Traditional Medicine

For the past few decades, Traditional medicine has been making a return to becoming a major part of one’s healing process in the United States. The increase in its demand shows that people are empowering themselves with more options in their path towards recovery.

Traditional medicine began in countries like Africa, India, and Asia. For these countries, it still plays an integral and complementary role to their healthcare industry. They have an understanding that both forms of medicine are equally necessary. While Conventional medicine focuses on the symptoms, Traditional medicine deals with the source of the ailment. Thus, providing a holistic approach towards a full recovery.

If you are thinking about allowing Traditional Medicine become a part of your overall wellness, please be sure to do the research. Learn about the various forms of holistic healing, its methods, and how it can play a part in your recovery.


Exercising Forgiveness

As with all psychologists and therapists, one of the most undeniable parts in becoming an effective holistic practitioner is self-healing. There’s no way to avoid it. For some, it can be a challenge to fully dissect some of the most intimate and painful aspects of their life. My greatest challenge was forgiveness.

I felt like forgiveness was virtually impossible to do. That’s only because my “wall” was built on bitterness and resentment. My childhood was very painful and there were too many people that [I thought] didn’t deserved to be forgiven. I felt like they needed to be eternally held accountable for their wrong doing. Little that I know, holding onto those type of destructive emotions was preventing me from moving forward.

Instead of confronting my unwillingness to forgive, I decided to delve deeper into studying my craft. After a while, I kept running into “roadblocks” – one after another – but all roads lead to forgiveness. It was time to stop hiding behind the books, allow God to do His will, and to begin healing… through forgiveness.

My road towards forgiveness was tough. Reliving those painful experiences made me feel vulnerable. But I felt comforted in knowing that this time, I was equipped with empowering tools to help me get through it.

Reiki & Bereavement

I was introduced to Reiki late summer 2007, months after the death of my step-father. At that time, I didn’t have a full understanding of its benefits. I just knew that it was helping me cope through the pain of my loss. I had increased the amount of Reiki treatments after the sudden death of my grandmother in October 2007.

For months after losing my dad and grandmother, my thoughts about relationships became clear. I learned that no one is meant to be in your life forever. That doesn’t always mean that you part ways through death, but through life’s many twists and turns. I don’t believe in coincidences anymore. God places certain people in different phases of your life for a reason. No matter how bad or good, it’s up to us to learn and grow from that relationship and the experiences that came from it.

My dad was a very peaceful, loving, and kind Muslim man. He showed me importance of being patient – and he needed a lot of that dealing with me as a child! He also shared his love for jazz. My brother and I fell asleep to some jazz greats, like John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles, Thelonious, Charlie, etc. Now, my brother and I play jazz all the time, especially for our children. My grandmother was the queen of my heart. She was so sweet, generous, and caring to all. She showed her love through giving what she could to make sure you felt loved and appreciated. But it was her cooking that drove it home! Both of them showed me the beauty of unconditional love. Above all, they showed me how to be a God-loving person. I am eternally grateful for them and for all of those blessings they instilled in me.

Last week, I had suffered another loss. A childhood friend had lost his battle with cancer at the age of 40. In the midst of all the tears, I kept praying. Then I began doing self-Reiki treatments around my head and heart. After a few minutes, I started to feel very calm and relaxed. I had this overwhelming sense of comfort and contentment that my friend was alright. I began to smile. Then I thanked God for blessing me with 30 crazy and hilarious years of friendship.  

The Reiki Principles

When I started training as a Usui Reiki practitioner almost 5 years ago, I was surprised by the simplicity of the first lesson. I thought I was headed for smooth sailing. Boy, was I wrong. The Reiki Principles have been so instrumental in my personal and professional growth. I wanted to share them as well as my interpretation of them.

Just for today, do not worry. In the not-so-distant past, there wasn’t anything I didn’t worry about. My thoughts and words were filled with things like, “are they going to do the right thing by me?”, “I wonder if they’re alright”, and “What am I going to do if I get laid off?” They're all valid concerns, but at what cost? My years of worrying has caused ulcers, migraines, high blood pressure, etc. A friend used to always say, “Girl, you’re a worry wart and you need to chill out!" She was right! Through prayer, meditation and daily self-Reiki treatments, I was able to calm my mind and gain an understanding that I have no control over anything outside of myself. It’s about how I choose to react. After a while, things didn’t bother me as much. This leads to the next attribute…

Just for today, do not anger. Anger is such a powerful emotion. It causes harm to, not only you, but the people around you, leading to hurt feelings, broken hearts and spirits, and even death. The first 15 minutes of the newscast is filled with events that were cultivated in anger. Make some steps towards controlling your anger by writing down all the things that anger you, dissect it by understanding its core, find closure, and begin the healing process by no longer giving it the power to affect you.

Sankofa Bird

Honor your parents, teachers, and elders. In the Akan culture of Africa, the Sankofa bird symbolizes the importance of understanding your past to have a clear perspective towards the present and to better plan for the future. Despite how we came to this point in our lives, we didn’t get here without someone taking us under their wing – parent, pastor, teacher, neighbor, barber, counselor, civic leader(s), etc. Paying homage to our elders and ancestors through your actions is an honorable way to show that their hard work was not in vein. Outside of meditation, prayer, and daily self-Reiki treatments, find a fun and interactive way to pay homage to your elders. The matriarchs of my family knew how to bake and cook. As of recently, I’ve seem to have picked up where they left off. Since I have a family history of diabetes, stroke, and hypertension, I’ve decided to pay homage by, not only passing down our family recipes, but substituting some of the ingredients to make it healthier.

Earn your living honestly. I remember reading a quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau--"It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living". It struck me because at that time in my life, I felt like money was the solution to all my problems. My false perception along with the drive to make a quick buck had almost cost me everything. Nowadays, my daily self-Reiki treatment helps put things into proper perspective. It also shows me how to have a healthy relationship with material possessions WITHOUT compromising my integrity and more importantly, my soul.

Show gratitude for every living thing. As a parent volunteer at an afterschool program, I used to watch the children during their break. I saw a boy stomping the ground and screaming. When I walked closer, I noticed that he was stomping on an ant hill. I stopped him and asked what he was doing. He said he was playing with the ants. I had explained to him how the ants were living beings with families too - they’re just smaller. He immediately looked at the area where he stomped and saw that many of them were dead. He was upset about what he had done and promised that he wouldn’t do it again. Weeks later, he told me his parents bought him an ant farm and how he loves taking care of them.

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Getting that Restful Sleep

Err on the side of caution, my friends. Find healthier alternatives to getting a restful night of sleep. No matter what the age, developing an evening regimen to help ease into bedtime can be very helpful. Your goal is to power down your active thoughts from the day and do (and say) things to help calm your mind and body for a good night’s rest.

For example, if your ideal bedtime is 10pm, start by having dinner at least by 7pm – this gives your body enough time to digest your food so your body can start the cooling down process and preparing itself for sleep. Follow it by doing mild activities like reading a book and/or listening to soothing music. This can be coupled with herbal tea followed by a relaxing shower and a self-Reiki treatment. Before you know it, your eyelids are as heavy as anvils and articles like the one below will cease to exist.

Sleeping pills 'linked to increased death risk' http://bbc.in/yhUAR1