#Spike is highly confused but accepts the approval

[gigakes]

-stares at before silently giving a thumbs up- she really likes her fashion choices.

mik. feels validated by the goddess of goths. 

[cutietobio]

Can I please get a Kenji Futakuchi vampire AU x fem!reader who’s a vampire slayer? Maybe they have a dynamic similar to Spike & Buffy from Buffy The Vampire Slayer? If you haven’t seen the show then just feel free to do whatever you want thank you

Omg, I had the biggest crush on Spike. This may not be exactly like them, as I decided to go ahead with my own take on their dynamic, so I apologise! Hope you enjoy.

FUTAKUCHI

He was in a vulnerable state, wounded deeply with no energy to heal. The Vampire Slayers had strategized carefully, dare he admit, he was quite impressed that they had managed to wipe out more than half of his base. Their raid had almost been successful, but with his foggy breath filtering throughout the freezing cold air, their job was far from complete.

A snap of a branch in the distance willed him to lift his head, pressing down heavily upon his wound with his right hand. Blood coated his fingers with its sticky composition, it was a putrid black colour, for he was technically dead. There would be no benefit to feast on his own blood to gain some energy back, he needed the crimson liquid which he could hear pumping through your veins as you approached him.

“Of course they bring you here to kill me,” Futakuchi spat out venomously, gritting his teeth as his wound throbbed into his side, a searing hot pain erupting throughout the surrounding area. Damn those gunners and their silver bullets laced with poison. As long as the shell was embedded in his skin, the poison wouldn’t stop until it reached his unbeating heart.

“I wasn’t ordered by anyone, but I’d rather be the one to kill you,” you admitted with a small hum, ignoring the way your throat clenched up at the sight of him. You had envisioned this moment so many times before, practised your lines so that they would be filled with vicious intent. Instead, they had left your lips so quietly that you could barely hear yourself, they were empty and lacked conviction.

“How did you find me?” Fukatuchi questioned, hoping to draw out time as he dug his clawed fingers into his injury, fishing around to find the bullet. The silver would likely burn his fingertips if he were to touch it, but he planned to rip it out quickly to spare himself too much pain.

The squelching noise that filled the air as Fukatuchi dug around in his own flesh had you grimace, your hold faltering on your scythe which had been given to you with the goal of killing him with it. Before it had felt light in your hands, now, it felt heavy and daunting to carry.

“The trail,” you pointed to the footsteps and droplets of blackened blood which leaked through the snow behind you. It stretched further off into the distance than he could see and Fukatuchi ‘tch’ed at the sight. During his attempt to get away, he had been neglecting to cover his tracks.

“Why are you just standing there? I was certain you would have slaughtered me by now,” Fukatuchi hissed as his long fingernails grazed at the bullet, shoving it deeper inside his body. He huffed in irritation, shifting more upright against the tree he currently leaned on to get into a more comfortable position.

“Where’s the fun in killing you if you’re unable to fight back?” you question with a smirk, one which he rolls his eyes at.

“That’s highly sadistic of you, but as you can see, I’m about to bleed to death,” he growled out, baring his fangs in your direction in an angered manner. “Either you kill me or I die from the poison and bloodloss. Pick one,” his eyes narrow upon you challengingly, daring you to hurry up and pick a decision.

Your heart clenches at the thought. His death was meant to bring relief, but instead, you felt the undeniable anguish at the thought of it. You watched him closely, the way his body shivered from the snow and lack of blood, yet his facial expressions remained hard and unwavering.

Fukatuchi raised an eyebrow as you set your scythe upon the ground, propping it up against a large exposed rock. He was even more confused as you shrugged off your thick black coat, approaching him with small and calculated steps. Despite his injuries, he was still very dangerous if in close proximity. He could lunge out, grab you close and bite your neck until you’re a writhing mess beneath him as he sucks you dry. 

However, Fukatuchi did none of these things. His fingers removed themselves from his gunshot wound and he watched intently as you crouched beside him close enough that he could feel the heat flowing from your form. He allowed you to drape your coat over him without strife or struggle and voiced no arguments as you dipped your fingers into his wound, feeling around for the bullet. With your thin fingers and polished fingernails, the pain was barely existent.

“Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft from what happened last time,” Fukatuchi murmured out, stare fixated upon your concentrated face. Not once did he allow his eyes to flicker to your exposed neck. Your cheeks heated up at the memory and you hoped he would assume it was just frostbite.

Your last encounter had been responsible for your sudden change in emotions regarding the bloodthirsty and ruthless vampire laid out before you. You were inches away from killing him, if he hadn’t been toying with you in the first place, he would surely be dead. But he allowed you to get close to him for a reason because as soon as he turned around and you were frozen upon getting caught, he kissed you. It wasn’t a teasing kiss meant to mock and ridicule you for being caught in his trap and failing to kill him, it was a kiss so full with emotion and raw passion that you found yourself kissing him back.

Fukatuchi had been surprised at first but accepted it without a mere second of hesitation. The kiss furthered and his tongue had invaded every inch of your mouth. His fangs clashed against your teeth, but it was more inviting than it was unusual. 

“You were so close to killing me, little lamb. Better luck next time.”

You recalled his words from having broken away from the kiss, and you wished he hadn’t given you any luck in killing him, because you were unable to do so now.

Breaking from your daze, you found your lips mere millimetres away from his own. Fukatuchi had craned his neck, wanting the kiss just as badly as you. Noticing your sudden halt in descending, Fukatuchi snapped his gaze from your lips to your eyes.

“Having second thoughts, my little lamb?” his use of possessive pronoun sent your heart into a fluttering mess. He considers you as his, and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

“No, not in a million years,” Fukatuchi hums in approval at your response, only to have it swallowed up by your lips crashing upon his own. The fight for dominance begins within seconds as your open-mouthed kiss grows hot and heavy. Your fingers lace and pull at the back strands of his hair and his hand trails up your upper body, gently passing over your breast to cup the side of your neck as he tugs you closer.

As the kiss ensues, you grasp the silver bullet that had been injecting poison into him and rip it out. The effects are immediate, as you feel his wound seal closed beneath the delicate touch of your fingers. Fukatuchi sighs into the kiss, whether it be from pleasure or the wave of relief he feels as his energy gradually returns to him. 

Despite your betrayal to the Vampire Slayers, you feel not even an inch of guilt, knowing you had made the right decision. You make no attempt to stop Fukatuchi as he breaks from the kiss, a string of saliva connecting you both which breaks away as his fangs plummet into the soft flesh of your neck.

You whimper from the burning pain as he sucks the blood from your veins, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. When he releases his bite on your neck, he licks up the seeping blood from the two puncture wounds greedily.

“My little lamb, you’ll pass out soon, but I want you to know that we’ll now be together forever,” Fukatuchi whispers in your ear before pressing one last kiss against your temple at the sight of your eyelids dropping.

[ghostmeep]

Random things from chapter 370 that I don’t want people to miss about Haikyuu!! because Furudate is a GeINuS

Some important moments, but also a lot of not so important moments loll

(warning: excessive use of exclamation points and improper capitalization)

First up is the title of the chapter

Challenger — I think this sets up nicely the tone of what is to come.

The challenger in question is Hinata — as the main character, but also based off what Coach Ukai senior said

Hinata is basically a challenger against life — he’s short, and he hasn’t had as much opportunities to learn and develop in volleyball as other people — but he’s not letting go of his volleyball dream.

I’m too lazy to get the screencap of it, but before during the imitation youth camp at Shiratorizawa — they said how Hinata being an ‘uninvited party’ may be how he will be for the rest of his life — that is exactly what happened. Hinata didn’t get offers straight out of high school like Kageyama did — so he found his own path to be able to play volleyball. I can’t wait to see how much better Hinata got.

Okay, I’m sure many people are super psyched about Captain Yamaguchi — and I am too!!!!!!! Because Yamaguchi deserves the wOrlD and I can just imagine how much more confident our little baby grew up to be!!! How he is not afraid to call people out on their shit but he’s also the softest captain ev e r

But also can we talk about Vice Captain Kageyama??????????

Like, it’s always been a headcanon of mine to have Captain Yamaguchi and Vice Kageyama, but I didn’t think it would actually become canon??????? I knew that Yamaguchi was basically certain as captain, but I thought Tsukishima would end up his vice since they are so close and work well together. BUT IT’S KAGEYAMA AND I’M SO PROUD

Because also remember what number he wore in middle school third year

#2 — now, not all schools make their Vice Captain the #2 — but it is highly likely Kageyama was vice during his middle school years as well.

SOO I can just imagine Kageyama getting this number and thinking of his middle school days and how he is going to do so much bETTeR this time around.

How, well maybe the first years would be afraid of him at first, but they’ll quickly come to see his dorky side that just loves volleyball so very much. And how now Kageyama can actually communicate and see his spikers, instead of being reduced to saying ‘faster!’ ‘higher!’ on repeat. How little baby first years will come up to him, ask him if he could teach them out to do something, and Kageyama aGrEEInG (and not rejecting in childish manner coughOikawacough) and Kageyama just stumbling with his explanations and onomatopoeias aoweiaoiwenawe

hhhhhhhhh i wished we were shown Good Senpai Kageyama awoienawieawe

!!! Also, Hinata has #5 (#4 is probably the libero) — can you imagine him taking a pic and sending it to Tanaka all proud like saying that he’ll do the number 5 jersey proud like his senpais before him awoeinawoienawien

Yeah, just please appreciate this page pls aoweinaowieNAOWEIn

But also! Kageyama is wearing Karasuno jersey on top and then Japan one on the bottom — nice juxtaposition Furudate-sensei!

Hinata!!!!!!!!

People have pointed out how this is a recall of the beginning of the series where Hinata saw the little giant on TV — and y ES — but also!!!! Look at the size of his bag aoweinawoien look at him traveling everywhere by bike still.

This isn’t little baby Hinata who is just running around with his friends playing random sports — this is in the making volleyball player Hinata. He must have build some serious muscle aaaaaaaa

Just wanted to make clear!!! Hinata agreeing to go to Rio wasn’t just because of the coach being there — even before he heard about the possible coach in Rio, he learned that Brazil is strong in beach volleyball. So not only is there a coach willing to take him on, it’s at a place full of strong players.

Hinata agreeing to go to Roi just seemed kinda sudden to me, but I do think he gave it serious thought. 

Hinata seems like he mostly grew out of his brash, unthinking self from the beginning of the series and I wanted to point that out in case others missed it.

I don’t think anyone missed HInata’s Karasuno jersey hanging — but I don’t think it is there just for sentimental reasons (though I’m sure that is def a part of it)

But Hinata probably uses it as a reminder and for motivation. Karasuno was where he truly began to develop as a volleyball player. It’s where he realized that just because he can jump high doesn’t mean he can play volleyball. He needs to learn to be able to do everything (which is why he’s in Rio)

It’s also where he got to know Kageyama, ofc. Kageyama his ultimate rival that he is still aiming to beat (again, Hinata as a challenger) So I think seeing this jacket just motivates Hinata more than it being there just for memories

aowienaowine just wanted to say I approve of all the one piece mangas Hinata has as a fellow one piece fan aoweinaoiwen

!!! It snowed recently before their graduation

Now, I’m sure absolutely no one is surprised that these two dorks are playing volleyball rIGHT after their ceremony

BuT can we talk about how Kageyama’s serve is strong enough to make Hinata tumble like that oawienaoiwneae

Sure, Hinata used to tumble all the time when receiving — but that was because he couldn’t get proper footing and didn’t know how to receive. This HInata is not like that (look at his concentrated face!!) plus his tumble is exactly like Noya’s tumble whenever he received strong serves/spikes.

Really, both of them grew up so much aaaaaaaaaa

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,IgnoRinG the HAiR

Lol no, in all seriousness, I don’t mind Kageyama’s hair too much. It seemed awful when I first saw it, but honestly the more I look at it the more (exasperatedly) fond of it I get.

It’s like, please don’t let Kageyama ever make life decisions (outside of volleyball) on his own. But when he does, you can’t help but accept whatever horrible decision it was and just want to pat him on the head and tell him he still did good awoeinaweoinawoein

BUT moST iMpoRtaNTLY!!! Look at that smile!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Now, I know that this doesn’t mean that Kageyama can smile on command, but his unconscious smile at the very least are a loT SofTer

Honestly, smiling is just about muscle memory. So!!! The fact that his smiles are so much softer and less awkward and sharp means he did a lot of smiling over the past two years awoienaowieanw i’m glad Kageyama has had reason to smile!!!!!!!!! pls we need more soft smiling Kageyama

Hinata having such a cheesy sign in his room is honestly kinda funny to me, but it suits him

The ‘single step’ was mentioned before in Haikyuu as well, at least twice in fact.

First was with Kageyama doing serves to Hinata that first time. And how Hinata was very obviously tired but he kept receiving again and again.

And again the ‘single step’ was brought up when Karasuno made the conscious decision to have someone from the backline back up so that they can catch the volleyballs that are knocked back after hitting the blockers. ( I thinkkkk in the Shiratorizawa game??? not sure ) I don’t feel like searching for the screencap, but yeah.

It was basically how they weren’t going to rely on just the fast reflexes of Nishinoya and Hinata saving those flyaway balls anymore, and how they will take that extra ‘single step’ to make those ‘miracle plays’ into a regular thing.

So since the ‘single step’ motif has been used a lot, I do think the quote suits Hinata more and appreciate it being there.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that is really it??

It seems some people aren’t really happy about this timeskip and are saying how it all seemed rushed, but I don’t really think that way.

If anyone, it seems like the readers are the ones in a rush. Since everyone wants to just see how all the characters are like after five years, or just wants to know if Fukuroudani won nationals — people are just kinda glazing over Furudate’s actual pacing.

So far we got a pretty nice understanding of what happened, and I’m sure there are more details that will be given later. But for now we have enough to not be confused, and we are given many hints about the developments that Hinata and the other original first years went through.

So yeah, I dunno. I still love Haikyuu!! and I love Furudate and trust that we’ll be given the same great content that we have been getting for the past years.

[everlock101]

Invisible-Part Two

Part two of my Allie/Leonard/Mick fanfiction. Hope you like it. This is just for fun and I don’t own any of the Flash characters.

We didn’t talk that night. I was still hurting and way too emotional and we were all tired so we just collapsed back on my bed. I felt so warm and safe and happy and drained. 

The next morning, I woke to soft murmurs. I blinked groggily and peeked up at them. 

“-On the thirty-first?” Mick nodded thoughtfully. 

I shifted and yawned. Both of them looked down at me. 

“How are you feeling, doll?” Mick rumbled. I took stock. My arm had a dull ache and I still felt tired but the happy glow in my chest made everything feel better. 

“I’m good,” I told them with a happy grin. Their faces softened, smiles curving their own lips. 

“Good. Hungry?” Len asked before leaning down to kiss me gently. I nodded. Mick dropped a kiss on my lips before slipping from the bed. He took most of the heat with him and I pouted. Len chuckled. 

“Come on.” 

We got out of bed. I dropped by the bathroom before meeting them in the kitchen. Len immediately and gently pushed me into a seat and handed me a glass of water. 

“Thanks...babe.” I tried it out and Len and Mick both laughed. The sound filled my stomach with warm sparkles. 

“Whatever you want, love.” I couldn’t believe I was so happy. Two gorgeous, amazing, loving men actually wanted me. I squirmed with delight. 

After a hearty breakfast, (I always needed more calories during healing), Mick, Len and I settled on the couch. 

“So, we should probably talk,” Mick announced. I tensed reflexively.

“Am I already in trouble?” I asked meekly. They both chuckled and shook their heads. Len took my hand and laced our fingers together.  

“No. But this isn’t exactly your usual relationship. For it to work, we all need to have open communication. I’m sure there will be things we figure out along the way but it’s important that all of us feel able to talk with each other.” 

“Have you ever done this before?” My stomach churned a bit as I asked the question. They didn’t lie.

“Yeah,” Len told me. “Once. it didn’t work out.” His face darkened a bit and I bit my lip. 

“Was it because there were three of you?” I asked sadly. Mick rubbed my knee comfortingly. 

“No. It was because the other guy was a dick.” 

I sighed in relief. His thumb made soothing circles into my skin and I hummed. 

“Well, you two are the experts. How does this conversation go?” Len seemed to snap out of it. He smiled and kissed my cheek. 

“Alright, let’s talk.” And we did. For hours. First, they explained how they saw this relationship going, (they’d been together for years and hadn’t been tempted to let someone else in often. Only me and the mystery jerk). To the public, this would be considered an open relationship but they assured me that they didn’t want anyone else. 

“You’re it for us, dollface,” Mick said with a wink. I wriggled in delight and they both grinned.

“Are you alright with that? A committed relationship with the two of us.” 

It was a serious question and I could tell Len wanted a serious answer but I didn’t need to think about it for long. I wanted this. Just the three of us. I couldn’t imagine ever wanting someone other than these two. 

“Yes.” A sense of relief came over the two of them. 

“Good. Because we don’t intend on sharing you with anyone else,” Mick rumbled a bit darkly. The phrase filled my chest with warmth. “You’re ours.” 

I’d always thought possessiveness would make me bristle but there was something in the way Mick said it that just made me shiver.

We kept talking until they brought up boundaries. I bit my lip as they asked what my boundaries might be. 

“Like...sex?” I was mortified by the squeak in my voice but neither of them laughed. Mick rubbed my knee again and Len squeezed my hand. 

“That’s part of it,” Len said gently. “But not all of it. It’s about how the three of us want to be treated individually, about how we can settle into this together and-” A knock came at the door. I startled. I hadn’t been expecting anyone. Len and Mick both tensed. 

I stood and hesitated at the knob, glancing back at them. They seemed to understand and slipped to the wall behind the door. 

I opened the door and was surprised to see Barry. He’d never visited my apartment before. His brown eyes were wide and worried. 

“Barry? You ok?” 

“Am I ok? Am I ok?!” I startled at his raised voice. “Why am I just finding out that you went to the hospital for a gunshot?!”

I blinked. 

“What?” My voice sounded strange, flat and dangerous. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mick shift. Len caught my gaze briefly and he gave me a reassuring nod. Barry crossed his arms. 

“Four days ago you were in the hospital. I can see the bandage!” I glanced at my shoulder. I was only wearing a tank top. “Why didn’t you tell me?!” 

All my nice, warm feelings were gone now. Only to be replaced with something boiling hot. 

“Didn’t tell you.” My temper spiked, making my voice waver. “Didn’t tell you?! I called Joe the night someone broke in but he was too busy. All of you were too busy. Why do you think I left seven messages on your phone, Barry? I’ve been calling everyone but no one has picked up!” Barry’s face went a little slack. He tried to stammer some excuse but I suddenly felt tears spring to my eyes. 

“You know what? I’m done. I can’t do this anymore. Being ignored by everybody, getting hurt without anyone noticing or caring. It’s over. Don’t call me for any more hero stuff. I can’t do it. I won’t do it. And you know what, how about you all just keep leaving me alone. I think I like it better that way.” ‘

With that, I slammed the door in his face and threw the lock. I even put up the chain to be safe. I whirled around, angry tears streaking down my face. Len and Mick stood there, arms held out to me. 

I pressed into their embrace. They wrapped around me, held me close and let me cry. 

It took me a while to calm down. Barry knocked on the door for a while but eventually left. I ranted for a while until my temper finally petered out and then sank onto the couch, grumbling. Len pushed some water into my hands. I had a headache now and my throat felt dry. 

“I’m sorry,” I finally mumbled. Len sat down and pulled my legs over his lap. 

“For what?” 

“For all of that.” 

Len shrugged. 

“Barry and your friends are idiots and you’ve had that bottled up for a while.” At my confused look, he arched an eyebrow. “We’ve been with you for a while now, doll. We’ve seen how they treated you. We just didn’t say anything because it wasn’t our place.” 

“Now it is,” Mick said darkly, coming into the living room with a plate of sandwiches. I picked one up and began to nibble on it. 

“I’m tired,” I said, rather pitifully. Len rubbed my shin. 

“Eat something. Then we can take a nap.” 

…

We managed to finish our conversation after our nap. I felt better. A lot better. Telling Barry off had freed something in my chest. I liked it. 

“So boundaries?” I started. We were in the kitchen now. I stood beside Mick and helped him as he worked on dinner. Len was apparently banned from making anything more complicated than mac and cheese. 

“Those might be something that comes up more easily as we go. The main thing you need to know is that being with us is safe,” Len continued, hopping onto the island. Mick nodded as I handed over a knife. 

“Yeah. Anytime you need to stop and ask questions or discuss concerns or boundaries, you tell us.” Mick gave me a warning look that was filled with so much affection, my toes wriggled. I accepted a plate of vegetables to wash. 

“You guys too,” I told them. They were quiet for a moment and I looked at them. They stared at me. “I mean, I’m learning so I’m probably going to mess up at some point. Being with me is safe too.” Mick leaned down and kissed my hair. Len’s eyes were so warm they seemed to have melted. 

“We’re all going to mess up at some point,” Len said quietly. “We all just have to remember that we love each other and that we can always talk about it.” 

…

I went back to work once my doctor had cleared me. My routine settled into normalcy. Barry called a few times but I only felt a twinge of guilt as I ignored him. I kept an eye on the news but I wasn’t called in for hero duty, something that gave me immense pleasure. 

Mick and Len talked about moving in somewhere together. I’d thought about it. They pretty much lived at my apartment anyway but I held back. This was still new and I wanted to take things slow. 

Things were good. We had a few tense moments as the months went by but things were smoothed over pretty quickly. I felt myself settle into place like a piece of a puzzle. 

…

“What’s all this?” I asked one night as I came home from work. Len and Mick were still up (as they usually were) but they were pouring over papers and what looked suspiciously like a blueprint. 

“Our next job,” Len replied casually but when he looked up there was something hard in his eyes. I bit my lip, wondering how the hell their professions hadn’t come up in our talk about boundaries. 

To give myself time to think, I turned away from them and carefully peeled off my jacket, hung it up. Hung up my purse. Put my keys in the bowl. 

They were criminals. In the past months I’d forgotten that fact. They had become just Len and Mick, my incredible boyfriends. But they were criminals. They were thieves. 

And I was supposed to be a hero. 

I chewed my lip and turned back to them. Both of them were acting nonchalant but I saw the tension in their spines. 

I sat down in the easy chair. 

“I have no idea what to do here.” My admission seemed to surprise them. They both blinked and I shrugged. “You’re both criminals. I haven’t thought about it much but it’s true. I still think stealing is wrong but I highly doubt I could really stop either of you.” 

They exchanged a look as if they were running numbers in their heads. 

“No. You probably couldn’t,” Len admitted slowly. I shrugged again. 

“So, how are we going to work this out. I don’t approve of this.” 

Len leaned back, blue eyes resting on me as he thought. Mick rolled his shoulders, a gesture I’d come to learn as uncertainty. 

“Our deal with the Flash remains. People won’t get hurt.” 

I fixed them with a look. 

“And the Flash himself?” 

They exchanged a glance. 

“What about him?” 

I blew out a sigh and slumped back into my chair. 

“He’ll show up to stop you. You’ll all fight again. After everything that’s happened, would you hurt him? Really hurt him?” 

They didn’t answer but they also didn’t meet my eyes. 

“He’s still my brother,” I continued. “Whatever’s happened, I don’t want to see him hurt or killed.” 

“Why should that matter to you?” Mick snapped. 

I blinked at him. He locked gazes with me and fire burned in those dark eyes. I struggled to remain calm. 

“Like I said, he’s still my broth-” 

“He sure as hell hasn’t acted like it!” 

Mick jumped to his feet, his fists clenched. Len stood immediately and grabbed his wrist but Mick’s eyes were fixed on me. 

“So what if we hurt him! He deserves it!” 

I jumped to my feet as my own anger flared to life. 

“I don’t want that!” 

“What about what we want?! He should burn for hurting you!” 

The words struck me and made my voice die. I stared at Mick as the weight of what he’d said sunk into me. 

Had anyone ever cared that much about me before? Surely my parents had. Before everything had happened. I knew my dad still loved me deeply but he was in prison. He couldn’t be there for me the way he wanted. 

An overwhelming wave of love burst into my chest and tears filled my eyes. The sudden change in emotion made my head spin. 

“Oh, Mick,” I breathed. He looked startled and then I rushed forward and hugged him tightly, burying my face in his neck. A few moments passed before he hugged me back. 

After a minute, I stepped back and dried my eyes. I’d never seen Mick or Len look so confused. 

“I love you guys too,” I said simply. Len’s eyes softened a bit at the edges and he leaned in to press a kiss to my temple.

I let out a breath and took Mick’s hand. 

“I appreciate that you love me that much, Mick. It feels good to see how much you hate my getting hurt.” Mick’s shoulders relaxed a bit and his grip tightened around mine. I made my next words gentle. “But hurting Barry would hurt me.” He sucked in a breath then blew it out huffily. 

“Fine,” he muttered. 

Len reached up and brushed some hair from my neck. 

“At least, nothing he can’t recover from,” he offered. His tone was teasing but that hard glint was back in his eyes. He didn't show it like Mick, but he was just as furious with Barry. 

I bit my lip as I hesitated. 

“Fine,” I slowly relented. “Nothing he can’t recover from.” I wasn't entirely happy but I knew that was probably as good as I was going to get. 

…

They went through the heist. I watched the live coverage. The Flash received a bit of frostbite on his arms and a few burns to the chest but nothing he couldn’t recover from.  

[clausvonbohlen]

My Zen Rakusu

After three months investigating plant medicines in the Amazon, I flew to Japan with my friend S. My first visit was back in 2009, also with S, who lived there in his teens and speaks fluent Japanese. On that occasion we visited the ancient monastery complex of Koya-san, in the mountains south of Osaka. It was winter, and snowing, and I remember watching a monk sweeping the entrance to one of the monastery buildings. He did it so beautifully, and seemed so at peace with himself and the world, that I resolved that one day I too would visit a monastery in Japan and participate in monastic life. This trip to Japan, which would coincide with sakura – the cherry blossom period – seemed like the right moment, and a good way to consolidate my recent experiences.

  Since returning from that first visit in 2009, I have become increasingly fascinated by Zen. At that time I was living in San Francisco. I read Kerouac’s ‘Dharma Bums’, and I followed in his footsteps by climbing up Matterhorn Peak in the Hoover Wilderness. I read D. T. Suzuki, and I tried to get to grips with haikus and koans. I read John Welwood’s ‘Gradual Awakening’, and I was very struck by his description of a meeting with the Tibetan teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Welwood wrote:

 ‘I remember once walking into a room for an interview with him and being astounded by the vast space that seemed to radiate from him in all directions. It felt as though the roof and walls of the room had been blown out. Never having experienced anything like that before, I found it tremendously magnetic.’

 In addition to Zen, Japan has also provided me with both the most and least romantic experiences of my life. The former happened on that first visit in 2009, on a freezing night in Tokyo, in an all night florist’s. I met a gentle lost American girl, and paid for her flowers, and we walked for a while together and parted company on a windy street corner. We said goodbye with tears in our eyes, maybe because of the wind, but also because of the transience of life, and the other outcomes almost possible but not, and the things unsaid and maybe unsayable.

  The least romantic experience happened on a visit a couple of years ago, also in Tokyo, at the tail end of a long and humid summer. I must have been spiked with Rohypnol, or a similar dissociative ‘predator’ drug, since I have almost no memory of the night, something that has never happened to me before. The same thing happened to the friend I was with, and we later read online warnings from the US embassy about Nigerians in that area of Tokyo who were known for these nefarious activities. The drugs don’t knock you out, but they make you immensely suggestible; the snippets of memory I do have are of walking to numerous cash machines, accompanied by my new Nigerian ‘friends’; exceeding the withdrawal limit on all my bank cards (as I later pieced together from the receipts I found screwed up in my pockets); paying for large quantities of alcohol in a succession of seedy bars; and canoodling with two Columbian girls who, in retrospect, were almost certainly not the sweet, unbiased, and reciprocally enamoured civilians that I assumed at the time.  And then coming home the next day, rather dazed, with a wallet mysteriously empty not just of Yen, but of all the foreign currencies too.

  On that visit two years ago, I also went to Kanazawa, a city on the west coast about halfway between Kyoto and Tokyo. I fell in love with Kanazawa: it is less touristy than other places, boasts the Kenrokuen gardens – the most beautiful Japanese gardens I have ever seen -  as well as the D. T. Suzuki museum, whose two or three exhibits are not nearly as significant as the building’s clean lines, contrasting textures and calming use of space.

                   D.T. Suzuki museum in Kanazawa.

But above all, I fell in love with Kanazawa’s 1950′s American aesthetic, the kind of thing that Kerouac would have seen during his travels back and forth across America. And the light is reminiscent of Edward Hopper’s magnificent, lonely, brave paintings from the same period.

         Kanazawa, oddly reminiscent of Kerouac’s America.

I always wanted to return to Kanazawa, and I was very happy to discover that there is a Zen temple in Kanazawa that hosts visitors. I found an email address for the Guestmaster and wrote to him. My email went unanswered, so I wrote again, and again. I was not dismayed, since I knew of the Zen tradition in which an aspirant for instruction is turned away by the Master the first three times, though he should be accepted on the fourth. This proves that the aspirant is serious. In addition, a Master should always be asked to teach, rather than offer to do so; presumably, this ensures that the teaching is given for the right reasons, and not to inflate the teacher’s ego, or win fame.

  However, the Guestmaster never answered my emails, so I asked S to accompany me to the monastery in order to present my request in person, and in Japanese.  We stopped in Kanazawa on our way from Kyoto to Tokyo.

  Kyoto abounds with Zen temples and gardens, and we had visited a number of them. They are small, beautifully maintained, but also busy, and you have to pay to enter each one. Daijoji Temple in Kanazawa, by contrast, was a much bigger place, surrounded by tombstones on a wooded hill on the outskirts of town, with a view of the distant ocean. Enormous old trees cast dappled shade and created the sense of peace that I remembered from my visit to snowy Koya-san, where I had seen the sweeping monk. The huge and imposing red entrance gate was open, so we entered the temple enclosure and wandered down ancient wooden colonnades and past ornate Buddhist warrior carvings. There was no one around, and it was  unnerving, but also magical, to be able to explore this space all by ourselves.

                      Daijoji Temple, Kanazawa

Eventually we found a monk who was in the middle of performing his chores with a dishcloth tied round his head. S explained my request. The monk looked very surprised. Another, chubbier monk then arrived. He was more senior, and S repeated the request, adding that I had already emailed three times to the Guestmaster. This caused both monks some embarrassment. The chubby one disappeared for a while. On his return he explained that if I were to stay for a week, as I was hoping, then my visit would coincide with ‘seishin’, the intense five day period of meditation that happens once a month. Would that be ok? I tried to appear confident and said that it would. In that case, they said, they would present my request to the abbot, and we should telephone the monastery that evening to hear the result.

  Back in our hotel, I was feeling nervous, so I went to the sauna and watched a sumo match on the tv in there, alongside a lot of elderly Japanese men. On returning to our room, S informed me that my request had been accepted. I was jubilant, though at the time I didn’t fully realize what I had committed to.

  When I returned to the temple a few days later, I was greeted by Godo Roshi, the monk in charge of novices, and the only one who spoke some English. I picked up my futon and followed Godo Roshi down a series of paper-paneled corridors - confusing since the doors and panels look the same  – to my room, a small empty space enclosed by more paper panels. On the way, I had to change from outdoor shoes to sandals to slippers and finally to socks, an action that I would end up repeating countless times every day. On this first occasion, I was paid the only verbal compliment that I was to receive all week: when I placed my slippers on their shelf, Godo Roshi nodded his approval and said, ‘Very elegant.’

  I had been given a timetable as well as a short book on Zen, in English. The timetable came as a bit of a shock. Every moment of the day was accounted for, down to five minute segments. I would have to be up at 4.30am every morning for an hour of seated meditation (zazen) in the the zendo, followed by half an hour of sutra chanting in the main hall, then an hour of floor cleaning, then breakfast at 7am, a brief rest, and 10 more sessions of zazen throughout the rest of the day, alternating with more chores and brief rest or study periods.

  Despite going to bed early (around 10), the mornings were tough. My visit had coincided with a cold snap. The temperature dropped to 3 degrees at night, and it was no warmer inside the monastery than out. By day, when the sun shone, it was in fact colder inside. And I was not allowed to wear either a hat inside, or socks inside in certain parts of the building, so it was often a struggle to keep warm.

  I found mealtimes to be more challenging than the sessions in the zendo. Zen is very highly codified, nowhere more so than during meals. There are precise actions to be repeated every time, and I am sure there were many more of which I was unaware. Meals are the same every day: gruel for breakfast, rice with sides for lunch and for dinner. The bowls have to be placed in the correct formation and chopsticks angled in the right directions to accompany each phase of the meal. Food has to be wolfed down at lightening speed. This is partly because it is rude to finish after the abbot (who, despite being ancient, is a champion speed eater), but the deeper reason is so as to avoid developing an attachment to the pleasure of taste.

  I found it very hard to wolf down rice using chopsticks. I was invariably the last to finish, and although the other monks were never so impolite as to stare at me, it is nevertheless disconcerting to be stuffing your cheeks like a chipmunk while 8 impassive Zen monks sit around you, models of stony-faced silence.

  At the end of the meal, you have to leave two slices of horseradish in the top left hand bowl of the four in front of you. Hot water is poured into that bowl and you use the horseradish slices to mop the inside, pushing them around with your chopsticks and thereby cleaning the bowl. The water and horseradish slices are then poured into the other three bowls, in the right order of course, and finally the resulting liquid is swallowed. It doesn’t taste bad, and obviates the need for all but the most superficial washing up, which is performed in a similarly ritualized way by the novices and junior monks. At the end, you stand in a circle and say, utz gari sama desda, which means, thank you for your work.

  This may all sound fairly torturous, and in many ways, it was. And yet, after a few days, I found myself feeling more relaxed, and happier, than I have for a long time. In part, I am sure this had to do with the digital detox - the blissful escape from constant connectivity. The fact that every moment of the day was accounted for, and there were no choices or decisions to be made, also contributed to an increasingly deep sense of tranquility.

  Zazen itself is very simple, there is only one instruction: just sit. Do not think. Do not worry. Do not plan. Do not feel regrets. Just sit, in the correct posture, and observe. Do not follow thoughts, or try to block them out. Watch them arise, and let go of them. It sounds so easy, but of course, it is not.

  The other forms of meditation I have encountered have focused on an object, such as the breath, or a mantra, or a particular emotion. But zazen, with its emphasis on not doing anything, seemed particularly beneficial for me, given the restlessness of my mind.

  Of course, without any mental discipline at all, a session of zazen is likely to descend into one long reverie. But in Zen, I think that the discipline comes not from the meditation itself, but rather from every other aspect of life. That is why everything is so highly ritualized. You constantly have to focus – on how to change your footwear, how to eat, how to wash up. Mental discipline is learned through the hundred thousand other aspects of daily life, so you are in a much better position to truly ‘just sit’ when it is time to meditate.

  That is one very sensible aspect of Zen. Another is that you always meditate with your eyes open, though unfocussed; it is very hard to fall asleep when your eyes are open. And also, sessions only last 50 minutes, which is about the maximum concentration span for most people. Zazen is followed by kinshin, a few minutes of very slow walking meditation. It is a good way to finish.

  After the first morning session (in the dark), and the sutra chanting (a rather obscure business, and the most highly ritualized of all), my duty was to mop the long corridor, using a wet rag. It was a very simple task, and of course a repetitive one, though doing it well, and elegantly, was actually rewarding. And this is another aspect of Zen: you do things for their own sake, and not as a means to an end. That is what makes them meaningful. And that is also the key to unlocking Japanese culture, which can often appear so obscure. Everything is done to the highest possible level, because that gives it meaning.

  As I mopped the floor in my bare feet, and with my breath condensing in the cold air, I was surprised to be feeling content and at peace with the world. The German words ’Arbeit Macht Frei’  (work makes you free) came to mind. Yes, there was a form of liberation in what I was doing. It was so menial a chore, and yet I was happy. There was nothing to desire, and no choices to be made; where were the causes of suffering? But then, with a jolt, I remembered where those three words had been most famously displayed: above the entrance gate to Auschwitz. How utterly incongruous, a Buddhist truth taken up by a concentration camp. The monastery was nothing like a concentration camp, and it was certainly strange that a truth hidden in those words should crystallize for me here.

                              *

  That first evening a girl called Aida, from Azerbaijan, passed by the monastery to explain a few things to me. Aida spent 6 years in the monastery but is now teaching Japanese culture at Kanazawa university. She is a true polymath. In order to be able to stay in Japan, she had needed a student visa, and so, with no prior knowledge of Japanese, she had done PhD in neuroscience, in Japanese. She was also fluent in Russian, Arabic, Turkish, English and Spanish, as well as Azerbaijani.

  A few days later, with Aida as interpreter, I had my first formal interview with the abbot. He presented me with my own rakusu, the Zen Buddhist bib - sewn together from 16 or more strips of cloth - that is worn around the neck. The rakusu represents lay ordination. On the inside, the bearer’s name and status is painted in elegant calligraphic kanji, using jet black ink on a white silk backing. The abbot turned the bib around, and Aida translated the writing: Claus von Bohlen, London representative of the World Zen Centre based at Daijoji Temple, Kanazawa.

 A Zen monk wearing his rakusu

Aida was laughing a lot. Did it strike her as so ridiculous, or was her bright humour the result of 6 years in a Zen monastery? I never found out. She showed me how to wear the rakusu, and how to fold it and replace it in its silk envelope – predictably complicated. Then she asked me how I felt.

  ‘Elevated,’ I said. Aida translated. The abbot nodded.

  I was to see Aida on two more occasions, and it was a relief to be able to ask her some more detailed questions. My interactions with the other monks were very basic. The monk in charge of my training spoke no English at all. On a number of occasions, he needed to reprimand me (most severely, when I arrived one minute late for my solitary evening meditation session). He relied on the voice activated version of google (mis-)translate, with frequently bizarre results. He said something in Japanese into his phone, and then held it towards my ear: ‘Do not shit on the elephant. Everything is training.’

  The chubby monk whom I had met on my first visit to the monastery was a very kind man. I think he felt sorry for me because I had to request half-portions in order to finish my meals on time.  In the evenings, he occasionally passed by my cell to present me with biscuits or the peculiar chewy rice cakes called mochi.

  When it came to the meditation itself, no instruction was given. The book was a help, as was one comment that the chubby monk made: ‘Do not do zazen. Be zazen.’

  And this, to me, is the endless fascination of Zen. So simple, and yet so very difficult. Just sit. Be zazen. And the truisms: wherever you go, there you are… So obvious, and yet how easy it is to think that one can run away from troubles, when in reality we carry most of our suffering around with us. And then the haikus, so mundane, and yet they imply the whole world by its absence, in the same way that the negative spaces in a drawing create the solid image. So very elliptical, so very Japanese.

  My favourite, I think, is by the 19th century poet Masaoka Shiki:

 Butterfly asleep on a stone

You must surely be dreaming

Of the sad life of me.

 Zen is profoundly artistic: it is about harmony, and beauty, about doing things for their own sake, and also about impermanence and transience and time’s inexorable decay. From the perspective of Zen, everything can be an object of meditation, nature above all, most famously in the form of cherry blossoms and the turning of the leaves in autumn. They all bring home the fundamental truth of impermanence, and so much of human suffering stems from the attempt to escape or repress that truth.

 On one or two occasions during zazen, I experienced moments without thought - the spaces between thoughts. Of course, as soon as I became aware of it, then the unverbalised moment was lost and thought once again entered the picture. But those few moments consisted of pure awareness, pure consciousness without objects or boundaries. They made me realise that all my life I have seen the world from one perspective, or in one dimension; this felt like an entirely different vantage point, a whole new dimension, and one that dwarfs all that I have known up until now. They were just glimpses, but they were sufficient for me to understand why a person might devote their entire life to the practice of Zen.

 These were my thoughts as I left the monastery. The cold snap had passed, the breeze was a caress, and the cherry blossoms were just on the point of exploding like pink powder puffs in the Kenrokuen gardens. And I was homeward bound.

                                  *

 Back in the UK, I stuffed all my clothes into the washing machine. As Jack Kornfeld said, ‘After the ecstasy, the laundry.’ But in doing so, I overlooked the black silk envelope that contained my Zen rakusu, and it also went into the machine.

  When I subsequently took the rakusu out of the washing machine, I saw to my horror that the beautiful calligraphy bearing my name had almost been washed out of the white silk lining. My heart sunk. I had worn the rakusu for one of the most challenging weeks of my life. I was proud to have got through it, and proud of my official status as representative of the World Zen Centre. I cursed my stupidity, but the irritation sat like a stone in my chest.

 And then I realised how long the road is. This was suffering: my attachment to an object, to the status it conferred, and to an idea of myself. This was pride, and vanity, and desire, and all those emotions that cause suffering again and again. Sometimes desire can be satisfied, or pride validated, but the relief is only temporary, and the cessation of pain should not be confused with happiness.

 But is it so simple? Does attachment always cause suffering? And isn’t  suffering a part of what it means to be human, and to lead a full human life? Should we really aim not to feel attachment to our families and loved ones? These are difficult questions and I do not have the answers. I suspect that there is a middle way, a balance somewhere: it must be possible to love without clinging, to give without needing anything in return. But it is very hard. And like so much in this field, the balance is a delicate two-step, an oblique sideways glance: we find happiness when we cease to chase it; we alight upon one-pointed concentration when we stop trying to force it; and love is purest when it is based on surfeit and not on lack.

  That is what the laundry taught me.

[gethealthy18-blog]

Comprehensive Ketogenic Diet Food List

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/healthy-diets/ketogenic-diet/comprehensive-ketogenic-diet-food-list/

Comprehensive Ketogenic Diet Food List

Comprehensive ketogenic diet food list Kaito protein sources meat fish and eggs Grass-fed organic beef try to avoid grain-fed and hormone injected etc Chicken free-range organic if you can Pork in moderation a lot of people refer to this as a bacon diet Yes You can have bacon but the nitrites and other Preservatives are not healthy Try to find uncured bacon or purchase local from a butcher and avoid the cheap factory farmed garbage in the supermarket's Pork is also higher in inflammatory Omega-6 and often contains starches fish in moderation fish is good wild-caught Avoid factory farmed fish as it tends to have high mercury content which can cause toxicity acceptable varieties include tuna mackerel halibut salmon Cod catfish trout Shellfish again pay attention to where it is sourced and eat in moderation oysters clams crab mussels lobster shrimp lamb turkey wild game eggs chicken and duck Cato dairy foods Dairy is allowed on the Cato diet You should only use full fat products and avoid skin Partially skin as those products will have more sugar and higher carb counts whole milk organic Only most milk is loaded with hormones Heavy cream cream cheese full fat whole milk Mozzarella Aged cheese's like swiss grass-fed butter full fat cottage cheese full fat plain Greek yogurt Most commercial brands are loaded with sugars and are not acceptable consider home made sour cream full fat ghee half-and-half in moderation check labels dairy alternatives coconut milk almond milk hazelnut milk cashew milk Friendly vegetables carbs from vegetables are counted NAT You subtract the fiber content from the total carb count to get your actual carbs Vegetables are good for you

So don't fear veggie carbs That being said you need to avoid starchy vegetables that are high on the glycemic index Potatoes carrots peas and stick to those on this list all leafy greens spinach Lettuce cabbage, etc Kale Brussels sprouts asparagus green beans kohlrabi radishes celery cucumber zucchini courgette eggplant avocado onions moderation peppers moderation mushrooms bok choy snow peas cauliflower broccoli daikon Olives Cato friendly fruits fruits are loaded with sugar Yes, they contain many nutrients They are nature's candy after all but you can get all the same Nutrients from vegetables and should only use the fruits on this list very sparingly Some fruits that have an immense glycemic load like bananas for example need to be eliminated altogether It is highly recommended to not use fruit at all until you are fully fat adapted Usually a month or more into the Cato way of eating enjoy fresh only and in moderation blackberries blueberries strawberries raspberries cherries lemon the juice squeezed in water lime cantaloupe Beaches nuts and seeds nuts and seeds are very Cato friendly But some are better than others when it comes to carb count and glycemic load They are calorie dense high in fat and can be used to provide satiety But should be used in moderation if you are trying to lose weight It can be very easy to overdo a good thing with nuts and seeds almonds macadamia nuts pecans walnuts flaxseeds hazelnuts pine nuts hemp seeds Sunflower seeds peanuts plain not honey roasted, etc Cashews extreme moderation These are the highest in carbs Chia seeds sesame seeds pistachios Sweeteners and substitutes, as you know, sugar and grains are a huge no on the Cato way of eating grains and sugars lead to insulin resistance And a host of other problems that keep people fat carb addicted and struggling with weight loss eliminating these foods can seem daunting at first Although ideally you want to get away from the taste for sweet at first you are looking for progress not perfection That being said there is a great deal of debate over the use of sweeteners Many of which are chemical Laden and not good for you others like molto dextran Despite having zero calories create a higher insulin response in the body than regular sugar You definitely don't want that So be sure that any sweeteners you choose to use are not blended with it many products Stevia in the raw For example blend this nasty molteau dextran with the stevia for cheap filler Stick to the following Cato approved sweeteners and flour substitutes and use in moderation For more information on the glycemic response of sweeteners Stick to those that are zero for best results

Check out this comprehensive guide Flowers and baking goods Are you a bread addict? I was I Understand the struggle There are some ways to make Cato breads and desserts and they are great in moderation The goal is to rid oneself of addictive behaviors and not to simply replace old habits That being said I do enjoy making Cato biscuits and breads at times and it's a great way to scratch that It's without breaking protocol avoid gluten-free flour blends They are loaded with carbs almond flour meal a staple with great texture Coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture as a cornbread Of texture when baked ground flax can also be used as an egg substitute Psyllium husk powder oat fiber not to be confused with oat bran Completely insoluble fiber adds good texture and flavor and is high in fiber unsweetened cocoa powder or unsweetened baker's chocolate Be very careful with these products as they can be easy to overdo condiments and extras Condiments and extras can really jazz up any dish It is very important to learn to read labels so that you can avoid added sugars corn syrup at cetera Look for a zero carb and look for high quality ingredients or learn to make your own That being said there are many extras You can pick up and enjoy from the store Olives pickles dill not sweet or bread and butter etc Read labels Mayonnaise homemade is best without the low quality oils of most commercial brands mustard apple cider vinegar olive oil coconut MCT oil avocado oil Most cream based dressings ranch Caesar, etc

Check labels hot sauce salsa without sugar added sugar-free ketchup in moderation read labels non with corn syrup or sugar sugar free barbecue sauce This is my current staple list and will likely change and grow over time because I'm sure there are a few things I've forgotten with this variety of good foods it's possible to create amazing meals that everyone will love I avoid mentioning that I'm Kato to people who I don't really Want to have a debate with and they still love my food and recipes I hope if you found that nothing else works for you that you'll give low carb or kado a try It is a healing way of eating for many people progress photo The first picture is my son and I at our heaviest he was on homecoming court his junior year I Started Cato on May 24th at about this weight My son joined me in June to drop some pounds for senior year and to feel better The middle picture is his birthday on July 31st The third picture is us on September 2nd And we're still going he lost over 30 pounds from June to September and I lost 22 pounds in my first 100 days My Kato journey here is a bit about my experience so far with the Kato diet Initially, I started doing intermittent fasting in March 2017 Barrowman oops, some health issues and stress caused me to pack on 50 extra pounds over the past few years I was depressed feeling hopeless and constantly feeling ill and tired I read about intermittent fasting Helping to ease conditions like insulin resistance and started initially just doing that I ate for eight hours out of the day Fasting for 16 this started the healing process I noticed that my hiatal hernia wasn't causing me pain Reflux was greatly reduced and I was less dependent on caffeine to get through the day But the weight was resistant and I still dealt with strong mood swings hot flashes high blood pressure and other issues I only lost seven pounds while counting calories and obsessing over food I began to feel overwhelmed again And so I decided to challenge myself to overcome my carb addiction once and for all from March to May I lost seven pounds which is respectable But I was still feeling bad and thinking about having another 50 to go made me feel Overwhelmed feeling overwhelmed when you are a carb addict and stress eater is a recipe for disaster So I decided to challenge myself to overcome my carb addiction and get my butt in gear once and for all I've suspected for many years that gluten and sugar were problematic for me I'd cut them for a bit feel good, but gradually they'd worm their way back into my daily life Setting me back up for the binge stress eating This never-ending cycle resulted in spikes and crashes an insulin which created insulin resistance Pre-diabetes and the myriad of other health problems on my rise to obesity On May 24th of this year 2017 I added a 100 day Kato challenge to my already established intermittent fasting if Protocol the results have been nothing short of miraculous My life has changed in so many ways that I struggle to find words for it all the obsessing Counting running and other stuff I hated never gave me the health benefits and weight loss results I am gaining while on Cato never in my wildest dreams Did I think my body could heal this quickly? I recently finished this challenge and I am now dedicated to low-carb for life here is what has happened in only 100 days my blood pressure is consistently normal and often lower than when I was a runner no more hot flashes I am no longer on medication for GERD hernia issues I am no longer insulin resistant My IBS C is under control, no meds

No pain, no bloating No discomfort I have all day energy without constant caffeine My anxiety has dropped from an 8 out of 10 to a 2 or less every day my son's too He's a new person confident No attention problems, etc I feel ambitious Energetic and adventurous no more sad sack couch potato here I get things done every day now and feel accomplished My brain is fog free I don't walk into rooms constantly and forget why I am able to get focused and maintain it My asthma has improved by 80% I haven't taken an allergy pill in 45 days the pleasant side effect I have lost 22 pounds in 100 days as a paramedical woman and 7 inches off of my belly 6 inches off my hips and I no longer have a double chin No joint pain or other aches and pains due to chronic inflammation No more migraines headaches

I have not taken an OTC painkiller in 50 days And I used to eat them daily for my assorted aches and pains I feel more energetic and frisky than I did in my 20s and 30s, even when I was thin and thought I was healthy before

[maciaslucymua-blog1]

FDA’S ‘New’ Warning is an Old Attack on Teething Tablets

New Post has been published on http://www.healthgoesfemale.com/fdas-new-warning-is-an-old-attack-on-teething-tablets/

FDA’S ‘New’ Warning is an Old Attack on Teething Tablets

By Krista, Contributing Writer

The FDA recently issued a smear campaign very urgent sounding press release warning parents of the supposed dangers of using popular homeopathic teething remedies. In the release, it stated, very vaguely, that homeopathic teething tablets may pose a health risk, and goes on to urge parents to immediately discontinue use and also seek immediate medical care in case of a host of symptoms following the use of teething tablets appeared. The symptoms stated in the press release ranged from seizures to difficulty breathing to constipation. It all sounds super scary. Which, if one does not understand the full picture of what homeopathy is (and isn’t!), then it could be.  Unfortunately, homeopathy, and the concerns surrounding this unfair vendetta against a well-established and well-respected homeopathy brand (as well as homeopathic remedies in general), is getting yet another unfair bad rap by way of a fear filled press release with no substance to back it up.  

Hyland’s, the main brand referenced in FDA’s press release, had this to say about the ‘investigation’:

“Homeopathic medicines are regulated as drugs by FDA. We are fully cooperating with FDA’s inquiry and we’re providing them with all the data we have. We also hope to learn from FDA what facts, if any, the Agency has based its action on.”

Did you hear that? Even the company that is coming under fire doesn’t know why the FDA, the very same regulatory board that approved the products to be on the shelves in the first place, is suddenly issuing such a strong statement about the safety of their product!

What is Homeopathy?

To fully appreciate the full extent of why the FDA’s press release is so wrong, one needs a small crash course in what homeopathy is, and isn’t.

Homeopathy is not a catch all term for anything natural or alternative.  Homeopathy cannot be used interchangeably to describe a remedy that is herbal in nature, or an essential oil, although those things are wonderfully healing as well.  It is important to make this distinction, because homeopathy is its own system of medicine.  It is used worldwide; in fact the British Royal Family has used homeopathy as its main medicine for generations. There are whole hospitals that are homeopathic in nature.

So what is it?

Homeopathy was developed in the 18th century by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann.  He developed homeopathy based on what is known as the Law of Similars: a substance that causes a certain set of symptoms in an otherwise healthy individual will cure an illness with those same symptoms, and will do so homeopathically when given in minute amounts.  How minute? To borrow, again, from Hyland’s press release, in the case of the teething tablets, “two trillionths of a milligram in a tablet.”

How does something so minute even offer healing benefit? The other leading principle behind what sets homeopathy apart as its own system of medicine is the way in which the medicine is prepared.  The substance used in a particular remedy is made into a tincture and then is diluted in either water or alcohol, and then mixed vigorously by a method known as succussion. This whole process is known as potenization, and the different potencies of a remedy are labeled in such a way that you are able to tell how dilute, or potent, it is by looking at the numbers and letters on the bottle.  The most commonly used homeopathic remedies (especially for home care situations) are measured in the Roman numerals ‘C’ (diluted in a ratio of 1 part substance to 99 parts water/alcohol) and ‘X’ (diluted in a ratio of 1 part substance to 9 parts water/alcohol).

The hallmark of what makes a homeopathic remedy a healing substance is the combination of the dilution, as well as the vigorous shaking.  As you can tell by the sheer amount of dilution going on, many potencies of remedies don’t even have the original substance left in the end product! However, when studied under a microscope, the structure of the water of the homeopathic remedy is actually changed in the potentization process!

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

The homeopathic process of potentization takes something that begins as toxic in its original form and renders it as something healing, and even curative in its homeopathic form.  

The FDA is not acknowledging this at all in their press release, instead referencing back to their original investigation in 2010, where they made reference to merely the presence of belladonna–a highly toxic plant–in the formulation of Hyland’s teething tablets, and a discrepancy in the amounts found in the tablets. This discrepancy launched a voluntary recall, and, while the FDA stated back in 2010 that there were reports of ‘adverse events’ following ingestion of teething tablets, they admitted there was NO conclusive link to it being from the teething tablets themselves.

The president of the company that is responsible for manufacturing Hyland’s teething tablets had this to say about the lack of uniformity in the amounts of belladonna from the 2010 recall:

“Where the situation became complex for us is that we were interpreting data in one way, and the FDA was interpreting data in a slightly different way. They [the FDA] found one tablet that had more belladonna in it than we had on the label. That really was the essence of problem. Their view was that that was an unacceptable risk. Our view was that, even with that risk, there was still a very large margin of safety with the product.”

  The Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States is the regulating agency that regulates the manufacture of homeopathic remedies.  Remedies that have been manufactured according to this standard will have the letters HPUS on its labeling to denote that it is in accordance with the stringent manufacturing standards set forth by this regulating agency.

Homeopathic remedies have been on the market for decades, and have never had any reported side effects when taken as directed.  In fact, homeopathic remedies are so safe that it is virtually impossible to experience any side effects at all from them! 

I wish I could say the same about other popular pain relief/teething remedies–like acetaminophen.  According to Tylenol’s own website, severe liver damage may occur if your child takes more than 5 doses in a 24 hour period.  There are more than 5 doses in a bottle.

And yet, Hyland’s has this to say about accidental ingestion of not one, but several BOTTLES of their teething formulation:

“A 10-pound child would have to accidentally ingest, all at the same time, more than a dozen bottles of 135 Baby Teething Tablets before experiencing even dry mouth from the product.”

And then there are studies that are now linking Tylenol use to the development of asthma. But where is the press release for this information?

No Fear

Parents are often at their most vulnerable when their children are not feeling well. That’s why it is so important to arm yourself with accurate information to help you navigate through all the ups and downs of parenting without resorting to fear to make the decisions for you.

That does, and should include seeking out appropriate medical care when it is warranted.  Seizures, difficulty breathing and the like is a perfectly acceptable time to be seeking out that medical care, and for that, I agree with the FDA on that note.  I myself know firsthand how scary it is to witness a seizure, and the helplessness that accompanies it. My five month old at the time had what amounted to a febrile seizure, which I did seek medical care for, to rule out anything more serious.  Febrile seizures, as a side note, happen when a baby who is susceptible to them, spikes a fever too fast, not necessarily too high. (They are also completely benign.)  My son’s temperature was barely over 100 when he had a seizure, but he had gotten hot, fast.  It’s also important to note that fevers associated with teething are not very high, so febrile seizures could conceivably happen in the context of a teething related temperature spike.  Thankfully, my son ended up having a mild cold that resolved itself within a week or so, and is no worse for wear.

Mamas, information is such a powerful tool to use and have.  I encourage those that are interested in knowing more about homeopathy to seek out additional resources.  Here are a few of my favorite ones:

www.joettecalabrese.com–Joette offers a wealth of information about homeopathy, as well as a number of courses.  I have taken one of her courses, and have found it to be invaluable.

Everyone’s Guide to Homeopathy by Dana Ullman– I have referenced this book many, many times over the years. It contains chapters on various different illnesses, and common homeopathic remedies to consider based on the various symptoms of each illness.  I like that it also has a section with each illness on when to seek medical care beyond home care as well.

www.homeopathic.com– This is the website of Dana Ullman’s, and, while I haven’t used it as much as the other two sources listed above, this is a great resource as well.

What do you think about the FDA’s recent statement on teething tablets?

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