Author: medicineandsergebenhayon

From Misery to Fun at Work!

By FL, Registered Nurse and Midwife, Australia

I was never all that keen on work. For many years I saw it as a necessary evil and hoped the years until retirement would pass quickly and I could get into a laid back lifestyle that would suit me better. I had been nursing for years, really liked the patients and giving care, but felt burdened by the misery and problems I saw every day amongst patients and staff. How could I help them? I had no real clue. I was just as burned out by the ‘system’ as those that perpetuated it. From my university based training, I learned that I had to do everything right and have all the answers as often as possible, placing me under enormous pressure to be perfect. There was no discussion ever about the way in which I worked or the quality I offered to people when I walked through the door.

A few years ago I started attending the Universal Medicine (UM) clinic and met people who worked there who were incredibly dedicated and interested in their work and this was always the case at any session. I never once felt like they were watching the clock or bored out of their minds by clients. Never once did they appear to have “Monday I have Friday on my mind” syndrome.  Instead I felt a steadiness; I could tell they actually understood me and they held a love very solid. Hmmm, how was this possible? Were they superhuman or very good fakes? Continue reading “From Misery to Fun at Work!” →

An Angel Calls

by Ulrike Baker, Lismore Heights, Australia

Twenty-six years ago whilst pregnant with my second child I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, a dysgerminoma. Once the tumour the size of a football was removed, I went to term with the pregnancy and delivered my baby.

One month after the birth, scan results showed the cancer had spread throughout my uterus and to the other ovary and the radical treatment offered did not seem an option to me.  This treatment was radiotherapy and a radical hysterectomy. I did not have confidence in my doctor and on some level felt I would not survive the treatment. Subsequently, I discharged myself from the hospital.

The months that followed were filled with reading, seeking and trialing many alternative therapies, including energetic and psychic healing, macrobiotic diet, buying under the counter kombu, coffee enemas (oh, too much detail!), etc etc.

I felt I was getting stronger, with psychic surgeons saying ‘the mountain’ in my abdomen was shrinking. In actual fact I was getting worse to the point where I could no longer walk and was a shadow of my size now. This was all in the dogged belief I could heal through energetic/alternative means alone. Continue reading “An Angel Calls” →

How are you Feeling?

by Eunice J Minford MA FRCS Ed, Consultant Surgeon, N Ireland

A simple observation highlights to me the importance of the difference between what we feel and what we think, particularly when it comes to health. The world we live in gives precedence to the intelligence of the mind and/or the brain without taking full cognisance of the intelligence of the body. Thinking and thoughts are associated with the mind/brain and much weight is given to the acquisition of knowledge and information and the cognitive disciplines in education and professional life. In contrast, feelings are often dismissed or ignored or over-ridden. They may be negatively associated with emotions or a so-called ‘emotional person’ or someone being too ‘touchy feely’ as opposed to the rational, logical thinker. Certainly as a child I was lead to believe that feelings were somewhat irrelevant; I was not encouraged to express what I felt but instead learned the opposite. I thought it was good to be the ‘strong silent’ type who didn’t disclose feelings or personal matters. Everything was always ‘fine’ no matter what was really going on.

Whilst thoughts may appear to arise in the mind, feelings come from the body and are the language of the intelligence of the body. When I do a ward round in the morning, I ask patients “How are you feeling?” not  “What are you thinking?” if I want to know what is going on for them and their wellbeing.

Continue reading “How are you Feeling?” →

The Silly Season and its Effects on Health

by Steffen Messerschmidt, ND, Brisbane, Australia

Over the years I have been observing the effects the ‘Silly Season’ has on our health. IT JUST DOES NOT MAKE SENSE TO ME – neither personally nor professionally.

It is supposedly the festival of Love – just for one day, but I see more unloving things and effects then, than at any other time of the year. So this is what I see every year – year after year – and nothing is changing! Continue reading “The Silly Season and its Effects on Health” →

Reflections after Chemotherapy

by Fiona McGovern, Isle of Arran, Scotland

I have just finished 18 weeks of weekly chemotherapy treatments for metastatic breast cancer.  (My breast cancer story is also on this blog under “Breast Cancer: knowing what I know now I would definitely do things differently”.) For me this means four hours travelling, part by boat and part by car, and so it all takes a full day. I now have time off and time to reflect.

For these 18 weeks I have sat in a day ward full of other women receiving their treatment. As soon as one seat is vacated another woman fills it. In the oncology waiting room it can be standing room only and you may have to allow hours to be seen.

I have felt how pressured the medics, the receptionists and the nurses are. I have also felt the anxiety of families, the anger of many of the women, the fear in some, the denial, the hoping, and the coping on the surface and in some the complete self-pitying and identification with the illness. I also sense in some there’s the attitude that life begins after chemo…. that we can get back to how things were before cancer and chemo…..  Continue reading “Reflections after Chemotherapy” →

From Resistance to Embracing Western Medicine

by Angela Perin, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. 

This blog post was initially posted on The Truth About Universal Medicine Blog and we have also posted it here as it is relevant to the medical blog and affirms the fact that Universal Medicine is pro-Western Medicine. 

Up until a few years ago, I had been a strong supporter of alternative medicine and its various modalities, including ‘new age’ or ‘spiritual’ therapies and techniques. In fact, I considered alternative medicine to be the answer, or to hold the primary solutions and methods to healing illness and disease. When an illness or condition presented with myself or within my family, this is what I turned to, and actively pursued.

Although I grew up with some understanding and use of Western Medicine (to the extent that I did have occasional visits to the local community nurse and saw a doctor on a handful of occasions during my childhood), it was not a big part of my awareness or experience. In my late teens through to my early 20’s, and as a general outcome of my immediate family taking more of an interest in health, I began to become more interested in alternative medicine and therapies (which included general lifestyle changes such as the incorporation of organic food, supplements, regular exercise etc.). Continue reading “From Resistance to Embracing Western Medicine” →

Removal of Wisdom Teeth Allows for More Wisdom

by Anonymous, Newrybar, Australia

I am a 26 year old woman and I am currently working on a psychology thesis at university, looking at self care practices among students and the relationship with stress. Since my teenage years I have felt a lot of anger. I have come to be aware that this anger comes from not truly being me in many everyday situations and with a range of people in my life. This can bring me much sadness, for I haven’t allowed myself to be me, the best thing ever! This anger has been expressed in my body as hardness, including arthritis in my right hand and tightness in my jaw.

I recently had my four wisdom teeth removed and therefore was unable to clench my jaw while the stitches healed. As I went about my daily routine I noticed I couldn’t do simple things like open a jar, whisk eggs, wash my hair, text a message on my mobile, the list goes on, without clenching my jaw. This was great, for I hadn’t been aware how often I clenched my jaw. I noticed I clenched my jaw when I got out of bed in the morning, not on waking but as I went to start the day. When I initially wake I feel lovely, but as I get out of bed I am clenching my teeth in anger and therefore starting my day that way. In other words, I am angry before I go to situations or meet people because I know I will not allow myself to be me in that setting. This is something I continue to work on. Opportunities like having my wisdom teeth removed have been a great chance for me to be more aware of how I go about things in my daily life. Continue reading “Removal of Wisdom Teeth Allows for More Wisdom” →

Exercise: Gentle and Flowing or Pounding and Pushing?

by Kate Greenaway, BAppSc(PT), Physiotherapist, Australia

Recently I had a fascinating experience that highlighted to me the difference between moving and exercising in a gentle flowing way or pounding and pushing the body. I was packing my car after a lovely time exercising in the local pool when I noticed two middle aged men running down a steep cement driveway near me – they were literally pounding and jarring their bodies. They were red and puffy in their faces and they looked miserable. It felt like they were punishing themselves in pushing their bodies for some sort of outcome. I was feeling really fluid and content in my body from the gentle moving and swimming that I had just completed and I could really feel the contrast with what these men were doing as they slammed their bodies with each step.

I remembered it was only a few years ago that I was pelting up and down the local pools to do my ’40 laps’ or pushing myself up the gazillion steps to the Byron Bay Lighthouse to feel good about doing something ‘healthy’ and ‘good’ for my body. Part of my drive came from the ideal that  ‘I should have a healthy body’ as I was a physiotherapist and ‘how could I tell my clients to look after their bodies and exercise if I wasn’t ?’ Continue reading “Exercise: Gentle and Flowing or Pounding and Pushing?” →

A Letter from Paul

by Paul Moses, Newrybar, Australia

I am a very fortunate man. On a daily basis I get to meet many people through my antique shop in Newrybar, a small town in the Northern Rivers region of Australia, which has become a destination for many.

This was not the case in the recent past times; to me people were an annoyance and a frustration that I had to deal with while earning a living in retail. What an arrogance I lived in, or in truth existed in and with.

This past came to an abrupt halt when, three years ago my heart finally had enough of this very existence and started stopping, missing beats and finally fibrillating as if it was choking from holding something back and all life, vitality, drained from my body. This was truly scary. My arrogance was confronted by the fact that life could be taken away, that it was not mine as such to be misused as I had.

Lying in an emergency cardiac ward had never been my intention, however I clearly knew all my choices for 53 years had led me to this very place and those choices, whether I thought them good or bad, I had to review them all. Continue reading “A Letter from Paul” →

The Im-patient Doctor


by Dr Anne Malatt MBBS, MS, FRANZCO, FRACS

I recently had surgery.

The wonder-fully inspiring account of this can be read elsewhere on this website.  I just felt to balance it with the other side of the story.

The surgery itself was an amazing healing.

I felt wonderful for a few days afterwards and lay on the couch allowing my family to look after me and feeling the grace of it all.

As my body started to heal, my mind started to play tricks.

I did not deserve to care for myself and be cared for; I was needed here there and everywhere; I started to feel empty because I was not “doing” anything… all my old thoughts and patterns started to rear their ugly heads and demand my attention.

The tension was too much for me. Continue reading “The Im-patient Doctor” →