The Nourisher - Editor’s Blog

Last month I shared that I was struggling with an addictive cycle: caffeine and alcohol. I was vacillating between feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope without hopping myself up on coffee and totally despondent the next morning after hitting the bottle to calm down at night and get to sleep. The culmination of these emotions draining my emotional bank account more and more. Especially draining was the judgment I lay on myself that after all these years of healing and Nourishing, I should know better.

Well, the day I wrote my editorial I was suffering PMS and upon releasing the edition, feeling much better. Rocky old life this womanhood and even more so when we’re messing up our hormones with drugs. As I write this editorial, I feel much better than last month but sensitive, none-the-less. Wes, my darling husband, is refusing to enter discussions with me. He just says, “I know you’re feeling bad. We’ll talk about it later.” and rubs my back soothingly. And you, dear Nourishers, will have to put up with me for a few months until my 27 day cycle brings my pre-menstrual emotionality out earlier in the month.

I dare say I’ll balance out now, however. I’ve stopped taking uppers and downers. I did do that Kinesiology session I wrote about last month and I’m so glad. My dear friend, Wendy, helped me to clear some of the agreements I had made that were keeping me in such an addictive cycle. I want to tell you about it because I feel it relates well to the context of this month’s Edition.

As well as being a first class Nourisher, Wendy does Holistic Kinetics: a form of healing that uses Kinesiology and Aboriginal Shamanistic concepts to re-empower our Spirit, placing it where it belongs, in the centre of our experience. During my session, Wendy used muscle testing to communicate with my Spirit, asking its assistance to find and resolve imbalance. It was very straight forward, as Kinesiology always is, and very amazing.

We found that my addictive cycle sprang from feeling ridiculed and it originated at age 5. I remembered my parents joining some people in a fishing business at that time and how the childless woman of the couple they partnered with gave Mum hell for having 3 kids and not being able to keep up with her in the business. No matter how hard Mum worked, she couldn’t keep up with all that was asked of her and I’m sure she used caffeine and alcohol to cope. We cleared this emotion from my field and continued.

Next was a foray with a little gargoyle. You read that right, a gargoyle. Apparently at 8 I had made an agreement with an energy being which can best be described as just that. I would share my life force with her and she agreed she would ‘possess’ me when I needed help. All who know me would recognise the position my body went into at this point. My hand literally became like claws and my jaw clenched. The fierce, battle ready Jo, “ready to kick the head of anyone who gets in her face”, appeared as we asked my spirit to locate this entity. It was sad to let my little gargoyle go but that is exactly what we did, ensuring it agreed to never harm another being again. She now is free and so am I.

Truth be told, I still feel some sadness. She was very handy when bullies came near. I don’t remember being picked on again after this point in my childhood and before she came on board, I was very often the brunt of all sorts of abuse. But she was very unpredictable. My family, especially my children, have suffered at my hands many a time, because I’d lost control - literally- and yelled really loudly or threw tantrums, in effect becoming the bully. Funnily enough, since this session with Wendy, I haven’t had any rage fits. I’ve certainly been angered but I haven’t lost control of my response and launched into a full blown rage fit like I used to. The few times this month I’ve felt frustration or disappointment, my experience has just stayed at that. I even had a chance to experience ‘ridicule’ and the anger it triggered but no blinding rage, no seeing red and morphing into a screaming, clawed beast. I’m so grateful.

I’ve also stopped drinking alcohol and coffee. Still on tea occasionally but not so desperate for an adrenaline fix. I think my little gargoyle needed me to be in battle so she could exists. She was also very rebellious and loved nothing more than getting into the beers.

The end of my story is my answer to Sarah Luck’s question of Lacey who this month is struggling with her own caffeine addiction: “whatever is behind the need for “medication”? After severing the connection between me and my gargoyle we found that there were feelings of profound loneliness under her bravado.

My parents at this time were dealing with their own demons. Funny, they were in the same kind of position as Wes and I are now, mid thirties with three young kids. They were both very unhappy and drinking quite a lot. I remembered why I chose the company of bullies. There were many cool kids with together parents whom I could have played with but I didn’t. Visiting them and experiencing their family life made me feel sad and inferior. I chose to hang with bullies because they were worse off than me. I self medicated with adrenaline and battle excitement to cope with feelings of the loneliness and loss of meaning in my family life.

How grateful am I that I don’t have to do that anymore. Wendy helped me free myself from this old story and I can see more clearly than ever how lucky I am to live such a richly Nourishing life of meaning.

I guess the reason for this confessional editorial is to express that, even those who may seem ‘all together’ sometimes lose their way. There are no experts who’ve got it all right, only Super Heroes, doing their best to heal themselves and thus us all. In fact, dear Nourishers, i believe we are all Super Heros, come here to ’save the world’ but, like Hancock, we may not quite have it together all the time

In the Interview with Jon Gabriel in this month’s edition you will meet another Super Hero. There are many weightloss guru’s out there but Jon’s story is truly revolutionary and well worth a read.

Ori Hofmekler, Author of The Warrior’s diet, gives us the warriors perspective in his Top Ten Diet Fallacies.

Sarah Luck offers, The Obesity Epidemic: Don’t Blame Saturated Fat.

Check out some practical steps to Avoiding Heavy Metal Toxicity.

And Sally Fallon’s column and her book, Eat Fat Lose Fat and a recipe from it, Mango Chicken.

Nourishing Community

Welcome to Dan, our new blogger from, Real Food NOW. He’s kicked off a great discussion about Jamie Oliver and food activism. Louise has been blogging her butt off too. Thanks for all the great posts Louise.

Thanks to Filippa too for this month’s inspiring and very Nourishing edition and for all her helpful comments.

Welcome Sarah Luck from Good Health Naturally clinic in Sydney. Sarah has shared her very Nourishing advice with us this month on many of our posts. We are grateful for her wonderful article about our favourite fat - Saturated Fat. Pop over and welcome her on board. You never know when you might need to recommend a Nourishing Practitioner or need one yourself.

Nourishing Prizes

Last month Karen McElroy gave away a Free Naturopathic consultation. Congratulations to Suzanne. We hope you enjoy Karen’s Nourishing presence

Mitchell Grass Meats are giving away $250 worth of grassfed meat.

Melrose are giving away a $40 pack of goodies. Congrats to Emily for winning last months.

Remember, every member of our MarketPlace has a special offer to Nourished readers. Please go check them out and give em some love. It’s because of our sponsors we can keep Nourished going.

All you very patient Kefir winners. My little batch is feeling very loved and as soon as the weather turns we will have grown enough to catch up with your prizes. Stand by for the loveliest Kefir you’ve ever tasted this Summer. Gotta love this seasonal stuff.

Nourishing Opportunity

About the Author...

A Super Hero and one of many who have realised their true calling as saviors of humanity, healers of our connection with Nature and creators of Heaven on Earth. The Nourisher's gift is the re-spiritualisation of the 'process of recreation' we call eating. Mother of three Super Heroes in training and wife to her God incarnate, The Nourisher hails from the place of feminine healing, Byron Bay, Australia. She gathers together Life Creators from all over the globe at NourishedMagazine.com.au