523 thoughts on “My Experience of Vaccination and Self-care”

1. When I started my nurse training and was told I would have to be vaccinated – I did everything I could to get out of it, love what you share here as you are connecting to the bigger picture and the true responsibility that we can take.

2. Reading this blog made me realise I had similar feelings towards vaccinations. I too used to consider travel vaccinations and only accepted the vaccinations that were compulsory for working as a health professional.

   Just this year, I accepted the flu vaccination and had this fear/concept of how it was going to affect me, hence my hesitation to have it on the first place. I didn’t have the opportunity to rest and received the flu vaccination whilst at work, and apart from a sore arm and feeling a little queasy on the day, I was fine.

   Everyone needs to consider what feels true for them, at the same time we also need to ensure the vaccines are safe. We still have the freedom to choose to vaccinate or not.

3. Whatever injection we are to receive it is our responsibility to present a body that is truly cared for.

   1. Mary that is a spot on, in your face statement, I absolute and totally agree with it. ‘It is our responsibility to present a body that is truly cared for’ is needed in everything we do and be.

4. For me this clearly shows that the more responsibility we accept, the more worldly and wise we become in the choices we make, which are naturally more loving for the all.

5. I agree, the vaccines made for the current year were predicated on the previous years strains. A current year’s vaccine could completely miss the mark, as there is always some uncertainty about which strains will come in any one future year. Prevention in the form of keeping ones immune system healthy and living a healthy lifestyle with exercise and a good healthy diet and sleep seems to stand one in good stead.

6. I have never had a flu vaccine and never got flu – despite volunteering for many years in a primary school. The more I research certain vaccines the more uncertain I have become. I’m not sure we are told the whole truth by certain pharmaceutical companies. After all they are in it to make money. It would seem there is a huge polarity in the vaccine debate – being you are either for or against. I would prefer to research each one – and read the blurb that comes with each packet – something we don’t often have the opportunity to read unless we ask for it. Then we can make up our own minds.

7. Vaccines are an incredible advancement of modern medicine, and when there is self-care too, I reckon this makes for an awesome combination which everyone can benefit from.

8. I’ve experienced that arrogance of – I can do it without medicine too – all I can say was it was a relief to accept the support and also to engage in that care for myself rather than thinking and persevering with the belief that I could do it alone.

9. What you chose for yourself in your latest round of vaccinations is inspiring Jennifer, to undertake an event and to support yourself fully. This could be done across of many of our life events.

10. “Recently, I began to feel that being vaccinated was a deeply caring thing to do, not only for myself, but also for the people I care for.” As a health professional this makes perfect sense, yet it makes sense for us all because when we support ourselves like this we are also taking responsibility for ourselves and others, which is part of caring for our family and community.

11. Great to read this again Jennifer and come to the realisation of how important our self care is even around vaccinations, because if our body has experienced stress, pressure or neglect we may not be able to cope well with the vaccination. Your preparation around the vaccinations was very self caring also.

12. Yes, like many things in life it is important to look at why you do things. If you get vaccinations so you will not have to take responsibility for taking care of yourself, it is a different than getting vaccinations just as a part of your health care.

13. We can feel into so beautifully the details of how we can support ourselves, as one size of application does not always work for everyone.

14. Reading this reminds me of winter colds season when people end up coughing and spluttering with a cold on packed trains, determined to make it into work whatever the cost to themselves, and others. The person with the cold might be able to make it through the day, but what about all of the people they come into contact with, young and old, whose immune systems might be very weak, and for whom a cold could mean a deterioration into much worse health conditions? Taking care of ourselves generally means that others are also taken care of, within this: our choices affect everyone around us.

15. It is the arrogance of the mind, that lets us believe, that to us a very serious disease will never happen. We do know what´s true for us in every moment, question is, how much do we dismiss that knowing.

16. Reading your blog I am asking myself, if I missed any kind of vaccination. I will check this and care more deeply about that.

17. What a case study in self-care. The truth is in our bodies. We know what to do.

18. This flags up for me that it is the why and how what we do that needs looking at…what spurs our actions or inactions.

19. ‘Well it won’t happen to me’ and ‘it’s ok, I can deal with it if I do get sick’ – I was the same, and the only reason why I was less hesitant to being vaccinated for travelling to some exotic places than for flu, was that it would be far more messy and complicated if I became ill while travelling, with some unfamiliar disease, in an unfamiliar environment – a totally lopsided belief considering how much more likely I am to get flu.

20. Taking care of ourselves, our health and well-being is an act of love, not only for ourselves but also for those we come in contact with. As such we all hold a great responsibility in regards to the welfare of our communities.

    1. A great angle you are offering here- we always only look at us, that we need to care more for ourselves, but don´t see the consequences and effects, that our unwell-being has on others and what it reflects to them.

    2. I’ve recently watched someone become unwell due to a lack of self care, and I’ve seen the effects on their family, work life and relationships. Without any judgement of the person or how it all came about what was highlighted to me is how our self care is an act of brotherhood, because by lovingly caring for ourselves we can contribute to our families, work places, and communities in a supportive way.

       1. This is so true and profound Melinda : ‘our self care is an act of brotherhood’. The way we chcoose to live always has an impact around us.

21. I love how you surrendered to the wisdom of our own body Jennifer, and show how important it is to be aware of what we are doing and needing, such as the time to care for yourself after the vaccination.

22. We so easily subscribe to a belief, pick up our information from the media or random stories that we do not know the details of. This is how information is distributed around the world. But mostly we use this circulating energy to not have to look at our own part of what is going on in our lives.

23. I love this because it really highlights how many aspects to our self care there is, not just what we chose, as in to have the vaccination, but also where, how, why, how we look after ourselves afterwards. Self care is so incredibly multi-faceted.

24. It feels very much like there is a real consideration of the impact of your individual choices on society and your community. We often only consider ourselves in our decisions, rather than the whole of humanity, but this example shows how much our decisions can impact on others.

25. I think what you share here about supporting yourself in the way you had the vaccinations and looked after yourself is really important – how you gave yourself space between them and looked after your body as well rather than just expecting the injection to do it all on its own. Thanks for writing this, it’s really supportive.

26. It’s great to read your own experience and for us all to understand how we are free to make whatever choice we feel is true but also to be aware that our choices always affect all others. I know for our family we felt the importance of vaccination as part of our everyday self-care program.

27. I have found that getting my vaccinations have been a self-loving process particularly honouring of myself and others.

28. Love the honesty in this statement – ‘potentially what could have been a fairly minor side effect turned into a full-blown bout of the flu, because I wasn’t truly caring for myself’. How often we place full blame on the ‘vaccine’ and not look at what else might be contributing to it. I am pretty sure we play a much bigger part than we think!

29. I feel like we instinctively link vaccinations with disregard, that we need to have them when we’ve slipped up. The truth is more the opposite – that it’s simply caring to consider what could happen ahead of time and support your body to be ready.

30. If we look back to the origins of developing vaccines, it was all about preventing people from serious infectious diseases that were literally taking many thousands of lives. I am not saying that they are perfect or that they are for everyone. But the origins of vaccines feels true as its about humanity as a whole.

31. I don’t think you can underestimate the importance to take time off (be that an hour, day/s, week, month/s…) after your body has undergone a medical/dental etc.. procedure. We have this strong mentality of ‘soldiering on’ and ‘carrying on regardless’ but it is much more supportive to your healing process to allow time for your body to rest and recover.

32. This has been the same for me also Jennifer. In the long run, holding on to stubborn ideals and beliefs that do not support our body can be far more damaging to us then any perceived ‘harm’ from a simple vaccine.

33. There are so many beliefs and ideals around vaccinations these days making it very hard for people to make a true choice; I feel this is more toxic than the vaccinations themselves.

34. Concepts of good and bad stop us from taking simple practical steps. We think so much about things, but our body knows best. Thank you Jennifer.

    1. I agree Joseph. There is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ or ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, there is only what is true and thus the will to align with this or not.

35. Truly caring for ourselves can manifest in so many ways… This is indeed one of those ways that for many people has become convoluted.

36. I am shortly going on an off the beaten track tour to an Asian country and had a whole heap of vaccines – it felt great to do that and very self-loving and supportive. Previously I have been to the same country but not off the beaten track and didn’t have an impulse to have a vaccine. Generally I am very much in favour of vaccines but not religious about it. I am amazed at the reactions and emotions that people have around vaccines – there seems to be some huge consciousness at play here and very little common sense or discernment.

37. Recognising how beliefs run us, is such an important step for our evolution… The thing is sometimes they are buried so deep that we think that they are us.

    1. That’s a great point Chris – yes we get so identified with these beliefs that we think that is who we are and then don’t want to let them go and face the glory of who we truly are which might be completely different to what we think!!!

38. Vaccination is an act of love, more than normal for other people as well.

39. Surely there is a certain arrogance if one takes a stand on something that so obviously serves the whole community, and separates oneself from the overall responsibility of being a part of this community.

40. The human race considers itself impervious in areas it is weak and lacking where it is strong. If we can switch around to grasp that we are powerful when we honour our fragility we may finally see our grace and divinity. Thank you Jennifer for your eulogy here to the sweetness that is there when we choose to take care.

41. When we vaccinate ourselves we take a small but discernible risk and provide a great benefit for the community and for ourselves.

42. “What’s the difference between getting vaccinated to go travelling and getting vaccinated to go to work?” – this is such a great question, and ‘Well it won’t happen to me’ and ‘It’s ok, I can deal with it if I do get sick’ would be my sentiment, too. And I can feel how I wanted the vaccination to be the answer – removing all the chances of me not being sick, and if it had failed in any way, it would be the medicine that I blame and I probably would have never considered to look at how I was living.

43. Beautiful to read your responsibility in having your vaccinations and the care you took in having them individually and the care and preparation you put into place before and after each one.

44. Jennifer, this is a great blog showing how even medical professionals can engage in magical thinking – definitely avoiding illness through ‘right’ living and effective healing through self-medication.

45. I love how you broke your own myth of ‘you do get ill after a vaccination’ by exposing your lifestyle at the time. We are often more quick to blame something outside of ourselves for what happens than our own choices even though it is always the latter that do make things happen!

    1. Yes, looking for something – anything – outside as it can’t be us.

46. This piece highlights for me the common relationship between medical pharmacology and personal self-care, how it is not so unusual to think that medical pharmacology will take care of everything and all you have to do is turn up to the doctors office. When in fact, there is a deeper and much more substantial approach to health that includes you, your body and all the movements that you make. And I love this because even though medical pharmacology is great, we still ultimately have all the power in our hands to create the lives we live and experience each day.

47. Whatever the view is about vaccinations or not what I took from this article was giving yourself the space and your body the time to adjust to treatments. In a world that seems to push through things and want things to quickly get back on track it was great to see the care that was taken when it was needed or in this case before it was needed. Meaning the quality of care you have for yourself is paramount in any treatment or illness. We are seemingly skipping over this quality of care for ourselves to go back to a function when this doesn’t support us at all.

48. To me it seems that it is not what we do but how we do it that matters and informs the consequences. The loving care you brought to yourself this time around when having your vaccination counts for a lot more than we usually give credit.

    1. I am not sure – with medical protocols it matters enormously what we do.

49. A big part of vaccination is that we do it for others. A hospital worker with close contact with many ill people can infect a lot of vulnerable people at once even if it is only a minor episode for them.

50. This makes total sense, taking care of ourselves needs to encompass every single part of our lives and work and how we approach our day and vaccinations help us ensure that certain aspects of our health are cared for at all points in time also.

51. This is a great example of sifting through any preconceived ideals and beliefs around a certain topic, looking back through your own experiences with a level of self-honesty, and seeing what is really true for you. Oh and I love that you took a day off and deeply rested after each vaccine.

52. I was really interested to read the level of care you took with yourself when you had the vaccines Jennifer. Bringing this level of awareness and presence into our decisions can provide the clarity that is needed which knowledge and theory on its own may not do.

    1. Interestingly this level of care for oneself then also translated into a lot of care for others automatically through those actions.

53. I used to hold the belief that I didn’t need to get vaccinated but realised it is a part of self care and the responsibility we have towards others and what we may inflict on them if we don’t get vaccinated. I’ve had a few shots now and haven’t had any side effects at all.

54. ‘What’s the difference between getting vaccinated to go travelling and getting vaccinated to go to work?’ None to me but it’s fascinating to see how our mind can justify and manipulate our thoughts and reason otherwise.

55. What we understand under self -care has been also misused, not used in its true way.. As since when has self care become about following what others tell you to do or about ticking boxes of what to eat and not to eat.. How to lose weight and or how to be on weight.. All these ideals has come from outside of us and it is time to go inside us and feel what our body truly wants.. Not our minds. I am very much a student of this myself – learning how to truly take care of myself in every moment of the day. But opening myself up to true care is a big gift and that I can feel in all that I do thereafter.

56. My mother had some strong ideals about how getting vaccinated was unnecessary, she also thought it was a way for the government to control the public, so growing up, I had no vaccinations until I was in my twenties and I took a round the world trip and choose to go get vaccinated myself. My mother is now very pro vaccination and realised that her ideals and beliefs were based on a consciousness that she had aligned to at the time, which I like to call the alternative, hippie cloud.
    Thanks to Universal Medicine, I am so appreciative of Western Medicine and the support that it offers, my children are vaccinated but I did it my way, in the order and timing that supported my boys and our family, its not about rolling over but about being responsible and making sure that what ever you choose is truly from you and not from an ideal that serves no true purpose.

    1. I wonder why an act that is very supportive of our community is so violently vilified? Yes, there is a small risk associated with it but I wonder if that is the only reason?

57. I love that through appreciating the power of making loving choices for yourself, you were able to nominate stubbornly held beliefs and let go of them so as to truly support your body by choosing what was most loving for you in your circumstances. The way you then chose to put this into action, ensuring that you made the process as loving and supportive as possible for you, was deeply inspirational and a level of care we could offer ourselves in many areas of our lives.

58. There is a responsibility in being vaccinated that extends beyond the individual and our own self-care and respect for the body. It is part of our personal responsibility in keeping our communities free of unecessary life-threatening diseases, particularly in those sections of the population who are vulnerable due to age or frailty.

59. We must respect and look after the body, for it is the vehicle through which we walk our path of return.

60. My 180 degree change in attitude to vaccination (from very pro when nursing children, to against when I had my own child then back to a choice based on what was the right timing etc for the child), was the first time I realised how beliefs, although they may feel very true are not true. A real truth doesn’t change, it is steady and holds true for all. I loved receiving this lesson and it has made me question if something is a belief or if its true.

61. We blame medicine and angrily say ‘the drugs don’t work’. But as you simply ask Jennifer – are we doing our part? Do we truly expect a single pill or supplement to change our whole life? What if it actually comes down to the way we are with ourselves? Then surely we will see it’s the way we care for every move that counts.

62. Letting go of stubbornly held ideals and beliefs and listening to the wisdom in our bodies is certainly the key to making decisions about all aspects of life.

63. Vaccinations have become a hot topic in recent years and can get people into quite a debate, I have always found that it is important to honour whatever you feel is right for your body. Because what is right for me, may not be for someone else, however, vaccines can be very supportive and a blessing, but there still needs to be discernment always.

64. I too have had a period in my life where I, from a belief, was against vaccinations, but as I needed some for traveling later on and when I took these, my body felt so thankful in me taking care for it so well. It now feels for me like these vaccinations are a blessing from heaven, given to humanity to alleviate the pressure and discomfort to humanity from these illnesses they help to prevent.

65. Doug its interesting how well Vaccination has worked for the world, and whilst some people have reactions perhaps thats something bigger than just the medication. Out of fear perhaps sometimes we can think its safer for us not to vaccinate, but what about all the people we then come into contact with?

66. Beliefs are powerful things – but do not always represent the truth of a matter. I would rather know the truth in any situation.

    1. Yes and know that the choices that are made are coming from the whole body intelligence rather than being feed by the common beliefs that is often mixed in with a combination of ideals.

67. We can be really arrogant about our beliefs and selfish when we don’t realise that our own choices affect others too. I loved how you realised that being vaccinated was part of your own self-care, and for me it is part of taking responsibility for both ourselves and equally for others too.

68. Vaccinations are preventative medicine that mean taking responsibility for ourselves and also for those around us and, as is shared here, the responsibility called for in how we care for ourselves when we are vaccinated.

69. Here we have a perfect example of what could be called… mass disinformation energy, or subscribing to a belief that is based on false premises, to the point then where these premises become a part of and indeed affect our lives… And then we have to feel how much energy actually goes into keeping needs. And so is keeping these false premises alive…( at the expense of keeping humans alive)

70. The reality hits home when we actually experience these diseases returning that have been absent for a long time due to the vaccinations given in our youth. Until we see how terrible the effect of whooping cough is on a small baby or the return of TB or Polio or Measles to name just a few diseases that cause serious effects. To me vaccination is a responsible gift we give to our children. I also realize there are some who have adverse reactions to these vaccinations and that needs to be taken Into account..

71. We need simple and clear information about these subjects upon which so much disinformation has been heaped… Thank you Jennifer… Please keep writing ☺

72. Yet another great example that it is not what we do but how we do it that is key. We cannot have a blanket rule – everyone must be vaccinated – without each person working out for themselves how that looks like for them personally in terms of honouring what is best for their body. And by this I don’t mean that the mind marches in and makes demands of the body to succumb to its self-imposed will, but more so that we deeply attune to what will best support us to either restore or maintain our vitality so we can be of greatest use for everyone else. This is true service. It begins at home and then reaches far wide.

73. There has been so much misinformation about vaccinations and anti vaccinations. Everything is life should be a personal choice yet this area has become clouded and so making an informed choice has become a lot harder. Both sides have presented such emotionally charged information that it can be hard to cut through it all and get the facts.

74. It is great what you share here, as you took responsibility, you could see what the true cause of making unloving choices resulted in. Also when we stop to understand the bigger picture there is a purpose of taking vaccination, and it’s not just for self protection, it is for other people you have contact with too.

75. ‘Flu – it’s not just about you’. So said the editorial proceeding this helpful article on The Conversation (‘Flu vaccine won’t definitely stop you from getting the flu, but it’s more important than you think’ http://bit.ly/2p50qae ). It supports the notion that we need to go deeper with our understanding of the purpose of vaccination.

76. An excellent and timely reminder that the flu season is upon us, and , more virulent then ever, there is the opportunity to get vaccinated and save oneself a lot of grief

77. My journey with vaccination mirrors yours Jennifer. It wasn’t until I heard Serge Benhayon present a wholistic – nay, universal – view that I understood vaccination is not just for me, it’s for humanity. We have a responsibility to ensure we are protecting everyone.

78. What stands out for me in this blog is the significance of self-care, or the lack of it, upon the state of one’s health and that to be truly loving and caring is to make choices not just to benefit oneself but also to take into account the affect of our choices will have on others

79. ‘It is more than receiving a vaccine and hoping that I won’t become ill. I also have a part to play in caring for my body.’ Yes our bodies are asking to pay attention to even the smallest detail as they are sensitive and tender and it is inspiring to read how you nurtured yourself after each injection, taking care of ourselves is naturally there when we start to love ourselves again.

80. The area of vaccination is one that attracts some extremes in responses. I had always argued that I would not have injected into my body anything that was not meant to be there and as I type this I am aware that during my life there are many things I have chosen to consume that were not natural to my body and so therefore my reasoning was not true. As my heart has opened to others so has my mind and understanding of the importance of vaccinations. The last couple of trips that took me overseas which required vaccinations meant that I was open to these vaccinations. The choices around these vaccinations were loving and supportive and there were no side effects experienced. Honesty and openness forms a very important part of all choices we make.

81. It is awesome you have re-imprinted how you are with vaccinations, western medicine is a huge support for us but the best medicine is how we are with ourselves … self-love and self-care. It is great to take stock and reflect on why we do and don’t do certain things. Only today I was talking to someone about how I was vegetarian for years but this didn’t come from a truth within or from me really wanting to do it and choosing it was more like following the crowd.

82. Yes it is always worthwhile taking the space to reflect on the bigger picture and check whether we are making a true choice or one that is influenced by ideals or other impositions.

83. There is a responsibility beyond our own when we are choosing to make vaccinations a part and parcel of living and working amongst our community. Vaccinations are there to support all and the questions here is, are we still living as individuals or part of the whole?

84. Recently my friend and I began a game of calling out our beliefs, it was awesome to expose how many beliefs we have around us, and it was very supportive to call out each other’s beliefs and then see the simplicity of life without them.

    1. ha ha that would have been fun and exposing!

85. What a wonderful journey you’ve shared with us Jennifer. That you experienced only one side-effect from your three recent vaccinations is evidence to me of the immense amount of self-love with which you now live – that alone is inspiring. That you considered the broader implications in your decision-making process is indicative of your care for others. That is equally inspiring.

86. I would have loved to have read your blog 8 years ago when I was a student nurse. Back then I was petrified about having to have vaccinations; I really did not want them. I could have saved myself a lot of stress if I had dropped the paranoia I was holding around vaccinations.

87. Jennifer, it is great to see and feel the level of care and honouring that you are bringing to your body.

88. We can allow ourselves to be led, manipulated and controlled simply by believing in something because we allow ourselves to become attached and therefore don’t question it. There are many reasons for this attachment eg.fulfilling a picture, fitting in, thinking because another believes in it (possibly someone we look up to) then it must be true, holding on to an arrogance thinking we are right, etc, etc, but it is within my body where the true answers lie and it is my responsibility to live in a way that supports me to connect to my inner heart and respond with love to myself and to everyone equally so.

89. I decided to have the whooping cough vaccine this year after having resisted for a long time; it just felt that it was the responsible thing to do as I work with children a lot. And no side effects at all, not even a sore arm which I attribute to my level of willingness and acceptance of the procedure.

90. I loved reading how you honoured your body after each injection by booking a day off work to rest, this was a great reflection for me that not only is the vaccination a part of self care but so the opportunity extends into the time around that choice too.

91. what is very revealing here is how we can take a construct, a system of beliefs, and then make it our own so deeply that it will have such a powerful effect upon our lives… How deep does this illusion run in our society, and in our lives… This is what must be observed felt and revealed

92. Great Sharing Jennifer, how you came to examine your preconceived ideas and how you found what is more true and comprehensive care for yourself. It is something I can relate to thinking I will be ok and not really going into the detail of what I am choosing – a kind of faith, even though I was always ridiculing religious faith.

93. Our arrogance is no protection against an illness and disease, especially when we live with the disregard of the body.

94. It is madness…we crash around in these bodies with no care for their well-being in the arrogance that they will still support us not matter the abuse we subject them to. No other animal on Earth does this. When we finally take it too far and our physical form responds by trying to clear the excess and disregard by way of illness and disease, we somehow find the ignorance to blame anyone but ourselves, lest we have to take responsibility for our wayward ways. Our bodies are designed to be in harmony with the Universal Order we are held by, yet inside us lives a being that pulls away from such accord until such a time that we are given the grace of a STOP whereby we learn through our sickness that there is another way.

95. Being able to honestly observe our lives, like Jen did when she noticed the lack of self-care around the original vaccination date, empowers us to see and feel a much bigger picture in life and consequently to be able to be much more responsible ,

96. Great article Jennifer and what really stood out for me was “It is more than receiving a vaccine and hoping that I won’t become ill. I also have a part to play in caring for my body.” As the saying goes ‘We owe it to our body’. RESPONSIBILITY!

97. Hello Jennifer and I’m not commenting on this blog in the fear of being chased out of town or at least off the internet. I’m kidding but this is certainly a subject that divides the community and possibly the world. I am not going to get into the issue but more ask why this is so divisive? I mean I have seen people have a difference of opinion but this one really gets emotional, I wonder why. Without being dismissive of the nature of the issue why do we become so emotive around certain things but not others. I mean we all have the choice to do what we feel is needed for us or our family but I see this issue as one that people have difficulty allowing people to do what they feel, why? Why are some issues more pointed than others? Why do they bring up such emotion and others don’t? I haven’t got the answers to this but I find it very interesting to watch. There is so much around this issue but what you offer cuts this away and brings it back to simply taking care of yourself which I can understand. I can’t get my head around all the emotion with this issue at this point but I can understand what you are saying and how simple you have made it, thank you.

98. Great points Jennifer. We tend to look first at the microwave, vaccine, pink elephant or other external factor when the first place we should be looking is ourselves, our energy, intentions, how loving we are being etc and from there consider the external factors. Looking outside without considering what we are contributing is not only grossly irresponsible but contaminates our view.

99. Thank you Jennifer. You show clearly that vaccination is a preventative medicine in the same way as is the way we live and the choices we make in how we treat ourselves.

100. Thanks Jennifer, there is so much more for us to understand when it comes to vaccinations and any side effects we might experience. The level of responsibility and honesty required to do so is very clear from your example, and this to me, is where we need to start heading in every aspect of healthcare.

101. I can see that I have liked this blog before but to be honest I feel like I am reading it for the first time today! There is another level of understanding about the responsibility we have to take care of ourselves before we have the vaccine, I would always have thought about the after but of course, it makes so much sense to take care before to ensure the body is not already compromised. I know that in the end, we need to look after ourselves consistently, not just in anticipation of one thing or another, but for now this is a perfect place to start seeing and feeling the consequences of our choice to self care.

     1. I agree Lucy, it does make so much sense to perhaps take some extra care before we embark on something that may add a little stress to the body. My children were due to be vaccinated (after not choosing to vaccinate them when they were babies) a couple of weeks ago but I postponed it because they were feeling a little under par. They are due to have them this week but I am feeling into it every day and will not go ahead unless I feel they are well prepared especially making sure they are not tired.

102. Isn’t interesting how we can place the blame on a vaccination for a health issue later on in life in an attempt to avoid taking responsibility for the choices we have made.

103. The thing is the arrogance that Jen writes about , and which I shared, does usually come from misinformation which we grab onto, make our own, and then develop a steadfast arrogance about …. Strange really!

104. It’s always much easier to blame any resultant health issue on the vaccination rather than take responsibility and look at the underlying energetic reason for what occurs.

105. I really appreciate what you are offering here, it’s like when people blame the weather for their sickness, when they were underdressed in cold conditions, the responsibility that this blog brings is epic, no blame and no games.

106. Having read numerous news articles on the topic it can be easy to get caught in right or wrong over vaccinations, yet in this article you bring it back to simplicity back to caring for ourselves and taking responsibility for our place in society. Some great points and certainly confirming to me the importance of vaccination as part of self care.

107. What a great reflection and honesty that led you to make a self loving choice for yourself and others and in turn caring for yourself more deeply.

108. I had a flu injection these past two years as I finally understood how much my arrogance as in ‘it wont happen to me’ and lack of responsibility jeopardized not only my patients but also my colleagues. It feels like the loving thing to do.

109. Jennifer I too shared the same belief around the flu vaccination at work, a few years ago ‘There was arrogance in the belief of ‘well it won’t happen to me’ and ‘it’s ok, I can deal with it if I do get sick’. However, when I realised that as a carer – midwife, we look after babies – sick, premature and term, and pregnant mothers who are very vulnerable. I felt the responsibility and duty of care to get vaccinated, and felt that it is part of us looking after our own health as well.

110. It’s interesting how we can take on beliefs that something is not ‘good for us’ based on even one negative argument against. There have been some well-meaning discussions around the safety of vaccinations but on the whole the rhetoric has been irresponsible and scaremongering, leading to people refraining from having vaccinations themselves or not having their children vaccinated which has had the consequence of an uprising in the number of incidences of preventable diseases such as measles, sometimes with tragic consequences. Surely we have a responsibility to the health of humanity as a whole, let alone our communities, to ensure we are doing our part? I agree that it’s also an important part of self-care.

111. How scared are we that we avoid injections that actually help prevent us getting ill? As you dig a little deeper here Jennifer, it seems our whole perception is rooted in fear. Yet the irony is we actually end up neglecting our body and disregarding our responsibility. So what if there is a bigger picture here, that the fear and concern is actually the thing that is causing us to be ill? Let us try living free from this protective layer and we may see that true freedom and health lies not only in a pill, but the way we live and choose our life to be.

112. Thank you for your reflections here Jennifer Smith. Like you, I have chosen not to have the ‘flu-jab’ in recent years having had it once and then getting the flu. I had not considered any other aspect in this equation – such as my lifestyle at the time – which I am sure could just as easily have been a factor. You make a good point about taking care of ourselves after having a vaccination and it occurs to me to that we can see ourselves of absolved of responsibility because ‘I’ve had a jab and that will protect me’!

113. Conventional medicines wisdom is essential to the health of our society. And caring for ourselves and all others equally in a responsible manner is a foundational ingredient to supporting this system, a system that is struggling because too many of us are not living responsibly and nor caring for our own human bodies to the level we should be, or supporting each other with that same level of care.

114. There is a tiny little area of Australia that, when the map of the percentage of population with immunisation (or lack of it) is shown, shows up as bright red… yes it is the Shire of Byron bay … if an epidemic of a disease that had disappeared is going to break out anywhere in this country … this is where it will start.

115. Very beautiful and important blog too. Vaccines are much more about how we take care of ourselves than anything else. In the past I would fear vaccines, as I was afraid that the medicine might have side effects and make me feel not myself and or ill. Quite interesting belief too. Now, I am choosing to be vaccinated as I know this is part of not only my job, but also to take more deep care for myself and protect myself and others too. The change came when I came along Universal Medicine, I got to feel and see my real resistance towards vaccines, and found out that I had an issue with facing my own level of care, more then vaccine itself, how silly. So now that I am aware of my level of self-care and how I need to increase this, I am aware that I have no problems with vaccines any longer. I just have to take very good care of myself – so vaccination supports me with that.

116. Humanity desperately needs now true synergy between science and medicine, philosophy and religion, this is what Universal Medicine, as the name implies brings to us, so that we can feel the definitive energetic truth in action not in reaction.

117. Thanks Jennifer for giving your insights about vaccination. Your sharing gives me a new understanding of this topic. So far I didn’t care about vaccinations. To see the vaccinations as part of self-care, or as part of looking after my body, I can appreciate a lot. Considering this, vaccinations make so much more sense. In the next weeks I will go to the doctor for a checkup.

118. It is so true, I recently got vaccinated, and agree that it is an amazingly self caring choice. It gives our body the opportunity to adjust and know the things that can come its way.

119. It is great to read this Blog now as I have an appointment to get some vaccinations next week. I would never have really thought of it before but now I know to be extra gentle with myself while my body adjusts to the change that the vaccine will make. So thank you for this inspiration Jennifer.

120. “Could becoming fully vaccinated for my work be a part of how I care for myself?”-
     Yes, I now see it as part of being responsible and a caring thing to do.
     But only 2 yrs ago I felt differently about it, and allowed beliefs about getting vaccinated get in the way with truly appreciating how because of the introduction of vaccines many serious diseases are no longer prevalent- e.g. polio, or drastically diminished in numbers today- e.g. meningitis.

121. It is no surprise to feel the arrogance that comes from the misinformed, possibly even self-serving paradigms that rejects such simple things as immunisation to protect our children, and it is no surprise when one sees the demographic of this.

122. Jen, in regards to the flu vaccine, I had the view that why should I vaccinate against it as it was not 100% effective against getting the flu as the viruses can change. Also, I had the belief that if I looked after myself – I was taking herbs at the time, that I would not get sick – some arrogance there. But then one day after a vaccination talk at work I felt the responsibility of getting vaccinated to protect the sick babies that I was caring for. Also, at this time my mother was frail and in a nursing home. So, I felt that being vaccinated would be a deeply caring thing to do, not only for myself, but also for the babies and people I care for.

123. Hippocrates is considered by many to be the father of modern medicine, however his influence came from Pythagoras, whose teachings formed the basis of many elements found in the hippocratic oath. These teachings are what has lead the many brilliant men and woman to develop vaccinations, for the absolute honouring and recognition of not only how precious life is but also the purpose of it.

124. People, especially children, becoming unwell or having adverse reactions after vaccinations is a common reason I have heard for not vaccinating. But this fear is blocking any awareness that we need to look at the whole picture before blaming the vaccine in isolation for what may occur post immunisation. I imagine many would find the prospect of considering the quality of how they are living their lives to be quite daunting and find it far easier to blame one thing, while others may never have considered alternative understandings. Thank you Jennifer – what a great topic for further discussion in our community!

     1. You make a great point here Helen. Blaming something else means we don’t have to be responsible for how we are being and mostly people don’t want to look at how they are choosing to be because they then may have to change!

     2. Helen, so true – in nursing I hear parents not wanting their child to be vaccinated because of the potential side effects. However, like Jen experienced, it was how she was living at the time of being vaccinated that led to her getting the flu, not the side effects of the flu vaccine as some make out. They choose to put blame on the vaccine so as not to take responsibility for their own selfcare, or quality of how they are living post vaccination.

125. To read about such self-care in such a seemingly ordinary process is extremely illuminating and gives us an insight into a whole different way to live and to look after ourselves… Very inspiring.

126. It is great to have this discussion on vaccination Jennifer and I can relate to what you describe about getting vaccinated for travel compared for needing vaccinations for your work. And the interesting fact I read from your blog is that you had chosen unconditionally for the vaccinations for your travel when you where young, and that you started to question the need and purpose of the vaccinations for your work when you where older. To me this is because during life we are fed with all kinds of beliefs and by accepting those we got disconnected from ourselves and the knowing how to take proper care for ourselves. With other words, you were more connected with yourself when you where young, than in the later stage when you were asked to take vaccinations for your work because all the beliefs you had taken on during this time. And besides that we can also easily use two measures as I can confirm that my body unconditionally accepted vaccination for when I needed them to travel for my work, I was disagreeing to have my children vaccinated because of the culture I was living in and from the information that was fed to me about all the side effects that could occur. To me vaccinations can help our bodies enormous to help protect against severe diseases and that they are a important means to look after and take care for ourselves and our bodies.

127. I have not really given vaccination much thought, however after reading the many blogs on the topic I feel it would be a very responsible and self caring act.

128. The level of care you provided yourself in taking the days off following the vaccinations is great Jennifer. I have found that there is a constant push in health and social care to keep going, not have days off and to work through any issues we may face – what kind of example is that to the people that we are reponsible for providing care to and what further harm are we actually doing?

     1. Good point Michael. Although not working in healthcare, I was always very reluctant to take a sick day off. I am the envy of many colleagues because of the number of accumulated sick days I have. Now that I am learning to care for my body I do not hesitate to take a day off if it means truly caring for myself. Gone is the feeling of letting the team down.

        1. Absolutely Patricia – and aren’t we truly letting them down if we don’t take the day off – it’s amazing how looking at things in terms of true self-regard turns so many of our currently socially accepted ways of doing things upside down.

        2. Something interesting that I observed with this year’s flu injection. I was not able to have days off as I had last year when I wrote the blog. So I received the injection and went straight back to work. This showed me a couple of things. Firstly that I could be very tender and gentle with myself and be at work and that I did not need the days off to care for myself in this way. But really why should this way be reserved just for injection time or day off time? So really what this exposed for me was that I still had a tendency to push myself while I am at work rather than having a consistent flow of gentleness throughout my whole day, not what I just do at work. I found this very interesting to feel as I have made many changes in how I am with myself, but it reminded me that there is no end point in how much I can care for myself, and that developing self-care or self-love as a way of living is constantly unfolding if we allow the opportunity.

        3. I could be very tender and gentle with myself and be at work and that I did not need the days off to care for myself…’ This is a great point Jennifer and one I’ve also noted when I’m feeling weary, to be even more present and gentle with myself and simply and tenderly get on with the job at hand. This was beautifully exposed to me at a Universal Medicine healing course when feeling particularly exhausted I realised I was absolutely capable of providing the space for another’s amazing healing by staying present within myself and going slow. In connection we are always supported for whatever is needed.

129. Jen that was good to read your awesome blog because it reminds me that I wanted to vaccinate myself as well. I was also trapped in this ideals and beliefs that nothing will happen to me because I care for myself – what an irony – therefore vaccination I am coming! And thanks for your lovely nurturing and supportive advices after the vaccination.

130. What has been gradually unravelling for me over the years has been the accumulation of so many beliefs about health and well-being, and with the help of Universal Medicine, opening up to a perspective not based on supposition speculation and alternative rumour, but my solid foundation of energetic awareness and the integration of alternative, contributing, and allopathic medicine.

131. As with anything we do, as long as we self care along the way, we are supported in our body. Realising that you are putting a vaccine into the body and it has to process this, why would we not be loving and gentle with our self during that time, allowing the body the time to heal and accept the vaccine.

132. It feels so important to consider another view on vaccination, for years I was fully against it due to the side effects they can have and I was not open to hear anything else than negative stories about vaccinations. Also I just took it for granted that some diseases are no longer there because we have the ability to vaccinate. Never thought about it as a part of my self care or my responsibility towards my own health and the health of the people I work and live with. Thank you Jen for your view on vaccination.

133. It is interesting to examine the belief systems that hold our choices in place, sometimes unlovingly so. It is beautiful to read of the awareness and understanding you came to and even more so the deep care you then chose for yourself and how that supported you.

134. ‘Could becoming fully vaccinated for my work be a part of how I care for myself?’ Definitely Jen.

135. Reading your blog Jennifer I see that I have some beliefs and ideas that vaccines are bad and have bad side effects, this was my understanding growing up. My brother and I were probably the only children in the school who weren’t vaccinated, which created a separation, and feeling that we are special and better than the other kids as we didn’t get them. It’s really interesting to reflect now and feel the self love and care and for others that vaccination could bring.

136. Thank you Jennifer for sharing this great insight into a very volatile subject where both sides of the argument seem to present as this is the right way. I love the way you have presented vaccines as part of your self care and the care you have for others. I too have recently been vaccinated after a long period of without, for me it was about being responsible for my self and others, something I had been neglecting.

137. I used to believe that if I worked hard at being fit and healthy, I’d somehow stave off illness – and disease for that matter. I hated the idea of ‘poisoning’ my body with a vaccine and putting upon my immune system the need to jump into action to create a set of antibodies that I might never need. But these days I see vaccination as one of many strands of a preventative care strategy.

138. I love this Jen, what you have written is so real and practical and makes so much sense. I see vaccines as preventative medicine no different to going to the dentist for your regular clean and scale – It is interesting how we wait for a major event, such as going overseas or an illness, before we consider the importance of vaccination and our everyday care.

139. Thank you Jennifer. I have for a long time discounted what medicine can bring to us and used to be quite minimalistic and almost dismissive about it. But over the past years I have started to appreciate what medicine has to offer and it is now part of my life. I think the reason why we turn away from medicine is not so much turning away from what it truly brings but because we are missing the care and love that easily can get lost in the hectic life of any medical practitioner.

140. That’s an interesting comparison you make between vaccinating for overseas travel and vaccinating for daily life, Jen. I feel that discrepancy also so it was great to read how you resolved this within yourself and coming down to some beliefs you had on the subject. For me, I feel I have been influenced by some of the bad press around the flu vaccine so I may take a look at that now – the truth and the falsehoods, having read how you circumvented these issues for yourself.

     1. Coleen24 you raise something really important here about being influenced by the ‘bad’ press on the flu vaccine on how we can be swayed by the way something is portrayed in the media, especially if it has an emotional slant, such as this very topic. Discernment is key here so that we feel this for ourselves.

141. I was recently in a town teaching and was overhearing conversations on immunisations. It was like listening to myself 25 years ago, parochial, no grasp of the bigger picture of society, no sense of overall responsibility, and no real information. It was quite a moment for reflection.

142. This is a great sharing Jen. I had never really considered that the side effects of a vaccine could be changed based on how I was living at the time. It makes me aware that if in future I go to have a vaccine I would now prepare my body beforehand to ensure I was in optimal health and the take the time to rest afterwards.

143. It’s very true Jennifer, we often deflect and blame other things rather than look at the quality of our choices and if they are really self-caring and self-loving.

144. Jennifer, your blog has exposed a lot of attitudes and beliefs that are still lingering in me around self care in general. Thank you – I now welcome the opportunity to open myself up to further examination and healing.

145. 10 yrs ago my attitude towards getting the flu vaccine at work was arrogance.
     I felt I didn’t need it. And if I did happen to get it I could treat myself with herbal medicine. Only a few yrs ago when my parents were in a nursing home and I was working with babies that I felt that it was irresponsible to not receive the flu vaccine.
     Also, I made a point to rest more following the flu vaccine and listen to my body more.
     Apart from local soreness where I had the injection I was well following it.

     1. It’s interesting where our beliefs can lead us to. I can relate to being very arrogant around the flu vaccine as well..”I know how to care for myself so I don’t get sick, so I don’t need to have the vaccine” I have found the more deeply caring I am for myself, the more open I have become to questioning the beliefs that I have held, including this one.

        1. What a great point you have shared Jennifer. The deeper your self care was naturally supported you to be more open to questioning your beliefs.

146. Sometimes we need our head to analyse our beliefs and ideals before being able to nurture our body. Pushing myself hard was the way to go, the way I was brought up and nothing ever made me stop to reconsider. Except for the amazing opportunity of discovering Universal Medicine, I would still be on the treadmill of life.

147. Thanks Jen, you describe an awesome way to prepare yourself for the vaccination, deeply a self caring way to support and nuture the body in processing the injection. Everything counts!

148. The example of the influenza vaccine is great. We can assume that our body is the same and that when subjected to the same stimuli it will react equally like it did, but we tend to discount that we are in a different relationship with it, thank you to the teachings of Universal Medicine. It makes the whole difference of the world.

149. Lovely to read your blog again Jennifer – and to realise that although I have changed my attitude towards conventional medicine over the past few years (mostly inspired by Serge Benhayon) there is still more to look at – as my awareness grows so does my capacity to be aware. Life is forever expanding and more wonderful.

150. Having vaccinations is a way of caring for yourself but is also a responsibility for caring for others, especially those who have a weakened immune system and are unable to have the vaccine.

151. Coming into the flu season and re-reading your blog, Jen, I note I still have lots of beliefs, arrogance and fear around injections, especially the flu injection. I suppose I am frightened of the after affects. On reading your article and the comments I realise that vaccination is more about self care and making loving choices to support yourself and others. Thank you.

152. I love the truly caring and nurturing way you approached your recent vaccinations.

153. This is an example of how the way we care for ourselves individually has a direct impact on the wider world.

     1. Yeah spot on Jinya.
        The responsibility we have to take care of ourselves is the responsibility we have to all those around us. We can’t separate ourselves from the wider community – we are al here together.

        1. Yes we are all in this together and much more entwined than we think. When I read blogs like these I am reminded of the greater care and responsibility we take for ourselves, the more we are available and open to support and be part of the world around us. It’s pretty cool.

154. Lovely to read of the care and love you had for yourself Jen after having the injections. With the clarity and personal ‘balance’ and social responsibility being reflected here, its easy to see how the inspiration that Universal Medicine brings to everyday folk is what will turn around so many old paradigms of disregards in society

     1. Thats exactly the point Chris, I love how you have described the turning around of “old paradigms of disregard in society.” This is exactly what is needed.

155. You offer great insight into vaccines Jennifer, particularly the care you took of yourself before and after the injection and giving yourself space between, rather than rushing the whole process. Awesome!

     1. I agree Suzanne the level of care Jennifer took to look after herself will be noted in her body. What a loving way to have the vaccine.

     2. I too was impressed and inspired by how Jennifer gave herself time for each vaccination and spread them out, by choosing to be sensitive to the needs of her body at that time. This feels very gentle, and simple to adopt.

156. Being an older person I had all my vaccinations and followed suit with my children. However this was done in the name of compliance rather than a considered decision. For a number of years my workplace has offered flu shots. Until 2 years ago I did not take up the opportunity believing that my strong constitution would see me through any symptoms that may develop.This was due to arrogance and stubbornness. Learning to care for myself implies that I also have a duty of care towards others. I may come out lightly but others coming in contact with me may suffer greatly so I now have my flu shots.

     1. That is a great point, Patricia: there is a huge difference between making a decision based on true self care and one based solely on compliance. I know for myself that I cannot make decisions based on compliance – i have to truly understand the necessity for things before I can concur with them. Hence how important articles like this one are in expanding the understanding that allows true decisions to be made.

157. Thank you, Jennifer for your helpful post. it prompted me to reflect on my own feelings on vaccinations. Like you, I’ve always accepted travel vaccinations (never liked them, but had them). As a child, I did as I was told and accepted all vaccinations given to me at school. As an adult, I became suspicious of non-travel vaccines and distrusted the motives of drug companies, and like you, felt I didn’t need them. My particular resistance was the flu vaccine. I asked why we needed a flu vaccine when it was never needed it in the past. Initially, the flu vaccine was only offered to the elderly and infirmed, today it is recommended for young children as well, and soon I feel it will be for all of us, I have yet to reach the age when I will be routinely offered the flu vaccine, but am open to re-visit my beliefs. I am beginning to see that vaccination is self care, not just an unnecessary imposition. Making sure I’m protected is a way of protecting everyone else.

158. This is one of my favorite blogs on this blog site – because it made me reconsider something so basic in regards to my health and resulted in me reconsidering my approach to vaccines and medicine and ended up with me choosing to get vaccinated – what I now see as a self-caring thing for me to do

     1. That’s amazing Jess to not be fixed in what you thought or believed to be true and were open to considering that there was more to understand.

        1. Ulrika, this is an amazing journey of self rediscovery that you have been on and very inspirational.

        2. I agree Vanessa, it’s letting go of those held beliefs and allowing the soul to guide the way.

        3. This is so true. To bring more understanding first to any belief shows us the possibility that what we ‘thought’ might be true might not really be true.

159. I agree Amelia that it is honouring of my body and those around me to vaccinate. Although I didn’t always think this way.

160. Thank you Jen, this blog has been great inspiration for me in how I now approach my vaccinations. I recently had my influenza vaccination and was so mindful of my body’s processing of the vaccine, and supporting my body during this time. It was so great to do this as I too had previously avoided vaccination – because I didn’t want to get side effects afterwards. I found I had minimal side effects this time and was able to really nurture my body in the process. It was a great experience as well as being honouring of my own body, and those around me.

     1. Amelia this is great to hear how you took care and honoured yourself after having the vaccination. The whole process of choosing the vaccination with the intent to self care plus actively choosing this throughout the process makes so much sense.

     2. Amelia it really is amazing when we truly nurture ourselves in all aspects of our lives. It just highlights that by honouring ourselves and being responsible for our health it can bring so many wonderful opportunities to heal.

161. Jen, it is very confirming for me to read what you have written and I can feel my arrogance to not having the vaccine in the past. It feels the right thing for me to do now and is part of my self care program.

162. I have loved the awareness you have brought to me around this Jennifer – I recently was offered free flu vaccination at work and was intrigued to feel all of my reactions to it, which I have to be honest I didn’t fully deal with them. But there was a lot of ideals and beliefs around it, fear, arrogance – all of which has been shared here. But quite simply it is so awesome to come back to true self-care and the most loving thing to be done. Beautiful. Thank you.

163. You raise some great points Jennifer that we are not always aware of about vaccinations. Before the 3 or 4 recent blogs about vaccinations I had not really given much thought about them, thinking I was covered from my initial childhood ones. I recently made some enquires about vaccinations at the doctors and no one could tell me what the definitive policy was and what injections I should have, and directed me to another organisation who didn’t know what to suggest either. I feel with the MMR scare we have let vaccinations slip and other than the flu jab we are no longer encouraged to have vaccinations. It is great to bring this awareness back by talking and writing about it, it certainly made me stop and feel my responsibility in taking care of myself and subsequently others that I may come in contact with.

164. Hi Jennifer thank you for your comments on how you planned your vaccinations in order to care for yourself for example not working the day after. These are really relevant points to consider and I appreciated the prompting to consider my own plan next time I have vaccines.

165. I am amazed at how many opinions and emotions there are in the papers these days about vaccination. It is not possible to make any intelligent decision or apply discernment when emotional. Personally I am in favour of childhood vaccinations and think we have much to thank the medical profession for such as in the case of virtually wiping out diseases such as polio – we forget what it used to be like before vaccinations and antibiotics. We also have a responsibility to other members of the community not to be disease incubators and spreaders.

166. Thank you for sharing your experience with vaccinations. Honestly, until I had started to read blogs on this topic, I didn’t even consider being vaccinated – for me it was only needed if I was going on holiday.
     So reading everyones contributions has certainly made me consider how it is a support and not a weakness to get vaccinated. Thank you.

167. I have been working with vulnerable and chronically ill people recently and the vaccination question is there for me now. I love the way in which you have related this to a deep care for yourself Jennifer and am off to offer that care for myself! Vaccination here I come!

168. Thank you Jennifer, I very much enjoyed reading your blog. Looking deeper at resistances is very inspiring and offers us a truer picture. Self care and self responsibility are always key.

169. I felt to read this today as I will be having my influenza vaccination soon and remembered how you had written about ways you supported yourself with your own vaccinations. I have also had resistance to vaccinations for myself in the past because I didn’t want to experience the possible ‘side effects’ as they may slow me down or make me feel unwell. How irresponsible and arrogant this was! Now I can feel my responsibility to myself, as well as all my patients and people I come into contact with to be immunised if possible. If I have days off work with illness it not only affects me, but a whole pool of people, so if I can prevent this in a safe way then I will. I’m looking forward to my vaccination, and taking beautiful deep care of me in the process. Thank you for your reflection Jen!

170. I can relate very much to your sharing here. It’s time to look deeper where the resistance to vaccinations comes from. I realise that it comes from an arrogance that I don’t ‘need’ it. But we are all the same, and as you shared, the occurrence of many dangerous diseases has been drastically reduced, thanks to the vaccines available.

171. It seems the two things you had to work through were denial “It won’t happen to me” and ignorance “I will deal with it if I do get sick.” Great thing to see clearly and no longer choose in the situation of vaccinations.

172. I think vaccinations definitely part of self care and a responsibility to others but also a choice. I was advised to have vaccinations last year when travelling but my feeling was I have had them in the past for this place twenty years ago and didn’t need them then so I didn’t bother this time.

173. This was interesting to read because I have never really considered vaccinations and how I feel about it all. And so now I get an opportunity to ponder on the subject. In general I am anti anything that interferes with the bodies normal daily functioning if it is not needed. I am not one to take any medication or pain killers unless I absolutely need to and I guess I would put vaccination into that same category. But after reading your blog Jennifer, I feel I need to ponder and investigate a bit deeper on the subject and what it means on a broader level (not just how it affects me) as I really am quite naive to it all. So thanks for sharing your perspective and experiences.

174. Thank you Jennifer, I enjoyed reading this blog, it made me consider vaccination from a much broader perspective. I remember having the compulsory vaccinations at school and also having vaccinations before travelling many years back, but haven’t given the topic much thought since.

175. Thank-you for this beautifully honest and candid blog, Jennifer. It’s so true, that we can make such decisions based so much on ‘what about me’, when it’s really about everyone… and when we are truly being responsible for ourselves, how simple it is to bring the depth of care and support around having a vaccination, as you have done. I have to say, that I am deeply inspired, thank-you, and will be checking with my GP about my status in regards to vaccinations at my next appointment, having also long-held the attitude that ‘I’ll be right.”

     1. Well said Victoria, it’s not just about me, but about everybody. And yes, I will check with my GP as well, to see if there is any vaccines I should be updating. This is not something I would have ever considered a few years ago, except when I was travelling to countries with various infectious diseases still active. So, I feel I have made a shift in my approach to vaccines as well.

176. Thanks Jennifer, you’ve brought home a great point… I too have had adverse effects from vaccines and so have been very reluctant to continue, but it had never occured to me that there might just be something in how I was treating myself around that time – so a great reminder about self-responsibility on all levels.

177. This is fantastic Jennifer and a breath of fresh air on the topic of vaccination. Thank you.

178. To vaccinate or not has always been a contentious argument. Jen, I loved the way that you brought it back to how you felt in your own body because in the end, if we are no longer a slave to our ideals and beliefs, all our choices have to come back to the body and what we feel is right for us at the time.

179. This article has made me consider what my beliefs are around vaccinations. I do believe vaccinations are essential to prevent the dreadful diseases. But why have I not had the flu injection for the last 10yrs? I do have excuses but realised they are not valid ones. Thank you Jen for presenting vaccinations as a way to care for ourselves and others – this I had not considered at all. This year I will be definitely getting the flu shot and take loving care of myself post injection.

180. ‘Stubbornly holding on to beliefs that do not serve’ – I realised this about myself too susanG. I remember being swayed by the ‘go natural’ arguments. I’m really glad to have left those days behind and am pleased I understand the bigger picture. To be anti-vaccination now feels like a self-interested position to hold. As for these kinds of things (vaccines, chemicals, power lines, etc) causing autism and other conditions, well I’m not sure I’m on board with that either. I think there’s much more at play.

181. Stubbornly holding on to beliefs that do not serve – this is what I have realised about myself and learnt since listening to Universal Medicine and reading blogs like these. 15 years ago there was so much hype and fear around vaccinating children, publicising that certain vaccinations were linked to autism – which created a huge dilemma for myself as a parent. Now I see the fear mongering that I fell for and we have now updated all our vaccinations with no fear, fuss or drama. Felt great.

182. This article highlights the self responsibility one has in their own personal health even if they are getting vaccinated. Thanks for the blog Jennifer.

183. I agree Dean, it can really impact our families very negatively when we are sick. This is doubly impacted by illnesses that result from someone selfishly and stubbornly not taking care of them self.

     1. You’ve captured what I was also trying to say Jeanette, that even though it’s our right to stubbornly refuse taking more care, the impact is greater than we first might have thought. It affects the people around us in many different ways. And really, there is really no such thing as a stand alone individual in the sense that we all affect each other in some way or another.

        1. So true Dean. We are One and whatever anyone thinks or does affects everyone else – in fact, the scientific verdict is out on this. What is not outed yet is the degree of irresponsibility we each cling to.

184. As a man I am realising that getting myself checked at the doctors is not only a caring and responsible thing to do for myself, but it is also a very supportive thing to do for my family. When we get unwell our families can often suffer just as much as we do, so it is definitely important to that I take good care of myself… if I can avoid unnecessary illness by doing the checkups then it will not only support me but also be a great service and mark of respect to those I live with and share my life with on an everyday basis.

     1. Dean, I like your point – it is not only about ourselves, to get vaccinated or not, is also about other people, because when we get sick, we can transfer the disease to other people.

        1. Hello Dean and Alexander and I agree, “it is not only about ourselves” because taking a deep care for ourselves in what ever way that looks either supports our quality or diminishes it. So it is the quality we are talking about here because the quality we are or live in is the quality everyone else receives no matter how much polish is on the outside this is what is felt inside. So taking great care in every part of how we are makes good sense and is good medicine.

185. It’s interesting how a hot topic like vaccinations, asks you to be for or against without the proper research or evidence. Most of the time it’s a persuasive title in a newspaper or a passing comment from someone at work that has the influence. Rarely do we look beyond and see what is actually going on to determine the truth from the hearsay.

     1. Indeed Matthew, Jennifer has gone beneath just examining the research but looking at her beliefs and how they influence her decisions. Also bringing an honouring of the body into the equation, such that she reflects the quality of tenderness and care at a very deep level for herself.

     2. True Matthew, we are often asked to be adversarial in our approach to things (‘for or against’) rather than working together to find an accord, a higher agreement that everyone can understand and embrace

186. Vaccinnation – a topic which arises different views for many people.
     I remember when I started nursing I had all the vaccinations because it was obligatory to work. I also could see how it is part of being responsible, so your patients and vulnerable people in the community don’t get sick.
     But then when I started naturopathy my views changed. In studying the research there were cases where those vaccinated suffered from more serious side effects. I also felt that if I was healthy I wouldn’t get sick, as I was regularly taking herbs, so why get vaccinated, as it’s not proven to be 100% effective anyway. I feel there is some arrogance around this.
     Just recently I did decide to get the flu injections annually as part of being responsible in nursing, and fortunately the next day I had it off to rest, and honour how my body felt.
     However I still question why babies who are premature & sick still get vaccinated.
     The paediatricians feel that if the babies gets a reaction they are already hospitalised and staff can deal with it.

     1. Hi Loretta. Immunising children has a much more emotive undercurrent that how as adults we reach decisions about vaccinations or not. It’s the thing that makes it so very difficult for people/parents/health professionals to decide which way to go – so to speak. I feel if we can have honest discussions, without the emotions, then we may reach completely different points or conclusions compared to having dug in our heels.

187. I love how this article is about connecting to truly feel what is right for you and how to do it (as we should do with everything). I was the opposite to this, in that I absolutely would not go without having vaccines, when I travelled and when I started working in the hospital I said yes please give me everything and give it to me double strength, even if I’ve had it before, just to make sure…..well not really that extreme, but my point is that I didn’t actually truly know what I was saying yes to, and was willing to take them all in both arms all at once, and probably would have offered a buttock cheek also if they had’ve ran out of room – haha!
     Looking back now I can see I did all of this from fear of not wanting to get any infection or disease in my travels in 3rd world countries or working in the hospitals around horribly sick people. It wasn’t until I was asked the question if I would ever vaccinate my children did I do some more serious pondering or research into it, to read and feel about the pros and cons.
     Looking back now, it’s interesting to consider why would I be willing to do the research for a child I cared for, but not do the same research and feeling for myself? Hence showing the lack of regard or care I had for myself at the time. Thanks for the inspiration to go deeper with this next time my vaccinations come up for a booster shot, to feel how I can truly honour myself.

     1. Hi Danielle. I agree, it’s so important to look at what is underneath everything that we do. Is it because it just feels true and right for us or is it because that is what I was told and as you say fear based. It’s also interesting how you bring up how the level of your research may have been different for what you would have done for a child in comparison to you. A constant reminder that we have constantly throughout our day opportunities to deepen the care we offer ourselves and how we go about honouring this.

        1. I’ve also come to realise that when we do the additional research, from a deeply and truly caring place, then the final product of what ever it is we are researching feels a billion percent more joyful, loving and complete. For example the other day I spent around 90 min in a store reading the back of labels of face cleansers and smelling them and feeling their texture to find the exact right cleansing cream for me, I found one that I adored. Then someone else also told me one that was fantastic, and very gentle with none of the ingredients I was avoiding, so I purchased this too. At the start and end of the day when I’m in the shower, practically these cleansers are the same, but when I pick up the one I picked I get a blessing back of everything I put into delicately picking it out, it almost puts a smile on my face as I re-call the day I did this.

188. This really highlights your level of responsibility and care for yourself Jennifer in how when you did make the choice to have vaccines for your work, you planned them so that you could support yourself through the process. How incredibly supportive it would be if our doctors understood this and were able to offer this level of advice and care to patients needing vaccines. So having the vaccine would come from a place of true love and care for oneself, rather than from a place of fear of contracting a disease.

     1. It’s so true Sandra, it’s completely different. In fact it could be a simple question posed to each patient receiving a vaccine. You have just received a small dose of a disease….How do you plan to support and care yourself for the remainder of the day?

189. Thank you Jennifer, your decision to be vaccinated feels full of self love and true responsibility.

190. What is great to read here is the process of moving from ideals and beliefs, allowing them to influence our lives and actions, to self responsibility… Actually listening to our own bodies, and responding to what is truly there to be heard and felt. And then as a consequence, being able to more effectively serve in the community. Great article Jen.

     1. Love how you point this Chris (and Jennifer), with more self-care we become more serving for the community.

     2. With this Chris it’s like I can see the ‘issue’ from a whole new perspective, without the drain and expectation of being bolted into a way of thinking. It remains a very sensitive issue for many. and I completely understand this. As you have said, I feel through this I can be much more supportive to others who may be finding this challenging or difficult.

191. Thanks for your sharing Jennifer. A true reflection of what self-care is. To look at the beliefs that you were holding around being vaccinated as well as considering what would be the most supportive for you now in addition to how you looked after yourself before and after having the vaccination. What a great example of how true self-care considers and takes into account the whole picture, not just part of it.

192. I have been reticent about vaccines, especially the flu vaccine, as I don’t seem to get many colds and flus. Your way of seeing this as a bit arrogant, is perhaps what I have been, assuming that I won’t get the flu. It is about the way we live our lives and the level of self nurturing, as you mention, so I will in the future appreciate the fact that I am offered these vaccinations free and see them as looking after myself and a blessing. Thank you Jennifer.

193. I really enjoyed your blog Jennifer, and I can relate to holding onto old beliefs that are not supporting you anymore. Your blog is a gentle reminder for me to let go of any hidden ideals and beliefs that are not truly me – thanks for the inspiration!

194. Thanks Jennifer. Whilst vaccines have not been an issue for me, your article does remind me of my arrogance around getting sick in general. I don’t get sick. The last time I remember being sick, which for most of my life has meant not being able to get out of bed, was possibly in high school, but I actually think it may have been primary school. I’m almost 34. I used to swear by drinking copious amounts of Ribena that was so rich in Vitamin C…that that was the reason I stayed so ‘healthy’….if anything the sugar must have been preserving my body!

     Meanwhile….almost every month, I find myself in bed with chronic period pain. I’ve chosen to not see this as an illness….but as something I accept as being part and parcel with having my period. Craziness.
     As my awareness around how I choose to live everyday increases, I am able to reflect each time I get this awful pain and look at the month gone and see where I can make improvements to how I’ve chosen to care for myself not only in the lead up to getting my period, but also in everyday.

     1. Hi Elodie. That’s great that you have begun to look at how you are living at how this is influencing your periods and the pain you have been experiencing. I look forward to reading your blog!

195. Thank you Jennifer, I love how you opened up your perspective regarding vaccines. ‘Recently, I began to feel that being vaccinated was a deeply caring thing to do, not only for myself, but also for the people I care for’ – beautiful to feel that care for others.

196. Jennifer your article has highlighted similar held beliefs that I have had for a long time around vaccinations. It is now for me to feel into the origin and authenticity of these beliefs and from there to feel if it is a concocted belief or actually a truth. Serge Benhayon has said rather beautifully that there are no beliefs in the inner heart and so I am now wondering out loud if what I need to feel into is whether or not everything that I hold is a belief or indeed a truth.

197. Thank you Jenniifer, that is such a great blog. I love the last line where you bring to light that medicine has an important part in how we care for ourselves.

198. I can relate to you blog Jennifer. I received my first flu vaccination last year, and with no ill-effect. Prior to that I had been been in the belief that it doesn’t hurt to get a mild flu often and build up immunity. There may be truth in that, but last year I felt that the immunisation would support my over all health. I work in a stuffy room, (a fact I cannot change), and often clients come in ill; I am thankful for the extra support to my immune system at these times.

199. Great blog Jen, you make such great points. It’s so easy in life to blame the medicine and not consider how we’ve been living and what we’ve been doing, but often these medicines are a tool to show us how we’ve been and we don’t want to see it. And your comment about getting vaccines for going overseas but not necessarily for work stopped me, it’s so true, many of us don’t consider that, I know I don’t, and this is one for me to consider.

200. What a turn around Jennifer. The way you now see vaccines and your approach to them is so different and makes so much sense. This asks us to consider what other beliefs we may be holding onto that are stopping us to see the truth about something.

     1. Yes Vicky – I’m sure, at least in my case, there are a lot of other beliefs I’m carrying around and it is really time to address them and to let go of them.

201. This is a truly honest comment about vaccines – my attitude is more – “if they are giving them, then I am getting them”, but again shows the level of care that I am willing to feel towards myself, something that I can clearly deepen and connect with more.

     1. Awesome Pinkylight so true ..” Now it is not so much about having medication or not, it’s more about what will support me to know, and if medication (or vaccine) is what my body needs, then that is what I need to do to support me and take care of me”

202. Jennifer, this is a really a different way of looking at getting vaccines or any medication really. I had in the past held a belief that taking a simple medication like panadol was only to be taken when I was very miserable, and even then I would be hard on myself, as I held a belief that body can fight and get over it naturally, but this was not loving or caring in any way.
     Now it is not so much about having medication or not, it’s more about what will support me to know, and if medication (or vaccine) is what my body needs, then that is what I need to do to support me and take care of me. Thank you for this clear reminder through your sharing. There are so many beliefs we hold about things, it’s reminded me to check in to see if they are from a loving supportive place or just an ideal held!

     1. It is amazing the difference the way we go about something makes, even though we may still make the same choice.

203. Very interesting! Good reminder to check the believes that we have about things, and to become more open – with less influence or judgement – to then better find out what´s true for ourselves.

     1. Andrea I love what your share in your comment – it is simple and short and so spot on – wow!

204. Thank you Jennifer for sharing your insights on the very important topic of Vaccines, how we hold many beliefs and ideas we have about them, which may not always be true. I loved the level of self-care you reflect in how you had the Vaccines done.
     A level of self-care I am learning and enjoying through the teachings of Serge Benhayon and the practitioners of Universal Medicine.

205. This is a beautiful example of the importance of self care and truly supporting oneself in how we live. The vaccination question is put into true light and is always part of the whole. It is an inspiration to health and caring for oneself and these belief systems we hold on to that come from nowhere and we allow to influence ourselves somehow that need to be examined and let go of.

     1. Totally agree Tricia, it’s our beliefs and ideals that we have about health and caring for ourselves that must be addressed and let go of, so that true health and care can be our natural way.

206. It has never occurred to me to organise a vaccine when I can rest the next day so that if I do have any side effects I don’t have to push through, vaccines feel so much more supportive when you approach them like this.

     1. I agree Fiona. The self care that comes after the vaccine is crucial.

     2. Me too Fiona, but I love the fact, how much we can care for ourselves in any situation of life.

207. What I find really interesting about this is that it’s not a right or a wrong. In the past, for me, going to get a vaccine out of fear of dying or catching something is not a healthy way to approach things. Yet feeling what would be a loving support for the body and then embracing the support a vaccine can provide feels a very different approach.

     1. That’s a great perspective David. I can relate to the fear factor –but much prefer the love factor!

208. Last year I have received a vaccination for Hepatitis B due to my work as a community nurse. I have always been against vaccinations but I could feel with my commitment to live in a more self caring way that this vaccination was indeed an important part of self care. Next time when I need a vaccination I will look more into the nurturing and supportive way I can prepare myself. Self care is so much more then I ever have thought of, thank you for this inspiration.

209. This blog highlights to me how being self responsible in our own health and the medical model of health care can align beautifully to support us if we allow this.

210. Thank you for shedding light on how we look at ourselves in relationship to vaccines and the possible questions we can ask when we are at a point where we are required to make a decision to vaccinate or not.

211. Well done Jennifer and well said. So really, it’s not about being anti vaccine or pro vaccine or even no vaccine, it is about feeling how to deeply care and support yourself. Then from there what ever you choose is just an extension or as a result of that. I enjoyed how you bring this back to how you feel, back to your body. We spend a lot of time arguing, debating and thinking about things that are outside of us. This topic is one of them. We could spend days, well maybe life times, arguing over the good and bad of vaccines. But that is just the game outside and for me no one I have seen gets an answer from there. All the answers are inside and as you so beautifully map out Jennifer, this is the way to truly vaccinate yourself. The vaccine in this case is just a part of the overall care for yourself, it’s not the definitive part or the most focussed or important. Thank you.

     1. Like Ray, I enjoyed the way you brought the ‘issue’ of vaccination or not back to yourself Jennifer, and the love and care you bring to yourself. It is so true the answers are already within us.

     2. I love it Ray, how you bring the bigger picture to the topic of vaccination, especially your sentence “All the answers are inside”. So true – in this context it is important as well, that we do not give our power away to doctors or whoever. We have to feel first, what the best is for us.

        1. Hello Alexander, thank you and this feeling doesn’t come from the gut. It’s more about living in a quality that supports you and everyone. So any feeling isn’t necessarily about ‘what’s best’ but more about the unfolding steps back to a true quality of living.

212. Vaccinations is such a hot topic and what you have presented here is a totally different way of seeing their place in our lives. It sounds like you got engaged with the process, discussed them and rested after each one – even finding out that you didn’t need to have one of them. Thank you for sharing, it is valuable insight into a subject that has confused me at times in my life!

213. Thank you Jennifer for bringing the opportunity for deeper consideration of vaccinations – and presenting a different way of taking care of yourself in the process. I had never considered ensuring I had a day off after a vaccination, but certainly will in the future!

214. This blog is very different to any other article I have read on vaccination. Every other has dwelled on the rights or the wrongs of the treatment. What I found here, shining out clear was that you “did it in a way that was very supportive and nurturing for me”. This is awesome Jen – perhaps this approach could be the ultimate health measure, for every aspect of our life?

     1. Yes I agree Joseph, Jennifer presents a very refreshing view here with lots of things to ponder on.

215. By reading your blog and after I had a chat about vaccination with my GP, I realized that vaccination is something that I am not just doing for myself. But by making sure I am vaccinated I actually protect others from that disease. My body might be strong enough to deal with the disease, when I get infected, it could even be so strong that I would not notice that I carry the pathogen! This would endanger others who may be weaker (elderly people, babies, etc.) that might get infected. So vaccination is a greater responsibility we hold towards our community.

216. This is a timely read for me, all these questions are what I’m asking myself as I’m about to vaccine my daughter. I chose not to vaccine my son and can see how that choice was based on beliefs and fear and not care and responsibility. I can still feel resistance in me, but working on taking the time to work through what the resistance is and why I have it. Thanks Jennifer.

217. A great example of how we ignorantly carry on living in an un loving way and blame others for our woes.

218. This is brilliant. Thank you, Jennifer. I could feel my resistance, because I have been consciously saying no to a flu vaccination for years, and there is stubbornness I can feel in that decision, and having to cross-check what is going on for me feels confronting, and healing.

219. What a great blog you have shared Jennifer as you highlight many of the arguments for and against having vaccinations. I love how you now see it as part of your self-care and the level of nurturing and care you give yourself leading up to and after your vaccines. It is a great perspective and way of being with vaccines that I hadn’t fully considered before.

220. I love the fact that you took a day off for each of your vaccinations – the level of care this demonstrates is enormous and very self loving. There was a time when I was in the same arrogance that I did not need to vaccinated as I take good care of myself – yet in my current position having had Hepatitis vaccinations is very assuring that I can continue to care for myself and those I support. Thank you for sharing.

221. Vaccination is a hot topic in Australia, especially about having your child(ren) vaccinated or not. Growing up in Japan, I have had so many vaccinations all through my childhood. No one ever questioned about it and there was no media attention on that either. What is presented in this article is very unique and everyone and every parent should be made aware of it. Thank you Jennifer for writing this.

222. Awesome article! I too used to veer away from conventional medicine because it didn’t seem to be coping with what was going on in the world – it didn’t have all the answers. Then I found my responsibility to self care and listen to my own body. Now that I don’t expect it to have all the answers, I find conventional medicine a great support.

223. Vaccinations are such a subject. There are many different takes on it. I for one can see that, like you did first off, you can use it as a get out of jail free card – having it then thinking no care for oneself is required. Because my sister had a bad run in with vaccinations when she was younger, my parents didn’t choose to vaccinate any more children. The way I see it, the more support with things that your body has trouble dealing with, the better.

224. I remember getting my vaccinations at school in year 7 and it was horrible. I remember it very clearly, all of us standing out side the office waiting for our turn, then sitting in front of a man we never met and not even having a hello or how are you from the man who was infecting us, it was only the nurse that we talked too. Then the needle was put in, but it always felt like it was stabbed into your arm, then it was bandaged up and off we went.
     I can really reflect and feel how loveless this process was,and we were never allowed time to truly rest our bodies and many of us would come to school the next day feeling tired, sore and sick. One time we had our vaccinations the day before our school sports carnival, I think I almost passed out at the end because of how tired and sick I felt in my body.

225. I read your article Jennifer with great interest, as what you expressed certainly tapped in to my pattern of behaviour/beliefs over getting vaccinations, particularly for travelling abroad and the flu jab. I’m not even sure as you mention “where those beliefs come from” – I feel sure after feeling into this that it’s an old pattern of stubborness. It makes so much sense to take responsibility/care and nurture self throughout and treat having “jabs” as a support, not something working against the body.

226. I too in the past had held fairly strong views on vaccination that were in fact crippling. I could not see the situation clearly once I made my mind up in a particular direction which was a very ‘anti’ vaccine standpoint. I came to feel that it was actually hurting me to hold tight to something like that. When I let it go, and as you did took the steps of having the vaccine, in my rhythm and with care for myself, it felt incredibly loving and quite the opposite of the previous anti vaccine standpoint I had taken.

227. This is important to talk about because it can be so confusing, especially as a parent with a small baby. I had strong beliefs around vaccination being bad that I have realised recently were not really based on facts. I have to be vaccinated for my job too, and was quite willing to do that though I wasn’t willing to get my daughter vaccinated. This got me thinking. I started to feel irresponsible for not vaccinating her, knowing how important it felt to me for me to be vaccinated at work. Coming across a complementary health organisation (Universal Medicine) who are pro immunisation has also helped me to see the benefits and come out of the fear I was in around immunising my daughter. She is now in the process of slowly getting all of her immunisations done.

228. It is amazing how we can justify our beliefs and actions with half-truths and basic irresponsibility. The turn around you felt when you started to truly care for yourself and take responsibility for your health is beautiful. It’s like we finally get the whole story and not just the bits we want to believe.

229. It’s easy to be under an illusion that we are bullet proof! But truthfully if there is a medical recommendation it needs to be considered as a possible support for the body. The honesty you came to with the flu injection is great, and allowed for deeper understanding and the decision to go ahead with vaccinations to support your health – done with nurturing and care for yourself. Wonderful work Jen.

230. The vaccination debate- to have or not to have;
     I too went through a phase of refusing to get the flu vaccine at work because of the likely side effects, and felt that if I am looking after myself I won’t get it anyway.
     But then last year I felt into my belief and realised that I wasn’t being responsible by not having the vaccine, because I could potentially be at risk to the babies I work with – being premature, and at the time my mother was in a nursing home, and I also felt that I could be at risk to the elderly, frail patients living there.
     So yes, I too now feel that it is part of selfcare to be vaccinated.

231. What I feel in this blog is a very subtle unravelling of a belief system around vaccinations that has become a hugely popular one. Most have informed themselves of the arguments for and against being vaccinated. Yet many may have convinced themselves of a distrust of conventional medicine, despite the fact that without it, humanity would be far more greatly in suffering than it is. I also gather that many have had the experience of a loved one not responding to, or even apparently being harmed by conventional medical treatment. In most situations the medicine or medical care may be blamed rather than asking the level of self care the patient offered themselves, both prior to and even during, their illness. In my past as a registered nurse, I frequently noticed that those patients more proactive in their self care, got out of hospital quicker. So I am drawn to the conclusion if vaccinations are taken to be a part of self care along with many other healthy lifestyle strategies, we are providing our selves with maximum opportunity to live healthy and well.

232. It’s very refreshing to get such a clear, balanced and “un-charged” perspective on such a highly debated topic. To view vaccination from the simple angle of it being such a deeply caring thing to do makes a lot of sense.

233. Thank you Jen for exposing how beliefs can be a deterrent for us to truly self-care.

234. It is an interesting exercise to go over all our beliefs about healthcare and see where they come from. I often have this discussion with people who are in pain but say they don’t “believe” in paracetamol or other readily available analgesics – they would rather tough it out. It can be seen as a sign of weakness to take medicines rather than seen as a support for the body to allow it to heal.

     1. Too true Lee, this choice only hardens us further and numbs us even deeper.

235. Dear Jenny,
     Your blog has brought up an understanding for me that I had not considered before. That being, that years ago when you had the flu injection you became ill for a week, yet at the time not even looking at the fact that the way you were being with your body would have had some impact on how ill you became. This shows deeply the level of arrogance that we as human beings can live with; quite happy to blame something, anything else, other than look at our livingness. I love how you shared the way that you received the vaccines recently, taking responsibility and caring deeply for your self as you did. This has certainly given me much to ponder on, thank you.

236. Very interesting reading Jennifer – I admit that I got challenged! I’m pretty much in the same situation where I went abroad and had the full range of vaccines but now when the question has come up at work (I work within psychiatry) I’m hesitating. I will rest with your words and do what feels right.

237. Vaccination? Yes, for self-care. There are some vaccine that you must have and there are others that we read between the lines and understand and feel whether it is required considering what is it for and it’s side effects. Vaccination is a way of self-caring when done with the awareness and feeling the body. Thanks for the blog – I wonder whether I’m holding some beliefs about how it should be done!

238. I found this blog very interesting, as I have had a lot of beliefs around vaccinations regarding my children. What I like about this blog is the question of how am I caring for my health and of my children’s health, whether for or against vaccinating, it raises the serious question of what type of care am I bringing to my life.

239. On a microscopic level there are gangs of germs, bacteria and viruses that travel around causing havoc, they are always on the move or lurking hand rails, on food or in the air floating by. When we come into close proximity to these gangs, have we protected ourselves and armed our defences to avoid detection or fight back, all equipped. How we live on a daily basis either supports our defences or weakens it. Vaccinations are the defences that form the security, much like security doors and windows on your home.

     1. I love your analogy about security doors Matthew. I had a flu vaccine recently, and ‘got’ the flu, despite having time off work before and after to prepare and rest. What I hadn’t considered was that I had spent the previous 4 months working too hard and not taking true care of myself. No good putting security doors on with dodgy hinges!

240. Jenny I so can relate to your approach to vaccinations for work. I personally refused to have the Hep B vaccination in my role as I nurse thinking I wouldn’t get that and my belief in alternative medicine at the time. Well I did get it although I was unaware of it and now can feel the arrogance of my refusal. Thank you so much for sharing the importance of caring for ourselves which is the basis to support our bodies in those times like choosing immunizations, after a busy period or just when our bodies are telling us it is tired.

241. Dear Jennifer , this was an interesting blog for me, as I have during my life avoided having vaccines, thinking by not having vaccines I was actually caring for my self , on the contrary you have given me food for thought as you showed how lovingly you cared for yourself while having these shots. Thank you, it’s time for me to examine my beliefs around this topic.

242. Great blog Jen. How quick we often are to blame something outside of ourselves for what happens to us when it has been our lack of personal responsibility that has played a large part in our experience. Very inspiring the way you were open to reconsider your beliefs and than in that openness come to a different conclusion.

243. When I was a child vaccines were just part of the ritual without question. It wasn’t until later in life that it has become a choice. I am grateful to be given this freedom and awareness but it comes with a huge amount of responsibility as my choice is not just about me, it is about us!

244. Last year I was once again offered the flu vaccination through work, as I had been for the previous years. I had usually declined. However after examining my own beliefs and ideals around this, I felt that choosing to have the flu vaccination was somehow a failure on my part, that I was not living well enough if I needed to have the vaccination. Jennifer you have raised an important point that we all need to individually explore our belief and ideals around this subject.

     1. Well said Karen. I completely agree. It is up to each individual to work out what is right for them. Very inspiring blog Jennifer. It has inspired me to examine my beliefs around things a bit more closely. Especially when I get offered the flu vaccine this year!

245. We went through the same dilemma with our kids, to vaccinate or not. With our first child, we were full of ideals and horror stories about the side effects of vaccination and were proud to be conscientious objectors. We had missed the whole self care angle, that vaccinations could be offered in. Needless to say the approach moving forward has been very different and doing what is truly supportive for any member of the family.

246. I never doubted not getting my children vacinated. It felt it was the right thing to do for my family. But at the time I didn’t realise, how it was a very loving choice I had made for my family.

247. Self care for those working in the medical profession is vitally important (and of course important for us all). The medical profession encounters so much in the way of expectations to be able to support others. If there is not care there for themselves, then they are really up against the wall so to speak. Great blog on one tiny aspect of self care in medicine…

248. This is a great inspiring article about the importance when making our choices to observe old ideals and beliefs that muscle in, most of which may not even hold true in that moment, and the importance to assess each moment with all the actual facts and make sure they are loving , caring and honouring.

249. I did have my children vaccinated and I also was vaccinated against some diseases when I travelled. Even so I have always been hesitant whether I was making the right decision or not. This blog has given me something to ponder on for instance where does this hesitancy come from.

250. Thank you for your blog Jennifer. I myself am traveling overseas mid year to a tropical destination and the vaccinations my family has to have is mind boggling. My immediate reaction was I didn’t want to have it or that it was somehow risky to do so. But as I read your blog it occurred to me that it may be a very self loving choice to make, one that I am now going to reconsider.

251. I did not immunise my younger child and held very strong beliefs, and was always ready to argue with others around this issue. What I realise now is that I carried a lot of arrogance around this subject and also any treatments that were offered by the medical profession. Even when my son was seriously ill with measles I still stayed on my anti-immunisation platform and was quite rude and arrogant to the hospital staff who were caring for him at the time. I held these beliefs because it “fitted in” with my other “alternative” views. I had not felt into why I chose not to vaccinate him. Jennifer, I love how you have presented how supportive medicines can be if we are truly caring for ourselves.

252. It’s interesting that so many people think that not vaccinating is a ‘healthy’ choice, when in fact it can be a disregarding or unloving thing to not vaccinate. How mixed up is that.

253. Wow crazy I hadn’t even thought of vaccines being a caring thing for the body; I just thought it was something you had to do. I remember trying to skip out on a vaccine needle in school; I got to the door then ran away, as I was really scared. They did however catch up with me.

254. The vaccine debate has stirred up a lot of debate over the years, and after having a my baby child vaccinated, who got severely ill afterwards which scared and angered me, I was anti-vaccination for years. But looking back, I had the choice on the day, when it didn’t feel right, after questioning the get-the-job done nurse, to delay the event and listen to my heart .
     It is mostly done robotically – not in tune with where the individual is at. As much self/patient care needs to be addressed, a triple antigen for a baby just a doesn’t feel right in one hit, like a Tyson left hook, a massive impact or blow to the immune system.
     I do feel in a lot of cases it is more caring to vaccinate, and your blog Jennifer has definitely given a different perspective on the topic. Also how it is done, i.e. staggered doses when in strong health, makes great sense.

255. If we put ourselves into a cold environment we rug up. If we choose a dangerous profession, like police we protect ourselves with equipment to support ourselves and each other. So why, if we care for the people with disease and illness do we choose to not protect ourselves to safely perform the job and to limit the spread of illness. If we consider vaccination as a self caring choice, the decision appears to be quite easy.

     1. I love this Mathew it puts self care in such perspective in that it is a natural expression in us. What I also love Jen is how you opened up to how the beliefs locked you in from seeing the full picture and how once you let them go and chose differently you felt the increased care for yourself and all others in your life.

     2. Great analogies Matthew…it does make it more clear to see when you put it like this. And approaching it from a place of self-care as opposed to being driven by fear or beliefs are 2 very different foundations to make a decision from.

256. Your article challenges me to think about some of my long-held beliefs in relation to being really thorough and loving with my own self-care. I also appreciate your level of honesty in the telling of your story about what had occurred for you many years ago after a vaccination. That could have so been me… living in compete disregard, and then wondering why I got sick… then looking around for a scape-goat…
     Thanks Jennifer for assisting my growth and healing.

257. Thank you Jennifer, This blog is a great sharing on how arrogantly we can go about caring for our body. Those things like: “No, I won’t get ill so i don’t need a vaccine”, is a great example of that, as if we are super human and we don’t need support in our health. I have had this with going to the doctor after having a pain in my body; I waited for a long time because I thought it will pass by. But when I went and it wasn’t even something needing medical care, it felt such a great caring for my body, to just have it looked at.

258. This blog has certainly exposed my arrogance around vaccination. I have always held the belief ‘it will be ok, I can deal with it if one of my children got sick.’ My husband and I chose not to vaccinate our 3 children but after reading this blog , it has enlightened me in that it is supporting and caring for our bodies to be vaccinated. I love the way in which you explained in detail how you had one injection at a time and deeply honoured you while you had each vaccination. Fantastic blog and certainly one to ponder on. I appreciate very much your sharing – thank you.

259. It’s funny, sometimes we complain because doctors don’t fix us quick enough and yet other times we disagree with their methods. There is a strange relationship we have with doctors and illness in general and I suspect this has a lot to do with how unwilling we are to look at the choices we make that lead to getting sick in the first place.

260. This blog certainly has exposed my arrogance around vaccination. I have always held the belief ‘it will be ok, I can deal with it if one of my children got sick.’ My husband and I chose not to vaccinate our 3 children but after reading this blog it has enlightened me in that it is supporting and caring for our bodies to be vaccinated. I love the way in which you have explained in detail how you had one injection at a time and deeply honoured you while you had each vaccination. A great blog and certainly one to ponder on. I appreciate very much your sharing – thank you.

261. Amazing to reflect on my ‘reactions’ surfacing while reading this, having been strongly aligned with certain beliefs in the past. What I feel now is my responsibility to ask my body the question and respond accordingly – to ignore the feeling to allow a vaccine to offer true support is equally as harming/irresponsible as over-riding a feeling not to have one because I might decide to follow everyone else and not listen to my body in that instance.

     1. Greg, you instigated a response within me that has actually caught me by surprise with your words “what I feel now is my responsibility to ask my body the question and respond accordingly”. So interesting I feel that even though through association with Serge Benhayon and the presentations of Universal Medicine about listening to the body and taking responsibility, for many years I have refused to ‘have that stuff injected into my body’ as a result of a belief I have had – and that belief had nothing to do with listening to what it was my body was telling me – it was basically a mind-set and a fear of a physical reaction to the vaccination.
        So I can now see, it is possible that the vaccination may be the good medicine that my body just may be requiring at that time – so I shall take the responsibiity of listening to the requirements of my body now in that regard. I thank you and for the awesome blog by Jennifer Smith.

262. What I loved most about this blog…and within all the comments is the pro-self-care!
     I have partially immunised my children and can certainly feel the fear and apprehension about having substances injected into my body…
     I am glad that I am open to this topic and certainly will stay open to feeling and pondering it further, Thank You Jen

263. What a great way of looking at how our responsibility also comes into the picture when it comes to our health. Like your previous flu vaccination, when someone in the office gets ill and then we blame it on them for spreading it around – when do we look at how we are looking after ourselves and how that might play a part in how ill we might become?

264. As a child my mother was the immunisation nurse. Therefore I was fully vaccinated. As I got older I started to read many contradicting reports and research and was at a loss as to know which was correct. Your blog has just made it all so much clearer. Thank you.

265. A great way to approach every aspect of life. Self care and responsibility. It is a great foundation as we explore and find what truly supports us.

266. Jennifer what a great lesson you teach us in self-care and health-responsibility – that this is where the real medicine is, as well as to be medically complemented as and when required. One is not without the other. One is not without understanding each choice.

267. Gorgeous article. I love how you looked back to how you were living in regards to getting the flu – it all makes sense when we look at the bigger picture. Thank you for sharing the true power of caring for ourselves and how medicine can be a part of this. It is true – Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon are pro-medicine! For me it was also “I won’t need it” – but in came the fear of the pain also. Something I am working through in the last few years, when I began to get vaccines I needed.

268. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question. This is a controversial topic in Australia at the moment as well as in other areas of the world. When my first daughter was born we chose to not vaccinate her, not because I was anti-vaccinations but because I wasn’t pro-vaccinations either. I didn’t fully understand what vaccinations were really about so I couldn’t agree or disagree with them, I just knew that until I had a sound understanding of the process I wasn’t going to get caught up in the fear mongering I felt around it, and it needs to be said that I felt the fear on both sides of the vaccination debate, so I waited. It wasn’t until my daughter was 5 and was starting school that I started to understand the enormous support vaccinations give us and our bodies, as there was a measles outbreak in our area. So we decided to start to have her vaccinated. With the doctor’s support we made a plan of which vaccination to do and when. Every time I took her to the doctors for the scheduled vaccine I felt so deliciously responsible as a parent and could feel how she was responding to having the vaccinations done in this energy rather than just blindly getting them done or doing them out of fear. Now that we have a second daughter we are vaccinating from the very beginning and I am loving it, equally as much as I did with my first. What we are offered through vaccinations is an opportunity to deeply care for ourselves by utilising the amazing discoveries that have been made in modern medicine. Interestingly though, I am still not pro-vaccinations, I am pro caring for ourselves and that includes being vaccinated.

     1. I can relate to all that you say. Having children vaccinated in an energy of love is so empowering for everyone concerned. I am also not pro-vaccinations, but pro-caring for ourselves I am and this is what is priority. And now after reading this blog and your comment, I have a much better understanding that being vaccinated is part of this caring. Your comment is confirming – thank you.

269. Thank you for expanding the, at times, controversial conversation on vaccination. You have brought in the previous missing link, and that is the most important ingredient in life – self care – and with this you have given us all the whole picture. Now we have a truly informed foundation to base any decision on – whether to vaccinate, or not.

270. Thank you Jennifer for this article. I have been against vaccination for various reasons for years – this has offered me a completely new view of vaccination. Something I will have to ponder on.

271. Yes I feel this is a big topic. Because I have carried many ideals and beliefs around vaccinations which now I realize were fear based and arrogant thoughts, I too avoided them. Yet reading this blog I understand how you say they can be another level of self care.

272. Jennifer, your blog has brought much to be considered, as I have made clear decisions not to introduce anything into my body that is not ‘natural’. What is clear to me from reading your comments is how loving we are towards ourselves in whatever choices we make – to prepare, consider and feel into what is truly to be and live that.

273. Jenny, it was interesting to read about how you arranged for the vaccines at a time when you could deeply rest afterwards and not try to squeeze it in between other commitments – I am sure there are a few other life events that could be organised with a bit more space as a self-loving measure. Thank you for another perspective on vaccination.

274. Vaccination is a very controversial topic.

275. It is great to read how you approached having your vaccinations. So often I have seen people at work get them all done at once, not look after themselves, get really sick and then need time off work…I love the deeply caring way you approached your vaccinations.

276. Thank you Jen for exposing a lot of beliefs around vaccination and presenting a different way of looking at this controversial topic. I agree with you when you say that they can represent another level of self-care and care of others and it is great that they are available to us.

277. I still waiver in my thoughts on vaccines, and they are that – thoughts. If I am deeply honest with myself, for me and my child vaccination is beneficial. But I can still feel the old consciousness of being anti-vaccination having a hold on me. It is an interesting topic being that people have such strong beliefs around it. But it is a good one to expose how the beliefs stop us from feeling what is right for us. Vaccination is a choice, but how many of us are really free to make the choice?

278. Having a closer look at why we make certain decisions, can show us that what we choose can be influenced by many ideals and beliefs. I love how you have come to the conclusion that self care is far greater then making sure we are well fed and clean and that responsibility goes beyond ourselves.

279. I know that for many years I too was against vaccines. Too much mis-information on the internet about side effects etc. I travel overseas at least once a year and while I have held back in the past about this level of self care I have begun to feel that vaccines are there as part of what is required to deeply care for ourselves.

280. This isn’t a topic I regularly discuss; it is wonderful to have a look at how you view and action vaccines Jennifer. I appreciate this sharing, as it will be reflected upon in seeking vaccines generally, and before an upcoming overseas trip.

281. I love the care and greater awareness that you are presenting here about Vaccines. You are so right about how we need to care more about ourselves with and around vaccines but also just generally too – it is thus the moment of vaccination that may reveal to us whether or not we actually have been caring enough for ourselves.

282. The level of responsibility, that we get aware of with Universal Medicine, is remarkable. Thanks Jennifer for throwing your lived light on this topic.

283. I’d had been brought up without any vaccinations as decided by my parents.
     I’ve experienced same situation where I was needed to take the vaccinations to up take studies in registered nursing. To this part I saw a belief in myself that I didn’t need them either because I am ‘super healthy’ However it is that extra care to yourself and a care to your patients as well

284. Vaccinations are a very important topic to discuss and bring more awareness about. Thank you Jennifer.

285. Thanks Jennifer for a great sharing on a subject that usually brings up an emotional response. Yes vaccination certainly has its place to be used with the right intention as a caring support for your body in this world of disease.

286. Thanks for this article Jen. It’s great to hear another perspective on this health issue, given the varied beliefs that get ‘thrown around’ about it. I feel you’ve brought a true balance to the topic area – and yes, it really does come down to choices of caring for ourselves in a very honest way.

287. Thank you Jennifer for this great eye opener. I too have been avoiding vaccination feeling it is a bit of a nuisance – having to take time off, etc. I have had the same attitude like it won’t happen to me or if it does there will be an energetic reason and I can deal with it. But you are making a good point: the only reason that we are in fact on top of a lot of infectious diseases is because there is vaccination. And it is not that long ago that our forefathers died of infectious diseases – whole villages were wiped out. So a good point to re-consider!

288. Thank you for presenting this, especially how you approach vaccination now, as a loving choice and with a lot of self-care. This definitely makes me look at my own attitude to getting vaccinated.

289. The level of your responsibility for yourself which in turn also supports others, is very inspiring Jennifer. I saw myself in this – “For me, there was arrogance in the belief of ‘well it won’t happen to me’ and ‘it’s ok, I can deal with it if I do get sick’.” In the past, and especially when I was involved in a lot of different spiritual modalities my favourite line was “if I’m meant to get it I will get it, and that’s fine”…. I can feel now how ignorant and irresponsible this view was, not only for my own body but for my family I lived with. Even though, my children were fully vaccinated from birth, I balked at it for me as an adult. Why would I feel how important it was for my children to be vaccinated and not myself? Many of my irresponsible beliefs I held around so much of my health and wellbeing have come up, since caring for myself and honouring my body. This year I decided for the first time to have the influenza vaccine, and it was no big deal even making the decision, I was quite surprised actually as I can sometimes over think things, but the feeling to get it came from my body straight up. And I didn’t have any side effects at all.

290. I totally agree Jen. Getting vaccinated is definitely one of the ways we can care for our own body. But not only that. Keeping up to date with our vaccinations is also a very caring thing to do for your community and humanity full stop because it supports the herd immunity that protects us all, and in particular, those that haven’t yet had their vaccinations.

291. Life is full of self loving choices and vaccines are an integral part of today’s society. We all have a responsibility to take care of ourselves and our children. Thank you Jen in taking a position that allows me to have an absolute clear understanding about healthcare.

292. A good friend of mine is the youngest person in Australia with polio. His father was a well known doctor and had the vaccine in the fridge at the time but ended up giving it to someone else’s child. Before a replacement could be arranged my friend at eight years of age, found himself in an iron lung. His lower body was terribly affected and now as he ages he is experiencing the full force of post polio syndrome which has him in a wheel chair. When my babies were born I was incredibly grateful that the vaccination program (including polio) was readily available in Australia, the thought of my children having to unnecessarily endure the kind of life a polio sufferer has to contend with is unimaginable. I understand and gave consideration to the side effects of vaccinations and the various conditions that may or may not be triggered after vaccination, but in the end I chose to vaccinate my children because I deeply care for them. I agree, choosing to vaccinate either yourself or your children can be an act of great love.

293. Thank you Jen you really made me reflect on how I hold some beliefs as the truth without challenging them and continue stoutly defending them. You have inspired me to look at some other long held beliefs that I have, not just merely around health or self-care issues.

294. this rocked my boat…I saw Vaccination as a protection I do not need because I “live well” and had the idea of: “what happen – should happen”. To see Vaccination as a selfceare act is a new view for me and I like to say thank you for this view, Jennifer.

295. Vaccinations are such a great supportive and preventative choice to make for oneself and family.

296. I had a very similar experience with regards to vaccination. As a young nurse I worked with children and saw lots of very sick babies with whooping cough. I was very pro vaccination and found it inconceivable that people would not vaccinate their children. Then a decade later when I became a parent I did a full 180 degree turn. I found all this anti vaccination research and decided not to vaccinate my son. Another decade on I looked back and could see so clearly that beliefs are simply not true. I know they feel so strong at the the time (if we are thinking rather than feeling what’s best) but we can change them like our underwear depending on whatever suits us at the time. I now can feel there is a place for vaccination and a way to go about vaccination so it supports us. For instance making sure we are well and rested before we have them. When my son went to high school he had all his vaccinations with no ill effects. When I returned to nursing I had all my vaccinations and felt this to be a great way to care for myself.

297. Thank you Jennifer for exposing my long held beliefs about vaccinations. I was never able to see that it’s my ‘resistance’ that does not support me and that modern medicine requires a level of responsibility from myself to support what the treatment is there to do.

298. Thank you for making the connection between self care and vaccinations so clear. And thanks especially for sharing your protocol with us, it makes so much sense to spread the shots out, take time off and look after ourselves.

299. Thanks Jennifer for opening up discussion around vaccination. I, like yourself, for many years made the choice not to be vaccinated or to use prescribed medicines, often using herbal medicines and alternative therapies when I became unwell. Over the last few years I have had several chest infections, which kept me away from work, as I work in the health sector, but also left my body quite depleted. It was then suggested to me to consider vaccination, not only for myself but for the well being of my clients. I was at first somewhat reluctant, but on reflection I realised that it was actually a very caring and supportive thing to do for myself. Allowing myself to let go of my strongly held beliefs around medicines and vaccinations has given me greater choice in how I now care for and support my self.

300. Hi Jennifer, I love how you have brought a depth here on the subject of self care and the many facets of caring for self, vaccine being one aspect to consider as is visiting the doctor for proactive health checks, for women annual pap smears and breast examinations being another opportunity to deeply care for ourselves . So many women avoid these test because of the uncomfortable factor, when its actually an opportunity to really care for our bodies. Thanks for sharing your experiences on vaccination in relaxation to self care.

301. Yes Jennifer having vaccinations to support and care for myself as well as those I haved cared for in an acute hospital setting or aged care setting makes sense now. A win win for all concerned. So glad I let go of my many ideals and beliefs around vaccinations.

302. Thanks Jennifer for your insightful blog. I too work in the health care system and have had similar thoughts about this topic. This has deepened my approach now to the topic of vaccination, Thanks!

303. Hi Jennifer, it’s a really good point you make about the lack of self care you were in when you experienced the side effects of a vaccine. I feel for me as an adult there was a level of distrust in vaccines, a feeling that they hadn’t been created with care, and there was something shady going on, and they could do more harm than good. I think the current movement about avoiding vaccines could have a lot to do with issues about trust, not wanting to be hurt, being in control of ones health, etc largely fuelled by emotion based misinformation. I love what you have written in a level headed way about vaccines being part of ones self care, as a tool we can add to support our health. There is a lot to consider here, thankyou.

304. Jen, you have broadened the argument about whether or not to vaccinate, and taken it away from the very emotional context that usually frames it. A big part of the problem is that we do not see the illnesses that many vaccinations cover, and so we have lost perspective on how important this aspect of health care is. Tetanus, polio, whooping cough are terrible conditions that devastate people’s health. Measles and other childhood infections are not trivial infections, they can leave lasting damage in our body.
     To vaccinate ourselves is a deeply caring gesture towards ourselves. It acknowledges that we are very delicate beings and we can get sick.
     Not vaccinating is a kind of pretence that we are “tough”, “bullet proof” and don’t need to take every drop of care this body needs.

305. I have always been one to embrace having vaccinations but from a medical view. what you have presented here Jennifer takes it further and I can feel how making it about true self care brings in a whole new level of awareness. Thank you

306. Jennifer, a great blog that describes a process that I have been through myself. Although I was vaccinated as a child, in early adult years I pursued a belief that dismissed and in fact outright campaigned against vaccination (to the point I wrote a couple of ebooks on this topic). At the time, I simply focussed on the side effects and also held the belief that if anything happened to me, I would be able to manage and support my own health. In recent years, I too began to question my beliefs around this, and the more I have begun to take true care of myself and take responsibility for the way I am living, the more I have realised that many things – including vaccines – can be there to support health. I’ve also come to understand that any support I receive for my health is not about giving up responsibility (as in relying on something to ‘fix’ me regardless of what I have been doing in the meantime), nor about giving my power away to be responsible for my own health, but rather that there are many opportunities to support and use these tools and practices as part of a self-care routine.

307. It is easy to get trapped in the pros and cons of any matter without considering the bigger picture. True self care in this context is such a bigger picture. Naturally the choices one makes are more inclusive of all aspects and not limited to any belief or ideal.

308. Great article. The vaccination debate is huge isn’t it Jennifer. Not all of my kids were vaccinated due to my own beliefs after researching but that was 30 years ago. Bringing self-love into the equation sure make a difference as it does with everything I life.

309. This makes so much sense to me. I work in the child health area and I am constantly amazed about the stories that abound regarding vaccinations and their side effects but never have I heard it placed before in such a comprehensive, yet simple context. And Penny is so spot on – it also makes me rethink the whole idea of true ‘self care’.

310. Jen, your presentation on this topic (which I initially read last year) had me rethink my idea of self care. There is a whole other aspect I had ignored. I go to a southeast asian country every year and have never had any vaccinations. I have never become ill or contracted any diseases but this is not the point. The truth is I have never taken full responsibility for my health. This year I am prepared as I have had all necessary vaccinations – new ones and up dates on others. Thank you for inspiring myself and others (as is obvious by the other comments) to consider another aspect (and one that is often highly contentious) in taking care of my health.

     1. Yes, vaccines can be a great idea when travelling. Normally we don’t get sick when travelling but once things go wrong, like an accident or illness and if we are not vaccinated then things can pile up quickly. Vaccination are a good form of insurance.

311. I like what you say, Jennifer, about blaming side effects/potential illness solely on the vaccine, rather than seeing and admitting that the way we are living – and thus, taking care of ourselves – will inevitably also play a role in the extent to which the vaccine may affect us.

     And can we not apply this principle to many other areas of our lives too? We blame the sun, for instance, for skin cancer we may contract, without considering the possibility that the cancer may be a reflection on the quality in which we are living, and that it might have been avoided – sun or no sun – were we to be taking a bit more care with ourselves, and taking more responsibility for the quality in which we live.

     1. That is a beautiful observation Connor, for we are blaming the sun rather than looking at the way we are when we are in the sun.

     2. Great comment Conor, and part of a wider consideration of the role we play in any illness or dis-ease that afflicts us. For does it truly just afflict us or are we more than the victims of circumstance? Is how we live a larger factor in any ill health we experience than we would like to believe? Perhaps we are not the victims we like to play when we become unwell, and our lifestyle choices are much more influential to our wellbeing than we currently want to take responsibility for.

312. I realize in reading this article and the comments that I had a very self-centred belief around vaccinations. I would have the vaccination and then I would be ‘safe’, the ‘I’m all right Jack’ attitude. I did not have the vaccination because I was healthy and my body could easily cope with any possible effects and therefore by taking this responsibility for myself I was supporting those who did not have a robust immune system to cope with the effects of the vaccine.

313. Thank you Jennifer for the reminder that the medical professions are not just there to fix what is broken but can be there as a support in maintaining a quality of good health should we choose to approach our self-care in that way. A great means of checking how healthy our body is from a medical perspective that I may be ignoring by simply assuming I am fine because I am not ‘seriously ill’ or continue with the ‘it’ll never happen to me’ thoughts. With illness and disease climbing at the rate they are how can those ‘it won’t happen to me’ thoughts justify this phrase as a truth? Am I just burying my head in the sand until that ‘won’t happen’ possibly becomes a ‘it has happened’ due to my lack of attention. To step forward and ask to be more aware of the state of my health as a self-loving act is inspiring, once again thank you for sharing.

314. Thank you Jennifer. Your article has given me a different perspective on vaccination, something I will now look at as part of my self care when it is needed.

315. Lovely to read Jennifer about the fact that you did not needed any vaccination because you believed that you were insured by keeping yourself well. And indeed, I can now feel from reading your blog, that this is partly true but not the whole story. Taking care for oneself is not to confuse with self-care, since self-care is considering the whole, not only you but also the people you work with and even more. So inspiring to read how you now have chosen to take vaccinations and the attention you give to it by making time free to assist your body in the process of its reaction to the vaccination.

316. Awesome blog Jennifer, to look at being vaccinated as a support coming from self-care. I have been arrogant to think as well that oh I won’t get ill while travelling through India or other Asian countries. I have had strong beliefs about vaccines and was always in reaction when people asked me why I did not take them. And yes, it is all about my approach and how I relate to being vaccinated. Thank you for sharing this.

317. Excellent post Jennifer Smith and a subject well worth talking about. I too have had many ‘stubbornly held beliefs’ and what you share has got me to open my eyes fully and take note that being vaccinated or going for my free mammogram (breast x-ray) is a self caring thing to do and not dismiss it with my “it won’t happen to me” attitude. How I choose to approach it is key and your tips are well worth reading again anytime I feel the arrogance that I don’t need the medical world to look after me.
     Thank you for sharing about vaccines for your work as I had no idea that you guys in the medical world need to be vaccinated for your job. It makes sense.

318. I’ve never had a problem with vaccines, but I can see that a bit of self nurturing either side of having them wouldn’t go astray, nice idea!

     1. Well said Kev, same for me. Being vaccinated just always felt like something I do to take care of myself.

319. It’s a really good point that having a vaccine doesn’t mean we can then drop all responsibility for our own health. It should be used as a part of our self care program, not used as a way to then disregard ourselves.

320. Thank you for sharing your loving reflection Jen, of how vaccines can be used to support ones-self. I reflect that we are educated out of fear that vaccines are required. That is fear of getting sick, ill, potential death etc etc and are often told that vaccines are the only way to navigate through periods of disease in society. We often ignore the lack of responsibility in the way we are living which is more influential on us and our health than the vaccine could ever be. It is wise to consider it like this as it is very self-empowering.

     1. I totally agree Joshua – it makes me question what quality are we then getting vaccinated in if we have been told that we ‘have’ to get them out of fear?

     2. You are wise with your comment here Joshua in asking us all to consider the lack of responsibility in the way we are living as this is influential as you say on our health more than any vaccine could ever be. This article and the very thought provoking comments I have read so far, has certainly got me looking at the possibilities and not dismissing everything that did not fit my fixed view of all or nothing.

321. What I find interesting is how vaccines are minor doses of the illness to prevent us catching it proper. The beliefs we hold can actually prevent us from helping ourselves and in this case, vaccines have been debated since day one. My previous decisions to not be vaccinated came from assuming that my body will get through whatever illness it gets. I’m now seeing how unsupportive this is for me and my body.

     1. Good point Jinya, I used to get vaccinated against everything – including the flu and then started to see it as a weakness and that I was strong enough without gets the vaccinations. It’s a great article to re-look at what would be supportive for me rather than an all or nothing approach.

322. Thanks for this piece Jennifer, it has made me think more deeply about the decision to vaccinate or not. Ultimately it feels like an individuals choice and one that should be respected.

323. I too relate to that. I recall so much hype mainly from the camp that said anything to do with pharmaceuticals is ‘bad’ and for a long time I had followed that line and considered vaccination as ‘bad’. It is indeed great to see clearly how vaccinations are actually an expression of us caring about our body and being responsible to ourselves and others.

324. Treasuring our health care and what we are offered and taking time for ourselves to be with all we are doing and looking after ourselves simply makes sense and feels so loving. This is not the way we usually see things and this article shows another way beautifully.

325. I have observed how many mothers who are into alternative therapies refuse some of the baby and child vaccines from a belief system that is being fueled by fear engendered from research articles that have a presented a totally opposing view to the medical profession. It is very confusing for young mothers, and whichever way they choose to go they have to be confident about themselves because of peer pressure. This is magnified because they are making decisions for their child. Your article brings a refreshingly new approach, Jennifer, and supports us in knowing there is no right or wrong, but there is the responsibility to take care of ourselves.

326. A great blog Jennifer. I too have had beliefs around vaccinations and found it particularly difficult when my children were young and going for immunisations. I love your new approach of taking great care of yourself around the time of vaccination. How great it would be if that was a major part of the vaccination programme – to share with patients the need to self care deeply.

327. A great reminder, that how i live my life is so important. Modern medicine is amazing, but I need to take responsibility for myself, and not expect some thing out there to fix me.

328. Hi Jennifer, I love your blog and especially the end where you write: Acknowledging and then letting go of those stubbornly held beliefs has allowed me to see that these medicines can be a true support for our bodies and how we care for ourselves.
     To truly care for ourselves we have to let go of a lot of old beliefs: and a strong one for me also was: I can do it all by myself, and I don’t need anybody or anything. I am so glad I let that one go.

329. hi Jennifer, I avoided vaccinations for years due to bad side affects and allergies but I have started to look at this again and get back on track with vaccinations. It feels far more caring for myself and my family to keep things in check this way.

330. You make a good point, Jennifer, when you talk about having the vaccinations not only for yourself but for others too. There is really no point in trying to administer care for someone if you could potentially pass on something. I wonder how many healthcare practitioners would have that level of integrity?

331. Thank you Jennifer, I used to op out of vaccinations too and choose an alternative form of protection. I would consider them unnecessary when weighed up against the risks, though I can see how my justification way buoyed up by my beliefs around injections and my ideals around ‘chemical’ vaccinations and the positives of the alternative route. As your blog so beautifully demonstrates, I would now see necessary vaccinations as another way to self care and support me and my health. Having discussed this I also realise that my own health and vitality at the point of going for an injection play a significant role in how well my body will cope directly afterwards.

332. Amazing what changes when we let go of stubbornness, and funny how things can pan out in the opposite way to how they started. I can be very stubborn, but the more I allow myself to notice this and be open to other views, be more curious, accept that I don’t always have to be right, and that I can change my mind, the more I’m able to let go of stubbornness which feels so much better.

333. This is a great sharing and a subject I’m sure many of us can relate to. For me the issue with vaccinations came about a few years back with scares over the children’s MMR injections. For some time after I became very reticent to engage fully in vaccination programs with heart and soul. Little did I fail to realise at the time, was as you say, the other elements around the side effect stories. How were these ‘guinea pig people’ living before, during, and after their vaccinations? These tend not to be areas that are researched or looked into, yet as you have shown have a huge impact on the effects of the vaccine.
     Universal Medicine has helped many understand that your way of living in every moment is important and will influence the next and that conventional medicine plays an important part in one’s health and wellbeing.

334. Getting stuck with beliefs that I held as fact made me very boring and conventional. Learning to let some fresh air in to blow away my many stuck beliefs is very liberating and fun. Constant opportunities to look at everything anew and make my own choices.

     1. Brilliant Mary. Letting fresh air in to blow away all our fusty, rigidly held beliefs, that I have only been able to review because of the ‘fresh air’ and light shined into the shady corners of my belief systems by the work I have done alongside Universal Medicine.

335. Indeed this is a great topic for me to reflect on Jennifer – thank-you.
     I know that my choice not to vaccinate my 3 children has come from fear & taking on other’s beliefs – I too have been arrogant in feeling that if we looked after ourselves, breast fed our young, ate well, nurtured ourselves this would be enough to boost our immune systems. If I stick my head out of my family parapet, I see that there is another way, an open & informed decision, that appreciates living in society amongst others.

336. Part of my commitment this half term was to do a bit of an MOT on my body, having various check ups and investigations. This just simply feels like a respectful, loving and responsible way to care for myself and a confirmation that I am relinquishing so many ill-held beliefs about the medical system, that asking for help is a weakness and that loving and caring for my body is an indulgence. Well ‘stuff and nonsense’ to all that, I am finally affording myself the same respect that I do my car!

337. I too had strong views about all sorts of things to do with health which I felt superior with, not realising just how much I was dis-honouring my body when I refused injections and in fact anything to do with doctors. Interestingly it was Serge Benhayon and the Universal teachings that turned it round for me. I can now go to my GP and have check-ups without any mistrust or anxiety. In fact a visit to the nurse/doctor has become part of my natural taking care of myself

338. Thank you Jennifer for sharing about vaccinations and your journey. Seeing self care as ones medicine and health and the honouring of oneself with what is available and taking responsibility feels a great reflection.

339. When I had a trip going to a country that was recommended to have vaccinations I was told by my doctor that it would be wise to do so. I went away pondering on how necessary it really was to do this. My usual approach was to be all natural and anti chemicals entering my body. But this time after having attending many Universal Medicine workshops and course had come to an understanding that looking after myself and supporting myself where needed is a loving thing to do even if it involved taking medicine. So I sat with what the doctor said for a while and then booked myself in for the vaccinations. The whole process did feel very loving and supportive and some may have looked at it as unnecessary but I could feel a deeper level of care for myself for the first time in my life and it felt really good.

340. Before reading this blog I thought to myself that this was not a subject that really affected me, having had vaccinations while at college for tetanus (working with animals), having none since then. I can really relate to the ‘Well it won’t happen to me’ belief. During my college years my teachers always said in regards to the animals under our care ”prevention is better than cure” but until now I never really connected that to my own body and well-being. If we provide the body with the right tools BEFORE something happens then we don’t need to pick ourselves up from an illness due to being under-prepared later on.

341. Thank you Jennifer for a very thoughtful and important article. There is so much mixed messages about vaccinations that it can be very difficult to discern the truth. What you have written is very helpful and inspiring, bringing clarity to this important subject, particularly the significance of self-care.

342. It’s interesting to feel into and review my self care issues again and again, because the goal posts seem to change. I know about it, it feels so lovely when I do look after myself more, so why do I sometimes go backwards? I feel it’s not that I’m always going backwards (sometimes it is), but it’s often that I’m prepared to look at a deeper level of self care. When I’m still not honouring myself enough, I get the physical reminders from the body to nudge me, because I too have a lurking arrogance that I still am working through. Thanks Jen for the inspiration

343. This article provides a beautiful opportunity to explore where in our lives we have laid down a dogma about how things should or should not be done, and that as these things crop up we can choose to reconsider our beliefs, making sure they make sense and are truly ours (rather than something absorbed from the world).

344. This is a great article and one that has made me stop and consider a way forward with my views on vaccinations as I was a firm believer in them having no place in medicine. I chose a long time ago to not have them for myself and then when my children were born, however I am now reconsidering this choice and this has been since my relationship and take on conventional medicine has changed to becoming open to ALL it has to offer, with a letting go of the arrogance I have held around what health is. Thank Jen, inspiring!

345. I really loved this article, because as a child my mum made the choice to not give me all the vaccines available, and as I grew up, it became an arrogance in me that I was healthy and hadn’t been vaccinated. I also have a massive fear of injections and needles, and I HATE the feeling of an injection, yuck! But recently, I decided to make an appointment with my doctor to discuss what vaccines I haven’t had and might need. I picked the the ones I wanted, choosing not to have others, and sticking by that decision when my doctor tried to sway me. When I had my vaccines, I talked to the nurses and explained my fears, and I can completely agree that my beliefs around vaccines that I had developed from my upbringing, didn’t consider the care that can come from looking after your self and being vaccinated. For me, it was something I wanted to do for myself, taking charge of my health.

346. This article really shows me how often I say or think something just because it is filed in my brain somewhere as a ‘fact’ (actually just a rigidly held opinion). I open my mouth to start delivering this ‘nugget’ and realise that it has no relevance or worse (is an imposition) in the current moment.

     If we approach everything fresh and unencumbered we can dismantle the false frameworks we function within, and do, say or think what is really needed at the time.

     1. I can totally relate to this Matilda – in the past I have used these ‘rigidly held opinions’ as facts in arguments for example, because they suited what I wanted to believe

347. Thank you Jennifer for reminding me how I can use selective information to substantiate my particular point of view in order to uphold my argument and pride.
     I used what I felt was my ‘good health’ as a proof that I was right in my decision to not accept the support offered by conventional medicine.
     As I have changed my attitudes and am feeling more deeply into what my body is telling me I am realising that my lifestyle was not that healthy, and that there is support available that can actually improve my lifestyle and well being. It is beautiful to be able to be responsible for our own health in a way that encompasses both our own inner knowingness and the wisdom of conventional medicine.

348. This is so interesting what you are presenting along with the fact that you gave yourself a space to feel this and ask these questions. I have in the past been so used to accepting things and not questioning them or re-examining them as to the reason why things have happened. You have shown this is a simple possibility, It is really inspiring what you have written, thank you.

349. For me what is so beautiful about your blog is that it is giving me an ongoing opportunity to realise how stubbornly I hold on to a belief once I have decided that that is the truth rather than realising that we are evolving and that we need to continually review our opinions and decision throughout our lives – that they are ever changing and expanding and that this is how life is when we truly engage.

     1. Oh yes Sue, I totally agree. Just to have the support from all these blogs and comments to question myself is priceless.

        To my horror, a number of years ago I remember responding to the endless stream of ‘whys’ from a three year old by saying, ‘because it just is’

        Time to start questioning some of my ‘because it just is’

350. I know what you mean Mary, I was brought up and yes we went to the doctors but I was also taken to alternative practitioners. Vaccinations were not encouraged and it was considered putting poison in my body.. I can still sense the strong belief in that. Reading your article I have got a greater understanding how supportive they are and looking after yourself is priority. I remember going to an asian country and being recommend shots from my doctor – I took some time to work out whether it felt right or not and decided at the time that it was probably a good idea with hesitations. Now i would go for it and not think twice if it was going to support me where ever I may go.

351. I definitely suffered the ideals and beliefs around vaccination, refusing to take malaria tablets while travelling in foreign countries. I certainly wouldn’t get caught in intellectual considerations rather than feeling truly what is needed to support my body.

     1. Same here Vanessa – at the time I remember feeling like I was rolling the dice a little, and we used to come up with all sorts of ridiculous ‘natural remedies’ like eating raw garlic (no one else wanted to go anywhere near us). In hindsight that little gamble created a bit of anxiousness throughout my whole time away.

        1. Yes, I can relate to having anxiety for not taking malaria tablets and relying on citronella to not get bitten while abroad. I had the arrogance of it’ll never happen to me but I also had the anxiety that took me away from really enjoying the trip in full.

352. Great to read a different perspective on things. I found what you said about arrogance particularly interesting and illuminating Jen, thank you. It has really got me thinking about how little I think about my own medical care,and instead take good health for granted. I am finding that it is quite an ingrained way of thinking and being, and as you say, very arrogant.

353. Awesome to read your experience Jennifer and how deeply supportive medicine can be if we allow it. I love how you shared that if we take full responsibility for our health and care for ourselves we are actually supporting others around us also.

354. Thank you Jennifer for writing on this subject. Vaccination is the result of many years of work by conventional medicine to protect us from illness and disease and goes hand in hand with our own responsibility to care for ourselves and each other. We were all taught as young children to use a handkerchief to prevent spreading germs from sneezes and I feel vaccinations are just another means of keeping myself and everyone else healthy.

355. Thanks Jennifer I feel this is an important subject. All aspects of medicine should be looked at and one shouldn’t be too closed minded.

356. Thank you for this. I know that a number of people struggle with the idea of vaccination. The fact that you have presented it so clearly in terms of taking loving responsibility for yourself will go a long way in the support of readers whether to vaccinate or not.

357. I too am re-thinking my approach to vaccination, and have in my purse the ‘no thank you’ slip for the flu vaccine, might not use it!. I love the way you plan your vaccines Jennifer having time off and resting. I have a shingles vaccine booked this week – but no day off, so I will re-book, as I feel, after reading your article, that I will be over-burdening my body. Thank you so much I’m so glad I felt to read your blog today

     1. Catherine, I agree that it is super inspiring to take the day off to support yourself when having vaccines. Will definitely be taking that with me when I have my next one. With any medical treatments I can allow space to support myself is a great way to look after myself.

        1. I did rebook my vaccine Natalie, and had the flu one at the same time – and 2 days off work. The nurse who gave me the injections advised me , as it was my first flu vaccine, to sit in the waiting room for 10 minutes before I went home, which I did. Then I visited the local cafe for a cup of tea before catching the bus home, where I prepared a lovely lunch for myself before a couple of friends came round for a gentle catch-up. There was no reaction to either vaccine that day or the next, apart from minimal soreness around one injection site, and I used esoteric massage cream on both. My body felt it needed more rest, and I honoured that for the next few days. This has been a real learning for me.

        2. Jane, I agree with your comment about preparing for vaccination before as well as after. When I had mine, it worked out that I didn’t work the day before, as well as having the time off afterwards. So I was able to present a rested body for vaccination, and I am sure it helped a lot in supporting my body to recuperate.

358. That is so true Jane, it is so easy to overlook the small details of our everyday life and when we can we are building a commitment to ourselves and those around us.

359. Thank you Jennifer to helping me to re-think having vaccinations and to see them as self care. My ideals and beliefs were based around complementary therapies in the past. Now I am more open to all medicines. Great sharing of your experiences.

     1. I was the same, Lorraine, and very arrogant about it! It feels now like I thought I was invincible. I have never had a flu jab, but now, as I grow older, I am feeling it would be a very caring thing to do for myself, especially as I am going to be working in more public places. I now see it as my responsibility to everyone to protect myself in this way. Why should I expect others oto care for me if I get ill if I haven’t cared for myself?

360. Thank you for sharing your experience of vaccinations and how this linked with you growing awareness of self care getting to know how to nurture and honour your body.

361. Hi Jennifer, reading this blog today was perfect timing because the winter flu vaccine is being offered at work (health care) and I rarely take up this opportunity because I rarely get the flu and looked at it as a waste of time ‘I don’t need it’. I had been wondering about it and your blog has prompted me to look more deeply into why I choose to leave myself more vulnerable to the flu virus. Also thanks for the inspiration to allow a day following the vaccine for my body to rest and adjust as it needs to.

362. Dear Jennifer I love how you took such care of yourself before and after when you did have your recent vaccinations. I feel inspired to listen to my body and not just assume I’ll be able to carry on as normal in similar circumstances when I have medical procedures. To prepare the space afterwards to allow for adjustments and recovery feels so loving. Thank you.

363. Thanks Jennifer – I am the same: “I am super healthy these days so I definitely do not need vaccines”… Thank you for offering a new perspective on this!

364. Thank you so much Jennifer for presenting a different way to approach vaccination. I have been vehemently anti-vaccination for many years after feeling that the company who was promoting a vaccination that the school (not the GP) wanted my daughter to have was driven by the profit motive. This has led to me arrogantly following the path of if I look after myself I won’t need them – despite not being very good at looking after my health prior to attending Universal Medicine presentations about self-care?!
     I have been inspired to check whether I need to update my tetanus and discuss with my elderly father having a flu jab that he has resisted for years because of the reaction he once had.

365. Jennifer your article really shows how orthodox medicine can be supportive to our health care and how supporting ourselves with it can bring about such a different experience. Thank you.

366. Thank you so much for sharing this precious article! The last time I got vaccination was when I did my National Service in the Navy in France and was sent to Tahiti for ten months. But since then, with similar beliefs, especially with my mother who is into alternative therapies, she told me many times what could happen if I decided to get vaccinated and completely ignored what could really happen if I didn’t!

367. Awesome read Jennifer. I was unaware that I still carry a lot of old beliefs and attitudes about vaccinations. Reading your article was immensely valuable inspiring me to take a fresh look at vaccinations, consider what you have beautifully expressed and feel those points for myself. This has opened possibilities where there were none. Thank you.

368. Jennifer like you, I have worked in hospitals and have been OK with having numerous vaccinations for travel purposes, but tried to avoid, or extend the intervals between, the ones that were a requirement for hospital employees.. Reading your article has given me much to ponder on, especially my beliefs and arrogance around the whole vacination question. Thank you Jennifer.

369. Great blog, Jennifer. It reminded me of when I was in my first year of nursing, I did my very best to avoid getting the Hep B vaccination, I was completely against any vaccination and had bought into the fear that they led to more harmful diseases. Looking back with the awareness I now have I can see my beliefs clouded my judgement which could have left me in a potentially dangerous situation.

370. I agree Jane. I work in a residential care home, and I will re-consider the flu vaccine this year.

371. I’m about to have some vaccinations which is quite unusual for me, so I re-read your blog Jen, and could feel how the depth of self care is our responsibility to ourselves, before and after the vaccination. Self care is the true support for ourselves through life for sure.

372. Thanks Jennifer for sharing your experience with vaccination. I agree that we have to look after ourselves before and after, and to make sure we are well when we actually have the vaccine.That is so important.
     What does still trouble me is the corruption in the industry. I have vaccine’s, but only want ones that are mercury free, which they are meant to be now, unfortunately that is not always the case. And, that is often hidden from those receiving the vaccine.

373. Thank you, Jane. An inspiring example of how loving attention to detail truly supports us.

374. I agree Matilda, once you start to make those self-loving choices and take responsibility for your actions you are then given the opportunity to look at all your issues or beliefs that don’t serve you.

     1. Beautifully and simply said Tim. Thank you.

375. To begin to hold ourselves in the high esteem that we deserve allows us to make loving and responsible decisions free from the dogma of beliefs, either personally held or promoted in society. The ripple effect of this is remarkable as we chip away at the towers of ideals that have kept us imprisoned. Thank you, Jennifer, for such a clear example of this in your approach to vaccination.

     1. Beautifully expressed Matilda and so true.

376. So true Susan, it’s great to look at fixed old beliefs, where they came from and do they still serve us, or are we just hanging onto them because we haven’t thought to challenge them? Thank you for showing a different way of approaching this, Jen.

377. It has been great to read this blog Jennifer as I have avoided vaccinations for years. My son had such a bad experience with vaccinations that I became paranoid that they were harming him. I remember at the time he was suffering from illnesses anyway so it is not surprising now that he reacted the way he did. The way in which you have approached this subject is such a wonderful opportunity for me, and us a family, to revisit the subject. I will now be checking out my vaccinations too and my sons to make sure we do not ignore this important part of taking care of ourselves – thank you.

378. Thank you Jennifer for writing so lovingly about vaccinations from the perspective of self care and looking after yourself lovingly and all the amazing comments it has brought up.
     The whole vaccination process and the ideals and beliefs around them has always seemed hard and aggressive either way but through love and self care the answer is obvious that it is loving to have them and be honouring caring with yourself at the time and always as a way of living as presented by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

379. Brilliant article, thank you Jennifer.

380. This subject of inoculation is stacked with controversy and misinformation so it was refreshing to read a different perspective on our choices, based on responsibility for self and others. I’m inspired by how you approached your vaccinations – phasing them in gently rather than all in one go. That can take some significant planning when you have a cocktail of the things coming up with little time to spare so it shows the level of commitment you hold to yourself. And the nurturing support you entitled yourself to in creating space in your work calendar to have a day off after each one. An amazing example of self care and one I’ll adopt when my next batch of jabs are due! Thank you..

     1. Well said Jane. I remember how my travel vaccinations were invariably grabbed from the British Airways travel clinic in a last-minute dash before getting on a plane. With no thought to my own self-care after having had the injection. On top of which the vaccinations were probably useless because many of them take 2-3 weeks to become effective! It’s beautiful to now be self-caring and planning for these things. And, as Ryan has expressed, not just in the case of vaccinations.

381. A good point Ryan!

     1. I agreed with you Rachel, good point Ryan! I have resisted having the flu vaccination because of an arrogant attitude that it is not full proof because there are always newer flu viruses appearing, and the vaccination may be for last year’s. And thank you Jennifer for showing me how I could go ahead with it next winter by caring for myself in the way you describe. You make it sound such a beautiful loving thing to do, and I can actually start practicing NOW!

     2. I agree Ryan, ‘I loved the way you lovingly prepared and cared for yourself going into and coming out of being vaccinated.’ I feel this is so important

382. ‘Blowing that arrogance out of the water’. Perfect. Way to go. Thank you, Jennifer and Jane.

383. Thanks Jen, what a great example of self-care and the self-honouring process with which you came to the decision.

384. Thank you Jennifer, I can relate to that arrogance of it won’t happen to me. I can feel how your self care grows for yourself through the article.

385. Growing up in the forces and later I married an airman, I have had my fair share of vaccinations for everything. You couldn’t take the posting without having your shots up to date. I always hated them and have memories of rough army doctors and multiple shots at one time. So as a “civilian” adult I have chosen not to vaccinate, mainly out of reaction but I have to admit I definitely haven’t looked at it from a self care point of view. Thank you Jennifer.

     1. Thank you for sharing Julie – I am sure that many people choose to not have vaccinations for similar reasons (bad or not pleasant experiences in the past), without considering it as possibly a form of self care as this blog presents

386. ‘Stubbornly held beliefs’ sums it up, with the vaccination debate well represented in both camps! Your blog presents a totally fresh approach, free from doctrine and in responsible relationship with our bodies, making choices lovingly so. Thank you.

     1. Awesome said Matilda, a totally fresh approach coming from the responsibility of taking care of our bodies, well said.

387. Thank you Jennifer. This is quite a loaded subject area here in the UK. With our family we did have our daughters vaccinated when they were babies (out of fear and ignorance mainly), and then for a long time we didn’t (arrogantly thinking ‘it’s not going to happen to us’ and having our heads in the sand). And so it is an interesting exercise to make decisions like this now, based on our own discernment and what/how/when things feels right for us.

388. Great Blog Jennifer, thank you 🙂

389. Jennifer, what a great blog – I loved how you came to and explained your understanding and approach to vaccinations, and how it can be true self care. Isn’t it amazing the games we play with ourselves, I too have had vaccinations in the past and reacted to them and the first thing I’ve done is blame them rather than look at how I was living and treating mysellf at the time (not well). And then went to the ‘I’ll take care of myself so I don’t need them’, and as I read this and considered how I’ve been I can feel the arrogance in how I’ve been and the lack of care – this applied to how I approached medicine for a long time, and through Universal Medicine I’ve learned to embrace and appreciate the beautiful combination of medicine and true self care and how hand in hand they so complement each other. So thanks for busting lots of myths.

390. Thank you Jennifer, I can very much relate to your blog. For years working in the health care industry I was intent on not getting the Hep. B jab which was recommended. After reading about the harmful effects of vaccinations I was too scared to get it done and had the same arrogance that I would not need it. I see now that it is actually a very sensible and loving thing and takes looking after myself to another level. I love how you described you would care for yourself before and after the injection. Very inspiring.

391. Thank you Jennifer. It’s the first time I’ve seen something that makes sense when it comes to discussing vaccinations. Like Michael I had most vaccines and have been relatively illness free as a result. Being brought up on a farm and NOT to have a vaccine was very shortsighted. Last year I had the influenza jab and, although I resisted it, was given no choice by the nurse and had a flu free winter. Always at the back of my mind is the fact that Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine encourage a way of living that includes the benefits of traditional medicine and getting a balance that compliments a better way of living.

392. I used to be totally against the use of vaccinations before and after the birth of my daughter after researching all kinds of things touting the dangers of thimerosal and other chemicals in vaccines which were supposedly harmful.The thing is, I ended up throwing the baby out with the bathwater! Because here I was someone who had many vaccines as a child and never got any serious disease and yet I was criticizing the whole industry as being intentionally malicious in the way they made the vaccines.
     After coming to many UniMed courses and realizing that a more balanced approach was healthier, (as Simon expressed above), we opted for a more gentle regimen of certain vaccines we felt were needed, spread out over a longer period for our daughter’s body to adjust to and use to boost her immune system, just like Jennifer described here in her blog. Thank you for sharing your experience with this Jennifer, it’s a great lesson for taking true responsibility of our bodies and lives.

     1. Good point Michael

        1. That is an amazing turn around Michael and it feels a very sensible approach, to spread the vaccines out for your daughter. Awesome to take that step after being to anti-vaccine.

        2. Agreed Rowena, a very sensible approach

     2. Thank you Michael, for sharing this. I have a similar experience when choosing to vaccinate our children and am now reconsidering the choices that were made then.

393. I know for me I went through a stage in my life of rejecting the conventional model of medicine as I opened up to the idea of there being an alternative. However, its taken a long time to realise that the best approach is a complementary one: The science behind vaccinations is an amazing support, but the benefits multiply enormously when coupled with self care and truly supportive complementary treatments. I have Universal Medicine to thank for teaching me this bigger picture, and providing that awesome support – and it is a real pleasure to see my children now updating their own vaccinations, and doing that in a truly loving way for themselves.

394. Beautifully written Jennifer. I too have changed my appreciation of vaccinations and allopathic medicine in general. What is so true though is where you say that you were very eager to blame the vaccine for making you I’ll rather than what you had been doing to your body. I know I have done that in the past too. It’s so beautiful how you describe the care you take now of yourself when you have your vaccines one at a time and allowing time for your body to rest and make the necessary adjustments – a true example of loving yourself. Thank you for sharing

395. This is an interesting account Jennifer – even more so coming from a registered nurse. I’ve always felt that by not having vacinations, I’ve had to take more responsibility for myself when travelling and in general, but this is a really interesting perspective and one that I hadn’t considered

     1. Well said Anna, I too have thought that by not having the vaccinations scheduled at school, that I was taking more responsibility for looking after myself, and thought ‘Oh no I won’t get that!’, when receiving the vaccine may actually be the more loving thing to do in some cases.

396. A great sharing, thank you Jennifer. I love your line – “Acknowledging and then letting go of those stubbornly held beliefs” – something we can all do more of! Rather than be influenced by what the world and society tells us, we can feel how it for us and our body and then make the choice from and with our body rather then from something we have been told, which may or may not be right for us.

397. I also enjoyed reading this and these ideals we have are something we can carry into so many aspects of our lives, doing things based on belief systems even though they may not be supporting us.

     1. Very true – belief systems can affect everything that we do

        1. This is so true Jess, and they are hidden in every crook and cranny. I keep discovering them. It’s amazing to observe how affected we can be by these imposed ‘blinkers’. The more we shed them, the more we see.

398. Thank you Jennifer for sharing your experience of vaccines. I remember being very anti-vaccines at one time and refusing to see the positive, self caring aspect of this preventative type of medicine. I now feel much more open to vaccines and your article is a great support for people questioning their relevance and offers another approach to having them.

399. This is great, Jennifer. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Having seen a lot of the controversy around vaccinations and being at one time in the anti- camp, it is great to have your perspective about bringing it back home to your self and your body and what you felt was not just a self-loving act, but an act of love for those around you. Beautiful.

400. I love this blog, Jennifer, because you de-base so many of the myths that abound about vaccinations and show us that we need to firmly take back responsibility for our own well being.

     1. Well said Matilda

        1. Well said everyone, great blog Jennifer. I used to believe it was an unnatural thing to have a vaccination – and it hurt! I used homoeopathy for many years and assumed I was protected. The blinkers came off a few years ago and although I haven’t actually booked a flu jab yet am more open to what is on offer and aware of the greater responsibility for my health and that of others.

     2. Well said Matilda. In taking responsibility for vaccinations and our own well being we are caring for others at the same time.

401. I really enjoyed your blog – thank you, I could really feel the deep care you took of your body and the huge shift you had around what you thought and felt about vaccines. I worked as a health care assistant in a pharmacy and we were asked to promote the flu jab – at first I too was held captive by beliefs that it was bad, had lactose in it, I will not be promoting that etc until someone presented to me that – could it possibly be the most loving thing someone could do for themselves at that point? And that one comment totally changed my perspective on injections and vaccinations… It’s crazy the beliefs we carry that simply aren’t true and stop us and others taking deep care of ourselves

     1. I recognise this too Meg. Vaccination is a huge topic and it is easy to place judgement on ourselves and others for choosing to vaccinate or not. Ultimately it is up to each individual to discern what is the most loving thing to do at that time for themselves.

     2. So true Jane

402. Having read your blog several weeks ago I was inspired to reconsider vaccinations – I had always opted out of vaccinations through school for similar reasons of ‘if I look after myself then I don’t need it’. Despite not working in a hospital/environment with a high risk of infection, I felt that having vaccinations, or ‘jabs’ as it is (aggressively) called in England, may actually support me in my self care and would be a ‘true support for my body’ as you explain, so I booked an appointment with a nurse that I knew and am now fully up to date with my vaccinations, having not had any since I was about 4 years old. Thank you for the awesome blog

     1. That’s amazing, Jessica. I had some vaccinations the last time I went travelling, but had not really thought about getting ‘everyday’ shots. I’m feeling that this is something to find out more about!

        1. Thank you Jennifer for your blog – in the past I have always held true to my opinion in a way that is arrogant – I would have gone to see the doctor, listened to his advice and then ignored it if it didn’t fit in with my preconceptions of what would support me. Now that I am opening up to the work of Universal Medicine I am finding an openness and willingness to listen and learn and re-evaluate what will support me in the way of health care. I am approaching life with more humility – and life does flow more when I get out of the way.

403. Jennifer, I loved reading your blog. The preparation and care in which you approached the vaccination is inspiring.

404. Absolutely brilliant Jennifer. This word responsibility each time I come across it has a much deeper meaning than I first thought.

     1. I agree Shevon, Jennifer’s article, has exposed a pattern, almost arrogance, that I hold with regard to the vaccines offered to us in the UK. Now I see it isn’t just about me, and that’s huge

     2. True Shevon

405. I really enjoyed reading your account about vaccinations. They seem such a simple way to avoid getting certain diseases, a few of which I had as a child. I have always wondered about the influence vaccine and your account is really helpful. Thank you.

406. Thank you Jennifer for writing about vaccines, there is a lot of controversy around should you have them or not, I know I have at times questioned the validity of taking them knowing there can be side affects, yet without them we would have much more epidemics of measles and polio and other preventable diseases. It is great that you have shown from your own experience the benefits of self-care whilst undergoing vaccination. We are asking the body to take on something foreign and it needs time to adjust so this is the time we need to be more caring and loving with ourselves.

     1. I think the point that you raise here is so powerful. Certainly whenever I have considered the pros and cons of vaccinations it has always been with a very insular perspective – thinking only about the effects and benefits on me (or my children). But, recently, as you say I have become much more aware of our responsibility as part of the bigger humanity and fellow residents on this planet. Then the choice becomes much clearer. Thank you for this awesome blog which has come at a very timely time for me – a reminder to get up to date before we all travel to the far East.

407. Thank you Jennifer for your blog. In the past I particularly subscribed to the following ‘I thought that if I kept myself well, then that would be my insurance’. There was also a feeling of ‘I know best what is good for me’ and I stubbornly held on to these ideals and beliefs in a way that was arrogant and self-satisfied. I am slowly letting go of these beliefs and slowly, but surely I am embracing a wider and more all encompassing way of looking at medicine with a new respect for myself and others.

408. Thanks for this blog Jennifer – it’s inspiring to hear how you approached this subject from it being about self-care. I’ve found that as I care for myself more I am more productive at work and it changes the quality of my work. It also supports those around me to be more nurturing and caring for themselves and others. It was great to read how you organised the vaccinations with space between them and time to rest after the injections.

     1. I fully agree Fiona. Beautifully expressed.

409. Interesting blog about what the relationship is between vaccination and Self-care… I feel for me that vaccination is just one subject / topic. There are many, in fact, doesn’t this count for everything? A personal example: I used to be very againt softeners when washing my clothes based on the belief that this is bad for the environment. When I listened to myself I realised that I just love to wear clothes and dry myself with towels that are soft. Now when I stay somewhere where the towels are hard, I always notice and less love it to dry myself. Interesting. This is just one example.

     1. Floris your example about fabric softeners is so interesting. Thank you. I’ve been noticing of late how towels feel so much more gentle on my body when I dry them in the dryer rather than the line outside. It costs more and there is a belief that it is better for the environment but taking care of ourselves is so much more of a loving move. I’ve never used fabric softener but I’m going to try it out!

     2. Great comment Floris, I love how you have applied this blog about self care to another aspect of your life – I agree with your statement that it ‘counts for everything’

     3. Very interesting example Floris – I used to not use fabric softeners more because of cost rather than the environment but I do agree clothes feel and smell nicer when I use it and I love soft cosy towels! Its another level of self care.

410. Hi Jen, I can very much relate to this. I am going to work in the health care industry as well and I have been pondering on having some vaccines too. I did also recognise the arrogant ‘I will not get sick so I do not need a vaccine’, and I see now that I was just not feeling the true support a vaccine can be and that it is indeed a way to deeply care for yourself. I love how you prepared and took care of yourself around the vaccination, you inspired me to do the same!

411. This is really awesome to read Jennifer, thanks for sharing. It reminds me of how I live in an area where many people are really anti vacination in an anti medicine way, but if framed as self care, or lack of care for self, it shines a new light on the choice.

     1. That’s so true Kate – with a different approach to what vaccines/going to the doctor actually means (self care), then it provides an opportunity to do that/go there for a different reason. Instead of out of obligation, it is to support you in your every day self-care

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