As soon as I saw the Natural Medicine challenge for this week which invites as to talk about immunity, I got filled with ideas on what to write. After some thought, I figured that what was most interesting to write about were some of my practices that were based on intuition and energy work, rather than going into diet or herbal medicine because, while they are interesting, I'm guessing there is a lot of information available already on that subject.
Our ability to harness our healing and immune power from within isn't something quite as documented yet it's been practiced from ancient times so it seems adequate for me to add my two cents on the matter. I feel compelled to disclaim that I hold no formal training in any of these arts and everything expressed here comes from personal experience, experimentation, and research. However, I encourage anyone who feels drawn to try them out to do so, as long as they take it easy and pay close attention to their sensations so that limits can be recognized, which will avoid the danger of self-harm.
Without further delay, here are 5 esoteric practices I permanently do to boost my immune system and stay healthy from within.
Sunlight integration
It is known that exposing yourself to sunlight at least 15 minutes a day provides the necessary vitamin D production to stay healthy. However, this is not why I practice this. What I do is to expose myself to the sun, especially on very sunny days, and allow the heat to permeate my body attempting to integrate this energy. This involves inner awareness and breathwork as I would get sunburned if I just exposed myself for extended periods of time (sometimes more than an hour) and didn’t add the inner workings to the practice.
Basically I use my imagination to distribute the heat inside and let it expand instead of staying concentrated on the impact on my skin. This is highly energizing and while I have no scientific evidence to back this up, I am certain it raises your defenses and strengthens your capacity to self-heal.
This is also a practice of trust as I use no sunblock and as little clothes as possible (usually just shorts). By sitting in big exposition I either trust or get burned. Some days I find it harder to concentrate and I start feeling the pain but then I remember what it’s all about and start integrating properly. As a result I never get sunburned, even when working long summer days in the fields.
OM chanting and overtone singing
I learned to do this (at least the basics as I still have much to improve) on a crazy day that I did the irresponsible action of taking full doses of two very potent psychedelics (4-aco and 2-ce). The trip begin to go horribly wrong with intense nausea, awful body load, and demonic figures started sprouting out of the walls... everything was an absolute nightmare.
At one moment I begin hearing a voice talking to me… not like the chit-chat we always have in our heads, but an eloquent and serene voice. It gave me instructions on breathing, compelling me to make a sound with my voice and sustain it for as long as possible. I followed the instructions and begin to do this.
Each time I vocalized a sound, the voice added tips and directions until the vibrations begin expanding throughout my body and to my surprise, a small, barely audible overtone was produced. The voice kept guiding me until I was doing some AMAZING overtones and I’m not saying this to boast, but rather to express how I felt in that moment.
The more my body vibrated, the nicer the images my mind produced. I went from a room filled with demons to a beautiful and peaceful place surrounded by mandalas, fractals and the most incredible color palettes I’ve ever seen flowing into perfect geometrical shapes. I felt completely relieved of the nausea and much clarity flooded my senses.
The next day when I woke up I was afraid it might all have been a dream and that I never learned to do overtones. I tried and it was there, it had been true and I had gained a new skill on a psychedelic trip! My ego soared through the skies as many people who surrounded me frowned at the thought that psychedelics had more to offer than whacky hallucinations and the risk of becoming mentally ill. Now I had actual evidence that you could learn things on trips that remained even after the effects had passed!
But as time has went by, I have realized that you can’t have ego in these practices. Actually, you won’t be able to make your body vibrate adequately if you are focused on ego. It only works if you loosen up, lower your shields and let go. Not every day I can sing like on that occasion, but every now and then I manage to get it right, especially when I practice consistently on a daily basis.
Overtone singing has been discovered to have many therapeutic applications. Perhaps the most obvious of these is the hypnotic, trance-like effect they have both on the listener and the performer. This effect, essentially a form of deep meditation, relieves stress, balances and clears the chakras (energy centres of the body), and creates a feeling of lightness and well-being. The sound of overtones helps to balance the two hemispheres of the brain, as it engages both the logical, reasoning left-brain, due to the mathematically precise proportions of the overtone scale, and the creative, intuitive right brain through the musical expression possible once one has become proficient in the technique. Source
This practice also forces you to breathe better as you can’t emit a decent sound if you’re lacking air. One of my favorite self-healing techniques as it is fun and pleasurable to do!
Cannabis induced self-awareness
Smoking weed is a fairly common activity these days. Many have no problem doing this recreationally or as part of a creative process and sometimes I am able to do this myself. However, my relationship with cannabis is usually a self-observational one and many times this can be unpleasant. It makes me notice which parts of my body are tense, as well as the actions I have taken that have created bad relationships with others.
Fortunately, this gives me the chance to work on these aspects and begin to heal them. However, if I go into these deep introspections while surrounded by people it can escalate into a horrible paranoia so smoking cannabis in a social context is a bit of a gamble for me.
The way to go if you wish to benefit from the magical healing properties of cannabis is to smoke alone, in a peaceful setting and state clearly what you're looking for. Asking the spirit of the plant for guidance and a safe journey goes a long way to making the ride a bit smoother.
If you are an everyday smoker and think that cannabis has no such properties, I recommend you give yourself a break of at least a month before you smoke again. Set an intention and avoid external distractions. I'm positive you will have an experience you didn't know was possible through this loving and guiding plant.
Breathwork in cold water
This is a practice I’m always scared to begin but always grateful after I’ve done it. It is similar to sunlight integration as it is an exercise of trust and surrender, of dispersing the cold through the body so it doesn’t get concentrated on a specific area.
Breathwork is of essence here as you can actually increase your body temperature through this. I begin this by practicing a few tips given by Wim Hof and then have kept developing through intuition.
The best way to begin this is by taking cold showers. Don’t jump under the water in one move! Begin by taking deep awareness of your breath and allow the water to reach your feet. Once you feel a comfortable with that go up to the shins, knees, thighs and all the way up until you feel confident enough to allow water to fall all over your body.
You can get very technical about how this is done and what the benefits are, yet this was not meant to be a list of scientific facts, but rather describe my practices that involve attention inwards to raise my vitality and strengthen my immune system. You can check out more on the Wim Hof method and how it can benefit you in this video:
Psychedelic memories
There was a period in my life when psychedelics were a big part of it. I consumed them at least twice a month, sometimes with good results and others not so much. Nowadays it’s a rare occasion to even have the chance to take a trip, so when it comes I just thank it and enjoy.
In those times of heavy consumption everything was new and caused great impact on my mind. Thankfully I always went into the trip wanting to learn and paid close attention to everything that came to my mind so they would become a teaching that I could apply in my daily life, and not just some crazy thought that passed by.
For example, while meditating under the influence of psychedelics, I was able to grasp completely the notion that time is an illusion. I don’t have a rational explanation to this, but I just knew this to be true. The past, present and future where happening simultaneously and everything has happened infinite times already and would continue to happen forever. This means that nothing is ever really new.
So why is this relevant? Because that lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. It created in me a memory to which I can always go back when stressed or taking life extremely seriously. Remembering that moment alleviates any tensions and is a great starting point to start releasing overthinking.
If there is no time, then there is only now. Why worry about all that is to come and everything that ever was if you really have no control over it? Life keeps doing it’s thing as it has always done and we are but mere expectators of this never ending saga.
I have other memories such as what Universal Cosmic Unconditional Love feels like. Going back to that moment of infinite openness and reviving the sensations often revitalizes me and heals any aliments I might be feeling.
So that wraps it up… Do you practice any of the above mentioned? Do you have other practices that go along the same line? Feel free to share in the comments any tips you might want to give out for boosting the immune system through inner awareness.
Fen