When I talk to women, they feel very confused and overwhelmed about issues such as Autism. ( 1-150 children are coming down with Autism, 1-86 boys) How can they know the right answer about Autism when even the experts cannot agree?
Take a look at the Amish, I say. They live a simple life. They (Naturally) Home birth, breastfeed, and they do not vaccinate. What is more, in the un-vaccinated Amish population, a reporter could find no Autism. ( http://www.whale.to/vaccine/olmsted.html )
We, as parents, don't have to know the CAUSE, we don't have to argue the CAUSE in order to protect our children.
As parents we just need to find out for our selves what causes the most healthy children (and later adults) and "go right" with ever single decision we make.
This starts before birth- with ourselves.
One decision at a time -we must use technology and science responsibly protect our children.
Barbara Rivera
Showing posts with label birth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birth. Show all posts
July 25, 2008
April 22, 2008
More on, "No," and Finding Your YES!
On “No”
Why is it important to be in touch with your inner “No?” Your inner knowing is immensely intelligent.
Recently Oprah spent a whole show on teaching people to listen to their inner senses. Her guest, Gavin de Becker author of “The Gift of Fear” talked about how we are all born with the power to know when we are heading into danger. As a violent crimes investigator he noticed that whenever he interviewed victims, the victims always told him that they had ignored multiple internal warnings that something was not right and they had walked right into danger.
Gavin explains that during our lifetime the brain takes in and stores more information than we can consciously be aware of. The brain is constantly taking in new information and comparing it with our old experiences, but we can’t recall everything at every moment. Many times our warning of danger could be a gut feeling or a body sensation, or even a flash of a thought.
In addition to body sensations, de Becker feels that you should pay attention to anything that makes you say, “Hmmm. This does not seem right.”
He says that we all have this gift, but often we are taught to ignore it. He feels that women are especially disposed to ignore their inner knowing because of social conditioning.
Leading edge educators and scientists believe that that mind and the body connection are so important that we can no longer separate them when studying them. Dr. Bryan Post, the founder of the Post Institute for Family-Centered Therapy says, “The brain and body are a unified system, what happens in the brain happens in the body.”
Be aware that we are mainly talking about the unconscious brain, the part of the brain that is mostly responsible for our survival.
Anxiety and nervousness that is not resolved leads to a long term stress response in the body. Our cells go from functioning normally, called thriving, to functioning in a survival mode. This is harmful to well being which needs cells to be in the thriving mode to regenerate. Being in stress ,and thus the survival mode, is most unfavorable if you desire a normal pregnancy and birth.
When I read about medical care providers telling women that they will need to be induced if the baby does not come by a certain date, or that the baby may be “too big” to birth, or that their pelvises may be “too small,” I cringe at the constant messages that she is receiving in her minds conscious and unconscious- messages of fear.
It is a wonder that any women can have a natural birth after being kept in this constant state of fear, and I commend any women who is able to birth naturally despite that.
How can this empower us?
Birth counts on you to have your body, mind and spirit at-ease. You will want to know your body’s “Yes!” intimately because your body will work at its optimum during birth when it is at-ease.
Finding your yes! Some exercises…
•Think of a food that you love. Feel it in your body, what does your body do? Sit with this. This is a, "yes!"
•Try it another way. Sit still and smile without moving your face. This feeling is a "yes!"
•Think about your past and look at some memories where you knew that the answer was “Yes!”
Your, "yes," will guide you where you want to go. Your path of power is to find this place. For instance, if you are with a medical care provider, and every time you visit them you feel badly when you leave- this is a “No.”
If you don’t feel a 100% “Yes!” when you are with your birth attendant, then how do you expect to give birth easily with them? Find someone who is your “YES!”
When I was pregnant, I visited a hospital and took a tour of the maternity ward. They told us that after the birth, the baby would be taken away for a minimum of four hours for bathing and procedures. I felt sickness in my body whenever I imagined having my normal healthy baby taken away from me. This did not feel safe. I felt a huge inner “No!” which started me on my path to education and empowerment for my birth.
Looking inside, I always knew when I was headed right. I felt ease in my body when I made a good decision, even if others argued with me.
Make each decision one step at a time, and follow your inner knowing. We all have it, we just need to practice listening to it.
copyrite 2008 Barbara Rivera
www.birthpower.us
Why is it important to be in touch with your inner “No?” Your inner knowing is immensely intelligent.
Recently Oprah spent a whole show on teaching people to listen to their inner senses. Her guest, Gavin de Becker author of “The Gift of Fear” talked about how we are all born with the power to know when we are heading into danger. As a violent crimes investigator he noticed that whenever he interviewed victims, the victims always told him that they had ignored multiple internal warnings that something was not right and they had walked right into danger.
Gavin explains that during our lifetime the brain takes in and stores more information than we can consciously be aware of. The brain is constantly taking in new information and comparing it with our old experiences, but we can’t recall everything at every moment. Many times our warning of danger could be a gut feeling or a body sensation, or even a flash of a thought.
In addition to body sensations, de Becker feels that you should pay attention to anything that makes you say, “Hmmm. This does not seem right.”
He says that we all have this gift, but often we are taught to ignore it. He feels that women are especially disposed to ignore their inner knowing because of social conditioning.
Leading edge educators and scientists believe that that mind and the body connection are so important that we can no longer separate them when studying them. Dr. Bryan Post, the founder of the Post Institute for Family-Centered Therapy says, “The brain and body are a unified system, what happens in the brain happens in the body.”
Be aware that we are mainly talking about the unconscious brain, the part of the brain that is mostly responsible for our survival.
Anxiety and nervousness that is not resolved leads to a long term stress response in the body. Our cells go from functioning normally, called thriving, to functioning in a survival mode. This is harmful to well being which needs cells to be in the thriving mode to regenerate. Being in stress ,and thus the survival mode, is most unfavorable if you desire a normal pregnancy and birth.
When I read about medical care providers telling women that they will need to be induced if the baby does not come by a certain date, or that the baby may be “too big” to birth, or that their pelvises may be “too small,” I cringe at the constant messages that she is receiving in her minds conscious and unconscious- messages of fear.
It is a wonder that any women can have a natural birth after being kept in this constant state of fear, and I commend any women who is able to birth naturally despite that.
How can this empower us?
Birth counts on you to have your body, mind and spirit at-ease. You will want to know your body’s “Yes!” intimately because your body will work at its optimum during birth when it is at-ease.
Finding your yes! Some exercises…
•Think of a food that you love. Feel it in your body, what does your body do? Sit with this. This is a, "yes!"
•Try it another way. Sit still and smile without moving your face. This feeling is a "yes!"
•Think about your past and look at some memories where you knew that the answer was “Yes!”
Your, "yes," will guide you where you want to go. Your path of power is to find this place. For instance, if you are with a medical care provider, and every time you visit them you feel badly when you leave- this is a “No.”
If you don’t feel a 100% “Yes!” when you are with your birth attendant, then how do you expect to give birth easily with them? Find someone who is your “YES!”
When I was pregnant, I visited a hospital and took a tour of the maternity ward. They told us that after the birth, the baby would be taken away for a minimum of four hours for bathing and procedures. I felt sickness in my body whenever I imagined having my normal healthy baby taken away from me. This did not feel safe. I felt a huge inner “No!” which started me on my path to education and empowerment for my birth.
Looking inside, I always knew when I was headed right. I felt ease in my body when I made a good decision, even if others argued with me.
Make each decision one step at a time, and follow your inner knowing. We all have it, we just need to practice listening to it.
copyrite 2008 Barbara Rivera
www.birthpower.us
April 14, 2008
Knowing that you know...
Truth changes over time, and that is a fact!
Years ago, smoking was not considered to cause disease, today we know differently.
Just a few years ago, babies were given little or no anesthesia for surgery because it was believed that they did not feel pain like we do, today we know that babies do indeed feel pain and they feel it more intensely than we do.
(If you don't believe this look here-- http://www.uams. edu/info/ Updates/October0 1/anand.htm )
With so much information out there, how can we know that what we are doing what is right?
I believe that the right answer lies within each one of us. When we stop looking outside for answers, and look inside we will find the answers. How do we do this? Lets start by knowing what we know!
Saying No
Think of a food that you hate. Picture it in front of you.
Feel what happens in your body, this is your "No".
How comfortable are you with saying no? Can you return a cup of coffee if you asked for two sugars and it came black? Would you pay for an orange paint for your kitchen if you wanted green?
Imagine this: You go to your hairdresser and you ask for a trim of your long shoulder length hair. The hairdresser agrees, but cuts your hair into a short bob. When you protest, the hairdresser says, "I only do one cut, and this is what is best for you."
You look around and see that everyone is getting a bob. You get angry but no one seems to listen, “Pooh pooh, you look great.”
When you get home, your husband says, "You look great – I don’t know what you are upset about."
Feel this feeling inside of you, this dis-ease.
How would you attempt to make it right to yourself? What feelings are you feeling, about this?
Would you be angry?
Would you try to be happy about it?
Would you cry?
Would you feel confused?
Would you make it your own fault?
How do you take this not right feeling , and make it all right?
This is your flag. Take this and keep this feeling in your tool box to use!
(The feeling that this is not right , even though everyone is telling me that it is all right.”)
This is your "no"
The first step to empowerment is knowing that you don't' need to know everything, you just need to know what your "No." feels like!
You are becoming a mother and your baby will be counting on you for protection. How do we find our power? We find it by knowing our own internal warning system. This has been given to us by our biology.
Our brains take in billions of bits of information, but we can only be conscious of a tiny bit. Our intuition is just that- our brains are talking to us through our body saying. "Something is not right."
Honor this.
Barbara Rivera
copyrite 2008 Barbara Rivera
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