rise and shine, vanessa. it's time for evolution.

the tree of life by one of my favorite artists, gustav klimt

i'm so excited to share this today.  i hope that people who share my struggle are inspired to try this healing method, too.

i grew up on the edge of the woods in a house full of animals.  my home environment never caused me to sneeze, cough, wheeze or scratch my eyes.  not once.  when i was 22 i spent a semester studying and interning in washington dc.  it's the longest i had ever been that far away from home - about 6 months.  when i came home in late may, i found that my relationship with my neighborhood had changed drastically and painfully.  the same trees that i'd climbed as a kid began cursing me with migraine headaches.  the cats i'd nuzzled since childhood now made me want to gouge out my eyeballs.  the grass i'd always loved to lie in made my nose stuffy and drippy all at once.  mold made me wheeze, milk gave me cramps, dustmites made me clogged, shellfish made me throw up.  what the hell happened to me???

i'm well into 35 now, which means i've lived with allergies for 13 long and painful years.  i'm not a big fan of meds so i tend to ride out the storm (in misery) until the rain comes or the seasons change.  this year, though, when april 1st arrived with a mean right hook and punched my lights out, i caved.  i took zyrtec-d.  while my allergy symptoms were relieved, i felt completely loopy.  after a week of medicated insanity i chucked the little green box in the garbage and decided to meditate in search of answers.

i've studied enough about yogi, metaphysics and new age to know without a doubt that a human being's personal power is infinite.  so i put on my red undies, sat down with a big chunk of garnet and looked within.  when i quieted my mind, i saw a tree.  i felt like the tree was growing out of my body.  out of my core.  and i realized that this tree is not so different from me.  we are both part of the earth, bound to the planet, connected to the soil.  we both are made of a lot of tiny molecules.  we both need oxygen and water to survive.  we both grow in response to loving energy.  we are both creations of the universe.  the tree is not allergic to itself.  i am not allergic to myself.  so if we are the same, i cannot be allergic to the tree.  because the tree is me.

i continued to think about the environment.  how plants and people are changing in response to pollution, to imbalance, to this sad reality.  regardless of how much we deplore our new state of normal, it's here to stay.  there's no turning back.  our only option is evolution.  but evolution isn't so difficult.  this is what we do.  we respond on a cellular level to survive and enlighten.  from apes to cavemen to soccer moms.

and we can evolve into beings who live peacefully with our changing environment.  to do this, we need to tell our teeny tiny cells to listen up.  this is the way things are now.  we can either dope ourselves up on claritin, zyrtec and benadryl, or we can do something we are designed to do.

so for me, instead of waiting for evolution to officially get underway, i decided to put the pedal to the metal.  it was very simple.  i just said, with clear intention and confidence, "i am one with the earth and i am not allergic to myself."  and then i told my cells, "wake up, girls!  it's time to evolve!"

and that's it.  since early april, my allergies have been practically non-existent.  occasionally i'll sneeze or feel a tinge of a migraine coming on, but i immediately take a moment to pull my mind to center saying, "i am one with the earth and i am not allergic to myself.  wake up, girls!  it's time to evolve!"  and the symptoms clear.

i have been purposely spending more time outside this spring - especially on days when pollen counts are very high - breathing in deeply, all the while telling my body that the air is healthy and good.  i've been working in my garden daily thinking about nature, sending flowers and trees loving energy.  this is my way of saying thank you to the universe while encouraging balance in my lower chakras. 

i'm not special.  i'm not guru.  i'm not a gifted healer.  i just believe in myself.  i know that i have intense personal power.  and you do, too. 


i'm curious to see how the rest of the summer plays out, but i expect great things.  i'm also continuing other natural treatments to keep the seasonal allergies at bay - acupuncture with linda, local honey, an occasional pagan ritual (HK :-).   my next goals are to work ice cream and horses back into my life.  i'll keep you posted. 

peace!
v