I AM the Witness
“I Vowed to Stop Getting Colds”
Beloved Mother,
I just have to take a moment to tell you about the fantastic results I have had using a few simple and inexpensive techniques to ward off colds and influenza for the past year and a half. I am so very grateful to have learned about these techniques and have virtually kept my body free from illness since August 1993 just by using them. So I want to share this news with others in the hope that they will reap the same good health.
Approximately three years ago you published an “I AM the Witness” about swishing cold-pressed oils in the mouth first thing in the morning to rid the body of toxins (Pearls of Wisdom, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 11-16). I remember thinking how odd it sounded at the time and I couldn’t understand how it could possibly work. Well, I’m here to tell you that it definitely works and not only that, but it feels great and I just love it!
In July 1993 I went on a vacation to visit my parents. My mother, being full-blooded Italian, proceeded to show her love to me by feeding me all the rich, cheesey Italian dishes that I had grown up eating as a child, but to which my body was no longer accustomed. Sure enough, within two weeks after my return I was completely congested and had extreme cold symptoms.
I remembered that this was the type of cold that I had always experienced as a child at least three or four times a year. My colds were so severe that I would have to sit up in bed to sleep at night because my head was too congested to allow me to breath if I were to lie flat. These colds sometimes lasted two weeks and I was just miserable! Now here I was thirty years later and still feeling the unpleasant results of too much acidic and mucous-forming food. I vowed right then and there that I was going to stop getting this type of cold, and I was going to have to find the way to do so!
After I had had this terrible cold for two weeks, I remembered the Witness about swishing with oil. Even if it sounded odd to me, I figured it was worth a try. I started swishing every morning, using sunflower oil (I have since switched to olive oil). I couldn’t believe how good it felt to spit out the oil and clear my throat of large lumps of mucous that would have otherwise been stored in my body. After swishing, my mouth feels so clean and my gums, tongue and throat seem free of bacteria. It is important to brush your teeth, gums and tongue with baking soda and salt solution (one-half teaspoon of salt and one-half teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of pure warm water) after swishing to get the toxins out of your mouth. This makes your teeth whiter and your breath fresher, too.
I began to swish regularly and especially whenever I had a scratchy throat that could lead to a sore throat or cold. I know that I have turned around what would have otherwise been a full-blown, two-week cold by swishing and ridding my body of toxins, bacteria and mucous.
I know that swishing with oil alone will not keep my body free from illness, so I have also worked diligently to keep my blood slightly alkaline. Coupled with swishing with oil, I drink a quarter teaspoon of baking soda mixed in room-temperature water first thing in the morning, especially if I have eaten strong acidic foods. My body is so sensitive to Italian foods now, that I get a canker sore inside my lower lip the morning after eating a plate of spaghetti or pizza. But not if I drink baking-soda water and swish the next morning!
I also have had good results with using a kuzu drink with umeboshi plum paste and tamari to return my body to an alkaline condition if I have become acidic. I have learned to limit the amount of sweets I eat since too many sweets make the body too yin and we are more susceptible to colds when we are in a yin state.
The true test came recently when one of my children came home from the East Coast with a textbook case of influenza. I immediately went into high gear, applying all the techniques I stated above. I was very careful about what I ate so as to keep my blood alkaline so I wouldn’t get the flu. By God’s grace, none of my family got the flu. We are all grateful for what you have taught us about the macrobiotic diet so we can keep our bodies healthy and strong enough to ward off viruses.
I know that I am a better servant of the Lord if I can keep my body functioning at an optimal level. It takes a constant commitment to right eating and right living, but it is so worth it. I am grateful to serve on your staff, where I know I can best fulfill my dharma and balance my karma so that I can make my ascension in this life!
Thank you for being the example of how one can change one’s diet and be a purer instrument of God.
I love you,
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