Okay, I must confess - I am a sucker for elixirs. Teas thrill me! I love putting together combinations of plants and voila - instantly healthier! Do I really believe that the kombucha fixed my week-long belly ache? No. Do I think that teas formulated especially for my girl-parts are going to make my plumbing healthier? No. What about things to increase memory? No. On and on and on. . .
It's the principle of the thing. The most gorgeous placebo. It works for me. I feel better. I am able to center my body and let it do the work of healing. Superstitious? Absolutely.
I have a kiddush cup that is called the four rivers. On that cup are 64 words written from the four rivers of Gan Eden. One who drinks from this cup, according to Kabbalistic teachings, is granted the secrets and blessings of healing from sickness - mental or physical, and infertility. According to Kabbalistic tradition, King Solomon learned these secrets from Gan Eden. I bought it. I promptly got pregnant - something I wasn't supposed to be able to do. Did the cup help? Doubtful, but it fed my placebo-addiction.
Why is our fascination with elixirs and placebos so alluring? Because it works. It works, because our bodies are exquisite in design. Leave it alone, focus, let it heal. Of course medicine is a great help - a life-saving help sometimes, but not always necessary.
It is a matter of trust. Trusting our bodies. Trusting ourselves to know when we need outside help. Which brings me to my soapbox - obstetrics.
For 200K years we've been able to keep the species going. Amazing! Hand washing was a great idea. It cut down on a lot of unnecessary deaths. C-sections, too. However, somewhere along the way we got lost, and we've never attempted to get back. We think we are improving outcomes, but we're not. We have entire generations of women who think they can't give birth without a doctor. And entire generations of doctors who are too afraid to say that obstetrics has become a sham. A type of, shall I say - quackery.
Why? Because if someone dies, the doctor is going to get sued into bankruptcy or worse yet, lose their license. We have forgotten that even in the best of circumstances, sometimes people die. But obstetricians rarely have a mother or baby die. Correct. The best midwives have the exact, even slightly better statistics.
Intervention is absolutely necessary sometimes. The real art is in knowing when to use it. In the meantime I encourage you to be realistic, honest, and drink more tea.
(the photo is from theinnershaman.com - no, I don't think these work)
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