"The Cosmic Dance" - Poetry

Well good morning, beautiful piece of poetry I don't remember writing last night :)
I'm diggin' the word play and theme of this one. Enjoy! 

feeling sick
but unbroken
these words are spoken
by a warrior with Yaqui provokin'
the fight in my veins
yeah
you thought you killed us all off
well, guess again
we're too damned stubborn and strong
to ever be kept down for long
you see
we've still got the Earth Mother connection
Father Sky looking down, sending us lessons
so easily missed by those all amiss
lost and confused, like you're in a deep mist
but with my Yoeme eyes I can see
the inner workings and harmonies
of this world, this universe, how ever many may be
my culture claims Five
but could be indefinitely
ongoing, ever flowing
outward and in
like a fractal
eternal, infinite
look deep within
and you'll find you're part of it too
the entire universe is also in you
and out at the same time
reality is a mindfuck
but it's fine, more than fine
it's amazing, divine
join in the Cosmic Dance
don't worry about keeping time, or score
just enjoy the present score of music
the Great Party
the dancer's decor
a feast for the senses
but only if your tenses
are focused on the present moment
with no pretenses
own it, be relentless
in your pursuit of happiness and contentment
many naysayers will say it can't be done
but only of their own resentments, my son
so chase down your folly
life's too short otherwise
may you be ever jolly no matter the size
of any battles you might wager this day
remember, you're strong as Yoeme
or whatever Ancestor blood runs through your veins
pay tribute to them by being strong despite the pain
know to experience, to be alive, is to truly be blessed
even when you're stressing or not feeling your best
if life's a play, then let me play my role well
seems my Persona's deemed to guide others up out of Hell
oh well, so be it
I can't think of anyone better
considering my wings have been scorched
but I still have my feathers
I've weathered many storms
Please, give me strength for the next
until this role is no longer needed
then at last I shall rest
when the Persona exits Stage Left
and I move on to whatever Cosmic Play is next...

Sometimes the words come out kinda crazy like

Thanks for reading!
*Love & Light*
Renata Carmen

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

"Spoonie Rock" - Poetry

Breaking the poetry back out. This is a recent one, just wrote it last week. For my fellow "Spoonies", "Chronic Badasses", or anyone on the struggle...Keep up, stay strong! We all have moments of weakness in our battles - this was one of mine that I managed to turn around in the end. 

For me, freewriting is one of the best forms of therapy.

Hope you enjoy! 

Please tell me that I'm strong enough for this

When you look at me do you see my pain or strength?

I'm trying to bend like a willow in the wind

but I feel I might crack

I fear I may break

If I did a good thing then why 

Why do I 

why do I feel so sad?

Why do I feel so bad? 

why do I cry? 

Why am I so beat down

it's just a hurricane blowing everything around

Flipping my world upside-down

Heavy is the head that wears the crown

These thorns in my flesh are spread all around

Heart and Mind pound

Feeling heavier than gravity

Wanna crawl into a deep, underground cavity

and rest 

Say I did my best

as I breathe my last into the Earth Mother's sweet breast

But that would be a lie

Surely, I'd be sent back to finish what I started

To guide and soothe the lost and broken hearted

A job only I can do in the way that I do it

Now, if only I can be strong enough to see through it

Please

Let the tears stop

Let the pain subside

Give me the strength

to get up and ride

On to better places 

Friendlier faces

filled with the presence of God's graces

Time erases all pain

I know it's hard to think sunshine when you're lost in the rain

But you have everything to gain 

if you so choose

Blessings are often disguised as blues

and wise men as simple fools 

So, follow your folly! 

Be free from sadness

May your heart overflow with gladness

Even at your darkest hour 

What's yours is mine, and I give you Power, 

Strength, and Love

May it flow like a river down from above

and sustain you when you need it most

From sister to sister

and coast to coast 

Together

we're far stronger than one ever could be

United we stand

my fellow Spoonies...

*Love & Light*

Renata Carmen 

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

WTF Is Fibromyalgia?

Hello everyone! Thanks for checking out my latest blog post. My apologies that I haven’t been writing more, it’s been a great struggle for me. But I do plan on being here more often, sharing information from my journey that I hope will help others in similar situations. Hope you had a great Holiday and New Year surrounded by loved ones and delicious foods! 

I’ve realized that I’ve not yet discussed my chronic illness in detail, so I would like to take some time to talk about that today. 

Should you find anything useful on this here blog, please consider donating to my PayPay account (I’m working on adding Bitcoin here too!). I am unable to work at this time, but have not yet qualified for Disability, so no amount is too small. 

Most of all I’m just flattered you’re here. Thanks for stopping by!

WTF is Fibromyalgia? 

Before the decline in my health in 2011, I’d never even heard of Fibromyalgia, nonetheless knew anything about this debilitating chronic illness. I didn’t even really understand what a chronic illness is. I guess it’s one of those things that you couldn’t possibly comprehend unless you’ve experienced it personally, but as a writer I’m compelled to try and describe it so that those lucky enough to not know firsthand may understand, or at least get as close as they can to understanding, what it’s like to not be well, indefinitely. 

A “chronic illness” is defined by The Center for Managing Chronic Disease as “a long lasting condition that can be controlled but not cured.” Examples of chronic illnesses that are probably more familiar are allergies, asthma, epilepsy, and diabetes.

Fibromyalgia is defined by The Mayo Clinic as “a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues.”

If it sounds vague, that’s because it is. Fibro, like many immune or central nervous system (CNS) mediated syndromes and diseases, is poorly understood. The mechanisms of action and onset haven't yet been fully identified. It does not show up on labs and this makes it a huge PITA to diagnose. The current theory is that something is wrong with the part of the brain that processes pain signals, like having the volume knob on an amplifier cranked up to “11” at all times. 

"But, it goes to eleven."

Onset does seem to be “triggered” by a traumatic event or period of stress, such as major surgery, pregnancy/childbirth, or infection. Another interesting fun fact is that Fibro and the rest of the Immune/CNS illnesses are about 9 times more prevalent in women than in men. So hormones seem to play a role in this as well. It's a great medical mystery that I've become mildly obsessed with. 

We could read medical definitions ‘til the cows come home, but they don’t do a good job painting a picture about what the person affected is feeling or how their life is impacted.

So this is Fibromyalgia in my own words. 

It’s been very painful to write these concepts down, and even more difficult to share them, but I know it’s pertinent to the grieving process to get this stuff out. I think partly what’s held me back from sharing these gritty details, is not just because it’s uncomfortable, but also because I don’t want to be defined by my illness. I don’t want to be looked at as “that sick girl”, the person who is always talking about their diet or meds or symptoms or whatnot. I don't want to make others uncomfortable or scared by being honest about how I feel. I don’t want people to see me coming and duck for cover out of fear they will get cornered by a health related lecture or seemingly endless complaints about my latest aches and pains. 

But I do feel that it’s important to “come out of the closet”, so to speak. Us sick people need to share so that others know they’re not alone. And maybe by describing my experience I can help those not directly impacted understand these “invisible illnesses” a little better. 

I do not share this out of a desire for pity, but in the hopes of educating and inspiring :)

FIBROMYALGIA IS...

...Insidious and mostly invisible, like a slow poison. Confusing because it's different from day to day and person to person. Sometimes I need a cane, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I have the energy to do things on my own, and sometimes I don't. Making plans can be difficult because it's hard to predict how I'll be feeling in the future.

...People telling you “But you don’t look sick!” or "I wish I were as skinny as you!" thinking they’re being helpful when actually they’re discounting your experience.

...Being undiagnosed for three years. Looking for answers for three years. Doing all manner of tests and bouncing from specialist to specialist to specialist. Hemorrhaging money to try and figure things out. Being told you’re not sick, you’re making it up, you’re a hypochondriac, you’re sensitive, you’re mentally ill. 

...Going from an overtime working, SoCal commuting, hardcore raving and clubbing, race car fixing, beach combing, social butterfly, to a homebound hermit who can no longer stomach the facades of Facebook, in less than three years. 

...Having a timeline for your life: “Before I Got Sick” and “After I Got Sick”.

...Changes in the way my brain works that adversely affect creativity, memory, and the ability to focus, solve problems, and communicate. Writing used to flow out of me like water, now I struggle to squeeze it out drops at a time. I’ve become much more image based and thus am developing a newfound love of the visual arts. I’ve also become incredibly self-conscious about social interaction.

...Being a half Mexican from L.A. who has become extremely limited in where I can choose to live or travel because of debilitating sensitivities to UV rays and fluctuations in Barometric Pressure. A Mexican, sensitive to the sun!?! WTF?

...Missing sunbathing like a bird with clipped wings misses flying.

...No longer being able to work or be self-sufficient, but not qualifying for SSI/SSDI, and feeling like a burden to your loved ones as a result.

...Not being able to remember anything like I used to! Important dates, what time it is even though I just looked, what I came into this room to do (or was it to get something or tell somebody something?), how to spell words I never struggled to spell before, if I left the stove on, if I’ve told you this story already, if I’ve taken my supplements today. 

...PAIN. Indefinitely. With an opiate allergy. Threatening to drive you mad. Affecting the positions you use when trying to sleep. Stabbing. Throbbing. Aching. Burning. In my gut and abdomen. In my muscles. In my tendons. In my nerve endings. In my joints. In the bottoms of my feet. In my head. In my eyes. When I menstruate or ovulate. Sometimes it’s just one body part that’s bothering me, other times it’s everything at once.

...Struggling to eat/maintain a healthy weight, and feeling nauseous and sick most of the time, like a nuclear bomb went off in my gut.

...Feeling trapped inside my own body. Like my body has betrayed me. 

...Feeling like my life has been flipped upside-down, like I don’t have control over anything.

...Feeling misunderstood by everyone, including family, and struggling to express myself properly so they can understand better.

...Mind-blowing insomnia, like trying to sleep while buzzing off stimulatory drugs, mixed with extreme hypersomnia that makes me feel like a sloth with narcolepsy.

...Feeling like I have the stamina and vitality of a frail 95 year old woman carrying a 50 pound pack of lead. 

...Feeling like I’m on a roller coaster I can’t get off of when my vertigo kicks in.

...Feeling like I’m a rusted Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz when I’ve pushed too far and my chronic fatigue, inflammation, and arthritis kick into overdrive, making it difficult to move or walk.

Good friends are always there to help get you unstuck :)

...Losing Confidence: to go for drives, trips, or run errands by myself; to have conversations; to keep up on bills; to be an independent adult. 

...STRESS: Over money. Over my health. Over where I live vs. where I want to be. Over safe access to medicinal cannabis and other plant medicines. Over what people think. Over the lack of a light at the end of the tunnel.

...Desperately struggling to accept “a new normal”, while being tortured by dreams in my sleep of “my old life, the way things used to be”.

...Losing pigment in my skin, and getting random rashes and itchy feelings everywhere.

...Having half as much hair on my head as I did before 2011.

...Having your joints lock up on you and creak like an old haunted house. 

...Only having about 4-6 hours in each day I can be active before I burn out and need rest, usually for the rest of the day.

...Being best friends with a cat.

...Trying to pick up the pieces and figure out what’s next.

...Needing weeks to put together a measly blog post :/

That was a lot of some pretty heavy shit, so here's an adorable pic of my cat Freya to perk us up :)

*Whew*

That was some pretty heavy stuff. Hopefully educational though. 

I must confess it does feel good to finally be talking openly about my life as a chronically ill person. 

On to the “inspirational” part...

I would like to also include some positive things that have come out of this experience. Learning to cultivate an “Attitude of Gratitude” has become a vital part of my “Wellness Action Plan”. I cannot cure Fibromyalgia, but I can choose to not let it beat me down or ruin my life. I don’t have to quit, I don’t have to accept “no” or “you can’t”. I can still live a fulfilling and beautiful life!

FIBROMYALGIA HAS GIVEN ME:

...An opportunity to get to know myself intimately, becoming a stronger and more integrated person everyday.

...Exposure to industries, people, and ideas I probably wouldn’t have otherwise: Medical Cannabis and other Plant Medicines, Natural and Alternative Medicine, Herbalism, Neurochemistry and Pharmacology, Shamanism, Eastern Philosophy, Psychology, Personal Development, Alternative Spiritual Paths that truly resonate with me, Comedy and the healing power of Laughter, Alan Watts, Sasha and Ann Shulgin, Terence and Dennis McKenna, Carl Jung, Jim Rohn, Darren Hardy.

...Liberation from being overly attached to society and fear - fear of death, fear of being able to keep up with The Jones’s, fear of complying with the Status Quo, fear of consciousness exploration, fear of pain.

...An opportunity to contribute to causes far greater than my previous pursuits and truly serve others. 

...A strengthened and enriching bond with my super amazing boyfriend/hetero-life-partner. 

...A healthier perspective on life - “how to be truly present”, how to be grateful for all the little things we take for granted - the time we’ve been given in this life, being able to see, hear, speak, walk, taste, smell, stand in the sunshine, make love, give love, create, destroy. 

...The empowerment to believe in myself and take 100% responsibility for everything in my life.

...The opportunity to learn that I can overcome any obstacle, especially the greatest of all: Those that reside in my own head. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this super-duper long post! 

I hope you found it informative and inspiring :)

What are some tools you use to overcome your circumstances? 

What are you grateful for in the midst of any challenges you face?

*Love & Light*

Renata Carmen

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

Medical Cannabis in Vermont vs. Colorado, and Thoughts on America's Drug Policies

“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

I’m gonna get real for a sec.

As I write this, pain and frustration have me in their grip. I have been crying all morning, consumed by Great Vengeance and Furious Anger.

Yeah, this is how I feel about US Drug Policy...

You see, I am running low on my plant medicines, specifically cannabis, and my Fibromyalgia symptoms have been running around unchecked. My already severely limited quality of life is being impacted even further, because of lack of safe access to this plant. I’m in the process of applying for Vermont’s Medical Cannabis Program, but its much more involved than where we were living just two months ago, and it will be at least a month before I will be able to purchase from a state-legal dispensary.

Toto, we certainly aren’t in Colorado anymore.

Moving from somewhere where this ancient plant medicine is legal and respected, to New England, or anywhere that doesn’t recognize its value in the same way as those states who have legalized or have less restrictive medical cannabis programs, is like stepping back in time 50 years. I appreciate and understand to a certain extent why Vermont is so strict, it keeps that legal Mob known as the Feds off their case. But it makes things infinitely more difficult on the patients. To start, it costs much more money to apply out here than in Colorado, with no options for fee waivers or adjustments for those who are below a certain income bracket. I can’t shop until I get my official state card, unlike Colorado where patients can shop with their temporary paperwork until they get official documents in the mail. Also, unlike Colorado, upon application approval, I have to pre-select a designated dispensary for procurement, and can only shop at that location. And its not like I get to check the quality or variety before I choose, and anytime I want to switch dispensaries I have to send in more money to the state and fill out more paperwork. Oh yeah and you can only shop by appointment. Talk about frustrating. Being a Los Angeles native, and having relocated here from the booming Green Rush of the High Rockies, and having worked in the industry in both states, one could say I have very high standards of quality. And with the Fibro I have found that specific strains and methods of ingestion are more effective for some symptoms than others (will be discussing in detail in a future post). But I don’t get to shop around or know what my options will be before I drive an hour to the nearest dispensary to purchase my medicine. Awesome.

Leaving the bubble that is Colorado has really driven home how ass-backwards drug policies are in this country. How is it, that in 2014, with the World Wide Search Engine known as the Internet at our fingertips every moment, that we are still attacking plants? It just boggles my fucking mind. It is open information now, and has been for some time, that cannabis was made illegal for political and racist reasons, not for the health and well being of the citizens of this fine country; that this plant is safe, efficacious, and potentially profitable to boot. Should you happen to believe otherwise, you are in complete denial, I know you have no science to back up your claims, only beliefs, biases, and convoluted data. Argue with me, please, I fucking dare you. When I look around Vermont and see the overwhelming poverty and all that comes with that; drug and alcohol abuse, shuttered windows, closed stores and gas stations, entire neighborhoods with For Sale signs in front of each home, abandoned homes, buildings and properties, I don’t understand why lawmakers wouldn’t be jumping all over the chance to boost their economy and bring safe alternatives to their sick populous. Especially when you consider Vermont’s exploding opiate abuse problem, why wouldn’t you want to offer people safe alternatives?

Why are Cannabis and other plant medicines still illegal and stigmatized? 

I just don’t understand. It just doesn’t compute. 

And why are processed opiates legal, but you can't harvest your own opium from poppies? Opium is much safer than refined opiates, and much less addictive, altho it still must be handled with care. People would save a lot of money if they could grow their own poppies for opium.

What’s my beef with the medicines already legal and available? I don't feel pharmaceuticals shouldn't exist at all, I just don't feel they are the only solution, and think its only fair to have options about how one manages their health. What works for some might not work for others, or what's safe for one person might be detrimental to another.

For example, I have severe allergies to most medications, including the highly praised Penicillins, as well as suflas, and opiates. As someone who has been dealing with monthly Level 10 pain for going on 15 years, I have tried pretty much every pain pill imaginable to manage it, to no avail. And I have seen firsthand the detrimental effects of long term opiate use and abuse. I have lost several people to overdoses or complications from withdrawal, and all but one were prescription related. I never thought I could be grateful for my opiate allergy until I saw how addicted my friends were becoming. The most recent one I lost was like a brother to me; he passed while in jail, withdrawing from Methadone. His family hid the news out of shame or something, I’m not sure why, and he never even got a formal memorial. He was one of the most talented people I’ve ever known, and it breaks my heart. Methadone is the one they give you to get off Heroin. Which makes NO fucking sense to me because its so fucking dangerous and addictive in itself. How in the fuck does it make sense to treat an addiction with another addiction? All the people I knew who got into Heroin started with pills. And the majority of them wound up preferring Oxycontin over Heroin when they could get that. “It’s way easier than mainlining bro. I like to drink grape gatorade so that when I vomit it doesn’t taste bad.” Cannabis has not been shown to be physically addictive, and as someone who has been using it regularly for over a decade, I can tell you it is not. Habit forming, yes. Physically addictive? No. You will not puke and shake and rob your own family to feed your need for cannabis. 

"You ever suck some dick for some marijuana?" "No, I can't say that I have..."

As someone with a chronic illness, meaning I have it FOR LIFE and it will NEVER go away, I have to carefully consider the long term safety of any symptom management regiment I choose to follow. Besides my monthly pain I also have developed severe daily chronic pain and other symptoms over the last several years due to the onset of my Fibromyalgia. Opiates, NSAID’s, and other commonly used pain management methods are definitely not safe when used for years. I used Ibuprofen for so long that I started developing stomach problems and had to stop. 

So what do you do when you are in constant pain? When you wake up every morning feeling like you are going to shit yourself and puke at the same time? When you can’t sleep, can’t eat? When your quality of life has been severely impacted by your health?  When it feels like there’s needles poking thru your retinas and your head pounds like its in a vice? The generally accepted answer is pills, pills, and more pills. I’ve been lurking immune disease forums for the last couple years, and the members are almost always on a myriad of pills. One to help with pain, a laxative to help you poop since pain pills bind you up, an SSRI or some other anti-depressant because being chronically sick fucking sucks, a pill for nausea, a pill for appetite stimulation, a pill to help you sleep...pills, pills, pills! Processing all that shit has to be super hard on the body, especially the kidneys, which are already at risk of being attacked by an immune system gone awry, as happens in immune mediated diseases. Not to mention manufacturing pharmaceuticals is poisonous to the planet (which is why the majority are made in other countries...they aren’t under US Environmental laws and so forth), and involves a bunch of gross stuff that you wouldn’t want to put into your body. (I will procure references for all my claims in another, better organized post. For now, I just need to rant.) 

So what if I told you I use plants for all my Fibro symptoms? Primarily cannabis, one of the first plants known to be cultivated by man per archeological carbon dating, a plant whose entire parts can be used, from roots to flowers, for either medical or industrial purposes, a plant that can be grown on the same soil for years before needing to rotate crops, a plant that is ridiculously safe. 

Speaking of the topic of safety, let’s get Scientific for a second. Whenever assessing the potential danger of a drug, one should know its LD-50. The term “LD-50”, refers to the dose that kills off 50% of a population in a drug study. So if you have 100 rats in a lab and you give them X amount of Z drug and half of them die, then that’s the LD-50 for that drug. Ideally, one wants to be working with drugs whose LD-50 is much higher than the effective dose. LD-50’s can be affected by animal type (mice vs. rats. vs. humans, etc), age, gender, and tolerance (Especially with opiates and alcohol. What would kill a non-user would not affect an addict, and addicts usually die from overdose when they have been clean for a while and then use again, at a dose they were used to when they still had a tolerance.). Published LD-50’s show that opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, and antidepressants have relatively low LD-50’s, whereas cannabis has a much higher LD-50 (generally around 1500 pounds in 15 minutes....good luck with that shit, homie! You’d most definitely pass out long before you reached that goal!). In the case of LSD, the LD-50 remains unknown. Meaning nothing has ever died from any dose of LSD, even crazy high doses. Hmm. Interesting.

With this information in mind, doesn’t the way the Federal Government has scheduled drugs seem a little confusing? How is it that cocaine and opiates’ medical value has been recognized, which can kill you quite easily and are incredibly addictive, yet cannabis remains Schedule 1, meaning that it has “no medical value and is incredibly dangerous”? This in spite of the fact that the Federal Government established the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Study program in 1976, giving medical cannabis to over 30 patients until 1992, when George Bush the 1st decided there was “no medical value” to it and scaled back the program. Now there are just 4 patients under this program. But it still exists. So the Feds say “this is a dangerous drug with no known medical value, so we shall make it Schedule 1. But we have this medical program where we give this drug to patients because it has been deemed a medical necessity.” WTF?!?

And this is what REALLY pisses me off. They sure as hell didn’t ask the patients they kicked off the program about the medical value of it. They didn’t say, “Hey, does this help you? Okay, sweet.” Nope, they just fucking decided, because the Bush administration wanted to be “hard on drugs”. 

Let’s not even look at the science for a sec...

How in the fuck can you tell me or anyone else who suffers what has medical value?

How can you tell me how to manage my pain, my nausea, my cachexia, my vertigo, my eye pain and headaches, my daily living?

How can anyone tell someone who suffers how they can and can’t manage it?

You have NO fucking idea what its like, unless you are in the same shitty boat. Some people get handed a raw deal in this life, and some get really lucky. If you have your health, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. I don’t give a fuck if you are broke, or you just got dumped, or you failed a class or got fired. I don’t care. You cannot buy health, you cannot earn it, you can’t get it back once its lost. I don’t care how shitty your life situation is, if you are in good health and free of chronic pain or other chronic symptoms, you are one of the richest people on the planet. Truly, you are lucky. 

Like drawing cards from a deck. Some people get a full house, or royal flush. Others wish they could trade in their hand and pull from the deck again. A fresh start. But life doesn’t work like that. 

Now, looking at Science, let’s talk about the Endocannabinoid System. I will produce a more detailed post dedicated specifically to this system and to the numerous cannabinoids found naturally in plants and animals in the near future, but for now a quick overview. One of the most common receptor sites in the human Central Nervous and Peripheral Systems is the cannabinoid receptor. The purpose of endogenously produced cannabinoids remains poorly understood, as does the majority of the inner workings of our bodies, but it is speculated that they are involved with the regulation of pain, appetite, motor learning, and synaptic activity. Interestingly, studies are showing that the amount of cannabinoids produced by our bodies exceed the amount of cannabinoid receptors, which suggests cannabinoids are used by our bodies in other ways that we still don’t know about. 

Now why would we restrict people from using things that our own bodies make? I’m just as puzzled over this as I am with DMT, which is also Schedule 1. DMT is made in our brains and is in our bodies. We also don’t understand much about its role in our physiology, but its there, so obviously its important. Mother Nature doesn’t conduct processes over billions of years and keep things for Shits’n’Giggles. But if you, or I, or your sweet innocent Mom, or your preacher/rabbi/sensei, or your child, or anyone regardless of whether having purposely ingested DMT or not, were to be forcibly tested right now for it, we’d “all be holding”, to quote the late, great, Terence McKenna. 

Fuckin' love this!!

In short, our brains run on drugs. They would not function without them.

We need to re-evaluate the way we use the word “drug”. Why are pharmaceuticals accepted as medicine, and anything else demonized and called “drugs”? Why don’t we recognize that we all use drugs everyday? Caffeine, nicotine, refined sugar, alcohol; the products praised and supported by our consumerist nation, those are some of the most dangerous drugs on the planet. 

So why don’t we have the option to use Cannabis? Why is it still illegal? Why can’t I buy cartridges for my vaporizer pen from Amazon, and grow cannabis in my garden next to my tomatoes? Why must countless people suffer needlessly due to lack of safe access or proper education? We are still fed Reefer Madness bullshit, in this, the Age of the Internet. 

I miss my Colorado bubble more than words can express. I’m freaking out about my Fibromyalgia breaking thru the curtain I manage to keep up everyday by using Cannabis. I am in massive pain right now, the only things allowing me to type are Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa, a post on that is coming), ginger (also have a post coming on the science behind that), and Great Vengeance and Furious Anger.

You see, I have a Dream. 

A dream that someday all the residents of this beautiful and fragile planet will have safe access to alternative methods of treatment and symptom management. 

A dream that we can free ourselves from deadly addictions and toxic habits. 

A dream of having the freedom to explore our own consciousness as we see fit. 

A dream that one day we will be able to discuss plant medicines with our doctors as easily as we currently discuss SSRI’s and opiates with them. 

Perhaps I was pulled out of Colorado for a purpose. 

I would have remained complacent there, lazy in my surroundings, forgetting that is the exception rather than the norm. I wouldn’t have felt the need to become more involved, to make my voice heard, to stand up for what is right and push for continued reform. Every voice counts.

The time has long been overdue for some serious change in the way this country views drugs. Too many people have suffered for too long. Too many good people have stood by and done nothing, too many presidents have said cannabis should be accessible but haven’t done anything to change it, too many innocent people have been and remain incarcerated. 

Being sick is not a crime. Pain is not a crime. Consciousness exploration is not a crime. 

There is hope on the horizon, with reform taking place at the state level, and the re-examination of plants and alternative drugs in medical studies, like the ones taking place at John Hopkins. I personally believe its only a matter of time. But some of us don’t have much time to wait. And It doesn’t change all the injustice that has taken place since the advent of Harry J. Anslinger and Prohibition. 

Thank you for reading this rant. Maybe it will do some good in this world.

I promise my future posts will have specific and scientific references accompanying my claims. 

And I promise to fight for the plants.

*Peace & Plants*

*Love & Light*

Renata Carmen 

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

"It's Time for a Renaissance"

Finding the strength to write again after the last couple months has a been a great challenge, probably one of the greatest of my life. Which, as you get to know me, dear reader, you may find has not been an easy one.

But who has an easy path in this life, really? I can sit here and make excuses about it, after all, I have some pretty good ones; at the beginning of the year I lost two people who were very close to me,  shortly after that I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (a bittersweet experience..."Hey, I'm not crazy! See, I really am sick, in your face haters! Oh shit, I have Fibro, fuck what now??"), and I relocated a couple thousand miles from the thriving industry of Boulder County, Colorado to a quiet, small town (technically a "village") in Southwest Vermont - which required the sale of my dearly beloved AW11 ('87 MR2).

"And so she walked out of our lives, forever..."

The move was madness, as all such moves are, but was exasperated by our extremely tight budget and emotionally tense situation. We didn't move for happy reasons. We both love Colorado very much and left behind a budding career, fabulous social circle, and "The Green Rush". We left because my health could never improve in a place that gets over 300 days of sunshine a year, with some of the highest UV indexes in the country, and the stress building in our household was becoming too much to bear. My awesome Man was fried from holding down so much responsibility at work and home. He couldn't handle being Mr. Manager over 40 hours a week on top of household responsibilities and my ever worsening health.

Who could? The emotional baggage that comes with managing a debilitating chronic illness is too much to bear alone, which is something we will be discussing at length on this blog. We needed the support of loved ones, and a less sunny place to live. My family is scattered all over the country, and bless 'em, can barely take care of themselves. Luckily, my man's family is much healthier than mine, and are all in one spot here in The Green Mountains (which gets less sun annually than Portland....ah, heaven to my light sensitive eyes and skin!).

So, we sold and gave away pretty much everything we owned, used the now closed Fundraiser money to buy a badly needed truck (Thank you SO much to all who contributed, we wouldn't have been able to get out of Colorado without your generous help!!!), loaded up what few personal belongings we had left, and drove out here. We had no prospects, no promises of anything other than a place to stay, and knew we would dearly miss the Colorado cannabis scene (that has turned out to be an understatement!)....but we felt we had no choice. We had to get off that mile-high, sun baked pile of rocks, and fast. I couldn't spend another summer up there, stuck inside our small apartment, watching other beautiful girls walking to and from the pool and hearing all my friends talking about what shows they'd be going to next. I needed a change. And boy, did we get what we asked for! Talk about culture shock...

Water & Trees! Missed these out on the Front Range

Change. Wasn't that something the whole nation was chanting, almost like some religious mantra, when Obama got elected? How is it we got away from that? I didn't vote for him myself, because I feel the Right and Left are both the same (Ron Paul!!!)...but this isn't about politics. Not this post anyway, or at least not directly. We should still be screaming for change. The way we handle health, wellness, illness, and consciousness in this country is fucking madness and in dire need of an overhaul. Literally madness; "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."
There's so many pieces to the puzzle, and I have been (almost obsessively) working on putting the big picture together, so that I can get a better idea of what's going on, so I may help myself to get better. Maybe in the process I can help someone else, too.

So this is for You. This is for the Lonely, the Broken, the Weak, the Tired, the Angry, the Bitter, the Resentful, the Depressed, the Overwhelmed, the Homebound, the Disabled, the Fed-Up, the Disillusioned.

Know that you are not alone, you are never alone, you are not fighting alone, and you are stronger and more beautiful than you could ever know. The Powers That Be, The System, The Establishment...none of the institutions in place are going to do it for us. We haven't seen a medical break-thru in immune mediated diseases in over 50 years, and the average time it takes to get diagnosed is 7 - 10 years! Obviously, there's still much to learn about the human body and how it works, and the medical industry is severely out of touch with some (more like most) of its patients. We must change the status quo ourselves, from the ground up. And this can only happen if we speak up, make ourselves heard, "come out of the closet".

I have been scared to stand out, to be heard above the crowd. No, terrified is a better word. Of what? I guess what we all fear; offending someone (like family or loved ones), potential consequences from said Powers That Be for saying they are wrong and need to change, discussing subjects that are taboo or flat out illegal, or for being criticized due to my lack of a college education. I've been studying, and plan to openly discuss, some pretty heavy/technical topics and potentially controversial self-experiments, and will be putting myself out there by opening them up. Topics related to drugs, plant medicines and herbs, politics, PTSD, shamanism, psychoneuroimmunology, Big Food/Pharma, and whatever else I find to be interesting and pertinent.

I also fear criticism of my writing style itself, as it has changed dramatically with the onset of my Fibromyalgia. I am not the same person or writer I was just a couple years ago. My brain fog has totally compromised my ability to hold a conversation or write coherently. My widespread physical pain and chronic fatigue make sitting at the pc and typing a mighty feat of strength that requires many sleeping/stretching/cannabis breaks. I've tried that talk-to-text software, but its just not the same. A different part of the brain is engaged when we are speaking versus writing. Maybe in time I will learn to like it. But for now I continue to be stubborn and type when I can, even though what used to flow like a river now has to be forced out and edited heavily before anyone else sees it. And even then, there will be little mistakes and forgotten words.

Yep, can totally relate to this!!! (Obviously, not my photo)

Please be patient, dear reader. It drives me bonkers and I've had to work really, really hard on being okay with it and moving on. Writing this today and posting it is a big step towards loving myself and my writing, no matter what.

In the end, really, I shouldn't care if someone is critical or gets offended. This is MY unique experience, my life, my illness ("There are many like it, but this one is mine"). No one can take that from me, can discount that.

And my experience is showing that it's time for a change.

No, better yet, to quote Aubrey Marcus's most recent plant medicine experience:
"It's Time for a Renaissance."

And I plan to be a a part of it. Won't you join us???

It feels so good to be back! 
*Love & Light*

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

Renata Carmen Health Update for YouCaring Fundraiser

Many thanks to all those that donated! This donation account is no longer active. Thanks to your support, my partner and I were able to pull together the needed funds to get the care I needed at the time, and relocate to a place where we could have some support from family and live in a climate that better suits my UV Sensitivity. 
However, the struggles of being a disabled mechanic/artist who does not currently receive SSI/SSDI are still very real. Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on, so your support is still greatly appreciated. No amount is too small! 
I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

Hello my beloved readers!

I do hope you all had Happy Holidays and a Blessed New Year!

Typing is murder for me right now so this will be brief.

I've been dealing with a major flare up in my symptoms, which has resulted in increased cognitive dysfunction (my brain is like a leaky sieve right now, its terrible), and a new issue where the muscles and/or nerves in my shoulders and back are spasming/tightening up and it feels like I've been in knots for almost a couple weeks straight now. I haven't found anything that alleviates it for longer than a couple hours. I fear it may be "myofascial pain" and will be discussing it with my PCP when I see him next week. Apparently, its a common issue amongst those suffering from Lupus or Fibromyalgia.

In the meantime, I will be very limited in how much work I will be doing on the computer. I do have this talk-to-text software to play with (many thanks to my buddy Amir of The Wisest and The Stupidest Podcast for the awesome Christmas Present!!!), so I am hoping to get some work done on some eBooks that have been knocking about in my brain-fogged mind for some time. But I have a feeling I will be creating exclusively video blogs for a while. Which I guess isn't such a big deal as my video posts get more views than anything else...which I personally don't get because I read blogs to, well, read, and tend to avoid video blogs like the plague...but I guess I gotta catch up with the times, and creating videos is far easier than writing for me right now.

I do plan on finishing my Holistic Health Tips (That Actually Work!) Series, which we can all use after the gluttony of the holidays I'm sure. Even I slacked a bit on what I ate and drank, and am paying dearly for it now in this "flare-up". Argh. What I would give to be "normal" haha.

Okay my arm is starting to feel like its on fire. Time to tie this up.

I created a short video update for my Medical Fundraiser, if you would like further details about my current health situation.

Thank you all for your continued support, love, and interest in my work.
You help me to keep a positive attitude and always pushing myself forward, even if it hurts a bit.

*Love & Light*

Renata Carmen

A Quick Note Concerning Relationships and Chronic Illness - How Changing Your Mindset Can Change Your World

I have been deep in the grip of a flare-up in inflammation, which has put my Health Tips for the Holidays Series on hold. I will be getting back into that shortly.

In the meantime, I wanted to post something to keep this blog alive and kicking, but I'm in a ton of pain and have the worst brain fog and fatigue so it makes writing very difficult.

Thus, this will be short, and probably full of silly technical errors. Please forgive any that do appear.

In the going on 3 years now that I have been chronically ill, I have done a ton of research related to the matter. Some of my favorite sources are forums, where one can read the experiences of other patients.
Not only do these stories provide unique and invaluable medical insights, and help me maneuver the complex health system more efficiently, they also validate my feelings. To know one is not alone when you feel desperately so is like giving water to someone wasting away in the desert. It could save a life.

That is probably the most tragic common theme amongst the chronically ill. The tendency for loneliness is powerful beyond description. Over the last few years, I have felt so lonely and scared I was afraid I would go mad with grief and despair. That is why I got my cat, who turned out to be badass because she is a Norwegian Forest Cat - which means she is smart and can climb down trees frontwards and likes water (and all kinds of other fun facts I won't bore you with now)! I strongly suggest a companion animal if you are homebound and/or disabled, especially one that is smart and will get tuned into your moods and needs. Freya kitty knows when I'm not feeling well and gives me snuggles when I need it, she also knows when I'm sleeping too much and will harass me til I get out of bed and play with her.

My gloriously fluffy Forest Cat (Skogkatt) and Companion "Freya"

Anywhoos, enough babbling about my super awesome kitty friend.

Back to the serious stuff.

Its damn near impossible to understand someone who is sick unless you have been there yourself.

My research has shown that those suffering from the onset of "invisible diseases" like Lupus, MS, RA, Fibromyalgia, and other immune mediated illness, are grossly misunderstood. The odds are stacked against us; we have a 50% chance of having a doctor give up on us (I've had a few), an equally high chance of being misdiagnosed with a mental illness (I've had a doctor try to shove Zoloft down my throat, even after a Psychologist announced my symptoms were not psychosomatic), and we have a 75% chance of losing our partner/spouse in the time it will take to get diagnosed, which is an average of 7-10 long years.

These statistics blew my mind when I first came across them last year (Or maybe it was the year before? And of course I can't find my source now. Dang brain fog! I'll find it again and post it when I do).
But I can attest to the challenges that the onset of a debilitating illness can create in your personal life, especially with the one you love.

My boyfriend and I had just moved in together a few months before I started getting really sick. Within 6 months I was on an extended medical leave of absence from my blossoming career, which I wound up having to walk away from just a few months after that. As money and health problems continued to build up, we found ourselves being overwhelmed by the situation. Its like being caught in a rip tide and no matter what you do to get out you keep getting sucked back in. We were starting to argue. I was so stressed out about my deteriorating health I couldn't focus on anything else, any of the "real world" stuff. This left my boyfriend to carry the burden of acting as head of household, my caregiver, and my boyfriend. The stress started to create cracks and rifts in our relationship, and we were headed for destruction. We would have crashed and burned had we stayed that course.

But instead of becoming just another statistic, we were able to make our situation better.

To an outside observer, it would appear that nothing's changed.
We are still broke. I'm still sick. I'm still sensitive to all forms of UV light. I'm still unable to work. We still have a host of challenges to overcome.

So how have we come so far together, and learned to smile despite the pain?

When you find yourself in a situation you're unable to change, "don't wish it were easier, wish you were better." We delved into personal development and psychology and all kinds of studies. I will list specific titles and so forth that we have found especially helpful in a future post.

Change your mindset and you can change your universe.

Learn to be truly grateful and you will realize you already have everything you need.

During times of great struggle, love should bring you together, not push you apart.

Keep laughing, always!

I could keep spitting similar anecdotes, but I will finish this with a music video I recently saw for the first time. It does an absolute perfect job of illustrating what I'm trying to say, and after watching it I knew I wanted to include it in a post. The couple makes me think of my boyfriend and I; their situation is a beautiful metaphor for how changing our perspective has changed our world. Its so good, it makes me cry my eyes out.

I hope it touches you also.



What are some of your favorite methods for overcoming challenging situations?

*Love & Light*
-Renata Carmen

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

Holistic Tips for Surviving the Holidays in Good Health (That Actually Work!) – Part 1: Common Mullein

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving yesterday filled with love, laughter, and wonderful foods!

As we enter the joyful chaos of this Holiday Season, we find ourselves caught up in a whirlwind of social events: eating, shopping, eating, gifting, eating, and traveling (and did I mention eating??).

This 45 day crunch of consumerism and partying can wreak havoc on the body’s defenses, making us more prone to catching the season’s flus, colds, and other bugs that threaten to dampen our merrymaking. There is nothing worse than being too sick to enjoy festivities that you have been looking forward to all year!

So how does one survive this onslaught with enough vitality left-over to enjoy the ride all the way through midnight on December 31^st , and beyond into the New Year? Especially when you are at a slight disadvantage from having a chronic illness or compromised immune system?

Most health sources quote the same usual remedies: Vitamin C, Echinacea, Elderberry, Garlic, Homemade Chicken Soup, Lots of Fluids, Lots of Rest, Tea, Zinc, Peppers, Local Raw Honey…the aids we have come to know and love when we aren’t feeling our best. But the majority of these treatments aren’t as effective once sickness has kicked in full force. They certainly help with the symptoms, sure, but what do you do when The Plague is going around the office and you wake up with what you know are the initial signs of impending doom? How do you stop that freight train?

I have dealt with chronically swollen lymph node glands in my face and neck, along with upper respiratory, sinus, and ear infections, ever since the ripe 'ole age of two years. My poor parents did everything 1980’s conventional medicine advised them at that time; I was on such heavy doses of antibiotics for so long they had to monitor my blood on a monthly basis to make sure the meds weren’t affecting my body in any adverse ways. The infections were so chronic I was eventually scheduled to get a tube in at least one of my ears, but a turn of life events in the family caused a lapse in our health insurance and so thankfully I was spared that potentially detrimental procedure. I continued to have chronic upper respiratory issues, including bi-annual Strep and bacterial infections, until I started aggressively adjusting my diet and lifestyle in 2009. During my lifetime, I have built up a tolerance or had an allergic reaction to just about every antibiotic and sinus med known to modern science.

In short, I know a thing or two from firsthand experience about managing the health of the ears, throat, nose, and lungs. And then there’s the whole immune system thing. I have been studying that too, since mine is pretty screwed. Am I a doctor? No. So don’t be brash, if you have some sort of pre-existing condition etc. you should always talk to your doctor first before trying something new.

But, I am someone who can tell you what has worked for me, and anyone I know who has tried it. Most recently I got to try these cold remedies on my boyfriend, who is not only my caregiver, but also works full-time in customer service at a grocery store. Needless to say, he has been a bit worn out from all the Holiday Crazies that emerge like a long-dormant locust invasion during this time of year (you know who you are! For shame!).  He started feeling unwell on Sunday, and by Monday was feeling fatigued along with a tell-tale “tickle” in his throat. The sort of throat “tickle” that usually becomes a painful, sore mess which makes swallowing feel like the worst torture, and right before Thanksgiving! Nooooo! My hard-working sweetheart was not going to be sick on our beloved and well-planned Turkey Day! Not if I had anything to do with it. He diligently followed my suggested regiment and by Wednesday was feeling loads better! My boyfriend was so impressed with the results he suggested I share my regiment with The World.

So, dear World, I share with you the four holistic aids I have found most useful for staving off infections, colds, and managing upper respiratory issues. They are inexpensive and easily accessible, in fact, you probably have one or two sitting in your kitchen pantry right now. I hope they serve you as well as they have aided my household, especially during this hectic time of the year.

Today I would like to discuss Mullein, an herb whose useful properties aren’t widely known outside of the wonderful world of Herbalism. The ironic thing is that we have probably all seen it at one time or another and regarded it as “just a weed”, rather than recognizing it for the versatile Plant Medicine that it is.

Verbascum thapsus , known as Common Mullein or Great Mullein, is a flowering weed that is usually found in open spaces where the ground has been disturbed. It is prolific and grows all over the continental US and beyond into Canada and Mexico. Since most Americans don’t have access to meadows, streams, fields, or forest openings, the majority of us have spied Mullein’s distinctive towering spikes of bright yellow flowers growing in ditches along roadways or scattered throughout the open wastes of dumps.

Picture from Wikipedia, its too cold where I am to get any of my own shots of Mullein growing

All parts of the plant have been used for medical applications since time immemorial. Mullein is primarily used to manage afflictions of the ears, especially infections, and it is also used as an expectorant, to alleviate swelling, mange the health of the lymphatic system, and treat spinal injuries. It is most commonly used as a tincture, but is also drunk as tea and even smoked. 

Mullein was first recommended to me by my Dad, who has Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome, which we suspected I also had until it was ruled out by a VKH specialist earlier this year. Before he said anything to me about it, I was totally unfamiliar with the plant. My Dad and I share many of the same symptoms, including tinnitus, hearing sensitivities, and “feelings of fullness and itchiness” in the ears, and to my pleasant surprise I have found Mullein does an excellent job of alleviating these issues.

The very first time I used Mullein I was desperate. Earlier this year, while managing a flare in my inflammation, I woke up with the unmistakable sensation of full blown Strep Throat. My throat hurt so badly it felt like it was on fire, I sounded like I had swallowed a frog, the lymph nodes on my face and neck were swelling up, and my ears hurt and felt as though they were full of cotton. I knew I was in deep trouble, and wasn’t sure how to proceed. Even if I had easy access to transportation and wasn’t homebound from my light sensitivity, I would have still been hesitant to hop on over to a doctor’s office for what would more than likely have been a prescription for antibiotics. Not only do antibiotics take anywhere from 24 hours to a few days to start working (not an appealing thought when you’re in Strep Throat pain), I’m allergic to pretty much all of them, the rest can trigger a flare-up in certain autoimmune diseases so I avoid them as much as possible, and nowadays I’m far more hesitant to drop the medical equivalent of a nuclear bomb on my Gut.

So that leaves me with very little options via Western Medicine. What’s a Strep-Throaty girl to do?

Quite fortuitously, I came down with the Throat Affliction from Hades during the very same time I was performing preliminary research on Mullein for treating the afore-mentioned Tinnitus, hearing sensitivities, and other ear issues I’ve been dealing with during the onset of my autoimmune disease (whatever it ends up being – it’s looking like Lupus or Mixed Connective Tissue Disease but I’m still undiagnosed at this time). 

After reading about the plant’s supposed powerful effects on ear infections, my boyfriend came to my rescue for the zillionth time and brought a bottle of Mullein Leaf Tincture home from work that afternoon. I had been in pain for several hours, unable to eat anything not in liquid form or smoke any of my medical cannabis. Even the simple act of swallowing caused excruciating pain. I was not a happy camper, to say the least.

After reading the bottle and doing some third party research, I put the maximum suggested dose of two droppers of tincture into a small cup of water and drank deeply, making myself swish each gulp around in my mouth for a few seconds before swallowing - so as to help my lymph node glands absorb it more readily. The tincture looks a lot scarier than it tastes; having a very dark brown, basically black color, but mild earthy taste that is easily masked by whatever liquid you choose to put it in. 

I felt relief immediately. It was like a cool hand had massaged my throat/ears/glands and relaxed them. 

This result has since been repeated in others, most recently my boyfriend. My research had shown Mullein is highly noted for the instant relief it can provide to swellings and the pain caused by them. How wonderful to see it working in real time!

After a few days of using the Mullein tincture as directed on the bottle, along with the other three aids I will be discussing in the rest of this series, my Strep Throat and any signs of ear or lymphatic infection were completely alleviated! I felt like singing my praises from the rooftops! And then I did my “Suck It, Big Pharma” dance! How I wish my folks had access to information in the 80's like we do today with the Internet. This herb could have made my childhood far more bearable.

I am in love with this versatile and humble “weed” and strongly encourage you to conduct your own research so that you may see how it could bring positive health benefits into your own home (or workplace). I no longer consider my medicine cabinet complete without a bottle of Mullein tincture, and look forward to growing my own or wild harvesting it someday (from the wild - not from near a trash heap!) so I don’t have to keep buying it. But, at less than $20 a bottle, and around 30 servings per container, I have zero complaints about cost (Can’t find it in your local stores or have a difficult time leaving the house like I do? Amazon has Mullein, along with a bunch of other holistic stuff!). And its ridiculously safe, although the bottle does say to avoid “while pregnant or breastfeeding”. Not sure what that’s about. Merits more research, but since I don’t plan on spawning anytime soon (*knocks on wood*) I haven’t taken the time to look into it. 

If you do and find anything of interest, please share your findings with me!

Here are three really good websites for getting started on your own Mullein research:

http://herbcraft.org/mullein.html

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mulgre63.html

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/common_mullein.htm

I do hope you find this information enlightening and empowering!

What are some of your favorite remedies for treating throat or ear infections?

Stay tuned for the rest of my Tips for Surviving the Holidays in Good Health!

*Love & Light*

-Renata Carmen

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :)