Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living (22 page)

I feel that it is important for me to wear amber from the Baltic Sea. I also have amber necklaces from India and Israel, but my Baltic amber resonates with me above all and is my personal healer. I feel comfortable with this stone. It provides me with solar and healing energy to combat my headaches. Baltic amber is the fossilized resin or sap of various ancient trees, specifically the pine tree (
Pinus succinifera
), and was formed during the Eocene period about 50 million years ago. It is found in many locations in the world. Baltic amber takes a higher polish than other ambers and is generally considered the finest in the world. It ranges in color from yellow to light brown and the clarity varies from transparent to opaque. While not the oldest fossilized resin, Baltic amber has the longest historical record of use over many centuries. For ages amber has been considered folk medicine—a healing stone—able to draw disease out from the human body and ease emotional torment. The medicinal and magnetic influence of honey, red, and brown amber increases if insects and other foreign matter are trapped inside the stone.
Some years ago a guide in Kaliningrad’s

Amber Museum told me the following story.

An old man strolling along the shore of the Baltic Sea

found a huge, rare piece of amber and took it to a

castle in Konigsberg. The stone sparkled with golden light and was distinct because it displayed a shiny silver snake coiled inside. Out of curiosity the monks began to pass it among themselves. When the fourth monk took the stone, he turned it upside down. The fifth monk, who was waiting patiently to touch it, exclaimed, “Look, brothers, the snake is now alive!”

“This is a miracle!” the sixth monk said.

“Don’t pass this stone to me,” said the seventh monk. “Perhaps it is touched by evil.”

They buried the stone in a secret spot and retrieved it only when the French went to war with the monks’ people, the Prussians. The monks 148 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

showed their treasure to the French knights, who were amused with the amber containing the coiled silver snake. It wasn’t long before news of the miraculous find reached the Pope at the Vatican, who sent messengers to bring the stone to Rome. Meanwhile several French knights wanted to buy the stone, but the monks refused to sell it. They believed the ancient stone was priceless. It could have originated in a primeval forest somewhere in the region of the Baltic (Sunset) Sea and may have lay buried in the ground from the time dinosaurs roamed the earth. But when the French knights persistently offered their glistening gold bars to trade for the stone, the poor monks were lured by the sight of them and sold the amber to the richest French knight before the Pope’s messengers arrived.

The stone became an object of worship for the knight who purchased it. He placed the amber on a big table, surrounded by kettles and mirrors that reflected multicolored jewels. The knight became obsessed with watching the snake and could not eat or sleep. He just gazed at the magic stone, which had won his heart and soul.

One evening, as soon as the knight closed his eyes, the amber turned into a slumberous witch. The flames flared under the kettles around the stone. As some mysterious force stoked the fire, the flames grew intense and melted the amber into honey. At once the snake slithered out.

The knight slept soundly as the snake slid silently down the knight’s neck and struck him fast near his heart. Still the knight dreamt uninterruptedly of his amber. In the morning his fellow crusaders found him dead. Nearby sat the shining amber with the silver snake inside. The horrified monks buried the stone and marked the site with a warning to others.

The monks mourned the death of the French knight, but

the Prussian knights engraved the image of a snake on their bronze belt buckles to commemorate the snake that killed

their enemy. The image became a talisman to protect them on the battlefield.

Clever Remedies to Outsmart Headaches @ 149

Words are the Physicians.

—Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.), Greek dramatist

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You can’t jump over your own head.

—Russian proverb

I take a sun bath and listen to the hours, formulating and disintegrating
under the pines, and smell the resiny hardihood of the high-noon hours.

—Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–1948), American writer

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How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

—William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English playwright and poet
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And that was another gap between us. Between all men and all insects.
We humans, saddled for a lifetime with virtually the same body,
naturally find it difficult to imagine a life in which you can,
at a single stroke, outside a fairy tale, just by splitting your skin
and stepping out, change into something utterly different.

—Colin Fletcher (b.1922), Welsh hiker and writer

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The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.

—JacquesYves Cousteau (1910–1997), French marine explorer
150 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

Sleeping Beauty

Life is long, if you know how to use it.

—Seneca (4 B.C.–A.D. 65), Roman philosopher

FACTS

Studies estimate that about one-third of American adults experience some insomnia each year, and between 10 and 20 percent suffer severe sleeplessness. European studies suggest similar rates. A recent survey conducted by the national Sleep Foundation reported even worse statistics on sleeplessness in the United States: 1) only 35 percent of American adults reported sleeping eight hours or more per night during the work week; 2) 56 percent had one or more symptoms of insomnia a few nights a week or more; 3) 60 percent of children, particularly teenagers, complained of being tired during the day; 4) over half of the elderly took an hour’s nap during the work week and nearly half of 18-to 29-year-olds napped.29

According to statistics, millions of people suffer from sleeplessness. Many of them would be delighted to claim that they occasionally experienced a restful sleep for an adequate length of time. It seems that a sound sleep happens more frequently in fairy tales than in real life. Like nearly everyone, perhaps you too have had trouble sleeping at one time or another. Simply put, if we do not get enough rest, our overall health is at stake. If you suffer from insomnia or toss and turn restlessly in your sleep, Sleeping Beauty @ 151

your nerves and cells never get the relaxation and rejuvenation they need to function properly. The result may be fatigue, high blood pressure or low blood pressure, and diseases of the nervous system.

Ruslan and Ludmila

A great feast was held in the halls of Svietosar,

the Duke of Kiev. This feast was in honor of

his daughter, Ludmila. Three suitors were there to vie for her hand: Ruslan the knight; Ratmir the poet; and Farlaf, a warrior. When the festivities were at their height, a huge thunderclap boomed, followed by darkness, during which Ludmila mysteriously disappeared. Svietosar was distraught and promised his daughter’s hand to the suitor who could find her and bring her home.

Ruslan learned from Finn, a sorcerer, that Ludmila had been abducted by the evil dwarf Chernomor, who had magical powers and soared through the sky with his long white beard flowing around him. Ruslan was also warned about the witch Naina, who was Farlaf’s ally.

While Ruslan sought advice from Finn, Farlaf went to Naina for help. She told Farlaf to allow Ruslan to go through all the trials necessary to find Ludmila and then to kidnap her from Ruslan.

Ruslan’s search took him to a battlefield,

enmeshed in a heavy mist. There he discovered a lance and shield. When the mist began to clear, a giant head appeared

and created a mighty storm with its

breath. Ruslan subdued the head with

his lance, and under the head he found

a magic sword, which would enable him

to overcome all obstacles.

152 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

Meanwhile, although Ludmila was held captive in Chernomor’s castle, she was allowed to walk freely in the beautiful garden behind the tall walls which surrounded the castle. Here she found herself in the midst of majestic trees and a profusion of blossoming flowers, plants, and fragrant herbs. Magnificent peacocks and gentle deer walked beside her. Multicolored birds sang sweet songs from their treetop perches. But Ludmila was unhappy and could not be consoled by the beauty around her. She feared that she would never be rescued from the evil dwarf Chernomor and returned to her home.

Meanwhile Ruslan rode straight to Chernomor’s castle. When he arrived, Chernomor forced Ludmila into a sound sleep and then went to meet the brave knight in battle. With the magic sword Ruslan won the fight with Chernomor. Victorious, he carried Ludmila away even though she was deep into sleep. He despaired because he could not awaken her.

Ruslan returned to Finn to learn how to awaken Ludmila. Finn gave Ruslan a fine ring with magical properties, and with the aid of this ring, he broke Chernomor’s spell. Ludmila opened her big blue eyes, sighed, and smiled. Stretching her graceful, long legs, she inquired, “Oh, how long have I slept?”

Just then Farlaf appeared and tried to kidnap Ludmila, but Ruslan vanquished him with his magic sword. That evening Ratmir, the poet, snuck behind Ludmila’s tent and tried to lure her outside with his love poems. However she was so tired from her ordeal that she did not respond.

The next day the knight returned Ludmila to her father’s

palace, where they were greeted with great joy. Ruslan and Ludmila were married amid great festivities and lived

together happily for many years.

Sleeping Beauty @ 153

Ailment:
Insomnia

Experts define sleeplessness or insomnia as sleep disturbance, when one has difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep. Some believe, erroneously, that this happens only to elderly people who seem to sleep shorter periods of time than the young. In fact, the luxury of a sound sleep is greatly influenced by the type of lifestyle we lead. No matter what age we are, we might experience several interruptions in our sleep during the night. And then it might take us an hour or more to fall asleep again.

In some cases sleep can be prolonged but still be insufficient. It can be annoying when we would like to sleep, but we cannot in spite of being exhausted. We may complain about lying awake for hours without being able to fall asleep. We may awaken and recount and dwell on the problems in our lives, which often grow in magnitude at the daunting hour of 3:00 a.m. Tensions and pressures accrued during our everyday routines, including demands at the workplace and the negative impact they have on us, can interrupt our sleep and cause depression.

Experts usually classify various modes of sleep into three categories: 1) superficial, when a person can be easily awaked by even a small noise; 2) a deep sleep, bringing satisfaction and rest; and 3) a sleep accompanied by good and bad dreams. When people suffer insomnia, the duration of deep sleep decreases at the expense of a superficial sleep. These changes lead to some problems in the morning. When a person feels tired and jaded, his memory, concentration, and efficiency suffer. In addition, even at the beginning of a new day he may experience headaches and weakness.

Causes of insomnia vary

Even a healthy person can suffer from sleeplessness. Fatigue and irritation inhibit reflexes in the brain’s cortex. Any stress can attack the sensitive nervous system and disrupt a good night’s sleep. Some people also experience insomnia when they are sick with colds and fever or have poor blood circulation or respiratory problems.

All these conditions prompt the sleepless to get fast treatment, and many reach right for a sleeping pill, which is counterproductive and dangerous. Fastacting tranquilizers are enemies to the body. Too many people think the sleep154 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies ing pill is the answer to their problems. On the contrary, they can promote a dependency on them and the consumer may find that he cannot function normally without them—or with them. At this stage the consumer is addicted. Chemical addiction destroys the body’s ability to react in a natural way and, left untreated, can eventually lead to death.

The treatment
for insomnia depends on the causes that provoke it. Try to discover your triggers and eliminate them. Perhaps you habitually drink alcohol at lunch or at dinnertime or you try to boost your energy, drinking strong black coffee several times a day. Try the following instead. Healthy people are usually able to restore their sleep in 10–14 days without the use of sleeping pills.

r1. Replace alcohol or coffee with a glass of carrot, tomato, orange, apple, or grape juice. Become accustomed to a new taste. You’ll be happy to see that this simple change in your habits can help you to sleep soundly throughout the night.