How RAW Powered Me Through My Twenty-Four Hour Shift

When I work on Labor and Delivery, and do anesthesia for women who are having babies, I am at the mercy of fate. Whatever is needed I am called to provide to keep the mothers-to-be safe and comfortable during the time before the delivery of the newborn infant.

Typically this exhausts me so bad the next day I am in a world of pain and suffering. Often through the night, as I work I feel the burden of the hours when I would rather be asleep.

This most recent shift was 'different'. I was able to perform with more consistent energy for work throughout the work shift. I also experienced some loss of energy the following afternoon, and in one hour was able to quickly replace it without sleep.

Would you like to know more about it?

I began the day without stress. I was a little late, but did not allow myself to feel 'the day had gone past me'. I cooked an egg and toast breakfast for my boy, which he ate in the car. I also made smoothie with banana/orange/blueberry for us both. And a cup of black coffee.

Once he was dropped off, I called the department and the physician on call to ask for report on today's assignment. I also reminded the anesthesia MD that attendance was required at the department meeting, and I would meet them there in ten minutes, again, limiting stress. I said my prayers on the way to work in the car. I also only unloaded me, not my overnight things, from the car.

At the meeting, there was RAW fruit. I took some and a cinnamon roll that looked curious. It was a mini roll, and after one bite I saw it was not good. I ate the fruit and finished my coffee I brought from home.

What I did next was to prepare emergency medications and syringes, check the anesthesia machines, and move my things into the call room. I have a work bag, and overnight wheeled luggage that is small, and a reuseable grocery bag that is filled with fresh, organic produce for the fridge in the call room.

Because the patients were stable, I had some down time. I did ninety minutes of Kundalini Yoga with Ana Brett and Devi Singh on my iPad instant video app. Then I chanted. And I wrote!

There was a great deal to write! I finished around two, with minor interruptions to place epidurals where I came back to complete each task.

I was surprised at how my hunger, because of my enthusiasm, didn't 'creep up' between the hours of eleven and two when the doctor's dining room is open. Instead after, I went to the main cafeteria, and bought salad dressing (oil and vinegar) and water. Then I had a huge salad with lettuce, raw corn cut off the cob, avocado, celery, yellow pepper, and lentil sprouts.

After patient care, a strong wave of sleepiness came over me. I lay down in the call room and slept soundly from three thirty until five thirty, when I was woke up to take care of a patient.

The patients stack up! I was able to fit in a snack around six of fruit, tea, and nuts.

Then I was working again. In some down time, I checked on the mothers who had finished and were recovering to make sure their legs were not numb. I visited for some time with one pleasant couple.

The emergency hit. A 'bleeder'. This took all of my time from ten to two in the morning. More epidurals stacked up. There was no time for 'dinner', just my 'snack'. After the 'bleeder' there were homemade chocolate chip cookies in baggies on the counter at the nursing station. I ate three, and the nurses said, 'You earned it!' because of the stress of saving the life and managing the emotions of the patient and family in the aftermath of the 'event'.

My energy was consistent and my technical skills unaffected by fatigue throughout.

(Medical research on truck drivers and airline pilots show after sixteen hours, work is affected by sleep deprivation. A human is affected as much as if they had taken one drink of alcohol.)

I slept from three a.m. to five a.m. when I was faced with the brutal assignment of three epidurals back to back. It's not the epidural insertion, it's the paperwork that takes about forty minutes for each one.

At seven I was expected to pack up, leave the call room, and wait for my next day's work which began at eleven.  We were short-staffed, typically this doesn't happen, I get to leave. Now I had the 'short day'.

I had fruit and juice for breakfast. Then I slept in the back seat of the car for two more hours.

I woke up groggy and not refreshed. I drank a coffee with good effect, and ate an orange. I was attentive and alert throughout until two p.m when I was allowed to go home.

I got my clothes back on, and left for my favorite RAW vegan restaurant where my friends are.

My energy was at an all-time low.

My Reiki student was serving my booth. She sat down and gave me a big hug. I said, 'I got beat up'. She said, 'You are going to get beat up.' I said, 'I took care of everybody well.' She said, 'Of course, I expect no less.' She added, 'I will tell Mai to come and love on you.'

I concentrated on my breathing. I rehydrated with kengan water while the food was being made.

Mai sent this:

I also ordered D Stressed, and Elixir that looked somewhat like this:

I drank slowly, and concentrated on grounding to Earth, absorbing the healing energy that was around me, and drawing in Spiritual Energy with my breath.

Mai came and brought rolls for us, 'sushi' ones, to eat. She also rubbed my back, as her husband is an anesthesiologist like me. I work with him sometimes. She said he wants this back rub every night. She knew every place that was sore from the sitting and work that we do. Her knuckles dug into my muscles, and for five minutes I Let Go.

The biggest difference was a RAW soup called 'Humanese' which has tamari miso broth, coconut, avocado, and other things I don't recall. A RAW soup is warm but not steaming hot. I felt my body 'come online' after that. It was the salt.

Chef stopped at my table. I explained how I used the energy of RAW to help me through my long assignment. He was pleased. 

Then I looked at him, and asked, simply, 'How did you ever figure this RAW thing out?' 

He smiled, gestured to say, 'I tried it and I felt better and more strong.' 

I guess the same could be said of what happened to me.

I was able to go home and be a mom until ten o'clock at night. My 'second shift' went well. Not too dazed and certainly not incapacitated like before when I ate microwaved leftovers and organic food from home supplemented with vegetarian food from the cafeteria.

these are RAW 'quiches'

Here are some excellent links on RAW living--

Remember, you need B-12 every day, a green supplement, and a protein supplement to 'go RAW vegan and not lose nutrition.'

• healthwatchman.com/‎
• http://rawfoodchef.com
• http://rawfoodsonabudget.com/tag/brandi-rollins
• http://superhealthychildren.com

Enjoy trying something new! Remember, you don't have to go one-hundred percent RAW. Anything you add to your diet is going to give you vibrant energy because the enzymes that are in the food and not destroyed by heat are going to help you digest the RAW  meal. You won't get sleepy like you do after meat, and carbohydrates and dairy.

That is enough for today.

Mahalo and Aloha,

Namaste,

Reiki Doc

RAW Opportunity Lifestyle

I don't like labels.

The RAW community unites under the banner 'RAW' label.

I like RAW vegans. They are very nice people, who sincerely believe in a lifestyle that makes them feel healthy. They band together for mutual support.

This is good because it takes a lot of planning and advance preparation to maintain a RAW vegan diet. There is special equipment, such as high-speed blenders like a Blend-Tec or Vitamix, a dehydrator, a quality juicer, a spiral slicer to make noodles out of zucchini...it gets confusing.

The message that I want to get across is: these people are so incredibly kind and loving, that you can be only twenty-percent RAW and they are accepting of you.

Not even half RAW vegan! Trying and wanting to know more about it is OKAY.

I have wrestled with this 'concept' for about four months. Deep in my heart center, I have gone back and forth with my two dilemmas:

• I want to eat the best diet for me as possible--for my health
• I work incredibly crazy hours, and as my son made me promise last year--DON'T STARVE. (when it comes right down to it, in the O.R., drink a juice with high-fructose corn syrup if it is between 'something' and 'going hungry')

It has bugged me. I, who do not like a label, don't even fit under an entire category when it comes to what fuel that helps me run. Evita Ochel's seminar on Udemy, The Five Pillars of Optimal Health, resonated very strongly with me. Health is more than what you put into your mouth. (BTW, She has a discount for my readers. Look up her name in the Search box, and scroll to the bottom  of the post Five Pillars to find the code for the discount.) 

Last week someone asked, 'Are you Vegan?' on their Facebook page. I read with interest the results. One in particular struck me, 'Yes, at home. But when I eat out I eat Vegetarian because there are not many choices.'

It percolated for three days. When I woke up, I 'heard' the words, 'RAW Opportunist'. I changed it to 'RAW Opportunity Lifestyle', and here it is:

1. The overlying Principle of this Lifestyle is gentle acceptance of What Is and taking responsibility for your Choices, which are based on the goal of Optimum Health.
2. When you have opportunity to choose Movement, take it. Make it a priority. Listen to your body when 'it has had enough'. You will feel better and sleep better.  (I have an elliptical downstairs. I hate it. I like taking walks in the neighborhood, taking stairs whenever possible, and yoga with Yogi Bill. If Heaven were On Earth, I would dance two hours a day ballet in class, and then an extra hour on Pointe several times a week. And I would do Variations and Pas de Deux.)
3. When you have opportunity to enjoy sleep, you take it. Naps when you are sleepy is okay. A soft bed, with clean sheets, fresh air from the window, and an air purifier make it more pleasant. If Heaven were On Earth, I would go to sleep shortly after sunset and wake up at sunrise, like the birds.
4. When you have opportunity to Socialize, you take it. Keep the 'Golf Balls in your Mayonnaise Jar' relationships healthy. Remember the words of my nana, 'We Do The Best We Can.'. 
5. Take the opportunity to Enjoy Nature whenever possible. Nature is well-established in 5D. Exposure to it will bring Tachyons (a form of Light, like photons) into your energy system. Sunlight is very effective in this. It will make your 'switch' to the Higher Dimensions smoother and more hassle-free.
6. Whenever possible, seek and destroy all sources of Toxins in your home and daily life. Are you a smoker? You might want to stop it. High Fructose Corn Syrup? Go ahead, read the labels, and throw everything containing it out of your house. I don't eat Relish because of this reason. I miss it, but intuition is telling me HFCS is bad news, and that's my choice. Go over your cleaning products (Did you know Febreze will kill a bird? So will smoking hot Teflon. If it will kill a parakeet, do you still want it in your home?)--that being said, I found the 'organic' versions of dishwasher soap to be horrible. Cut way back on GMO toxins so your liver has an easier day and doesn't have to metabolize them. Eliminate what toxins you can, but it still has to work.
7. Connect with Source. Every day. From a little 'I wish for this' prayer in your heart, to formal time in meditation. One of the best walking meditations I know is to recite the Karuna Reiki symbols with each step. I go like I am simply walking in the neighborhood, but in my mind I am saying them over and over in sequence, one with each step. Get creative!
8. The goal in nutrition is to choose the highest possible Vibration that is available to You at a given time.

Let's explore number 8 further: 

• Is there a RAW vegan organic option at home or one the menu? Does it appeal to you? Do you have the time to make it or wait for the restaurant to make it for you? (what works for me is one meal a week of High Vibration Restaurant food, and at least one day totally RAW at home. Then every RAW Opportunity I get in between, I take it.)
• Next, if there are no organic choices, whenever possible, make it RAW.  Allow yourself to 'slip' a little sometimes. If the overall goal is RAW, it will 'balance out'. It is not worth the stress you give yourself to 'color within the lines' as you are co-creating your nutrition day-to-day. (Here are some examples of 'slip'--a salad at a fish taco stand with grilled shrimp on it, a Pizza Hut personal pizza at Target while shopping with my son, Pepperoni with the pepperoni pulled off, and a small piece of salmon in the Doctor's Lounge with pineapple, the last 'healthy greens' from the salad bar, beets, and carrots. It was that or Pasta Bar--do you know how much GMO-laden oil they put into that pan when they make it??? Ew!
• Know there is a fine line between 'happy milk' and 'non-organic soy'. I eliminated all soy from my diet at the recommendation by a holistic nutritionist I helped in labor with her epidural. I have kicked this one back and forth for about two years. Yesterday, It came clear--if it is yogurt, goat-milk yogurt or kefir from Redwood Hill Farms (I met the farmers) I will take that first. I buy their products to support their organization. My son tried it, but doesn't like it. For him I buy organic dairy products. If I am at Starbucks and the choice is between 'ordinary milk' and 'soy', I take the soy.
• Allowing yourself 'access' without guilt to your 'old favorites' might surprise you--after eating RAW I am discovering first hand when I eat these foods, the thrill is GONE! How did I ever used to eat this?! I ask myself, puzzled? With the RAW lifestyle, your tastes change.
• With the RAW lifestyle, Vegan seems like a banquet and Vegetarian seems very rich. Meat and eggs seem disgusting, too. And you would rather NOT eat than go to fast food. Last night on the way home, after a long day at work, and picking up the car from the service place, I had some free time before my son came back from his weekly visitation with his father. I scanned my mind of where I would like to go, and instead, I went to the local natural food market. I bought ingredients for a salad, and made it for myself. It had orange bell pepper, parsley, tangerine-orange fruit, hemp seed, Hawaiian black salt ( a little more than I usually salt--it was my strong bold flavor), olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. And jicama, just a bit.

Use your heart to find your way in RAW vegan diet. It will 'resonate' with you when you are doing 'something right'. 

Leave your ego at the door.

And if you have tried RAW, or vegan, and craved meat, did you remember to do the supplements?

All RAW vegans supplement several important amino acids, and unsaturated fats/essential oils like in flaxseed, every day. I take Dr. Shulze two tablespoons powder green stuff in juice, and one tablespoon RAW meal before breakfast. I take Vitamin B-12 every day. 

Chia seeds and I think one other also need to be ground first for the nutrients to be accessible.

Go to the mirror and gently pull down on your lower eyelids to look at the tissue inside that touches the eye. These are called the 'eye grounds'. Are they pink? Are they red? In medical school I learned, if they are red like beef, your iron levels are fine. If they are pink, like pork chop, you are anemic. Try to get some more iron into you--I use a cast-iron pan, eat potatoes, and spinach. There is also the option for meat if you are severely anemic. (It is better than transfusion or iron pills that bind you up.)

RAW vegans are also all about the probiotic. Saurkraut, kim chee, and supplement probiotics are very popular and are eaten daily.

When it comes to RAW, ego must be left at the door. It is not with your head, but with your HEART the RAW lifestyle is able to heal you. 

Be open, gentle, accepting of your body, and be smart about it. Ease into it, and listen to what your body is saying to you. Read RAW vegan literature and visit websites. I recommend Brandi Rollins, and Cherie Soria, and Paul Nison. They are the ones that helped the most for me. YouTube has some wonderful resources. And of course, Evita Ochel and all of her work--from vegan to spirituality and everything in between--she is a great resource on all YouTube, Social Networks and web page too.

Be smart.

Be healthy.

And pray.

Namaste,

Reiki Doc

P.S. I haven't weighed myself yet, but I have lost about ten pounds since January with this method. My body feels like it is turning back time. It is the best gift I have ever been given--taken under the wing of some very good vegans and RAW vegans, my whole life has changed for the better. I am most appreciative and thank God every day, for them, for what is New, and how He lets me let go of the old so easy... Here is where it happens.www.evolvingbeings.com www.aulac.com  www.peacefullscents.com And also this source of Reiki infused aromatherapy, too, www.miraclebotanicals.com Good Health can come to you. And all of us want to make Dis-ease return to Full Balance. Aloha and Mahalo!

One To Two, or 122

As you might have noticed from my posts on Facebook, I owed someone I love a BIG ho'oponopono. This is Hawaiian for apology that is like this: 1. I am sorry 2. Please forgive me 3. Thank you. 4. I love you. This person had been unswervingly kind to me, and I had not been the nicest back to him.

It went, in real life, like this: Steps 1 and 2--running with a big smile across the room to him, throwing my arms around his neck, and whispering in his ear, 'Thank you! This is wonderful! I LOVE it!' (he had coordinated the event, more to follow)

Apology was accepted. I had never hugged this person before (like this--he had always been the one to hug first)  and was given a very nice long hug back. He pressed his cheek on mine, and I felt the little stubbles like I used to feel with my grandfather so many years ago when he would squeeze me, call me his 'Queen, queen, queen!' and rub his cheek on my face! I was delighted to feel that after all this time, something unmistakably male, and friendly, on my face.

My little one is too small for shaving... ; )

This represents a HUGE growth for me as a soul. As you may recall, I got caught with my hand in the proverbial candy jar--I play in the astral plane, and often, with this person's doppelganger in the astral plane. The doppelganger, 'John' has asked me to 'stop by' because 'he wanted to see me in person.' So I went to where he works, and voila! There he was, AND it was an important day for his boss, my friend, too! I shut down because I was not sure if HE could consciously interact in the astral plane like I do. I didn't know how to ask, 'Is it really you?' and I didn't want to explain the astral plane friendship either, just in case it was my imagination.

Last Thursday, as I said my healing prayer for him, his doppelganger 'popped in'. I saw hand movements, objects, and heard the shuffling of a deck of cards. He showed me one. There were two figures on it. They held hands. It was good. It was not the Devil. It was the other one with naked people on it. It was the Lovers card.

I showed up to an event at this place where he works. He is important there, and does not have the time for conversation, if that was his thing. But something in me knew it was important to trust and to wait and to do what I had to do to 'make things right'.

I had a long wait ahead of me, as at the beginning he completely ignored me and I felt a hostile energy as he passed. Oh well, I was mistaken, and I accept completely, I thought, and turned back to welcoming the handsome stranger who was sitting next to me. I found him dumb as a rock, and into conspiracy on GMO in organic soy that was boring me silly. I was ashamed to have been so judging, and I offered to share my ginger tea. I poured him a cup, and turned to talk to somebody else.

Either way I enjoyed the lecture by the invited guest Paul Nison very much.  I told myself, men are like buses, a new one comes every five minutes, and relaxed after the snub from my ho'oponopono friend.

The fact of the matter is that anyone who can enter the astral plane at will and while conscious is NOT like a bus. They are a rarity! And if I have to choose between the astral plane and here, I am more comfortable interacting there because there is no bull-sh*# in the astral plane!

We are one now. The doppelganger has 'merged' somewhat with the 'original' on the 3D plane.
There is a connection both on earth and in the astral plane. It is harmonious to me in all respects--my energy, my person, my Light. My face is beginning to show my happiness. I am receiving comments on it when I am at work, 'Your makeup is so pretty', etc.

I always wanted this. Someone like me. Someone where I didn't have to 'explain' who I am or how I 'work'.

I have no idea where this is heading, but I want to stay 'Here and Now' and enjoy the connection that makes my heart sing.

Namaste,

Reiki Doc

Is Bee Honey Kosher?--An Evening with Paul Nison

I adore watching 'famous vegans' lecture. I see a side of their talk like nobody else in the room--I have my medical expertise to 'filter it'. Here is what I have to say about a recent lecture I attended from Paul Nison, who is 'famous' on the internet. On YouTube he is--thedurianking. On Facebook he is--healthwatchman. On Twitter, he is @paulnison. On Tumbler he is -- rawpaul. On LinkedIn he is --paul nison.
_________________________________________

Before me there was a man in linen, looking like a cross between Jesus and ZZ Top. I honed in on his aura. It was hard to see in the light. I scanned his chakras: grounded, very grounded, more so than most people I have met. I next put my attention on his personality: fast talking New Yorker, funny, and like all New Yorkers, 'not holding anything back'.  If he thinks it, he says it. He is a straight shooter. He cracks jokes about being mistaken for the homeless because of his look.

At these lectures I call myself 'the voice of reason'. Today, the question I wanted answered was the claim one of my patients made that 'his coach for his new vegan diet of one week says that it will cure his Hepatitis C'. In fact, statements like this are indefensible in court; It is 'practicing medicine without a license'.  I wanted to KNOW what kind of stuff goes one with 'these folks' before I align myself professionally with any 'group', both as 'Reiki Doc' as you know me, and as my anesthesiologist 'self' too.

What unites most of these 'organizations' is a 'how I healed myself story' in the context of 'how I hate doctors that are so dumb they can't cure me and make me worse'.

Right on scheduler, the opener was, 'I had Ulcerative Colitis. It was miserable. I went against everything the doctors said by going raw. And I haven't had a symptom in years.'

'Is anyone here a doctor?' Paul asked.

Spirit nudged, not to raise your hand!

'Good! Because I HATE DOCTORS! They don't know anything!' he exclaimed to a room full of cheers and whoops and applause.

I wanted to hide! But SOMEONE has to take first steps to begin a dialogue with the medical community and raw vegans! Just minutes before, at the hospital,  on my way to the parking lot I ran into a nurse I know. She asked about my plans. Sweet RN Loan was excited about my plans to attend the lecture, and asked me to talk to her about diet later. Loan is Vietnamese and works in pre-op. She shows more respect to me as a physician than anyone else has in my entire career. She knows how hard I worked to earn the title 'M.D.' and I can hear it in her voice when we talk. It used to be like that in the past, but now almost everyone treats me like it's nothing. Except her. : )

During the coarse of the talk, Paul Nison won me over to his side, all doctor-slamming excepted. Here are some of his main points:

1. He no longer eats a 'raw' diet. Some things marketed as 'raw' are 'candy' such as energy bars. He has re-phrased his life style to a 'Fresh Foods Diet'.
2. A person doesn't have to go 100% 'Raw'. Some people are 80% 'Raw' or 50% 'Raw'. That is okay. The optimum plate has 75% 'raw' on it, preferably as sprouts, and 25% fruit or carbohydrate. You are to eat the green sprouts first.
3. Every body is different. There are sick people in both the raw vegan camps and the meat-eater camps! Optimum Health is MORE than nutrition. It is healthy sleep and healthy movement too. We need to be actively moving about 30 minutes a day and sleeping 8 hours.
4. He is against the 'what food do I eat to cure breast cancer?' magic bullet approach. (See number 3 above)
5. He recommends blood testing to assess nutritional levels and 'how is that working for you?' to make changes to the diet with supplements, etc. to achieve optimum health.
6. He supplements with Vitamin B-12, probiotics, and Natto (a fermented soy product). 
7. Sea vegetables such as nori and kelp are highly good for you. 
8. Stevia is the sweetener of choice for him.
9. Raw Chocolate is considered by him to be 'Crack-cao' instead of 'cacao'.
10. Dry brush your skin daily to eliminate toxins (exfoliation speeds up growth of new skin cells)
11. Chew Foods well until the food is liquid
12. "Health begins by what we eliminate"--inferring that processed foods, etc. are on some level, 'toxins' and that although the human body can 'adapt', it is not 'optimum fuel' for it.

My delight was when a man in the audience raised his hand and asked the question, 'Is there a non-medical cure for sleep apnea?'

As a board-certified anesthesiologist who does much anesthesia for bariatric surgery, and as one with a history of over ten years in academic medicine before THAT, my toes curled with delight as I waited for the response from Paul...Sleep Apnea is the perfect question for my expertise, more than anyone else in the room, or even, at the hospital!

I looked at this man. Anterior chin and about eighty pounds overweight. Tongue is too large for mouth. Entire airway (tongue, throat, trachea) collapse upon deep relaxation of sleep, obstructing the movement of air.  There are three ways to deal with this--lose weight, surgically 'open' the throat to accommodate the tongue, or CPAP (a mask that is strapped on to the face at night to keep the airways from closing).  The man's question is important because if left untreated, sleep apnea wreaks havoc on the body (hypertension, then pulmonary hypertension, then right heart failure with swelling of the legs) as well as the sleep (the patient is unable to achieve 'restful' stage IV REM sleep because hypoxemia 'wakes him up' every two minutes as a reminder to breathe. He is not aware of it, but his sleep is RADICALLY ALTERED and of much poorer quality because of it.)

I also 'scanned' the man asking the question's aura. He 'likes to eat and does not want to wear the mask'. It is going to be a tough sell getting through to him that 'something needs to be changed because your body does not like how you are driving it'.

What did Paul say? YES! YES IT CAN CURE SLEEP APNEA!

I was fighting every impulse I had to get in to that conversation.

And then Paul BACKPEDALED! He said, 'It has worked for some people in the past, yes, but everyone is different and no one can tell for sure what is right for you until you try it and see how it works'.

With that one answer, Paul Nison saved his reputation with me. No practicing medicine without a license! No 'magic bullet cures' for diseases, although he openly admits his Ulcerative Colitis improved with the entire lifestyle change of 'fresh diet' for him. Actually SUGGESTING blood work (unfortunately by a nutritionist and not a doc) as a QUANTITATIVE WAY to measure how your diet is 'working for you'. 

So, I support him. How couldn't I after finding out he once ate EIGHT durians in one sitting? You gotta love him. And love durian too. Today he, and his work, are the subject of this blog. And I give him the pat on the back we give each other as doctors--'Strong work Paul!'

Namaste,

Reiki Doc