Our mind is so powerful that if we simply think we are taking a drug, our body may respond identically to that of someone who is in fact taking it. For decades, conventional medicine has poured millions of dollars into controlling this well-known “placebo effect.” The idea was to effectively study the power of pharmaceutical remedies by getting rid of any potential interference. The most interesting and revolutionary discovery, however, was the one being straight-jacketed in studies: the power of ...

The past three weeks have been one helluva ride! I have so much to report back -- about self-healing, self-advocacy, and the art of turning shit into fertilizer that grows pretty flowers. Meanwhile I'm pleased to say that I have safely landed in a new home in Northern California, where I am living near a bike trail. While all the drama was going on back at my home in LA, and I realized I would have to move for my ...

Our society conditions us to outsource our healthcare solutions – relying on and deferring to technological diagnostics, medical evaluations, surgical procedures, and pharmaceutical remedies. While it is prudent to be informed of the many healthcare options available to us; while it is judicious to receive expert feedback on the appropriate course of action for our ailments; and while there are cases where it is in our interest to turn to “the big guns” for help, our externally-oriented approach to recovery ...

I have had one hell of a two week run: On Wednesday August 10, my apartment company launched a demolition and construction project in the apartment beneath me, with no prior notice. When they threw out what appeared to be a sink, tossing it from the second floor landing to the steel garbage can below, the explosive crash caused an injury to the nerves in my ear and throughout my head – leaving me in horrific pain and unable to ...

Sometimes fielding people’s responses to a trauma ends up feeling more traumatic than the trauma itself. If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, it’s no surprise that navigating through public space is a challenge for me: Repeated traumas over the years have left me with a hypersensitive body. That hypersensitivity in turn has made me vulnerable to those who find it more important to shave two seconds off their walk or drive than to gracefully offer those ...