company has a “cheat sheet” with all the recipes I needed. Dr. Bronner’s is also on You Tube. I also liked Dr. Bronner’s because I could buy it everywhere.
I chose my first recipe when I bought a small, glass dropper bottle and filled it with Dr. Bronner’s. I use one drop of Dr. Bronner’s soap when I brush my teeth. (Yes, it tastes just like soap!)
My clothes experienced a transition, too. For starters, I really now have very few pieces in my wardrobe that need dry cleaning. (Non-existent dry cleaning bills were a nice surprise!)
I use Dr. Bronner’s to clean every room in my house. The Cheat Sheet had all the recipes.
CHAKRA
Eczema is a fourth chakra imbalance.
REFLEXOLOGY SYSTEMS TO WORK
immune system, nervous system, lymphatics, digestive system, circulatory system, liver solar plexus
ESSENTIAL OILS
bergamot, carrot seed, frankincense, geranium, helichrysum, juniper, lavender, myrrh, peppermint, sweet orange, tea tree, yarrow
FIELDS OF HEALING
Conventional medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Herbalism. Eczema responds well to many types of healing. Begin with conventional medicine and then branch out to alternative, complimentary, and integrative medicines.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Keep damaged skin moist using an oil-based cream. Apply emollients liberally and frequently, preferably twice daily. Use a humidifier to moisturize dry, indoor air.
TREATMENT GOAL
If you can avoid the itch-scratch-itch cycle and prevent potential infection, your situation will improve.
OTHER THINGS YOU MAY TRY
Bathe in lukewarm water using soaps that don’t contain perfumes or dyes. After you bathe, pat your skin dry. Follow this with a rich, thick, moisturizing cream.
Reduce your exposure to allergens. Allergy shots may be appropriate.
Treat yourself to about fifteen minutes of sun every day.
SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK
Is the real me trying to come out. What am I trying to escape from?
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Thurman Greco
10 Easy Wellness Tips for Your Self Care
Self care is all about realizing that we need to take care of ourselves to function optimally in our lives. For many, self care is being selfish. This is simply not so. Eating properly, resting, getting proper exercise, smelling the flowers…these things are not selfish.
Lower back pain? Try not to overdo the bed rest. One or two days seem to be the best amount of time. to be off your feet. Lower back pain is a spiritual situation. Try to get up and about asap. Self care is needed when your lower back hurts.
Are your cholesterol numbers less than ideal? Try to exercise regularly. Can you lose weight? That will help, too. Eating fish helps. And, finally, omega-3 fatty acids really help.
Get your annual flu shot. Every year, I encounter people who come down with the flu. Most of the time, these people neglected to get their shot. And, getting a flu shot does not immunize a person for life. A flu shot must be repeated annually. This can be a bore. However, I’ve gotten a flu shot annually for the last 20 years or so and, somehow, don’t seem to get the flu.
Worried about toenail fungus? Keep your feet clean and dry. Wear well fitting shoes and socks. Snug, poorly ventilated shoes and damp, sweaty socks are a breeding ground for athlete’s foot. Go barefoot if you can. If you do have toenail or foot fungus, and if it is painful, it’s time to see a dermatologist.
To keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy, brush your teeth often. Brush your teeth after you eat with a soft bristled brush. Tooth brushing is essential for good self care.
Do you have hay fever? Cut back on alcoholic beverages during pollen season.
Do you chew gum? Chew sugarless gum to fight tooth decay.
Concerned about carpel tunnel syndrome? Keep your wrists straight when working with your hands. When you work on a keyboard, make sure your fingers are lower than your wrists. Carpel tunnel doesn’t always require surgery. A good body worker or physical therapist can often help you.
Buy your shoes in the afternoon when you’ve been on your feet for a few hours, and always have your feet measured. Know which foot is larger and fit your shoes to that foot. That way, you’ll have a more accurate shoe size and fit.
Pinkeye and other eye infections can be extremely infectious. Use care.
Always first on your list for self care is regular reflexology.
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Thurman Greco
