Herpes Nation
Newsletter Volume One, Edition One
Welcome Home
If this is your first e-newsletter, welcome home to the Herpes Nation,
a virtual environment that accepts all and refuses no one. I started
this newsletter to provide empowerment and encouragement to those of us
with "the gift". If you have been receiving my updates for awhile, you
already know that the Herpes Nation is an enlightened place of
responsible sexuality, self acceptance, and healing. Welcome home - to
a healthy community where majority rules apply.
Barack Obama has been talking lately about the forces in society that
divide us. We live in a society where some groups work overtime to keep
people afraid of sex for their own political gains. One way they keep
us divided is by setting the STD-free against the majority of the
population with STDs. Just because a few mean-spirited and ignorant
people wish to continue the stigma doesn't mean we have to buy into it.
90% of the shame of herpes is imagined and only 10% real - I guarantee
it.
What we fear and imagine is almost always worse than reality, and
fortunately many individuals are waking up to embrace truth rather than
fear. Those of you who are newly diagnosed will likely be angry,
ashamed, stunned, numb, and scared, but remember this; most people are
reasonable, open and supportive if you give them a chance to be. And if
you run into some of the destroyers out there, that's okay too, it's
all part of life. When clarity and distance comes there's an
opportunity to make peace with herpes and see the opportunities and
challenges it creates.
We can't control what others say or do, but we can control ourselves.
We can be honest, upfront and unashamed. There is no more reason to be
ashamed of having herpes than of having acne or arthritis. There is no
excuse for not disclosing your herpes status before you have any kind
of intimate contact with anyone. There is a lot to life, and having
herpes is only a tiny part of it - unless you choose to blow it up way
beyond what it actually is.
Join Us
Please join me and the people already contributing to this newsletter
by sharing your stories and articles. If you paint or draw or make art
of any kind, express your feelings about herpes through your art and
send it to us to share with the Herpes Nation. If you are a musician
send us your herpes songs. Send your recipes. Empower yourself to sign
your work, or use a pseudonym to protect your privacy. Either way,
don't be shy! We want to hear your voice.
Regards and love,
Christopher Scipio
Homeopath/Herbalist
Holistic Viral Specialist
http:"//www.natropractica.com
Moving Away
from a Dependence
on
Substance-based Medicine
by
Christopher Scipio
One of the few things upon which Natural healers and scientists agree
is that the universe is energetic rather than material-based. Yet both
allopathic and much of natural medicine still place a heavy emphasis on
healing through taking substances.
Taking substances can be a powerful component of a healing plan. In the
case of Natural medicine the remedies can re-connect us with the
natural world and allow us to harness the billions of years of
experience of the plant master chemists. But I caution you not to focus
too much on substances when you have so much healing power within you.
Love is the ultimate engine of healing. Love is unlimited,
inexhaustible, transcendent, illuminating, liberating.
Liberation is key. Often our chronic illnesses are a result of our
failure to break free of negative patterns of thoughts, feelings and
behaviours. Love can change anything. Love can set you free.
Without an abundance of love, healing will never be complete.
If and when you take a substance to aide your healing, spend at least
five minutes focusing and directing your mind/spirit on what you want
the medicine to do for your healing. Feel the medicine's effect on your
body, and pay close attention to how your body reacts. If you cannot do
this at first keep trying until you can.
You have the power to become a healing alchemist. You can transform the
substances you take into your body into the healing instrument that you
need. You can limit the negative side effects of prescription drugs
with your personal power. You can make natural medicines more effective.
You can even turn water into wine. So unlimited is your potential.
What It Feels
Like For a Girl
by Nancy Olson,
member of the Herpes Nation since 1995
I know that every individual experience of herpes is different. I know
that it is an emotion-driven infection, and that we each bring our own
baggage to the news that we have contracted an incurable socially
stigmatized disease. I am beginning to think however that because most
women experience herpes from a largely shame-based self-image, picking
up herpes along the road to dharma can be yet another oppressive and
hysterical experience of mainstream femininity. If we let it be.
I've talked to enough women about herpes to know that the virus doesn't
play favorites - no one is exempt. Having herpes isn't unusual - God
hasn't singled anyone out for punishment. When a woman gets herpes, she
is simply dealing with the reality of life in the 20th century. We are
all hosts for a variety of microorganisms some of which cause minor
sexually transmitted diseases, like herpes. Between herpes, HPV and
Chlamydia there's probably no one you know who has had more than six
sexual partners who hasn't caught a sexually transmitted disease. It
continues to astound me however, how differently the disease can affect
men and women, on both physical and personal levels.
Let's start with my friend Sally. A brilliant, creative and
self-assured woman, when she learned she had gotten herpes from a
recent ex she fell to pieces. She became quite literally hysterical. I
stuck with her through a variety of humiliating visits to clinics and
doctors' offices and comforted her as she suffered the slings and
arrows she suffered, mostly slung at herself. She had survived a
complicated childhood and an unhappy marriage, only to have her
blossoming sexuality nipped in the bud - she thought - buy an incurable
STD. To top it all off, she was in a new relationship that was looking
like it might last more than a month or two. I think what she dreaded
most was being stereotyped by the new guy when he discovered he might
have gotten more (or less) than he had bargained for. Dealing with her
first herpes outbreak nearly pushed her over the edge.
At just about the same time, I noticed that the man I had just started
seeing had developed some nasty sore spots on his penis, and he seemed
uncomfortable with having as much sex as we had been lately. Since I
had been learning about herpes with Sally, I knew right away what was
going on. We talked about it, and he seemed genuinely surprised. He
acted angry, and seemed truly pissed off, but he seemed to roll with
it. He didn't personalize the situation or blame anyone, or ask himself
what he had done to deserve it. He shrugged it off instead with a
characteristic sense of entitlement, recognizing it only as a minor
setback. Either that, or it wasn't a new situation for him. I know now
that men and women both can be decimated by the news, so I have to
wonder if it was news to him at all.
My first outbreak waited a couple of years, so that by the time I went
to my doctor to see what was going on with some unfamiliar discomfort
"down there" I had even forgotten about herpes as a possibility. I was
annoyed, but because I was a few years into a stable relationship I
decided to let go of the idea of herpes as a problem. It kept me off my
bike seat from time to time, but I figured I was safe from having to
deal with social ostracism or the rejection by a lover that might
follow "outing" myself. Sally's worries were not mine - or so I thought.
Then my partner and I broke up. After 10 years together, I found myself
alone, dealing with an almost unbearable level of grief at the same
time as I wondered how having herpes was going to affect the rest of my
life. I was thrown completely off balance and out of touch with who I
was, and for the first time I was plagued by one painful outbreak after
another. I went looking for help from the only source I had, but the
last time I saw my ex, he was pushing a full vial of Valtrex at me
through the half-closed door of our condo. I was left standing outside
in the hall feeling rejected, worthless, unloved, and ashamed.
Having the herpes virus didn't cause this situation, but it sure didn't
help. Like most women, I had spent my entire life and enormous amounts
of time and effort loving others without ever paying myself the same
attention. Being raised a woman in North American society I had been
socialized to believe that my needs would never come first, and that at
my core I was unclean and unworthy of real love. I might have two
university degrees, but all it took was losing a lover to remind me
that I was incapable, unlovable and undesirable. And waking up single
with an incurable sexually transmitted disease, I was certain I would
never be loved again.
I don't think my experience is unique. The fragile female psyche,
whether due to socialization or dysfunctional parenting - sometimes
both - will immediately personalize a herpes infection. The medical
community tells us that women are more susceptible to herpes infections
because our genital area has a greater surface area with more mucosal
cells than men, or that hormonal changes interfere with local immune
responses. This may be true, but I further believe that female
susceptibility to and experience of herpes symptoms has just as much to
do with learned beliefs about femininity and female sexuality. Female
physiology makes it easy to convince little girls that what can't be
seen should be left alone because no good will ever come of it, and the
patriarchy in which we live has wasted no time in labeling the
sexuality of independent women as dangerous. (Faithful wives and
mothers receive different treatment - but that's another story.) So
when you believe at your core that you are fundamentally ugly, dirty,
and undesirable, it is easy to blame yourself for your disease.
Across the centuries diverse societies have demonized female sexuality
in order to control it, positioning women not only as a source of life,
but also of death due to the dissemination of morally reprehensible
desire and disease. Female sexual pleasure has been denied and
repressed both socially and physically, with female genital mutilation
an example of an extreme measure of control and domination.
So if herpes is emotion-driven, then why wouldn't women suffer
differently? We have been taught that we deserve to. At least that's
how I felt standing in that lonely hallway, the bottle of pills in my
hand very cold comfort indeed.
I have since learned that it doesn't have to be this way. Because for
me this most recent assault was only the latest in a string of many, I
was finally forced into therapy, and the counselor I worked with used a
diverse range of tools to help me discover and dislodge my beliefs of
personal worthlessness. I have always been good at maintaining a strong
positive network of friends, and I leaned on them mightily. And as part
of my healing process I began to meditate, exercise, and practice yoga.
I visited reiki masters, and trained to become one myself. I went on a
wilderness retreat, and spent days alone in the mountains with little
food or shelter and only a candle and a journal for warmth and
reflection.
As I came to understand and make peace with myself, I made peace with
herpes - one cannot happen without the other. Life got better and
better. A year passed, and I noticed that the outbreaks had slowed
considerably. The more I made peace with my past and learned to love
and forgive myself and others the less often the virus came to remind
me to pay attention. I am now considerably more self-aware and
consistently happy and healthy than before becoming a host. Doing my
personal work has taught me not just to I love myself, but that I AM
love, which is always greater than herpes. I am not just in touch with
the goddess - she is me.
It's almost three years now since this journey started, and aside from
a few tingles during a particularly difficult period at work, I have
been outbreak free. Interestingly enough, I have never felt freer to
explore my sexuality and female power with friends and lovers. I have
found ways to protect us from the spread of STDs, and have loved only
those who care enough about me to take the risk - a truly liberating
and self-affirming situation.
Now in an ideal world, the outcome of this process would transcend
day-to-day identity politics, and shared experience would count for
more than perceived difference. But we still live in a world where
markings of gender, class and race determine the shape of our lives.
Women continue to contract herpes more often than men, and to suffer
more severe symptoms. I only know that as a woman, forgiveness and
self-inventory has done far more for me than that bottle of Valtrex
ever did.
I am in touch my true nature enough now to understand that herbal and
naturopathic remedies are the only healthy alternative to the chemical
treatment of disease and discomfort. Holistic health is an ongoing
process that requires a commitment to and responsibility for one's own
health, a source of wisdom and healing like Christopher Scipio's
Holistic Herpes Protocol, and membership in an enlightened collective
that understands that we are ALL living in a Herpes Nation. If
happiness is defined as an absence of negative energy, then making
peace with herpes can be a way for any one of us to be happy and whole
for the first time. Happiness will cease to be an emotion that can be
undermined by negative experience and societal judgments - it will
become a self-defined way of being. Because making peace with anything
leaves little room for negativity, having herpes can be a path to
fulfillment if you let it be. Come home to the Herpes Nation where
happiness is not an emotion. It's a state of mind.
In
Conversation with a Hypnotherapist
Several months ago I commissioned hypnotherapist Karen Miller to create
a self-hypnosis programme based on my herpes and HPV protocols and my
book Making Peace with Herpes, to be used in conjunction with my book
and remedies.
Recently my associate Nancy Olson sat down with Karen to talk about how
the programme, available now as a CD set along with my book "Making
Peace With Herpes", works to alleviate physical and psychological
symptoms of having herpes.
Nancy: Let me start Karen by
telling you what a great help your CD's have been to me. They are a
great way to relax after a stressful day, and I have been using the
second set of exercises to supplement my own personal healing work. So
to get started tell me what made you decide to pursue hypnotherapy as a
healing modality?
Karen: 16 years ago I was
pregnant and looking at self-hypnosis as a way to prepare myself for
the birth. I was so pleased and intrigued by that experience that I
became interested in learning more and then in sharing what I found.
Initially I began presenting to groups however in 2005 I shifted my
focus to one-on-one sessions and special programs - like this CD set.
Nancy: Tell me about your work
as a hypnotherapist today.
Karen: I'm based in Nanaimo and
work primarily with individual clients in one-on-one hypnotherapy
sessions. My clients come because of a variety of issues, from herpes,
chronic pain, to addictions, phobias, or personal growth.
Nancy: What makes hypnotherapy
such an effective therapeutic tool in treating men and women with
herpes?
Karen: That's a really involved
question! The role our mind plays in our healing is
only just beginning to be examined, never mind understood. Some
terrifically
interesting findings are coming out of our relatively new brain-imaging
technology. And the studies that have been conducted on hypnosis are
fascinating but really only scratch the surface...
The simple answer is that herpes is not just a physical disease. It is
a deeply
emotional experience. And so it makes sense for many that hypnosis
(which
impacts the physical and the emotional, the mundane habitual responses
as well
as memories and beliefs) would be such an effective tool.
Nancy: How does hypnotherapy do
that? How is it different from meditation say, or guided visualization?
Karen: Well, there is certainly
some overlap there. There is a focused state of awareness that is often
common to all three. Meditation is an opening - often involves a sort
of persistent passivity, if you will- an intent to be present. With
guided visualization, imagery is used to direct the experience in a
specific direction. With hypnosis, the mind is open to suggestions. And
with hypnotherapy, that openness is used to benefit the person in
hypnosis. Hypnotherapy may, but does not have to, use guided imagery.
The
key is that the part of the mind that would normally block suggestions
for
change is circumvented.
Nancy: How does this technique
support the recommended psychological and lifestyle changes outlined in
the book?
Karen: In this case, many of
the suggestions for change I just mention are elements of Christopher
Scipio's recommendations in Making Peace With Herpes. So, at the most
basic level, listening to the CDs will help you integrate the lifestyle
changes, for example, making the best food choices, more easily. And
the CD program will help you relax and alleviate stress. And doing even
only that has such a positive physical effect. But perhaps the most
profound effects will come from the emotional growth the program
encourages. By providing opportunities for the listener to release old
wounds and rewrite their internalized truths, I hope to offer peace and
real healing.
Nancy: Can you describe for me
the process you and Christopher followed in creating the hypnotherapy
CD set he offers as a companion to his book "Making Peace With Herpes"?
Karen: When Christopher and I
first met we had an interesting discussion and found significant common
ground in our understanding of the nature of health and healing. After
I read his book we spoke further about our shared belief that
hypnosis could really be an elegant support to his readers and clients.
So, at
his invitation, I set about combining the techniques my clients have
found
helpful with the content of Making Peace With Herpes. I'm really
pleased with
the resulting synergy.
Nancy: The CD set has a number
of tracks meant to enhance the listener's ability to relax. Why is that
so important?
Karen: Scientific studies, like
work done by Kemeny, Zegans and Cohen at the New York Academy of
Science (1997), have shown that long-term stress is a strong factor for
recurrent herpes outbreaks. And to look at the picture even more
broadly, I would point out that the negative effect of chronic stress
on the immune system in general is well documented by studies with
titles like The relationship of depression and stressors to
immunological assays: a meta-analytic review. Brain Behavior and
Immunity (Zorrilla, Luborsky, McKay, Rosenthal, Houldin, McCorkle,
Seligman & Schmidt, 2001).
Relaxation and specifically relaxation through repeated hypnosis
supports the immune system and decreases recurrence of herpes
outbreaks. So, it is my intent to provide listeners with an opportunity
to change their immune system chemistry and decrease outbreaks by doing
something that feels great. It's an absolute win.
Nancy: Tell me more about the
second set of tracks. What are they meant to do, and how do they
accomplish it?
Karen: The second set of tracks
is really about the roots of the emotional issues that may be tied in
to a listener's experience of herpes. So they provide opportunities to
clear negative feelings and to take the power out of past events and to
put it back in the listener's hands, where it belongs.
Nancy: What changes can
listeners expect, in an immediate, short-term and long-term basis?
Karen: Everyone's path will be
different. You might begin by working through and clearing your
emotions, or with shifting your physical symptoms, with feeling more in
touch with your wise innermost self, or with changing your lifestyle so
as to be in line with Christopher's protocols. Your changes may be
gradual. Or
you may be one of those who experience dramatic relief or release and
then
plateau before the next big surge. Some people feel like nothing much is
happening, but they keep at it and just let it be part of their
routine. Then
one day they wake up and realize they've been symptom-free and peaceful
for
months ‘for no reason'.
Nancy: What would you
recommend to listeners who feel hypnotherapy isn't working for them?
Karen: To begin with of course,
there are so many healing modalities, and it's
important to recognize that some people may simply be more comfortable
making peace and healing through another method. Realizing that you
have choices is very freeing. Having said that, I should also say that
it's been my
experience that everyone who can learn to read can also learn to go
into hypnosis and to experience it's benefits.
So what's going on when ‘it's not working'? Well, trust plays a
fundamental role in hypnosis. And ultimately, I don't mean trust in me,
or in Christopher, or in the program, but rather trust in one's self.
Certainly that can be challenging, and the issues that herpes stirs up
can exacerbate the challenge. Sometimes the most helpful thing is to
call or e-mail me (Kpi@telus.net or 250-741-1461) and we can pinpoint
where the resistance is coming from and decide how to best circumvent
it. And for people who would like the support of a one-on-one session
with me to get past a block or to learn how to really deepen their
trance that's possible too. For many clients, however, discovering that
everything that they do with this program is completely under their
control and that this experience can be as gentle as they'd like makes
all the difference. Once they truly find their way into that
understanding, it's amazing how quickly things proceed!
Nancy: You raise some really
good points about things I have experienced myself. For example, one or
two of the second set of tracks stirred up some powerful emotions for
me, without the attendant support of a therapist or counselor. How do
you recommend listeners in that situation deal with those ideas and
emotions when they arise?
Karen: That depends so much on
the individual. Some people will want to work
concurrently with a therapist or counselor. And some will want to speak
with me
about the experience and to work through a session or sessions
together. And
for many, time to integrate their new understanding; an attitude of
kindness
toward themselves, journaling, talking and/or creating will be most
helpful.
It is also very common for people to enjoy a real feeling of lightness
and
peace afterward, as they have finally had an opportunity to set down and
release emotion they have carried for a long-time. But of course I would
encourage anyone to seek whatever support feels best to him or her.
Nancy: Knowing what you know
about herpes as an emotion-driven disease, are there any other
underlying issues you recommend that Christopher's patients use
hypnotherapy to address? How can you help them with that?
Karen: I would encourage them
to contact a hypnotherapist if they have a sense that there are
underlying issues that need exploring in the company of someone who has
guided and helped others. Take the time to choose someone who you feel
will be both skilled and compassionate. My website is
www.nanaimohypnosis.com.
Nancy: Thanks so much for
taking the time to answer my questions, Karen, and especially for your
work on creating the programme. I know it's been a great help to me,
and now I know a little bit more about how and why.
A Recipe for
Herpes Health
Being healthy and outbreak-free need not mean deprivation. In each
edition of this newsletter I will be sharing recipes for a deliciously
holistic herpes diet. Have you got a particularly good healthy recipe?
Send it to us, and we will publish it!
Curried Chicken with Bok Choy or
Cabbage
Choose local organic ingredients as much as possible.
2 cups of Bok Choy or cabbage chopped
2 medium sized chicken breasts (chopped)
2 tbsp of olive oil
3-5 garlic cloves chopped
2 tsp of ground Tumeric
2tsp of ground Cumin
2 small cans of crushed tomatoes (or one large can)
1/2 onion chopped
1-2 tsp of curry powder or paste
1/3 cup of chicken stock
1/3 cup of plain organic yogurt
Heat the oil in a fry pan and sauté onions and garlic until
soft, then add the chicken. Cook until golden, turn down the heat and
add the spices. Stirring occasionally, let it cook together for another
5 minutes. Then add the greens and cover. Let it cook until the greens
have softened. Add the chicken stock and yogurt and heat till warm, but
not boiling. Let it all simmer together for another 5 minutes and then
serve.
From The
Holistic Herpes Cook Book by Cassa Wood
Why Go Organic?
Some of you might have heard about the importance of organics, free
range, and buying local when purchasing food, and clients often ask me
"What's the big deal with Organics and why should I pay the higher
price for it?"
MY reasoning is, if you have a choice between foods covered in
pesticides and foods that are not, which would YOU choose? If you have
a choice between foods that damage the water, earth and creatures on
the earth and foods that don't, which would YOU choose? It isn't easy
making that decision day in and day out, but making the world a better
place for everyone sometimes costs a little more time, money and
effort. This might explain why our planet is in such a state.
Emotional
Freedom Now!
By Kannara
Daniel
EFT
Practitioner, Medical Intuitive, Channel and Clairvoyant
kannara@telus.net
There are very few techniques that can be learned in a few minutes that
will help you relieve the fear, anxiety, stress and many other issues
that can cause your herpes virus to awaken. Emotional Freedom
Technique, or EFT, is based on acupuncture and psychotherapy, and
increases energy flow in the body while neutralizing negative emotions.
It has proven successful in thousands of clinical cases and applies to
just about any emotional, health or performance issue you can name, and
it often works where nothing else will. I've used it to prevent herpes
outbreaks and to accelerate the healing process.
For those who suffer with recurring herpes, the worry of having another
outbreak can bring up feelings of absolute powerlessness and anxiety,
which can in turn allow the virus to re-assert itself. Stressing over
the stress goes round and round until an outbreak occurs - its a truly
vicious cycle. Yoga or meditation and visualization can help slow down
the mind and relax the body, but it's hard to keep it up all day long.
EFT can be done anywhere, at anytime. It involves tapping gently on
pressure points around the body (see below) to increase energy flow
along traditional energy meridians, and once you learn the technique,
you can even just visualize the tapping routine to get your energy
re-balanced. Often it will take only two minutes of tapping to
alleviate the impending stress of recurring outbreaks, thus reducing
occurrences. When you use it as an everyday tool you assist your body
to remain in a state of balance!
Follow the basic instructions below and feel the energy of each tap
while you focus on the issue you want to address.
First rate your worry on a scale from 0 - 10.
Then begin by tapping on the top of the head (TH) and say what you are
feeling: i.e.: this worry, or this stress, or this pain...etc.
Then tap about 7 times at each point below with your two first fingers.
You might have to repeat it a few times, but you will begin to feel
your energy flow as you use this process regularly.
TH = Top of Head
EB = Beginning of the Eye Brow (inside)
SE = Side of the Eye (outside)
UE = Under the Eye
UN = Under the Nose
CH = Chin
CB = Beginning of the Collar Bone (side of throat)
UA = Under the Arm (6 " beneath arm pit)
WR = Inside of Wrists
Repeat the exercise until the number on the scale has come down to at
least 2 or less. Repeat the exercise as needed.
Email Christopher Scipio
if you would like to be added to the newsletter's mailing list
Christopher
Scipio's Natural Herpes Treatment Protocol
Christopher
Scipio is the most experienced practitioner in the natural treatment of
herpes and HPV.
Read Christopher's Book "Making
Peace with Herpes" and listen to the optional Hypnosis CDs to maximize
the effectiveness of the book.
Book a phone consultation with Christopher.
Purchase Christopher's
Natural Herpes Formulas custom-formulated for you.
Buy his Red Marine Algae Sex Gel to help reduce the risk of infecting
others.
