As we move past the peak of the Autumn Equinox many of you may have felt the intensity of the energies. Emotions running higher than usual, feeling low, tired or depressed, reacting to events and people, more sharp divisions in the world and in self.
Now more than ever we are moving through a continuing passage of choice that is to last until December. All the astrology forecasts and intuitives are saying a similar message – the division of humanity is deepening, pressure is mounting and more truth will be revealed. Something has to give.
Do we get pulled under or can we draw back and choose differently?
No matter what is occuring in the world we all have the ability to create our own experience of the little slice of reality we live in. It is in the drawing back that we are able to create what we wish for ourselves, draw back into a position of non judgemental observation, loving detachment or as Sandra Walter describes it, Divine Neutrality.
The easiest way to do this is to bring the attention down into the heart, to first pull back from external attention, right back behind the third eye, into the centre of the head then take your attention down into the centre of the heart.
Once here breathe through the heart with thoughts of love or peace and then allow your perception to expand out through the body, your aura then through your home and neighborhood, out through the country and eventually the whole world.
Hold that vision of the world as it resides inside your heart. Send blessings to all who may be struggling, including yourself.
If you wish, visualise the world as you would like it to be, what would a perfect world look like to you? Add that vision to the equinox energies as a gift to humanity.
If you are struggling too much yourself to do this I am including here the recording I made last year for dealing with overwhelm.
A couple of months ago I completed a revamp of “Why Does Stress Make Us Ill?” and just mentioned this briefly in a blog post back then. Since self publishing it last year I have done so much more writing and felt awful about the glaring mistakes and not so great writing that I really notice now. But that’s ok, I published the book as an experiment and to make myself take action after taking a three year break from self employment. I haven’t done any real promotion on the book as it was a sort of experiment.
Having realised that I actually really enjoy writing I wanted to get more serious about it so added two more chapters and brought it up to date regarding the events of 2020/21.
Now more than ever I am finding people need workable, simple solutions to dealing with the effects of a life that is becoming increasingly uncertain and very often pressured. When experiencing any kind of situation that registers as uncomfortable by the mind – consciously and unconsciously – our body reacts in very specific ways.
Knowing what is happening within the body when we are reacting to stressful events is reassuring in itself, it also holds the key to how to change that unfavourable reaction.
In “Why Does Stress Make Us Ill?” you will not only know what’s going on in your own body but get to play around with the effect of breath – good and bad – and the impact of certain words on your psyche.
All of the techniques in the book are ones that I have used extensively over the years on myself, on clients and in classes. I have healed illness in myself with some of them…
Also, the kindle version costs a only a little more than a decent coffee!
Click on the link below for more info and to look inside:
It’s been another long gap since my last post… I have been busy continuing to create an online course and also attending courses. However, what has taken up time recently is making a start on the promotion process – the bit that makes me groan to be honest. I love creating things and I am changing my mindset about what it takes to make the consumption of time and effort that goes into making a new product worthwhile.
After all I am passionate about what I write and teach so wouldn’t it be nice if more people had access to it?! This is what I’ve been trying to change within me – that it’s not about my insecurities about been “seen” in the wider marketplace, which I know I share with many Mind, Body, Spirit types, but about being there to help others with what I know. One day – when I am completely over this – I will no doubt create a course about it…
I have decided to make the topic of the upcoming course solely about fatigue, instead of the theme of “tired and wired”. This makes it much clearer for people and easier to talk about.
Thank you to everyone who contributed feedback about the title and theme – it has been very helpful.
I have written a short book on fatigue that I’m giving away for free.
Regarding diving into the promotion process I have written a book that introduces some of the themes that will be a part of the course. This little book is free to all who sign up for my new newsletter. There is no need though for any blog subscribers, who may be suffering from tiredness to sign up for this. I will cover the main points in future blog posts. I’m planning on fatigue being one of the main themes of the next few posts – this is such a vast topic with many different potential causes and now we are looking at a global cause that’s actually quite awesome – but more on that at a later date. If you are curious now go ahead and sign up! Link at foot of post.
The other time consuming thing going on recently is the creation of a newsletter – it was pure hell to set up. I’m reasonably ok with online tech, wordpress is quite simple, self publishing a book was really simple, but newsletters? It took days and there are some aspects I nearly gave up on such as setting up subdomains etc. – necessary for a new email address otherwise many will get a spam warning about my emails. I persevered – amidst tears and temper tantrums – and got there in the end.
I’m sure there are more technically minded people reading this going, “what’s her problem”?! But I have found that technology and people who are healers seldom mix well 🙂
The title for the new course will be the same as the free book, “Why Am I So Tired?”
As I said I will soon write a series of posts on all the potential causes of fatigue from physical, emotional and mental, to energy emissions, planetary and cosmic, harmful and uplifting. Unusual levels of tiredness is an epidemic at the moment so if you suffer from this stay tuned. If you know anyone who is struggling with fatigue please share this with them.
Yet again I haven’t posted anything for ages. This time it’s because I’ve had a few projects on the go, the main one was the revising of my book, Why Does Stress Make Us Ill? I wanted to add two more chapters and also take into account the impact covid and lockdown has had on us collectively and individually. This is now complete, for more details go here – https://catherinestrang.com/why-does-stress-make-us-ill/
The other projects included three online courses I attended via live-stream, these needed a fair amount of follow up and personal work, all very time consuming.
This week I am beginning to build an online course of my own. This is for people who struggle with feeling exhausted, flat and unmotivated yet are constantly tense with an overactive mind.
The course aims to help people solve this struggle and move to where they long to be with renewed physical vitality, mental clarity and emotional ease.
I’d really appreciate some input from anyone who’d like to share their opinion of the following:
The working title so far is Tired and Wired and I’m wondering if, from the title alone, do you get a clear sense of what the course is about?
And if the following is relevant to you, what frustrates or disheartens you the most about the experience of ongoing tiredness coupled with difficulty relaxing?
Ongoing fatigue – Do you frequently feel exhausted? Wake up tired? Do you feel more tired now than you did a year ago?
Anxiety and stress – Are you anxious, overwhelmed, overly stressed or fearful? Worried about the future?
If you’d like to share anything with me please do so in the comments section or if you’d rather it was private then send an email – you can find the address on the contact page at https://catherinestrang.com/contact/
Thankyou! And I will share more details as I create the course.
The last few posts have been about the slow process of detoxification I’ve been on and at the moment I have nothing much to say in that regard. All I’ve been doing recently is eating a lot more raw stuff (green smoothies and big salads) and continuing to avoid sugar, though have relaxed the strickness around dried and fresh fruit. I will do another post on the physical when I’ve undertaken some more “extreme” measures!
In this post I’d like to address the concept of being light. This is my term for a way of being and a way of living that encompasses several different aspects of the journey towards spiritual embodiment. The term covers the state of becoming more of a Light Being and what needs to be lightened or enlightened. As in the cells of our physical body undergoing radical transmutation and through this process switching on awareness of our twelve strand DNA and the spiritual evolution that grows with this awareness. This involves the process of clearing the rest of our bodies (emotional, mental, etheric and spiritual) in order to allow more Light into our being.
Aside from clearing the bodies and a lighter, cleaner diet there is of course the extensive library of practices, initiations, knowledge and realisations, the deep knowing of self in all forms, meditations, balances, healing, uplevelling substances, objects and devices and so much more… All of this contributes to the process of lightening up in order to embody who you truly are and inhabit the power of that.
I’ve been on this journey for over thirty years and my main passion in life is the spiritual. The process of Ascension, or the Initiates Path, has been part of my life since the mid 90’s. I’d been interested in, and undergoing training, in healing and emotional release for several years prior to that but couldn’t have told you why I was interested or what was going on, I just knew I felt driven! What I have noticed in many spiritual seekers since then are two major tendencies that hold most back – one of them is the area that I’ve delved into the most, to the point almost of obsession and that is the processes of clearing. So many tend to shy away from the depth of clearing necessary when thisis the bulk of the transformative work needed. Without a deep realisation of what’s there, and the heaviness of that, we ain’t going nowhere! Despite that, what actually happens when something within you commits to this path is that what is there to be cleared becomes unavoidable – it will show up within you and in your life no matter what. As the reality of global revelation increases – outwordly and inwardly – we don’t need to dig deep for stuff, it’s all right there in whatever you are experiencing in any moment.
Traditionally, the first thing most people began with, deliberately or not, are childhood issues, this is often where many people have gotten stuck or just stopped. I’ve often thought of this phase as the birth process of personal growth; if we imagine Ascension as that of becoming the wise tribal elder and think about all the phases of life before then the release of childhood anger and pain takes us to perhaps the development stage of a one year old! This may give you an idea of the vastness of what we hold in our fields as stuck energy and programming. Our upbringing in this life is one tiny aspect of the immensity of all our experiences here on earth and the myriad influences steering us. Saying that though, it does of course holds many clues and opportunities to the deeper parts that need healing.
I want to make it clear that I’m not glossing over the fact that many have experienced childhoods of trauma and abuse that most people couldn’t handle even hearing about and the healing of that is sizable, and could take a whole lifetime or two.
What the details of all that is to be cleared or transformed are I will cover in future posts but for now will just note where much of that debris can be stored or stuck and perhaps manifesting in your life as issues. This could be issues with relationships, money, work, health, all the parts of self we struggle with, stress, shadow parts, all the people, traits and things we judge and criticise, have a problem with etc. This all comes from not just this life but from past and in some cases parallel lives; also there are the ancestral/genetic influences; on a Soul level occasional imprints of strong belief or programming can be found. There are also lifetimes worth of trauma, pain and deeply held beliefs we have stored somewhere – this could be our Akashic records or the Caves of Creation within Earth that hold a record of all we know (wherever or whatever it is, when I go there it looks to me like a storage warehouse with units that hold several lifetimes worth on a particular theme!)
This, so far, is our personal stuff. Add to that the collective consciousness imprints of ways of programmed thinking and belief we agree to in order to become the extremely limited beings we have been for millenia here on Earth, I can’t overestimate the immensity of this aspect of our makeup. There is the energetic debris we pick up from others. There are the unresolved karmic repercussions of all we have done in this and other lives – you cannot exist on Earth without accruing karma! Though at this point we are transcending karma as its been in the past, the process of karma has sped up, often being instantaneous. Of course karma itself is neutral – it is positive or negative depending on the action.
I mentioned two tendencies spiritual seekers have that halt progress and this second tendency is that we give our power away to, well, everything…
How we do that in all the ways that we do is the subject of another post!
On Easter Sunday I shared a meal with some friends, I had three glasses of wine, cakes made entirely from refined produce, normal chocolate and a very rich veggie lasagna (full of white pasta and dairy!) All delicious of course but the next two days I felt so tired and headachy…
It’s always fascinating to me how potently we are affected by food when we cut things out for certain periods of time. I do not want to be one of those people who are rigid about what they eat all the time (outwith allergies and philosophies of course). It makes for miserable or annoying social gatherings, I’m aiming to adhere to a healthy and clean way of eating most of the time. I’m also fairly certain that one of the reasons I was so tired was because there is obviously not just candida overgrowth still to clear but the process I’m undergoing has yet to go deeper. The next phase I will go on is to focus on the liver and when the weather warms up (in Scotland at the moment it is freezing – weird weather, this time last year it was lovely) I will begin to explore fasting. This is where I expect to really see results, if I’d started with this I think I may have been ill! I also would not like to fast in the middle of winter; apart from the discomfort (I get very cold when I’m hungry) it doesn’t feel right, spring is traditionally when cleansing is done – inner and outer.
Anti-fungals
But onto the other point of this post and that of supplements. When tackling candida overgrowth the two main supplements to take are some form of antifungal and a strong probiotic. In my case the anti-parasite herbs I’d been taking acted also as an anti-fungal. (Link to that post – https://wordpress.com/post/catherinestrang.com/1982 ) Some of the main natural antifungals are – caprylic acid, oregano essential oil, garlic, goldenseal, barberry, grapefruit seed extract, olive leaf extract, black walnut, cloves, ginger, turmeric and even apple cider vinegar. This list is by no means exhaustive and there are many formulations on the market that combine several of the above and more. The main advice I could give is do a little research and go for quality as much as possible.
Probiotics
Probiotics naturally occuring in the body are the good bacteria that keep our gut and digestive system in good working order. As outlined in the last post, when the balance between the bacteria and yeasts in our gut is disturbed then health problems will ensue. When this balance is disturbed many conditions can arise due to the incidence of leaky gut syndrome; as healthy yeasts keep the bacteria balanced then certain bacterial infections can arise as well as those conditions that are a result of the candida overgrowth. There is an extensive list of possible physical issues due to an unbalanced gut biome but some of the most common are frequent urinary infections, more prone to infections in general, IBS and intestinal issues in general, fatigue and brain fog, itchy skin, fungal infections, skin problems, bloating and also mood swings – anger and not coping with stress are the main ones.
The reason taking a probiotic supplement is recommended is to repopulate the bowel effectively, without them recovery could be long and slow. Probiotics are not meant to be taken long term, they are a short term supplement to heal an urgent problem.
The market is rich with probiotics and the recommendations are that a strong, multi strain one is used, I would mainly say do some research into the different manufacturers or sellers; how knowledgeable are they, how much personal experience do they have with what they are selling or making? There are many out there but one particular person I would recommend as he has had his own poor health to deal with, been in the health market for 3 decades and has amassed a wealth of knowledge is John Claydon, there is a lot of info on his site so is a good place to start – or stay! https://www.regenerativenutrition.com/
I’m not affiliated with anyone so anywhere I recommend is based on preference!
Other Supplementation
The above are specific to candida but as your immune system will need support to heal the proliferation of candida spores then I recommend extra vitamins and minerals, particularly immunity boosting ones such as Vitamins A, B12, C, D, E and folic acid, minerals zinc, iron and selenium. With these, again I recommend the best quality you can afford. I take a multi vitamin oral spray plus extra vitamin C, I also take Oxylift which is a an oxygen enhancing product containing minerals and enzymes in ionic form – this means they enter the cells of the body quickly and efficiently. I take extra zinc, selenium and occasional iron. I muscle test myself for amounts and how often to take. The three minerals specifically recommended for candida as it’s believed a deficiency of these may have contributed to candida are zinc, selenium and chromium picolinate. As far as I know no science backs this up as it’s channelled information. I muscle tested strong for taking this combo so will take them in the meantime!
I hope this has been helpful and again if anyone has anything to add please do so in the comments.
In the last post I wrote about the emotional causes of candida overgrowth, and while looking at that is key to a full recovery we cannot overlook diet. In the next couple of posts I will cover what I’ve been doing physically but as there’s no shortage of info about food out there I will mainly cover how to go about changing our eating habits without feeling too deprived.
Two big changes I’ve noticed since starting this cleanse are that I’m finally getting up early every day, at first it was great to be up by 8.30am as before I’d felt so wiped out each morning this year it was an effort getting out of bed before 9.30, now I’m up at 7.30am and I aim to go even earlier. The other change is that I no longer crave really sweet, manufactured products. I noticed this yesterday when I had a good excuse to buy an easter egg for myself as part of an online meditation. I didn’t and instead made one from some little treats I’d made for myself from 85% chocolate, ground brazil nuts, coconut cream and dried coconut, I then coated it in a thin layer of some more 85% chocolate. It was pretty messy looking but to me tasted very rich and quite sweet! Other treats I make myself are chia seed puddings with a very small teaspoon of maple syrup – even that now tastes sweet!
When we give something up that we are addicted to, that we crave, there needs to be something to replace with it otherwise the need for that substance never quite goes away. For many of course that replacement is good health and a feeling of well-being or at least the promise of better health when at the end of your rope regarding disease. When the need to change is based less on physical discomfort and more on simply knowing a change is needed that replacement needs to be internal. For me this has been paramount as I still have some days when I feel worse than I did before I began this cleanse!
This brings me to a third change and that is how different I do feel internally. It’s beyond feeling released from any emotional issue feeding the candida as I’m well used to letting go of stuff, it’s more a feeling of increased lightness within and this is what I was aiming for, the reason I finally began this cleansing process in an in-depth way. I’d gotten to the point where it felt as if my spiritual progress was being held back by my physical state. In other words, there is a certain amount of Light our cells can hold alongside all the toxic sludge that is part of living here and what is considered a normal diet. I can sense that I have cleared a certain amount of that and in the process have “lightened up” more. I have also noticed an increased sense of spiritual richness and clearer communication with the higher realms when I meditate or ask for guidance. This is all very welcome and can only increase as I deepen the cleansing.
What are some of the physical changes necessary?
In no particular order of importance as they are all important, here is what I have done. I have not been really strict as you can probably gather as I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary – I want to slowly but permanently change aspects of my diet, not be extreme and then bounce back into some rubbishy ways of eating. (My basic diet is still much healthier than the average person but as pointed out before I had developed quite a sweet tooth, was eating too much and was also not as clear of convenience foods as I’d like)
Eat less – yes, really… We do eat so much more than our parents or grandparents generation, if you don’t believe me visit an antiques or good second hand shop sometime and look for old dinner plates! I remember the size of dinner plates as a child/teenager as being much smaller and looking through cookery books written up until 1980 portion sizes so much smaller too. I want to make it very clear that I’m not talking about weight loss diets and health plans – this is about ordinary everyday food, standard meals and the way we eat permanently. Nowadays this is talked about as a health plan or the 8-16 rule or whatever, instead of just being how we sustain our bodies, without sacrificing taste and enjoyment of course. Food seems to be an obsession, a lifestyle, an entire entertainment industry. I’m not judging or putting it down – I’m entertained by it, and currently watching the Great British Menu! Just pointing out the changes that have taken place. In order to do this, simply eat a little bit less incrementally and if you’ve been really active then adjust according. If you find yourself with strong hunger pangs after three days of making changes then again adjust a little. Give it time though as our stomachs will have gotten used to a certain amount of food and will protest at first – ride it out if need be.
Why eat less and what does it have to do with candida? When we eat more than we need it puts a strain on the digestive system (you will know if this is true for you as in being uncomfortably overweight, have no energy or feel out of sorts after a meal). There are several ways this strain manifests. One is through the build up of colon plaque due to a high proportion of refined foods, these adhere to the intestinal walls and build up over time. It makes it increasingly difficult for the digestive system to extract all the nutrients from food and the desire to eat more (with false hunger pangs) will be there as your body is craving proper nutrition. In this case the most pressing concern is cleansing the colon, colonic irrigation is the most thorough but products utilising high concentrations of magnesium oxide are good. In my twenties I did a cleanse with a product I don’t recall the name of now, I was thin at that time with a fairly healthy diet and even though I looked exactly the same after a three week course of this stuff I remember weighing myself before and after and being dumbstruck at the evidence that I’d lost 5 pounds! 5 pounds of what?
Digestion requires huge amounts of energy, energy that could be utilised elsewhere such as the immune system – most of which resides in the gut. Too much food can knock out the delicate balance between the good bacteria and yeasts, causing candida to proliferate or bacterial infections to get out of hand instead of being dealt with by our incredible natural defences. Too much food, and the type of food that accompanies overeating, leads to fatigue and can impact mood, the mind and emotions, all of this affects our ability or willingness to do exercise or engage in healthy practices such as yoga, tai chi or regular meditation. The reason this matters is in the compromising of the immune system, we need our immune system to work effectively to help dispel candida spores that have travelled through the body. We also need a fairly strong sense of self and of positivity in order to continue healing the body of candida. As mentioned before this is a tenacious condition that needs a multi faceted approach.
Food intake itself – obviously the number one thing to cut out is sugar and refined carbohydrates, this directly feeds the fungi that have proliferated. The other is alcohol, again it directly feeds the fungi and the spores that have entered the bloodstream. Any substances that may contain mould, yeasts or is fermented need to be considered, this includes products such as kombucha, kefir and sauerkraut. While these may be beneficial in sensible amounts they will only add to the candida overgrowth so it’s best to stay clear until the gut biome is balanced. Dairy produce is another food that feeds the candida overgrowth so only in very small amounts or cut out altogether.
Many diets will advise that all fruits, especially dried as this is more concentrated in fruit sugars. are to be cut out. I have cut out dried fruit but eat one small portion of fruit each morning with my homemade muesli (the muesli is half oats to a mix of ground sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, a nut of choice and toasted coconut for flavour). Eat a lot more vegetables and salad, protein is whatever you would normally eat but no ready made stuff! I have almond milk instead of cow’s milk, I still eat eggs but in the past two months have barely eaten cheese.
Candida overgrowth, caused by unbalanced gut flora, leads to the condition of candidiasis. As the candida albicans yeast grows out of control it begins to make it’s way through the gut walls (leaky gut syndrome), invades the blood cells and makes it’s way into several systems and organs of the body.
If we merely take the dietary route it will take 6-12 months to bring under control and usually when the person comes off the extremely restrictive diet the symptoms will return. The reason for this is the candida yeasts that are are a healthy part of the gut function turn into mycelial fungi and invade the rest of the body as candida spores. These spores, when an anti candida diet is followed, go into hiding, the symptoms go into remission and it seems as if you are healed. However, as soon as their prefered food is reintroduced the candidiasis flares up again. I have known people who have suffered in this way for many years, despite trying every approach they could find. The missing link for most people is healing on an energetic and/or emotional basis and I will cover these first and in the next post the physical modalities such as supplements, nutrients and diet. With candida a multi pronged approach is needed.
Regarding the energetic; there is a company online who produce an anti-candida spore product that has been enhanced with energetic frequencies that not only kills the spores but renders them harmless so they leave the body through the usual routes of elimination without one having to go through the dreaded candida “die-off”.
However the products are expensive and would have to be taken for at least 6 months. I am sure they work but are out of the reach of your average person cost wise. I am very curious as to other ways of dealing with candida using energetic means – Homeopathy? Plant and gem essences? Sound healing frequencies?
If anyone knows more please let me know!
I mentioned in the last post the potential emotional causes of candida – I believe this is a key part and probably the one which which I am the most familiar /qualified to talk about! As mentioned before the two most common underlying states for candida to proliferate is unworthiness and resentment but as I also mentioned it’s best with all physical healing to not be too prescriptive. These two causes have a wide variety of ways in which they can manifest and for myself although I have healed myself to the nth degree of many things including layers of self worth issues and buried anger from the past I discovered a relatively recent cause that had self worth stuff and lingering anger. The anger was fairly obvious and was held in place by the more subtle hooks in which unworthiness was being held, not in an obvious “I am unworthy” kind of way but more a kind of shame at myself for allowing my sense of self to be taken over and manipulated in this particular ongoing situation. This I think may have led to a sense of unworthiness/undeserving. Which has been a vague in the background thing for the past year or two which I haven’t – until now – gotten to the bottom of.
I relate all of this as a way of illustrating the sometimes hidden or subtle nature of what can be there contributing to something – it is always worthwhile digging down into the subconscious and having a look around! A sense of unworthiness may not present as a convenient, clean cut thought such as “I am unworthy”. There are many ways of being and thinking that stem from this and most people I think have at least some unworthiness in at least one aspect of their life. As I say it takes digging around or making positive statements about what you feel you deserve and observing your response. How much abundance do you deserve in the areas of health and well-being, relationships, work/finances, spirituality, living space?
As far as resentment is concerned I believe that resentment in itself stems from a sense of unworthiness. Resentment is old anger, suppressed or simmering rage, blame, victim consciousness. When we know we are inherently worthy of receiving an abundant life in every sense of the word we move out of victim consciousness and into creator consciousness which is one of absolute responsibility for oneself and the world we inhabit.
Of course many will have these issues and be candida overgrowth free and that is the unique and uniquely personal nature of disease; why one person succumbs to something and another will not is individual. In the case of candida of course there’s the added, as with many conditions, burden of dietary choices.
In my case with the candida clearing it has taken a bit more work involving making changes to other aspects of my life – inner and outer. Including being disciplined with the thinking patterns involving how I think about the candida and the symptoms itself. And I’m very pleased to report that I am feeling much better – I’ve had two to three weeks of brain fog, lethargy and overwhelming fatigue, from candida die-off I think.
So the next aspect of emotional or energetic healing is about installing a new positive mindset. Once clearing has been done you don’t want to just remain in neutral, you want to take it up a notch, employ affirmations, new ways of thinking, reprogramme yourself for health. In fact it can be very helpful to do this from the start. For the wording of these I suggest you visit, or revisit, the post I wrote during the 28 Days to Peacefulness series of posts about using language to enhance your life.
Employ visualisation – picture yourself doing what you love to do with vigour and flexibility or go right into your cells and imagine perfect health replicating throughout your body. Please find below the audio I recorded last year for self healing through the body
Flow and Flexibility
I also recommend energy medicine for enhancing flow through the body – flow and flexibility is one of the changes I’ve realised I need to become disciplined about, in my case mainly in the form of yoga but incorporating a few minutes of daily Donna Eden practices.
Candida overgrowth, sigh… This has been an issue I have had, I now realise, for probably a couple of decades with a few respite periods. There are many symptoms of candidiasis and because I have no serious health concerns I have ignored the on and off niggling little things like background fatigue, bloating, brain fog (my mind definitely used to be sharper!), skin rashes, in particular a sort of eczema in my ears and a vague not as healthy or vigorous as I could be. Except when I worked up in the North of Scotland, outdoors throughout the winter, for nine months – I think the daily ongoing contact with nature in a setting that just felt right made this condition go into remission. The other clue to having candida overgrowth is that everytime I’ve done a cleanse of some sort I get a flu type cold – congestion, sneezing, could sleep for 12 hours, total brain fog. I’ve had three of these in the past year, all classic symptoms of toxin and candida spores die-off.
What is Candidiasis?
Candidiasis is when the balance between good bacteria and healthy yeasts in the digestive tract breaks down, causes what is known as leaky gut syndrome and spreads throughout the bloodstream. As a result many systems and organs of the body are affected. The most obvious for most people is thrush, oral, genital or in the fingernails. But what happens when you don’t have these obvious and irritating conditions but many other symptoms that are attributed to something else? Or as is usually the case in allopathic medicine, symptoms that are treated as a lone condition? As for thrush, for the most part by the time one does get this ailment the candida is fairly systemic.
What is Candida Albicans?
Candida Albicans is part of the healthy flora of our gut biome, it’s function is to keep harmful bacteria in check, without it we would be defenceless against many pathogenic bacteria. Our gut is also home to several strains of good, or “friendly”, bacteria and these good bacteria help to keep yeasts such as candida in balance and our digestion working optimally. When candida yeasts get out of balance they turn into mycelial fungi, the state known as candidiasis, and begin to invade the body as noted above. The entire digestive tract is a system with a fairly precarious balancing act to keep. The fungal overgrowth known as candida albicans has been well known for several decades and the subject of a vast library of books, articles and research papers; however in the past few years I’ve noticed a move away from focussing solely on yeast overgrowth and an emphasis on the health of the gut biome, the balance of gut flora.
Of course years ago this got commercial with the advent of at first reasonably healthy (but largely useless) products such as Yakult, then all the flavoured, sweet yogurt drinks hit the market with their promises of healthy intestines and digestion… Worse than useless!
It is reckoned that about a third of the population suffer from candida overgrowth and intestinal imbalance which is hardly surprising given the average person’s diet and lifestyle. Most people assume that candida overgrowth is merely characterised by oral or vaginal thrush and itching or rashes in various places. The danger with this assumption is that one may have full blown candidiasis without thrush or itchiness, in fact this is probably more likely and would explain why candida carries on being a problem without the person being aware of it. The list of conditions candida overgrowth contributes to, and perhaps causes, is staggering, I will simply provide a link to one fairly comprehensive list here https://eliciamiller.com/systemic-candida-symptoms-causes-cures/
The main causes of candida overgrowth:
A diet rich in sugars, this includes artificial sugars, these actually kill off good bacteria or cause imbalance to the gut microbiome, which in many will also lead to weight gain and difficulty losing weight. Apart from the obvious sources of sugar there is sugar in so much of what we take for granted such as toothpaste, medications, convenience foods and ready made meals. Sugar is used as a a preservative in most processed food, so just avoiding obvious sweets won’t do it. We over consume sugar on a massive scale and as it’s highly addictive can be a hard habit to break. Drinking a lot of fruit juice can also contribute as this, although natural, is a concentrated form of fruit sugars.
Antibiotics – like sugar this isn’t as clean cut or obvious, there is of course antibiotic use for infections but what most don’t realise is that we are consuming antibiotics through meat and dairy, and in our water supply as all that goes into agriculture enters the water table.
Pesticides – these contribute to gut imbalance and are in virtually all that we eat unless strictly organic.
Typical Western diet – all of the above of course but add to that the low consumption or fresh fruit and vegetables. Vast research over the past few decades has proven that a predominantly plant based diet is what keeps our gut healthy and functional. The absence or low consumption of what is called “resistant starch” leads to poor gut function. Resistant starches are foods such as potatoes, pulses, slightly unripe bananas, green beans, wholegrains. As these starches travel through the small intestine they don’t fully digest so by the time the colon is reached they ferment and serve as a prebiotic; prebiotics feed the healthy bacteria. I will write more about plant based eating in later posts as the newest findings are incredible.
Excessive alcohol – alcohol of course is rich in sugars and yeasts
Medication – Particularly steroids and the contraceptive pill
Now for two other causes of candida overgrowth we rarely see in the literature; these are the absence of certain nutrients and certain emotional issues. First the nutrients, candida is kept in balance not only by a healthy diet but through a sufficient amount of a trio of minerals, these are zinc, selenium and chromium picolinate. As far as I know there are no scientific studies on this though of course it’s well documented that zinc and selenium are needed for healthy immune functioning which is needed to keep the gut balanced and that chromium is indicated in maintaining blood sugar balance and insulin control. It has been found that a candida overgrowth greatly adds to or perhaps mimics diabetes or diabetic like symptoms.
Candida, as with all health issues, often has an emotional cause, which diet will usually worsen. What this illness is is often unique to the sufferer but there a few general indications – one (this comes from Theta Healing) is that resentment is a trigger, according to Louise Hay, frustration and anger (similar to Theta) but also being scattered and demanding. Unworthiness and feeling as if you are being taken advantage of, a victime type mentality – from several sources. That’s quite a lot to start with and it’s important when dealing with emotional causes to not be too prescriptive. How do you feel about the candida, what specific emotion do you feel; this could be a clue as to cause. If it’s been with you for a long time then what else has been a part of your life for a long time? A sense of unworthiness, of not deserving a full life? Or long standing anger about something? (resentment is anger that has gone cold) Or do you feel as if there are “parasites” in your life? That is things, people, events/ongoing situation or institutions that are sucking the life out of you?
How do you know if you have candidiasis?
This post is about candida overgrowth itself and it’s symptoms, I will write about dealing with it in another post. If you suspect you have it after looking at the list of possible symptoms then there is a simple at home test you can do for free known as the spit test. Here’s the link to the symptoms list again – https://eliciamiller.com/systemic-candida-symptoms-causes-cures/
The spit test
Many people will say this test is unscientific but if coupled with several symptoms it may be a pretty certain indication of a candida problem.
First thing in the morning, rinse your mouth with water only, let saliva gather (not mucus) and spit into a glass of water. After a few minutes, if you have candida overgrowth, you will see one or more of the following:
If within two to three minutes after spitting into the water, you see “strings” hanging down, cloudy particles in the water, or “debris” sinking to the bottom, you most likely have an extensive overgrowth of candida.
If it takes longer than five minutes for anything to show up, the candida is not likely as extensive as it could be and will be easier to treat
The reason for the Spit Test is, if you have candida overgrowth, it will show up in the saliva which is a friendly environment for yeast.When you spit into the glass, the aerated saliva is lighter than water. However, as candida is heavier than either then signs of an overgrowth will begin to show up. Whether it sinks as “legs”, falls to the bottom, or floats around in the water, all are indications of candida. The more you see, and the faster you see it, the more systemic the infection. Candida concentrates in saliva overnight hence it being most accurate first thing in the morning.
A few times during the 28 Days of Peacefulness series I mentioned that I’d embarked on a lengthy physical cleansing process and that I’d write about it after the series was completed. So here it is. I will write updates about my progress and information on what I am doing and why I’m doing this for anyone who is also thinking of or undertaking a cleanse.
Disclaimer
Of course I have to point out that I am not a qualified health provider so everything I write about is from personal research and experience. If you wish professional expertise I would recommend a Naturopath. If you have an actual health concern then see your doctor for a check up. I recommend a Naturopath for professional help on detoxification because they will have spent several years studying health, how to enhance health and treat disease through natural means. In contrast to a medical doctor who will over their 7 years of training have spent about a day or two worth of lectures on nutrition, diet and health. This doesn’t surprise me but it is a bit shocking!
So, what have I been doing and why? First, in the interest of my true passion which is the embodiment of ascension I will cover the why. In my twenties and a little in my early 30’s and 40’s (I’m 55 now) I did some serious detoxing but in the past decade very little, add to that a diet fairly high in sugar and a glass of wine most nights, plus an average of once or twice a week convenience food and I’m no longer as healthy as I used to be. I did a cleansing diet for several weeks last spring during the first lockdown but not much else. Now my diet by average UK standards is still fairly healthy, I have always eaten a lot of vegetables, mostly veggie or vegan meals and drink a lot of filtered water (I think about 2-3 litres a day) Also I’ve always been reasonably physically active. I’m saying this to point out that a reduction in sugar and refined carbs would have been enough for me to coast on for quite a while longer!
However, apart from wishing to feel a lot fitter and healthier my main concern has been the spiritual one. During January as I took advantage of the massive revelation wave and the other powerful influxes of Light pouring into this planet I found myself going very deep and not just clearing the last dregs of several issues but also found new ways of being that involved more light pouring in than usual. I’d done a lot of that over the years but this felt much more profound and all encompassing, almost overwhelming. And with that overwhelm I finally had to admit to myself that I couldn’t take this much further – if I didn’t radically cleanse my physical body I’d become ill.
As said before everything is interconnected we have four main bodies here on Earth – the physical, emotional, mental and etheric – what we alter in one affects all. I’d spent years focussing on the last three and it was time to really focus on the physical as it felt to me now that this was holding up the fullest penetration of Light I could handle. I will write about this in more detail in the future but I wanted to just give a background as to motivation. Motivation, unless you are already used to self discipline regarding health, has to be strong for real change to occur.
I began by ordering a few books and doing some online research before starting. One area I had been very interested in and had made a half hearted attempt at last year was that of heavy metal cleansing. I’m now very relieved my attempt was half hearted as this has to be approached with caution, the body, it’s systems and internal organs need to be quite thoroughly cleared before tackling heavy metals. After a couple of weeks of reading and taking notes I made a plan, the plan was that this period of cleansing would last from the end of January to probably May and would target each phase and part of the body systematically.
The phases of the detox plan:
If you read most in-depth literature on detoxification it will state that it begins with an intestinal cleanse. I know from a colonic about 4 years ago that I have no build up of colon plaque etc. anymore. This is due not just to past cleanses (including colonics in my 30’s) but because I drink a lot of water and eat a lot of veg and roughage so if you are embarking on a deep cleanse for the first time then this has to come first, it can be dangerous to your health if a colon cleanse is not taken into consideration. There are many ways of cleansing the colon – a quick search online will point you towards a wealth of info on this topic. What I have started with is a parasite cleanse, apparently most of us will have intestinal parasites at some point especially if you have pets, do gardening, eat a lot of raw food or have been abroad extensively. I was also intrigued by one of the symptoms of intestinal parasites which is sugar cravings! There are several foodstuffs that will help kill off parasites and most of them are in the image at the top of this post. I have included a lot of these in my diet since January (I’m adding a lot more garlic to meals and am making my own muesli rich in coconut, pumpkin and sunflower seeds for instance).
There are many parasite cleanse supplements and I eventually went with the supplements in the link below as it seemed quite comprehensive, a set of four separate boxes but sold as one set. You take them twice a day on an empty stomach/two hours after a meal. Take one clove capsule, wait half an hour then take one capsule each of the other three – wormwood, black walnut and grapefruit seed extract. They are sold as digestive bitters, effective against candida overgrowth but all are also helpful for the elimination of parasites, especially cloves and wormwood. They are taken for 10 – 14 days then a week off. This is repeated three times. The time off is important for two reasons, first is that wormwood is quite a potent herb, toxic in large amounts or with prolonged use so needs to be used sensibly. The second is that the time off is to coincide with the larval life of intestinal parasites so when you begin the regime again the cloves will take care of the eggs and larvae and the other herbs take care of the hatched parasites. During this cleanse it is important to avoid sugar as far as possible as this is what parasites feed on.
When you do research online you will see many, ghastly, toilet pictures of expelled parasites! I’m relieved to report that nothing like that happened to me, if I did have parasites they were small. I did however find that my brain was clearer, my mood very good and my sugar cravings abated after a week. This could of course have been due to the anti candida effect of the herbs and my stricter diet. I am fairly sure I have had a candida albicans overgrowth for several years, not severe, just ticking along in the background.
I am on my third run of the parasite herbs and am now combining this with an anti-candida overgrowth regime. I have experienced a certain amount of unpleasantness with this one! Tackling Candida, it’s symptoms and die-off is the topic of the next post.
