Illumined Life Leadership

As you’ve heard me share over the last few weeks, during our Summer of Wellbeing— the next 11 weeks, I’ll be going back to my “Relaxed Book Club” blogging roots and reading and sharing the content from two wonderful books. Today I begin with Your Health is in Your Hands, by James D. Jordan, CNC, JD. 

Your Health is in Your Hands: Three Reasons You’re Not Well and What to Do About It

Jim was introduced to me by mother, Ellie, who was experiencing some very scary symptoms that most doctors just pushed away with a prescription pad. When she was close to her wits end, she found Jim and her path to healing began.

I, too, was experiencing symptoms of my own. I was exhausted all the time, and even fell asleep at the wheel one day and crashed into another vehicle. As a life-long dancer who always watched what she ate, I truly thought I was eating healthy. I also experienced severe allergies most of my teens and college years, but just stuck to the drugs that claimed to fix me. I even developed asthma at the age of 35, which took me by surprise.

Just as Jim did for my mother, he opened my eyes to a new way of living and eating, one that would help me put the power back in my hands and not in a prescription pad.

A sentence in Jim’s book caught my attention, as it also caught his attention when he was at his wits end, not understanding why he was feeling so sick. A Chinese doctor in Chicago told him the following:

 “These are not your problems. You are just not healthy. When you are healthy you cannot be sick.”

Just like most of in the western world, Jim learned from this doctor that focusing on his health condition, or problem, wasn’t going to help him. What was going to begin his path to wellness—to true health—was to focus on the underlying causes of why he wasn’t feeling well. His focus now was away from the label of his illness and to the 100% attention on the nourishing and strengthening of his body, mind, and soul. Jim shares,

“I learned that whenever I felt less than optimal, I

 should always look to the underlying cause of why I did not feel well.”

His road back to health followed three clear steps:

1. Reject all things that were clearly not working for him.
2. Become open to new therapies, diets and healing modalities that could increase his vitality and strength (with no toxic side effects).
3. Find his purpose in life—to get well and help others get well too.

I love this book, because Jim keeps it really simple. The simplicity of getting healthy also helps those of us who are parents— to  become detectives for our kids and figure out what small tweaks can help them be healthier.

In a nutshell, we need to ask three questions:

1. Where are we deficient in nutrients?
2. Are we toxic?
3. What is causing us stress?

Personally, I can tell you that after experiencing what I did and learning my “Underlying Causation Paradigm,” as Jim refers to it, I now ask myself these questions every time I have a new symptom—no matter what it may be. I could begin sneezing a lot again or my asthma kicks into high gear, or perhaps I get more frequent head aches, or have unusual periods of fatigue. Instead of just heading to the pharmacy or doctor for a “fix me” prescription, I now try to take more personal responsibility and figure out what may be causing my symptoms. I also take a “spin” on the wellness wheel, which I shared in one of my videos and get curious about what’s going on. Guess what? I usually know what’s happening and I make minor tweaks that help me get better.  Now, I’m not sharing this to encourage you to not visit a doctor. I have doctors and I do visit them, but mostly for prevention (vitals, and check-ups), and for emergencies that may need immediate attention. But, I have to say that it is quite empowering to be more knowledgeable about how I can help myself as a first step instead of running to find help and put the power in someone else’s hands.  Next week I’ll begin to share some of Jim’s great knowledge that can help you be your own detective. Until then, think about these scary stats that Jim shares in the book:

• Today, more than 95% of all chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercises.
• More than 133 million Americans (45% of the population) have at least one chronic condition and 26% have multiple chronic conditions. Chronic disease is currently the leading cause of all death and disability in the U.S., responsible for 70% of all deaths.
• A large portion of the population consistently fails to meet even the minimal intakes recommended in the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for many key nutrients.
• ADHD diagnosis for children ages 4-17 years has risen 42% between 2003 and 2011.
• Childhood obesity has tripled in the U.S. Over the past two decades resulting in the quadrupling of childhood chronic deceases in the past four decades.

It’s time to get smart about our health and the health and vitality of our children. It’s time to reclaim some of our power and make smart choices that can change our lives. Are you with me? Join me next week as we dig a little deeper into the nutrients we need to sustain us. It’s your life, lead it well!  Namaste,Monique