Dealing with LIFE… Stress, GMO’s & Relationships
By Ellen Farrell, MA, NCC, LPC, EEM-AP 2018
A key part of the work of becoming aware includes consciousness, not only of our own energies, history, triggers, emotional splinters – but also of the environment in which we live. Back in 1983 I’d graduated from Rutgers with a BFA, was living in NYC, & was doing great. Unfortunately within a year, I got into what became a dreadfully manipulative, abusive relationship. I ended that relationship, & I decided to never settle again. I did not know much about nutrition then, nor what was happening to our food supply. However, by ’86, when I met my true love & we married, HFCS had replaced cane sugar. Bromine, an endocrine disruptor, had replaced the essential nutrient iodine, in flour (which also may have been bleached with chlorine), which directly & negatively affects hormones.
Whether from the environment, emotional stress, past triggers or even ancestral patterns, all stressors are cumulative. We do eventually get hit in the immune system, &/or in the organs of the body. We get digestion issues, Liver has too many toxins to process (skin tries to pick up the slack), Kidney/Bladder gets over-taxed, & Lung may get overloaded. Everything is interconnected – & everyone responds differently to stress. Anyway, these changes in foods were the final straw for me, & it affected me greatly.
Maybe it was because I felt so safe with my husband that I was able to relax enough to notice healing was needed. Sometimes we can only allow ourselves to FEEL our problems only when we are NOT in survival mode. Having a supportive community (even if it is of just ONE) can make all the difference. I started to get sick – no traditional Dr.’s knew how to help me. I searched for knowledge! Books were minimal. I had conflicting information. I became more curious, & worked in the Nutrition / Health Food Industry (for 10+ years). I came to understand I had Leaky Gut & Chronic Fatigue (CFS), resulting in infertility. This was in the late-80’s. We’d cut out dairy, became vegan, learned about the burgeoning organic everything. We wanted a family, but fertility treatments did not work. We tried for a couple of years. Then following our plan (we thought we’d have a couple of kids by then), we moved to LA – I found Holistic Dr.’s who helped me clean out toxins, & rebuild the microbiome …or gut, as we used to call it. This gave me enough of an immune system boost to get pregnant. I’d been doing Reiki on myself (since my training in ’87), & this was powerfully healing too… finally, I got well!
We had our firstborn in 1991; our 2nd in 1993, in California. After a Spirit induced prescription we left LA before the big quake in ‘94 to Chicago, transferring from the recently purchased Mrs. Gooches Market to Whole Foods… I became a Team Leader in the Nutrition dept., but realized the part I liked best was the working with the customers, not the budget, or employee drama.
Fast forward to ’96… what the heck are GMO’s? After our daughter was born in Taos, NM, we decided to move near the grandparents, in Savannah, GA. We had no idea that our food supply was being made VERY toxic that very year! GM (Genetically Modified) meant seeds dipped with toxins (Neonics); or corn that makes its own chemicals (BtToxins); or foods that are sprayed with toxins, but DO NOT die (or they are used for harvesting non-GMO grains such as: wheat, oats, cotton, beans, lentils, sunflower, etc.).
We were now blessed with 3 young kids, & things got very busy! By ’98 I’d entered a Masters degree Psychology program… a dream I had for 8 years! However, while we were busy with LIFE, they didn’t tell us that GMO/ Roundup & other toxic chemical use was growing.
It was being used in factory farms… & in even higher doses in animal feed. This affects the quality of cow milk, & dairy as well as meat. Factory farmed animals are not healthy. Each year, the chemicals were becoming a stronger presence. I finished my MA degree – & began Licensure supervision plus full time work at an Arts College in Savannah. Eventually I got fried with being on call. I wanted to explore more healing energy work, & integrate intuitive with clinical approaches. While still in Savannah, ’06-’14, I began a private practice: Ellen Farrell Holistic Psychotherapy. Since then, I trained with Brian Weiss, for Past Life therapy; Equine therapy; Eden Energy 4-year advanced Energy Medicine training. My focus now is on the Energy & working in more of a Spiritual / Life coaching context. Working with the energy systems as Ellen Farrell Holistic Therapy.
While I loved my work / family life, it took years for us to realize that our food supply was becoming ever more toxic in the USA. I began to notice that it was making a LOT of people/my clients, sick. There continue to be increases in allowable toxin levels, & the amount of chemicals in the environment (& in us) keeps increasing. Many water systems & Rx meds contain flouride, which binds with magnesium to make it un-absorbed. So many of us were already mag deficient, even before Roundup chemicals… see Dr. Dean’s video: on the Importance of Magnesium. This is important to know – GMOs/Roundup (glyphosates) block uptake of amino acids like L-tryptophan (needed for sleep), all minerals, & it kills good bugs in our micro-biome (gut bacteria), causing toxic bacteria to flourish! The “bad” bacteria are working to remove the toxins, but by doing so, it increases their #’s. Depressed, & don’t know why? Check your D3 levels. Anxious, tense? Check Magnesium!
Our air, water, butterflies, birds, and bees are all suffering similar fates… disappearing at alarming rates. BigAg, BigPharma/Chemical companies’ profits have become more important than the health of the people. If we keep it up we will not have food, let alone flowers. We need our pollinators to stay alive.
By 2014, I’d had a few years of high STRESS: menopause, job changes, empty nest, pet deaths, eldest son graduated from college, 3 years of a sick parent, followed by the death of that parent. Finally, moving from Savannah (where we lived for 16 years), back to NYC. This was coming full circle to where I met my husband, & where I was born (Brooklyn). I was not busy enough (haha), so just prior to moving, I began & completed an Indiegogo writing project as Spirit was hounding me for a few years, to write about what I was seeing / experiencing. Moving to a more toxic city, plus realizing that mold in our 1st apartment had a profound effect. You can’t always smell or see it! If it reappears in your bathroom grout, or in a window, beware! It caused me to later understand how the toxic restaurant food had been the “final straw”…even though, while navigating kids’ college issues, visits, & writing like a hermit, we kept to all organic food at home, but in NYC I “cheated” too – who doesn’t love NY pizza?
I was having sentimental memories of my time in the early 80’s & before, yet back then, there was no bromine in the flour. Nor were the crust, sauces & cheese filled with toxins from glyphosated crops, feed, & animals from factory farms. I had GMO soy tofu in local/regular Chinese restaurants, & got a massive, painful skin rash in the fall of 2016. Trust me, if the food is organic, it will say so on the menu. I realize now when I asked if it was organic, non-GMO soy/tofu, the uninformed waiter likely had no idea what I was talking about. It was totally WISHFUL thinking on my part. My body was informing me, but I was slow on the uptake/denial (not just a river in Egypt). Oops. No more.
What do you eat? What are your stressors? What do you do that brings you JOY? What are your stress/health management rituals to stay in the flow?
Acknowledge what phase or transitions are you/your family are in… we are always moving through something! Now in the gut, we have what is called a “biofilm” (this means really big absorption problems), because glyphosates accumulate, & are sprayed on non-GMO wheat & other grains – even on cane sugar & sunflowers to bring the crop to harvest. Understand that overwhelm with no practice of being mindful/mindful breathing or self-calming skills – also makes us more vulnerable to illness and immune system insults.
Do not swallow the chaos. Do clear your FIELD after ANY non-loving interchanges (see the 3 new energy exercises in my FREE Webinar on the Home page!)! Stress can lead to decreases in D3, B & C vitamins, & – as with pesticide/herbicides like NeoNics/ glyphosates (depletes aromatic amino acids such as tryptophan, which is needed for serotonin, & SLEEP!, & blocks uptake of minerals like magnesium, zinc/copper, selenium (removes mercury), etc.). Stress + GMO/Roundup, etc., can increase gut, mood, hormone, energy & weight imbalances. It is a downward spiral that may lead to… more mood, gut/immune system challenges… & more stress! Can you relate?
Please pace yourself, & be strong with your vision for your healthy life! Learn how to stay grounded, centered, & clear – tend to your Soul, & be mindful of the needs of your body. Don’t over-extend your self! Checkout my ‘Links’ in the drop down menu to find out the most chemically sprayed foods to avoid at all costs, such as corn, canola, alfalfa, apples, berries, celery, squash, ALL animal products… & purchase local, fresh, whole, organic foods. Most of all begin to identify where you can create more joy & balance in YOU.
Remember it is better to spend a little bit more now than to have poor quality of life/ massive debt due to medical bills or the distress of chronic illness. Consider that we need new skills to detox, heal, replenish… to transcend the fear-enhancing/toxin-laden world, & to maintain health.
I learned to regain my equilibrium again, & you can too. This is a quality & quantity of life choice. You can die younger, with a growing amount of dis”ease” each year, or you can be pro-active. I encourage you to get active, & get informed. Stay healthy friends!
See these links to help BEES & BUTTERFLIES!
#GrowFoodNotLawns #PollinatorFriendlyYards #EatOrganic
AVOID glyphosates or Roundup* in yards or parks (contains 2-4D/Agent Orange, Dicamba, & other toxins = a chemical formula, untested as a group).
Try NON-TOXIC OPTIONS: vinegar, epsom salt… etc., for weeds – & Compost organic! *Buy local, organic, NATIVE, heirloom seeds & plants, please!