KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

August 16 through August 22, 2021

A sense of peace and balance emerges in the heavens this week, as Venus, Mercury, the Sun, and Neptune all travel through their home signs, generating the message that all is right with the world. The week starts off on a lighter note under Monday and Tuesday's Sagittarius Moon, but when it moves into Capricorn on Wednesday, our productive sides will emerge and have us making up for lost time for two days. Uranus will be slowing to go retrograde on Thursday, but its effects will be so subtle we may not even notice. This planet will travel backward for the net five months, not resuming forward motion until mid-January of next year. Its higher purpose is to give us the chance to go back and do things differently, revise our plans and ideas, and to realize the bigger picture Spirit is painting for us. Friday and Saturday the Moon will travel through Aquarius, bringing out our social and humanitarian sides. This is a great time to reach out to friends and family to see how they are doing and make sure they have everything they need. Two major events occur on Sunday, starting with the second Aquarius full Moon of the year (the last one was in July), followed by the Sun's entry into Virgo. A Virgo Sun is always designed to help us prepare to move into a new season, as it inspires us to organize, recommit to a schedule and pay closer attention to the details of our lives. For the next four weeks, we'll find ourselves drawn to a more orderly and balanced way of living, and as we take stock of the things we are preparing to harvest after a long season, our gratitude levels and sense of accomplishment will become apparent!

Refuel
An Excerpt from The Pain Solution by Saloni Sharma, MD

If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
— Michael Pollan

Myth: Orthopaedic pain is not affected by food choices.
Fact: Food programs the body for more or less pain and inflammation.
Relief-5R: Optimizing our fuel is part of a pain solution.

Food and orthopaedic pain may not seem linked. In fact, most orthopaedists recommend medications, injections, and surgery for pain relief, not a pain-fighting food plan. This approach ignores a major pain factor. The standard American diet (SAD) is full of foods that aggravate pain: added sugar, excess salt, unhealthy fats, and artificial ingredients. The SAD triggers painful inflammation. Processed foods, the crown jewels of the SAD, are found everywhere, from our workplaces and schools to convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, and hospitals. Even when we know they are not healthy, they trap us into wanting more. This is no accident. The food industry designs these highly processed foods to trigger the reward system in our brains, just like opioids! They want to trigger what they call a “bliss point,” an exact ratio of extra sugar, salt, and fat that gives us a high and creates cravings. This is sick.

The industry exploits more than just our sense of taste. An award-winning scientific study, dubbed the “sonic chip” study, revealed that the louder the crunch of a chip when we bite into it, the more fresh, crispy, and desirable we perceive it to be. This trickery hijacks the feel-good signals in the brain to make eating a processed chip feel like eating a crisp, ripe apple. Through no fault of our own, we are duped into craving these substances. Processed food is quick, cheap, and emotionally rewarding. Trillions of dollars a year are spent on advertising to keep us coming back for more. It seems nearly impossible to escape the processed-food trap on our own. It’s not because we lack willpower. It is because we are under a biological attack.

But armed with a plan for healthy refueling, we can break free. First, we must recognize that how we fuel our bodies determines how well we function. Our fuel and environment can build us up or break us down. They determine our inflammation and pain levels. Smart nutrition choices can help heal damage to our bodies and prevent future degeneration. Nourishing food activates natural pain-control mechanisms in the body and helps us more efficiently clean out wastes and harmful substances. It can reduce painful inflammation in our spine, joints, and muscles. Studies have shown that consuming real, unprocessed food reduces pain, inflammation, and cellular damage. Each food decision tips the balance toward or away from painful inflammation. Once freed from the hooks of processed food, we get to choose. We can quell and prevent pain with better food choices. Let’s dig in! We will start with an overview of the typical diet and its connection to chronic pain, look at easy ways to improve our food intake, and discover practical ways to add microboosts to our day.

My Refuel Experience
Everything I thought was rewarding me was poisoning me. A busy shift, a difficult morning, or a sluggish feeling called for a diet soda. The bubbles danced on my tongue and reenergized me — without sugar. A win, I thought. Little did I know that diet soda intake correlates with higher rates of inflammation, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, that diet soda consumption is associated with a greater risk of kidney failure, or that both sugar-sweetened and diet soft drinks are linked with obesity. It gets worse. During the afternoon slump, I would gobble down processed cookies or candy and be puzzled in the evening when a food baby erupted. My treats — soda, processed food, and simple carbohydrates — were fueling destructive inflammation. I was unknowingly hurting myself.

It was not until I was pregnant that I began making connections between my diet and my health. When I developed gestational diabetes (diabetes of pregnancy), I was shocked, since I was at a healthy weight and exercised regularly. Through this diagnosis I came face to face with my family history of diabetes. I resolved to make lifestyle changes to manage my blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and ensure the safety of my growing bundle of joy.

For the first time in my life, I learned how to use nutritional labels. I found that my blood sugar was better controlled if I ate more fiber, adequate protein, and no fake, fat-free foods. Four times a day, I stabbed my fingertip to measure my blood sugar and discovered how it was affected by my food choices and activity level. An afternoon walk lowered my blood sugar enough that I could enjoy a fun-size candy bar afterward. At a New Year’s Day brunch, I learned I could eat a donut with two strips of bacon on top and not bump my blood sugar (though I don’t recommend it). How could I be a physician and know so little about this? I knew I couldn’t be the only one.

Saloni Sharma, MD, LAc, is double board-certified in pain management and rehabilitation medicine. She is the medical director and founder of the Orthopaedic Integrative Health Center at Rothman Orthopaedics and has treated thousands of patients. She is also cochair of Pain Management and Spine Rehabilitation for the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. A popular speaker at Google and an award-winning clinical assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, she lives near Philadelphia. More information at www.salonisharmamd.com.

Excerpted from the book The Pain Solution: 5 Steps to Relieve and Prevent Back Pain, Muscle Pain, and Joint Pain. Copyright ©2022 by Saloni Sharma, MD. Printed with permission from New World Library.

My fourteen-year-old niece is terrified to be home alone even for a few minutes. She hears noises and is afraid someone is going to break in. The other night, she called her mother hyperventilating because her father left her, her younger sister and their small dog at home for a short time. Except for this anxiety, she is a bright, well-adjusted young girl. I told my sister that she must get to the root of the problem to understand it, and that perhaps she is haunted by a past life experience that creates intense fear of not having adult protection. What do you recommend my sister do to help her daughter overcome her intense fears?

Patricia

Susyn:

It's possible that your niece is suffering from past-life trauma. When seemingly unfounded fears paralyze people, it is often due to an unknown event that occurred in a previous incarnation. There is another reason I suspect this to be the root of her troubles: Aquarius children tend to be relatively fearless, so her anxiety is unusual.

As a psychic, I frequently examine unexplainable fears and illnesses from a past-life perspective, for the therapy involved can often alleviate the trouble in a few short sessions. Natalee's fears are similar to that of a child who is afraid of the dark. Intellectually, she can't put her finger on where the fears originated, but they are very real to her - even paralyzing.

I recommend that you start with a past-life reading to find the source of her fears. If she isn't open to that, you or her mother can investigate it. Once she understands what happened, her panic will start to subside. It would also be helpful to sit down with Natalee and make a list of affirmative actions she can take when she finds herself alone in the house.

For example, I have a client who always gets lost. In the past, it would cause her great panic and confusion, which would naturally just make the situation worse as she tried to find her way. We discovered that in a past life, she had gotten lost in the woods as a young child and perished. After a few sessions, she reported back to me that although she still gets lost on a regular basis, she doesn't panic any longer. Together, we developed a plan of orderly action for when this happens to calm her fears and help her get back on track.

Let's say that Natalee found herself in a similar situation in a past life. Because she was home alone and unable to defend herself, an intruder may have broken in and caused her harm or even killed her. Discovering that this fear comes from something that happened in a past life is the first step. Developing a plan of action to quiet those fears will be next.

You and her mom may want to sit down with her and figure out a safety plan that reads something like this: 1. Lock all the doors and windows in the house. 2. Let a neighbor know that she will be alone in the house and put the neighbor's phone number on speed dial, along with 911. 3. One or both parents will call to check in on an hourly basis, etc.

Help her to develop a list of actions she can take to ensure she is safe. This will unlock the fears she carries and teach her how to protect herself at the same time. Once you do this, her fears should gradually subside.

*****

Oceania:

Family therapy is the most helpful approach when a child is involved, as children tend to carry symptoms for the family. There is anxiety in this family, and Natalee is the carrier. Using therapy terms, she is the IP or identified patient; however, it is likely the marriage or entire system that needs intervention. Knowing his daughter suffers in this way, Dad leaves her in charge. She reaches for Mom, who confides in sister, who seeks the help.

Natalee's fear of being alone may be fear of abandonment and worry about her family breaking up. She may feel tension between her parents or hear them fighting, which threatens her sense of security. Fear of an intruder could represent her mother's real or irrational fear of Dad having an affair. She called Mom quickly enough when Dad left.

Temporary measures may prove comforting until the real issue is uncovered. Carrying a special talisman or object may help calm her. You might gift her with a big stuffed animal that will absorb her nervousness if she hugs it tightly. You might present her with a special ring or necklace with protective powers or a beautiful worry stone that she can rub when she feels anxious.

Systematic Desensitization is effective with anxiety. Using this method, she would be left alone for 10 seconds, then an adult would give her a big hug for successfully enduring that amount of time without panicking. The time would be gradually increased, and at various milestones (5, 10, 15 minutes), she would earn rewards.

It's worth noting that we have two sets of sisters in this story. Just as your niece may feel a burden of responsibility towards her younger sister, you may feel the need to protect your sister or help solve her problems. If she chronically leans on you or you have a pattern of jumping in to rescue her and her children, you may be codependent by enabling and maintaining the status quo. Genuine help may take the form of loving detachment from this family.

Focusing on your sister's life may help ease your own anxiety as you worry about her, but it may also cause you to sacrifice the time and energy you need to create what you want in your own life.

There may be other sibling issues at play: Do you need to feel needed by your sister? Do you feel left out of her life? Are you a big sister know-it-all who wants to solve this mystery? Just food for thought! Of course, the other possibility is you're simply a thoughtful sister and a caring aunt, and they are blessed to have you in their corner.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.