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The School of Modern Herbal Medicine
Thoughts on the Ebola Scare
- 10/14/2014
- Categorized in: The Herb Guy (Steven Horne)
As I write this, it's early October, the month for Halloween. Halloween is the time when we celebrate the more macabre side of life. It's fall, so plants are dying back and animals are seeking shelter for winter. As summer dies, it's as natural to contemplate death as it is to contemplate life in the spring.
Halloween is also a time when we play with our fears. So, how appropriate is it that mainstream media is again filling people with fear over the ebola virus. I call it the "ebola scare."
Since I never watch mainstream news, I learn about things like the ebola scare from other people. I first learned about this from a friend who emailed me asking what I thought the cure for ebola was.
Frankly, I don't know. And neither does anyone else. This doesn't stop people who are selling products from claiming they have the answers, however. Scares like this are always good for marketers. People who are scared will readily "buy into" messages that promise them safety and protection, whether it's government or media messages or people with products to sell.
Both Young Living and DoTerra got in trouble because they had distributors claiming that essential oils would cure (or at least protect people) from ebola. I'm sure they're not the only ones.
The fact is that none of us know for sure what will work on ebola because none of us have ever tried treating ebola with natural remedies before. So, all we can do is guess. I'm going to share with you my best guesses about ebola at the end of this blog, but first I want to tell you the reason why I don't get "worked up" about things like this.
Live By Faith Instead of Fear
First, I long ago chose to live by faith instead of fear. Most people think of faith as believing in some religious doctrine. I think of faith more like Napolean Hill's idea of positive thinking, which he also called applied faith. It's trusting that God can help me through whatever happens in my life. I seek Divine guidance constantly and I chose to believe that when the time comes that there is a real threat to me that I can be guided as to what to do.
Because I chose to live by faith instead of fear, I have adopted a general attitude of not worrying about anything I have no control over. I've also chosen to seek to live in the present. When I realize I'm starting to worry about the future, or what might happen, I'm recognize I'm not living in the present moment. I'm engaging in a pointless activity, since I have no idea what tomorrow will actually bring. Most of our pain and distress comes from fretting over the past (which has already occurred and there's nothing we can do to change it) or worrying about the future. As Eckhart Tolle says, in the present moment seldom is anything really wrong.
So, dwelling on all the bad things that could happen is pointless. It's true that life has it's struggles, but we make those struggles a lot worse by holding onto the past and trying to figure out the future. I have learned to take things one day at a time. As Jesus said, "Take no thought for tomorrow...sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
Acknowledge the Possibilities
Second, and this may seem strange, considering what I just said, I long ago accepted the fact that we are likely to have a plague during my lifetime. I've believed this for nearly 30 years and I came to believe it was even more likely just a few years ago. In other words, my faith is not based on a denial that bad things can happen. It starts with acceptance that bad things not only can happen, they do happen. The problem is that we don't actually know when or how they will happen.
There are several reasons why I believe a plague is likely. For starters, most people have very poor natural immunity. The average person eats mostly refined and processed foods and takes synthetic vitamin and mineral supplements thinking that this will make up for it. They have created an antiseptic environment through disinfectants, antibiotics and vaccines, so they have very poor innate immunity. They are filled with fear, worry and stress, which also depresses immune function.
Another reason a plague is possible is because of the rapid transportation systems we have, which could spread a new strain of the flu or some other disease very rapidly. Widespread illness of any kind would cripple our health care system because we simply wouldn't have the hosptial beds or supplies to take care of everyone. And, since most people don't have any knowledge of how to treat illness at home, they'd feel very helpless and likely panic.
Having already accepted this as a possible future situation, when news comes that there is a disease that could turn into a plague, it neither alarms me nor frightens me. But, frankly, I don't get scared about what gets hyped in the media. The powers that be love to keep people in fear, because, as I've already pointed out, people who are afraid are easy to control. I'm more concerned that there is a hidden agenda to all this, such as some new mass vacination plan, than I am about the actual problem of ebola.
Besides, there are other problems the media is silent about, such as the impending collapse of the US dollar, which I believe will happen very shortly. So, I'm not blind to the fact that difficult times and situations may be ahead. In fact, I fully accept and acknowledge that a wide variety of problems could befall us.
Don't Worry, Prepare
Which leads me into my third and final reason why I don't worry. Having accepted that life will bring problems and challenges, I do my best to prepare for emergencies.
The first, and most important, way I prepare is to arm myself with knowledge. I may not know what will specifically work on any given health problem, but I do know a lot of tried and true principles about staying healthy in general. Since a healthy body (and immune system) is our first, and best defense against any disease, I concentrate on the positive, doing my best to take care of my health.
I'm also confident that I understand the general principles of natural healing well enough that I can figure out how to deal with nearly any health problem. If nothing else, I believe I can pray and get guidance about how to deal with a particular disease, should the need arise. I believe that knowledge is power because it increases faith and self-confidence. Ignorance encourages fear and self-doubt.
About two years ago, I decided that I should prepare for the possibility of a plague, so I decided to start storing things that might be helpful if this were to happen. I do believe that various disinfectant essential oils would help prevent the spread of infection, so I've got a supply of some of these. If there is widespread infection, I'd probably diffuse some of these oils in my home and office, because there is research suggesting that essential oils can disinfect the air.
I also have a Boomarang Air and Surface Sanitizer (made by Nature's Sunshine Products). The technology behind this device was developed for NASA to purify the air in the International Space Station. Research shows that it can knock contaminants and microbes out of the air. The person who owns the company who developed it, personally told me he had used it in the hospital to cure someone with an antibiotic-resistant infection. So, if there was a plague going around, I'd be running this unit at both my home and my office.
I also decided to store a special form of colloidal silver, known as silver sol. It is sold by the company Aqua Sol and by Nature's Sunshine Products under the trade name Silver Shield. This form of non-toxic silver has been used to knock out a wide variety of very severe infections. I don't know if it would work on ebola, but I'd certainly give it a try. I wouldn't be timid about using it either. I'd give 4-8 ounces of it daily, which is why I'm storing quite a bit of it.
I've also stored some other antimicrobial herbs and tinctures, but knowing that supplies of any stored product can run out, I've also considered what antimicrobial plants are growing locally. Chapparal is native to where I live and there are also Thuja trees growin near me, both of which I'd certainly try on any serious infection. There are others, but these two are two of the more potent possiblities for treating a plague.
Recently, I've also decided that I need to store protective gear—gloves, masks and disinfectants. If I'm going to be able to help people, then I need to be able to minimize my own risk of contracting an infection. After reading Cody Lunden's book, When All Hell Breaks Lose, which I highly recommend, I decided to keep chlorine bleach on hand. It's a good, cheap disinfectant. Oh, I know it's not healthy stuff, but if the choice is between sterilizing things to avoid an immediate infection, versus the long term risks of chlorine, I'll reduce the risk of infection. It's cheap, but only lasts a year, so you have to replace it if you don't use it.
So, in a plague situation, I'd make sure to be extra cautious about sanitation and taking remedies to enhance immune function. But, I'm also not planning on hiding my head in the sand either. I'm trying to be prepared to help other people, not just myself or my own family. I think that's an important part of preparedness, as God is more likely to help and bless me if I'm trying to help others and not just acting out of fear trying to protect myself.
Shameless Self-Promotion
Now, it's time for my shameless self-promotion. Long before the ebola scare, I decided that I need to get the information I had into the hands of as many people as I could. I decided one way to do this was to create a very inexpensive course that would teach all the most important concepts I use in protecting my own help and helping others. The result is my new course, Seven Keys to Effective Natural Healing.
I'm doing a live version of the class starting October 20, 2014. After that, the class will be available continuously as an online, self-study program. The seven classes in this program are just $39. And, there is a 100% money-back guarantee. If you take the class, and don't like it, you can ask for a refund at the end of the course. So, you can review ALL the material and see if it was worth the money.
If you're worried about things like ebola, then register for this class. I won't be telling you how to cure ebola, but as I've already said, knowledge is power; and in this class I'll share with you the knowledge that gives me confidence to face whatever health challenges come my way.