Category Archives: Diagnosis

Three Facts You Need To Know About Dental Mercury, By Amanda Just and John Kall, DMD of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT)

This article has been reprinted with permission from worldmercuryproject.org.

1. All silver-colored dental fillings, also called amalgams, contain approximately 50% mercury, and dental mercury is still being used in the USA.

In 2013, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) formalized a global convention to reduce mercury usage, which includes initiatives to phase down the use of dental mercury.  The UNEP mercury convention will come into force on August 16, 2017, and as part of this effort, the European Union is taking action on dental mercury.  A new EU mercury regulation plans to prohibit the use of amalgam for vulnerable populations (pregnant or breastfeeding women, children under 15 years old) and provide for discussion about the feasibility of ending dental amalgam use in the European Union by 2030.

Prior to the 2017 ratification of UNEP’s mercury treaty, other countries had already taken protective actions against dental mercury.  For example, Norway and Sweden have banned dental amalgam, and Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan have reportedly limited its use to less than 5% of tooth restorations.  However, mercury fillings are still used on about 45% of direct dental restorations worldwide, including in the United States.

All silver colored dental fillings, which are still being used in the USA, contain about 50% mercury.

2. Mercury vapor is released from these fillings into the human body, and this dental mercury has been linked to health risks.

Mercury vapor is continuously emitted from dental amalgam which means that people are directly exposed to the mercury in their mouths.  The output of mercury vapor can be intensified by the number of fillings and other activities, such as chewing, teeth-grinding, and the consumption of hot liquids.  Mercury is also known to be released during the placement, replacement, and removal of dental mercury amalgam fillings.

Scientific researchers have associated this mercury in amalgam fillings with Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), antibiotic resistance, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, autoimmune disorders/immunodeficiency, cardiovascular problems, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, hearing loss, infertility, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and an array of other health problems. Click here to learn more about the potential health risks of dental mercury.

3. Safety measures can reduce the amount of mercury vapor released during the removal of amalgam fillings.

Some patients require the removal of silver amalgam fillings due to device failure, while others opt for the removal of silver amalgam fillings because of cosmetic purposes (white-colored fillings match the teeth better) or because they prefer to have dental fillings that do not contain mercury. However, the process of drilling out amalgam fillings liberates quantities of mercury vapor and fine particulates that can be inhaled and absorbed through the lungs, and this is potentially harmful to patients, dentists, dental workers, and their fetuses.

The application of specific safety measures can reduce the potential negative health outcomes of mercury exposure during the amalgam removal process.  It is crucial for patients to know what these safety measures are so that they can insure these practices are implemented during the removal of amalgam fillings.

These writers co-authored a chapter about the health risks of dental mercury that was published in a textbook about epigenetics from Springer in 2016.

Amanda Just, MS:  Ms. Just is the Program Director of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxiciology.  She is also a freelance writer and dental consumer who has shared her writings about the impact of dental mercury amalgam fillings with the United Nations Environment Programme, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and various NGOs.

John Kall, DMD:  Dr. Kall serves as the Chairman of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxiocology’s Board of Directors.  He is a member of the American Dental Association, a fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), Past President of the KY Chapter of the AGD, a member of the Louisville Dental Society, and a member of the Kentucky Dental Association.

SSRIs and Vulnerable Patients

 

Let’s talk about the difficult topic of those taking antidepressant drugs (ADs), in particular the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and the emergence or worsening of suicidal ideation in “vulnerable patients.”  However, it is still suggested that you use these drugs anyway?! Across the globe, ADs, especially SSRIs, are among the most commonly prescribed medications.

We’ve treated many folks suffering feelings of suicide. I actually think it’s a big reason why I came to Heilkunst Medicine in the first place, as my own mother had committed suicide, and I had fear that it would be a disease matrix that might show up in my own kids. I wanted that predisposition annihilated.

That was over 20 years ago and I’m happy to say that I’ve by far outlived both my parents, and life couldn’t be more pleasurable and full of meaning and purpose for me. Using Heilkunst principles to resolve this tendency for ourselves and others has been very rewarding.

By addressing the root cause, one no longer needs to manage with drugs. Yes, I’m sure you’re wondering about unbalanced brain chemistry, however, this is the level at which we’re referring. Brain chemistry can shift when you remove the blockages to cure on the sound basis of the law of nature, ‘like cures like’.

I know this because, clinically, I’ve seen tendencies like OCD, autism, schizophrenia and manic depression addressed consistently with Heilkunst Principles. I’ve also seen the reports of our patients who’ve confirmed these qualitative shifts with the endocrinologist, the NDs, the energy workers, and the live blood analysts, over the last 20 years.

If you’re interested in exploring more about the tonic roots for these conditions, you can read our blog article on the Syphilitic Genetic Miasm. This will enable you to make the link to one of our chief homeopathic remedies for suicidal ideation. It’s the image of insidious self-destructive tendencies including wanting to make an early departure from this life.

We want you to know that you’re not alone. We’ve all faced the dark nights of our own soul and that we too had to rely on this system of medicine, that causes no harm. We all deserve to make our way to home to our levity, to bask in our inner light.

Here’s the link to the article on SSRIs …

Resolving My Food Cravings – A Personal Reflection

I used to suffer food cravings, too. After a day full of serving patients and my family, I used to finally sit down (well after the sun had gone down) and enjoy a morsel of dark chocolate. Often times, it was well beyond a morsel!

It was like a negative spiral as then I’d have trouble sleeping or be up a time or two to urinate in the night which did not help my feeling of being rested the next day. I was stuck in a loop of need without emotional fulfillment.

The bottom line was that the more I needed the chocolate, the less I felt rested. I was living to eat, not eating to live.

The Cancer state of mind actually craves chocolate. In fact, stay out of their way when they’re en route to their fix, as they’ll slay dragons bare handed to get it. Sound familiar?

The Cancer state of mind is one where you rescue others to the exclusion of self, are living the unlived life, and are feeling resigned that this is your fate from here on in. That was my story too. The chocolate gave me a tiny illusion, just for the moment that this wasn’t true.

It seemed like much more energy to resolve my plight outright than I had. I knew more fats would help, I also knew more tender acts of self-love and fulfillment were also key. But where to start?

That is when I took a dose of Carcinosin and Chocolatum and made a list of what I needed more of in my life. I went after “the feeling.”  If I was going to do this thing called life, long-term, how would I imagine a better state of grace for myself?  

Well the answer to this has spanned many blogs, a couple of books, and a  decade. Give us a call as we’re happy to share the answers we found with you, verbally, based on your own struggles. It’s what we do for our patients, but not to the exclusion of having solved it for ourselves first. Are you ready?

Spring Cleanse for Mind and Body

What baggage are you holding onto? No, really–I’m speaking to you.

If you aim your gaze down into your belly, what is it that you’re feeling? Are you harbouring grief and sadness down there? What about loss or disappointment? Are you feeling pissed that you thought you’d be in such a better place in your life by now? Perhaps you’re afraid that you’re never going to get to your goals.

What if there was a way to dump all this physical and emotional content overboard without having to hash it out verbally. What if we could give you homeopathic remedies to lighten your load while also helping you detox from all that digestive, bloating, gassy stuff going on in your belly at the same time.

Perhaps you’ve been having more congestion and headaches than usual and you’re wondering if it has to do with the toxicity you’ve been carrying. Are you ready to let that go too?

Spring is a wonderful time to purge both physically and emotionally. Herbs come back at your local market, bitter herbs are growing like weeds and we’ve got homeopathic remedies to help you achieve your goals and obtain better health within a week of taking them.

Read our articles in this month’s Newsletter to find out more or simply book a FREE, no obligation, Fact Finding Session to find out how we can tailor a Springtime cleanse just for you.

 

 

 

How To Honour the Momma Who’s About To Give Birth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend, Kate Varsava, Halifax Birthworker, Wombyn’s Summit Leader and Musician prepares for her own birth in the company of her beloved friends, yogis and fellow birthworkers.  I was so inspired by her tale of being honoured with care, love and beauty that I asked to share her Instagram post with you.

 

 

“Yesterday my house filled up. Yesterday I was filled up.

From my bath, filled with warm water, rose petals, and lavender oil, where I was receiving a massage from the loving maiden hands of my sweet friend‘s daughter, I could hear the joyful chatter of wimyn gathering and organizing themselves. I was adorned with a gorgeous fresh flower crown made by my sister, had my hair fixed up, put on my precious jewels…when I emerged from my room, drawn by singing voices, I found my kitchen full of food, my living room full of flowers and ladies (and baby daddy), and my whole house full of beautiful, buzzing, nurturing energy, beaming faces, radiant beings.

I was passed a cup of Guatemalan cacao, sat on a thrown, and treated like a queen. Tender recollections of how we each met, supportive expressions of a belief in me to enter the role of mother, a showering of love to wash me in confidence and fill my heart beyond measure. A feast of the most nourishing foods, a dance party, gifts of herbs and plants and salves, potions, candles, and sacred objects…it was the most dreamy day I could have imagined.

I feel like the luckiest womyn in the world to have community to hold me so, to have a coven sister to organize everyone (I love you so much marapanacci), to now have a freezer full of meals for my postpartum, fresh flowers in every room, art to decorate my birth room, and a heart so full full full ?? Thank you, thank you, thank you to all you gorgeous wimyn and all you ladies sans IG ??

I truly believe that if all wimyn were treated this way by loving community: held up, made to feel strong, cared for, and trusted through their pregnancies and motherhood (our whole lives actually), the world would change, humanity would change, we would all be better off, healthier, and happier.”

 

Being Schooled at the WorldSchoolers’ Conference

March 2018 Newsletter

Last month we had the pleasure of speaking at the Worldschooling Summit, here, in Guanajuato Mexico. I was completely and utterly blown away.

I met very, healthy, and autonomous kids from Australia who’d just arrived from the United Emirates the night before with their family of five. Even though jet lagged, they sat right next to me and asked me “who” I was and where I came from. I found out what books they were reading and how they both loved and felt challenged by living internationally.

Another teen came up to me and expressed how happy she was to be in a “slow travel” groove with her family right now while going to a Catholic school in Columbia run by nuns. Her Mom has arranged it that she gets to go to classes and engage in the extra curricular activities but that she does not need to do the homework OR write any of the tests.

I had the pleasure of sitting, over lunch, with another teen who lives on a permaculture farm in the United States whose family takes extended travel stints all over the world. He stated that he’d like to fashion his life to live more off-grid like many of the other kids attending the conference and that he’s working on going to China for a teen retreat with many of the other youth at the conference travelling solo.

I met a family, like us, who live much of their year in a colonial town near us here in Mexico. Their father built software for music teachers and their mother is a life coach. The kids are self-educated. Last week, while their mom was in the States for a conference, they wanted to prepare all the meals at home. So their Dad helped the three of them to look up recipes online, get the groceries and prepare the meals while he ran his business behind the scenes, available to help them at a moments notice.

In this exercise, they learned about food, shopping, commerce and chemistry and viable necessary life skills. So much about “unschooling” is being able to adapt to the present circumstances and developing one’s inner resources. Many of the kids I met are bi- or tri-lingual. One family with a single Mom from Montreal who live in Mexico speak 5 languages fluently.

All this communing with folks has helped to broaden my knowledge base around what it means to be worldschooled. How this naturally builds empathy, compassion and ingenuity in unfamiliar places with folks who you often must rely on for your safety and purveyance in everyday life. It’s humbling and restores your faith in the goodness of everyday people.

It’s true that I fell head over heels in love with these amazing individuals and that I too have the heart of a worldschooler. I can’t wait to teach more on how to be a successful digital nomad and raise free range kids who’re citizens of the world.

Three Facts You Need To Know About Dental Mercury, By Amanda Just and John Kall, DMD of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT)

This article has been reprinted with permission from worldmercuryproject.org

1. All silver-colored dental fillings, also called amalgams, contain approximately 50% mercury, and dental mercury is still being used in the USA.

In 2013, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) formalized a global convention to reduce mercury usage, which includes initiatives to phase down the use of dental mercury.  The UNEP mercury convention will come into force on August 16, 2017, and as part of this effort, the European Union is taking action on dental mercury.  A new EU mercury regulation plans to prohibit the use of amalgam for vulnerable populations (pregnant or breastfeeding women, children under 15 years old) and provide for discussion about the feasibility of ending dental amalgam use in the European Union by 2030.

Prior to the 2017 ratification of UNEP’s mercury treaty, other countries had already taken protective actions against dental mercury.  For example, Norway and Sweden have banned dental amalgam, and Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan have reportedly limited its use to less than 5% of tooth restorations.  However, mercury fillings are still used on about 45% of direct dental restorations worldwide, including in the United States.

All silver colored dental fillings, which are still being used in the USA, contain about 50% mercury.

2. Mercury vapor is released from these fillings into the human body, and this dental mercury has been linked to health risks.

Mercury vapor is continuously emitted from dental amalgam which means that people are directly exposed to the mercury in their mouths.  The output of mercury vapor can be intensified by the number of fillings and other activities, such as chewing, teeth-grinding, and the consumption of hot liquids.  Mercury is also known to be released during the placement, replacement, and removal of dental mercury amalgam fillings.

Scientific researchers have associated this mercury in amalgam fillings with Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), antibiotic resistance, anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, autoimmune disorders/immunodeficiency, cardiovascular problems, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, hearing loss, infertility, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and an array of other health problems. Click here to learn more about the potential health risks of dental mercury.

3. Safety measures can reduce the amount of mercury vapor released during the removal of amalgam fillings.

Some patients require the removal of silver amalgam fillings due to device failure, while others opt for the removal of silver amalgam fillings because of cosmetic purposes (white-colored fillings match the teeth better) or because they prefer to have dental fillings that do not contain mercury. However, the process of drilling out amalgam fillings liberates quantities of mercury vapor and fine particulates that can be inhaled and absorbed through the lungs, and this is potentially harmful to patients, dentists, dental workers, and their fetuses.

The application of specific safety measures can reduce the potential negative health outcomes of mercury exposure during the amalgam removal process.  It is crucial for patients to know what these safety measures are so that they can insure these practices are implemented during the removal of amalgam fillings.

These writers co-authored a chapter about the health risks of dental mercury that was published in a textbook about epigenetics from Springer in 2016.

Amanda Just, MS:  Ms. Just is the Program Director of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxiciology.  She is also a freelance writer and dental consumer who has shared her writings about the impact of dental mercury amalgam fillings with the United Nations Environment Programme, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and various NGOs.

John Kall, DMD:  Dr. Kall serves as the Chairman of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxiocology’s Board of Directors.  He is a member of the American Dental Association, a fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), Past President of the KY Chapter of the AGD, a member of the Louisville Dental Society, and a member of the Kentucky Dental Association.

Worldschooler’s Summit and The Launch of Hemp Gitchies

February 2018 Newsletter

This month (January 2018) I’m speaking at the World Schoolers Summit, here in Guanajuato, MX. They’re a group of international digital nomads who are mostly educating their kids while living around the world. I’ve been connected to them online for well over a decade.

Way back when our kids were little, I thought it was very important to expand their cultural horizons. I chose to expose them to individuals from different countries, cultures, languages, and family dynamics. I didn’t want them to think that their bubble of relative privilege was all there was to life. I wanted to mentor empathy for them. The World Schoolers group helped me to keep my vision true to its purpose.

Back then, I had to get creative as we were fairly limited financially given that Jeff and I were both studying at the postgraduate level and the kids were in private Waldorf schools. There was more money going out the door than coming in. We also had a farm, a kids camp that we ran in the summer and also a community garden where a few friends came from the city to grow their food.

We had international students live with us while attending school in Ottawa, Canada during the school year. There goal was to increase their fluency in English. A couple of them came from Madrid, Spain and also Veracruz, Mexico. The latter gal grew up in a grand hacienda with maids and a cook. Another girl’s mother had been tragically killed in a bombing in the subway in Spain. We loved on her like our own. Now that I look back, it’s interesting that the lottery of kids that were offered to live with us all came from Spanish speaking countries which is where are second home is now located.

At the World Schoolers Summit, I’m going to get into some of the ways in which we run 3 vibrant businesses; “Arcanum Wholistic Clinic”, “Arcanum Acres Publishing”, and my most recent venture into clothing manufacturing, “Hemp Gitchies : Feels as Good On Your Hiney as It Does On Your Conscience.” The latter is this year’s latest enterprise in making hemp, bamboo and cotton undies beginning with the women’s line. We’re going to we working with women sewers who’ve formed a cooperative that have been rescued from pedophile rings as well as ex-sex trade workers in both the United States and Canada.

Pretty soon, we’ll be looking for women (and later men and kids, too) to try out our sample undies at cost and give us feedback on the style and wearability. We’re so excited as we’re a small group of Heilkunst-connected peeps who already feel like kin and who’re very interested in rolling out this new enterprise within our existing friends and family. That means that we’ll be seeking folks like you to try out our first samples in the next few months.

Our hope is that you’re doing well, and as feeling fully in love with your life.

 

  • All Worldschooler’s Summit Images above are credited to Jay Shapiro, Worldschooling parent

 

Homeschooling At Its Best; A Moment In Time with Greater Consequences Than Any Of Us Knew

A dozen or so years ago, I lived on a farm with my husband (fellow Heilkünstler, Jeff Korentayer) and my two children, Jordan and Adie. Jeff and I saw patients regularly in our home. He worked from the office upstairs and I had two chairs set up in an enclosed space on the main floor. We both saw in-person patients as well as working by phone and Skype.

Often the kids, ages 12, (Jordan) and 9, (Adie), were around outside or in the house while we were working, however, they had a stash of snacks and water and knew to remain in the summer kitchen or their rooms while we were working. Often they were out playing in the 7,000 square foot barn, or out somewhere on the 6 acre property. They were fairly self-sufficient in many respects and we encouraged their autonomy and sovereignty, especially while we were working.

Unexpected Visitors

One Sunday, in the early evening, the children and I were upstairs reading in the master bedroom when we heard a car pull onto the large gravel, semi-circular driveway. I stopped reading to them as we all craned our necks to look out the window to see who might be coming up the drive? We weren’t expecting anyone and so we were curious as to the hour and the nature of our visitor’s intent.

Working on my nighttime photography for my on-line course. Not usually my thing at all, but this balmy evening in Fredericton, N.B. was very forgiving. Shot on my Nikon D3100 with my 18-55mm lens.

Jeff answered the doorbell and I overheard the familiar voice of one of my in-person patients. Some of his key words floated up the stairwell to the bedroom the kids and I were in. We heard, “emergency, hospital, nebulizer, drugs, and breathing issues” followed by his daughter’s name; also a patient of mine.

I had been working on issues of reflux with her and we were in the early stages of Heilkunst treatment. She also had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect shortly after her birth that resulted from an 8mm hole through the muscle.

I headed down the stairs with Jordan and Adie in tow. I greeted the Father (I’ll call him G.) and then went to the car to see his wife (also a patient) and their 3 year old (Who we’ll call K), in the back seat. She was crying inconsolably which indicated a lack of respiratory problems. The first thing I suggested was that we release her from the restriction of the car seat and get her into her parents’ arms.

K.’s eyes were glistening, her cheeks red, and she was looking very stressed with sweat dripping around her hairline. G. said that both he and his wife wished they’d not taken her to the hospital as it didn’t help, they were all stressed, upset and feeling guilty and wondering, would I be able to help? Also, they inserted that they were sorry to have just come here to our home during our personal time, but they didn’t know what else to do.

Surprising Side-Effects

I let them know that with breathing issues, it is always best to go to the emergency room as that is the right jurisdiction for such medical conditions. When they asked if I could help, I stalled for a second as it was a bit like asking a general practitioner to step into an emergency room. Our speciality is chronic disease — we clear traumas from our patient’s timeline in a civilized way, consistently, one month apart by previously established appointment.

As I fumbled for a moment, not having had my Clinician’s hat on in several days, I began to think of what to do. The next thing I heard was Jordan’s voice, “Well Mom, if you ask me, you’ve got to clear out those drugs from her body as they will just be in the way of her trying to get better,” and then from Adie, “Yeah, Mom, clear the drugs and then you can deal with the root cause for why she’s having trouble breathing.”

All of us adults turned our heads to look at them both. G. started to laugh. I was still a little startled and realized that is precisely what was warranted and so I thanked both the kids for their wisdom. I asked Jeff to make up the rx for this very recent timeline event staring us all in the face, “Cort., Penecill., Benedryl, O2, Am-carb., Ars., Sulph., Nux-v.” in ascending potencies while I went to check K.’s chart to see what we’d last treated.

As it turned out, we were clearing an event when she was having trouble breathing shortly after birth. This was a healing reaction, not the disease matrix anchored to the Genetic Miasm Medhorrinum. (See our blog articles on Healing Reactions and Genetic Miasms; including Med.) I breathed my own huge sigh of relief.

We just needed to clear this recent iatrogenic event knowing that K.’s breathing mechanism would naturally restore on its own. We also talked about using peppermint essential oils and salt inhalations with steaming water, that had been removed from the stove by draping her head over the bowl, in order to support, and not suppress the life forces’ trajectory to heal for the curative rx that was provided two weeks prior.

Our job at this phase was to support the healing reaction. I also told them that if she was struggling with any further breathing issues where they felt alarm, to get back to the hospital asap.

A Year Later …

Fast forward a year and bit — K. never had another breathing issue. Also, her reflux was cured. The other amazing thing is that when they took her to the surgeon to schedule surgery to repair the hole in her heart, the MRI indicated that it was already gone!

The cardiologist wanted to have a conversation with me by phone as he’d never seen such a significant hole completely disappear before. (See our success stories page for more success stories from our patients). It is fair to say that he had trouble pronouncing “Heilkunst.”

That next summer, I applied to be the medic at a children’s camp, with Jordan and Adie in tow, in order to become more proficient in first aid prescribing. The parents were asked for their permission for me to treat their kids using homeopathic principles along with standard Red Cross first aid. I had epi-pens along with oxygen tanks and a humongous first aid kit.

I treated bee stings, rashes, headaches, a couple of fevers, homesickness and even a child coming to terms with the fact that they might be gay. It was a great time of learning and resulted in our Webinar course on First Aid prescribing.

Jordan and Adie

My Waldorf/Homeschooled kids, Jordan and Adie, are all grown up now. My son Jordan, (now 23), is a trampoline acrobat, and Bowen Practitioner, working mostly with children and youth as well as managing a staff of twenty plus. He uses his Saint John Ambulance first aid training constantly; once even for a woman suffering a compound fracture where the bone punched through the skin. He was level-headed and stabilized the limb until the paramedics arrived.

My daughter, Adie (now 20), is planning to study medicine, too. I am so proud of her as I know that her patients will so appreciate her level head and kind, compassionate heart and she will prove to be brilliantly knowledgeable in this area of medicine.

I can’t help wonder if my own kids’ exposure to patients, children and medicine factored into their choosing their own life paths into the field of physiology and the care of human beings. It certainly feels like it, given their accurate diagnosis in the case of little K. It may very well have been a springboard moment that helped to launch them into their own life paths. © Allyson McQuinn

You never know when a homeschooling moment might factor as consequences to someone’s greater unfolding in the future. It feels like my own learning has certainly paralleled and activated something innate in both of them. I love this path that we continue to share, now at a distance, but so connected through our hearts and the compassion for our fellow humans along the way.

 

If “Science” Says It’s Proved, Then It Must Be …

Photo by popofatticus “evening read”

If “Science” says it’s proved, then it must be … what about a science of the heart ?! When, after a long day, and their baths were done and they both smelled delicious after having put the life stock away, I’d call out, “Stories in the big bed!” they’d both come running with books in tow.

I’d light a beeswax candle to mark the sacredness of this time, take a big breath, lie down and wait for them to cuddle in, their heads on my chest. They loved “The Paper Bag Princess,” or “Tyrone the Terrible,” or “I’ll Love You Forever,” or “Mary Louise Loses Her Manners.”

Later on we went through the gruesome tales of Grimm’s tome … several times … given that they were also reading them at their Waldorf School. They’d have great discussions about the moral elements in these stories, cutting their ethical teeth. I loved to listen to them as the candle burned on.

This gesture of taking the time to connect to themselves, and to literature, now also taking time from their busy day, now, as adults. The reading was a portal into intimacy, sacredness and grace on our farm where chores, serving patients, and post graduate studies often burned several candles at all ends.

Reading to each other was never forgone in the rhythm of our day, harnessing the love of art, beauty and truth into the astral realm of our sleep. Remembering why and how much we were, and are, loved and cared for was more for our hearts than the silly wires of our brains. Seriously!