Neville Lancelot Goddard- February 19, 1905 – October 1, 1972
Very interesting book written by this man, called "Feeling is the Secret." 

I really like this book, because so much of what I have learned about health and well-being can be tied to feeling. First of all when you go talk to anyone about your health, do you know start by talking about how you feel. You may say "I am tired," "I don't feel good," "I have a headache." Or you may say "I feel great." "I have energy." "I am really good." 

Assessment begins with description of how things feel. It is a great initial assessment tool. It is also really helpful when you take into account how a person says they feel day in and day out. If someone is talking about not feeling good consistently- is it a surprise that they never seem to get better or improve? 

FEELING IS THE SECRET. Neville explains that everything starts in the conscious mind as a thought. Let us say that you see a symptom appear. You think about it. Then you start attaching some feelings to that symptom. Maybe those feelings are fear or anxiety. The feelings then imprint on the sub-conscious mind, and Neville explains that what ever you feed the sub-conscious must make itself known, or must express itself. 


The key to any success in life is to therefore impress positive statements or affirming beliefs from the conscious mind, to the sub-conscious. He does not mean that you suppress reality or deny how you feel, but rather.... you recreate an image of one you desire, instead of mulling on the one you do not. 

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I want to try to explain this better, as far as I understand. The premise behind this is mind blowing, and will change your whole entire life. 

A number of years ago I was really struggling with my health. It was after my 4th child. I was drained, exhausted, not sleeping well, fatigued, stressed, and having digestive issues. When I finally decided that I needed to do something drastic, I made a plan for myself that included some outside help, massage, art, diet, nutrition and herbs. Now I was already an Herbalist. I had already been studying for years and years, but some lessons elude us, I suppose, until we really come face to face with them. 

I realized that I was so focused on my feelings, my negative feelings. I just hoped they would go away. I was taking herbs, but not doing other things to nourish my mind, body and soul. I was having symptoms that were hard to ignore. Some days I really had to drag myself through the entire day. Actually I think that was more days than not. 

As part of my new health plan, I had to rewire the thoughts in my brain. I had to imagine or believe I felt good and was well before I saw evidence. I did this in a few ways. I had used some meditations to hypno-birth. I knew that I could use meditations to help my body heal. I would listen to relaxing meditations that helped me visualize positive images of peace. I would lay in my bed every morning and tell myself I was happy, healthy, wealthy and wise. I would repeat this dozens of times a day. The key was believing and FEELING that feeling, even when I really didn't. 

I would draw images of wellness. I am an artist, so that might be easier than for most, but you can cut images of wellness. You can write words of wellness. I wrote many many statements that began with I am.... I am free, I am brave, I am healthy. You can find portions of my art journals and lessons attached in my book called Mommy and Me Art Journaling Activities for Love and Serenity at this LINK: https://linktr.ee/sheephillherbalist

I imagined my body the way I wanted it. I visualized my inner organs being flooded with white healing light. This is what I understand from what Neville is teaching. My conscious mind says "I am not well." Ok I recognize this. I am not going to DWELL on it though and impress it on my sub-conscious mind. I am going to rewire, rework and imagine what I want to see. 

I began to see significant changes in a short period of time with this new approach. It is really a discipline of the mind. It is difficult, but possible. So if you are taking all the supplements, and doing other modalities, and not seeing results. It may be time to add your imagination into the picture. You may need to FEEL and believe the feeling of wellness, or wealth, or happiness before you see it manifest. That is faith. "The substance of things hoped for the evidence of things unseen." (Bible reference). 

Today I am excellent. I am all those things I wrote about and repeated to myself. I am amazing! I am healthy! I am wealthy! I am happy. I created the life I wanted with my imagination and words. You can do the same. 

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This inconspicuous 198 page book, written in 1979, changed my life and how I help others with herbs. I highly recommend it if you are a practitioner, or someone serious about helping your family and community with herbal remedies. I have a link here to Amazon for purchase. My thanks ahead of time, and the book is inexpensive- but a must have for any herbalist. 

I read this book with my husband on our way to Connecticut and back a few years ago. We sometimes do this, where the passenger takes turns reading to the driver. I guess it is like the old fashioned way to do a "book on tape." I find that reading out loud is extremely relaxing. That may just be me. 

​I wanted to take the time to write a mini review for this book, and I plan on writing more on the books that changed my life in general and my life as an herbalist. This is definitely one of them. There are only certain books that have lasting impact, impressions and ideas that are born from the pages. Some books, many books just grace the bookshelf, with very little impact. Others stand tall, and blend with your soul. I have read thousands and thousands of books. I am an avid reader. I can read a few lines of a story and tell you if the book will be good or not. I can tell from the tone, the language, and the introduction. I am a fast reader, and can skim pages absorbing content quickly. 

Reading is the best way to learn, besides hands on actual practice. Reading from books- is so much better than digital books. Real books have energy. They have power. They are "alive." I do have a KINDLE and I do read from it every night, but nothing beats a good solid book in real life. I want to always believe we will have books this way, in solid form.

I digress a little, this post is about how this book has changed my life. 

Before studying this book, I chose dosage amounts by a standard measure, applied to everyone. I then learned about nutrition response, and doses based upon energetic responses differ for each individual body. Nutrition response is rather in-depth and requires a certain type of training. I searched for some simpler methods that would help and assist me in figuring out what I needed and how much.

Your Body Doesn't Lie   was written by John Diamond M.D. and this is an excerpt from the back of the book. 
"Everything you see, hear, touch or smell affects your body's vital energy. Renowned physician John Diamon explains and proves how this happens in this classic, interactive guide to holistic well-being................ Accessible and easy to understand, this invaluable guide will help you avoid physical problems before they occur." 

​I want to say that this method of testing is complicated, yet simple. The science behind it is complicated. It is a form of kinesiology. Kinesiology is the "studies of human and animal motion include measures from motion tracking systems, electrophysiology of muscle and brain activity, various methods for monitoring physiological function, and other behavioral and cognitive research techniques." (Kinesiology - Wikipedia)

I have seen various methods to test, but the book describes one with the linking of the middle fingers and thumbs on both hands. This works really well for self-testing and testing others. I want to say that you have to have a faith, and belief that you can actually test this way. I think you also have to believe that we are energy. Our bodies are actually energy in motion. 

"The whole universe is made up of energy - and at this level everything is vibrating. Hence, we are all made of this energy and the energy packets are "surfing on this sea of universal consciousness." In  other words, We Are All Connected and living in a "thought universe." The intangible world affects the tangible world we experience." (https://www.one-mind-one-energy.com/)

If we are energy, then are bodies can respond energetically (via the nervous system and subconscious mind.) I would say that the most clear testing has come when holding certain foods, or herbs next to the body and then performing the muscle test and getting a strong "yes" or "no" as to a lock or match for the body. Let me give you an example. You may have a perfectly fine food- like Cayenne peppers, but a person may get a "no" as to not needing it because they may have too much heat in their body. So just because a food is good, or healthy does not mean that a body needs it at that point in time. 

Same works with say lettuce greens. A person may have a lot of water or be holding water in their kidneys, and watery vegetables may give a strong "no" answer and although salads are healthy, that particular food will put the body in a more unbalanced state at that particular time.

In summary. Your Body Doesn't Lie- is an excellent book. It is a classic guide to true wellness. A true gem of a study for people looking to have more clues into how their body works. I recommend for sensitive types, or people who have intuitive, or empathic tendencies. This technique is really difficult for someone out of touch with nature and the messages of their body. It also takes time, and practice to develop this skill. Again- great book!

Great book! This is a great book! As are all the "Nourishing Traditions" books. I actually bought this one by accident, meaning to buy a copy of the regular Nourishing Traditions book, which I had given away. When this book arrived, I was disappointed, but sometimes the Universe has a way of turning our mistakes into blessings. I thought- I don't need this anymore, I am past the baby stage. However- the truths, and lessons in this book for making babies, and early childhood nutrition are still applicable, and I will be a grandmother someday! 

If you have not studied this book, or any of Weston Price's information he gathered from studying native peoples around the world, you will be in for a surprise for what he discovered. Weston's research and book were written ages ago, it seem.... back in the 1940's. I wish my parents would have read it before having me! What he discovered was that in small pockets around the world, in untouched areas people were living off the land, with diets rich in fat soluble foods found from full-fat grass fed animals, and fresh water fish, as well as raw, dairy from grass fed animals; imagine butter so full of nutrients it is almost orange in color!

When people are conceived by mothers and fathers, but especially mothers, who have diets with high in fat soluble vitamins A, D, and K2, like those who live off of a hunter/ gatherer lifestyle, their babies are happy, robust, healthy, and with strong bones. They develop properly and easily, without illness, and disease, and they teeth are straight and well developed without cavities, despite the fact that they do not brush, floss, and use mouthwash. To me this is astounding, because it goes against everything we have been taught in the Western Culture.

And- oh if I could go back and tell my mother, this information. I have been one of those people, like many Americans born with skin issues, allergies, crooked teeth, and other COMMON maladies to our country and dietary lifestyle. Life has been hard, and is hard when you are fighting against all the deficiencies that we were never meant to have. Even depression, moodiness, PMS, and argumentative, misbehaving children- all these commons in modern culture were absent in these pockets of people Price studied. They were Eskimo peoples, Gallic Fishermen, hunter/ gatherers in Canada, the Everglades, Amazon, Australia and Africa, as well as the Andean Indians. 

As an Anthropology student in college, I learned that these "so called backwards people" were really anything but backwards. They may life more simply, or less developed but in so many ways, especially when it comes to nutrition and life satisfaction, they are so much further ahead of us. Sadly though many of these pockets of people are no longer. I honestly do not know of the corners of the world that have not been modernized. If I had to guess pretty much everywhere has been touched by modern culture, technology and civilization. It is sad to see these peoples and rich culture disappear. With them, the knowledge our ancient ancestors took for granted. 

What if you are getting into the game, late?? It is the last quarter, and few minutes left, or even half-time. You may want to despair. You like me, got into the game late. You may feel like what is the use? I didn't have this growing up. My parents definitely did not eat in a nutrient dense way, so my condition is hopeless. 

I urge you to get in the game anyway! Wherever you are in life. At whatever stage in life, you can always make changes, and these changes will improve the quality of your life. An added benefit will be more enjoyment and and happiness as eating foods high in nutritive vitamins will make you feel so much better. You may not be able to change your height or teeth, or facial structure if you are already an adult (and I do not recommend surgery), but I believe in inherent Divine intervention and wisdom. You never know what can happen when you move forward in steps of faith. 

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