rAw....the relevance of iTchy skiN in a sOund blOg

so for the second time in the last 7 years, i've had a major outbreak of eczema - major because it has been both sudden and widespread. i had eczema as a kid and patches of it in adult life (nothing i wasn't used to) but 6 years ago, after working myself to the ground and contracting a virus, the eczema appeared and spread right over my body - after trying to treat naturally, i ended up in hospital with skin wraps and potassium baths, and emerged like i'd been in a beauty parlour.

this time, the occurence was quick and fairly widespread, and, although i've had ten days of the steroid prednizone, i'm more determined and, i think, more able to succesfully treat it naturally.

this time, i'm reminded that this may not be a one-off scenario, but something i need to pay attention to - my health is now more precious to me and something i want to proactively nurture. 

eczema for me is more than itchy skin - as Hinemoana's friend Kate said 'there is nobility in rising above pain, but not much nobility in rising above itching'...but, having this severity a second time around, i'm aware of all that it is - a chronic feeling of unwellness, soreness, low energy, cold, vulnerability to weather and temperature - at the moment i function best between 10am and 8pm...sleeplessness (my partner is currently sleeping in the next room to escape the night scratches (and dreaming about running off with David Bowie so i really do need to get a handle on the eczema fast!)


but now i also want to see the eczema as a gift - and particularly this time around, it seems that every inclination i've had towards healing has been intuited and then confirmed by my readings/learnings. i am grateful to the people who have documented their journeys and learnings and so feel it is my time to do the same - to be more open about my goings on.


this blog was intended as a sound blog and it will continue to be one, but it will incorporate other areas of interest that have remained hidden for fear that i may be a hippie-new-age freak. 


the first learnings when i entered the new zealand school of music to study sonic art was the reminder that sound is vibration - pretty much at the same time i started this study i was interoduced to the teachings of the law of attraction mainly through abraham-hicks. this teaching starts with the premise that we are vibrational beings.


at music school, i became enamoured with the contact mic - a device that amplifies vibration and converts to sound. i have just purchased 2 contact mics and a hydrophone from jez riley french. yahoody.


and of course, eastern thinking identifies the beginiings of dis-ease on a vibrational level - so raw food/raw sound fits in my book.

here is an abraham clip - not the one i was looking for but along the lines...

and yes...i can identify quite a few months of conflicted, out of alignment, negative vibrational thinking that brought me here...


so now the healing begins - in this sense the eczema is a gift - to show where i was vibrationally out of whack and out of alignment with myself. 


one of the areas i was out of alignment was in the area of eating - and when the eczema hit, it was the first thing that my attention came to for change - firstly because i largely lost my appetite straight away...


around about this time, i found these guys...matthew armstrong and victoria whitehead and their 100 day juice feast...

i stumbled on these guys because i was interested in the james arthur ray trial and was googling all over town - they happened to include a post where they commented on the trial - i followed them every day after. so i found them on day 23 of their feast - they are now on day 94...i spent the next 2 weeks predominantly juicing - this worked because my appetite was largely gone anyway - my body's way of telling me that i was detoxifying and needed to help my body do this.

i decided pretty quickly i needed to go off gluten and dairy. 


my first readings led me to consider the alkaline diet - overly acidic foods lead to an acidic pH and the need for rebalancing...alkaline foods are predominantly leafy green vegetables so my juices became greener and more bitter - i also added wheat-grass powder.

around the same time, hinemoana's cousin anahera, leant me the following book....

this book looks at the eastern view of dis-ease. according to this view eczema is caused by the stagnation or over-toxicity of the liver and with it's inability to detox, the skin steps in and becomes a huge detoxifying agent...this condition is also referred to as the heating of the system and so recommends cooling foods - again, the primary ones being leafy green veges and raw food...

in the middle of this, my eczema got worse and one morning i woke with skin that made me feel like i was a burns victim and was weeping - i was also mentally and emotionally feeling more despondent and vulnerable and was concerned about infection (which happened the first time) - so i took myself to a doctor...the result - a one week course of prednizone followed by 7 days of decreasing dose for weaning off...i felt immediate relief and the skin cleared but after the first three days could still feel the eczema in the system - i knew it was being suppressed and would reappear once the course ended - still i was grateful for the relief and, in a way hoped that it would be sufficient to knock it back for good. this wasn't to be and i continued in my research.


i researched other sites of people who have healed from eczema, and overwhelmingly, the sites i found talked about slow, systematic healing and strengthening of the digestive system throug the eating of raw food.


so after much thought, i have decided to go raw...


one thing about this choice is that i want it to be more about moving toward health rather than deprivation - so my intention is to be raw as much as possible but not to slam myself if i deviate...this is a lifestyle change i want to make long-term so even if eventually i am 70-30% that will be better than what i was - for now though i want to give my liver and system a chance to rebalance.


gluten and dairy are definitely off though and i have noticed massive differences particularly in now having clear sinuses.


hinemoana and marian have been supportive and are enjoying (or not) some new recipes...i have to say raw food isn't what it sounds like - there are some amazing flavour combinations...it is taking some rethinking re: shopping and preparation but i will get there...will post some of the good recipes here...


if i was in new york i'd definitely be visitn the restaurant pure food and wine


so that is me - it's all about vibration and energy at the end of the day...raw food/raw sound.


it's not been a great skin day today, but with contact mics and recipes in hand i'll keep you posted.