Thoughts on Subversion, By Kathy Fitzpatrick

"Using one plant at a time is a subversive act, a reclaiming of simple health care."
-Susun Weed 

This summer i took my health into my own hands.  And with these hands make my own medicine, work the rows between my vegetables, nourish and tend the food that in return nourishes me back to health. I am empowered. In so doing i am no longer being ruled  by the medias' "intelligent" sabotage, i am opting out of a no longer working medical system.  I am no longer part of a population that has been dumbed down by glossy magazine ads and slick media presentations or the lies perpetuated by the government, FDA and pharma/chema companies. 

Everything in my healing protocol is an act of subversion. Something as simple as my morning jar of nettle infusion, a liver flush and coffee enema, the four gallons of kombucha blissfully brewing on top of my fridge, the kim chi, and sauerkraut, chopped up and fermented, bursting with vitamins, a new batch of kefir grains, an ion cleanse foot bath.  All are subversive, because i do them myself, for myself, without the support or permission of the medical industrial complex.   

Today more than ever,  these simple acts of survival are perpetuating the use of radical knowledge, subversion, frugality and creative expression.  There is a satisfaction from crafting my own medicine, from growing my own food whether it's sprouts on the kitchen counter or food in my backyard garden.  There is a feeling of empowerment that can be used to promote a collective awareness against the tactics used by modern mega corporations.  There is deep pleasure in going against the political grain, of following the beat of my own heart instead of the beat of an institution that is failing us.

We have a right to time honored simple healing.  A right constantly under assault against indigenous people all over the world.  An assault that takes place in this country against any practicing doctor or healer who dares speak out against those in power.  Good health isn't just for the rich or those lucky enough to have insurance.  It's for everyone.  When we take our health back into our own two hands, where it belongs, we take back a part of the earth.  And as we heal, so heals the earth.  

Spring Time Rituals, By Kathy Fitzpatrick

Science has never drummed up quite as effective 
a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day.

W. Earl Hall

It's spring! We have made it through the darkness of winter and into the light. This is the time to renew hopes and dreams, honor new growth and open ourselves to the unlimited possibilities and miracles of the season. As we take time to honor the changes in the earth we see that even though the season is the same year after year, we are not the same. We have grown and with growth comes change. Spring is an invitation to plant the seeds of intention. Spring is a dance where we plant the seeds to cultivate our lives. It's a time to clear out the old and bring in the new. The Equinox is a time to get rid of the old beliefs that weigh us down and create barriers to healing. It's a time to bring balance into our lives, eat fresh green plants and celebrate the rebirth of earth!

Spring is a time to let go of the control we try to have over our lives and just let go! It's a time for spontaneity, to let the child in you come out to play. Here are a few simple spring rituals ......

1. Create a spring altar by collecting bits of nature to bring inside the house to enjoy.
 

2. Start a journal.


3. Spend more time connecting with the earth, start a garden whether it's in a actual plot or in containers.


4. Simplify your life, clear out the clutter.
 

5. Make appropriate dietary changes. (see recipe below for a refreshing spring beverage)
 

6. Enjoy a bath with sea salts.


7. Renew or begin a daily mediation practice.


8. Begin a daily 15 minute ritual of yoga.


9. Indulge in a "do nothing" day.


10. For increased health and vitality discover your plant ally, it's probably growing right outside your door!

Outside Looking In, A Reading by Kathy Fitzpatrick

Who are you? 

I am the one that forces you to keep your distance.  I am the one who keeps you away from your family.  I am the one that keeps your friends away because it's too "difficult" to be around you.  I am the one who tests your patience.  I am the one that ebbs and flows.  I am the one only you can feel and  no one can see.  I am the parasite that came to suck the life out of you.  I am the one who makes people think you're crazy.  I am the one who changed the course of your life, I am your new spiritual path. 

What do you have to give me? 

After a lifetime of speaking up for others I force you to speak up for yourself in order to survive.  I give you the gift of time for creative pursuits and time to enjoy your home and garden.  I have taken away your old life as a rat on a  tread mill and have given you large expanses of time to be.

What do you want from me? 

I want you to speak up for yourself.  I want you to know when people lay their trip on you it's really all about them.  I want you to question everything and then go deep inside yourself for answers.  I want you to stay away from energy vampires and people who live in fear.  I want you to rest, eat well, exercise, and to continue creating new life out of the rubble of your old life. 

Is there anything else you have to tell me? 

Yes, i am not the enemy and chemicals aren't the only thing that are toxic.  People can also be extremely toxic, be wary of those who are mired in a life of fear and implement censorship.

How will I remember? 

Everytime you enter a space and have to leave you will remember.  When you're around family or  friends or loved and have to leave because someone "forgot", you will remember.  Whenever someone says it's "all in your head" you will remember. 

An Interview with Kathy Fitzpatrick about her new enterprise, Empowered Goddess

Attitude is everything so you might as well have a good one!

Kathy can you share with our readers what you have been doing to improve your health while Pariah, A Healing Journal has been on hiatus? On August 31st i completed 92 days of a 92 day juice feast.  According to David Rainoshek, MA, juice feasting "isn’t about abstinence of solids. It’s about an abundance of enzymes, vitamins, minerals and protein in liquid form." Juice feasting is a way to allow the body "to cleanse, rebuild, rehydrate and alkalize by drinking 1 gallon or more of freshly made juices each day of the feast".  It was an incredible, life altering, health promoting experience, really the ultimate urban vision quest. Everyday my body was flooded with an abundance of raw living enzymes and all the vitamins, minerals and proteins it had been missing.  I never once felt hungry because i was juicing between 10-15 pounds of raw organic vegetables and edible weeds on a daily basis. My energy increased exponentially after the 4th day, gone were the days of coming home from my part time job and crashing, there was life after work!  Along with the daily juices i also drank a daily quart of a drink called "the master cleanse", took liquid B-12, MSM, chlorella, hemp oil and when the urge to chew came munched on bee pollen. I also did coffee enemas [not daily], ion cleanse foot baths, a parasite cleanse, body brushing, daily detox showers and used a zapper. To some this may seem over the top, extreme even, but i've always been one to push just beyond the edge of my limits in order to open myself up for the next thing.  In truth, without even knowing it, i had been working toward this feast for a very long time by creating gradual and consistent changes in my diet with the idea of transitioning to raw foods. I am now doing a whole food diet with an emphasis on raw food and have transitioned from juice to green smoothies and the most amazing energy rich food! Which of course means spending lots of time playing in the kitchen creating all kinds of wonderful raw feasts. It's a blast and the increase in my over all health and well being are so amazing i can't possibly begin to express it. And to celebrate, i begin Feldenkrais sessions.

 Feldenkrais Method
Juice Feasting
Raw Reform
Emax Health

Kathy I know your friends have asked, what took you so long to create your own website and showcase your unique and eclectic talents. Can you tell us what inspired you to finally create the Empowered Goddess website? 

Hmmmm, that's funny but you know what they say...."other people's opinions are none of my business!"  The simple reality is, until i did it i wasn't ready.  And truthfully, i've been working on it for a very long time, but it was "inside me" and now it's "outside."

Where does your passion and commitment for taking your health into your own hands come from?

That's easy, frustration with the western model of medicine. After years of knowing something wasn't right and not getting answers i took my health into my own hands and became my own doctor. And so began the process of experimenting with different methods and modalities and fine tuning the nutritional aspects of healing. I became interested in learning about what others have tried but at the same time was not at all interested in emulating them. We are all wonderfully unique, what works for someone else may not work for me. My rule of thumb is, if it doesn't resonate with my own innate wisdom, i don't do it.
 

In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.   Edith Wharton.

My commitment and passion comes from REmembering good health and knowing it's my birthright along with a deep rooted refusal to settle for poor health. It also stems from a desire to find economical ways to improve the health i have that transcends the traditional western model. Good health doesn't require health insurance or a doctor, of any kind, other than yourself. There are simple, every day things, that can and do make a difference. It's work, there isn't a magic bullet, however working toward providing the body with what it needs to heal is an incredible act of self-love and discovery.

That is not to say i don't ever go to a doctor or think doctors are bad, i have simply made a conscious decision to only work with those willing to work as a partner in the process. I have a right to be listened to, respected and heard, it is after all my body, my time and my money, i will not squander my resources!

You are the co-creator of this E-Zine. Pariah's mission is, "Perpetuating the use of radical knowledge, subversion, frugality, simple health care and creative expression to empower personal healing from chronic illness and injury." For you, those are not just words on a website, they are a big part of who you are and how you live. How will the Empowered Goddess website be an extension of these ideas and beliefs?  
You know, i'm sure all those things will be included in some way but it's too soon to "know" the how of it. There is a natural progression that happens whenever something is created. Hopefully, as it evolves, the end result will be a lively site filled with a natural flow of information that is as practical as it is thought provoking and everything in between.