While thinking about Asperger's and its potential causes I was bemused by an idea.
You see, I am certainly curious about what may have triggered my son's Asperger's and of course my own struggles, but I am not eager to have the causes known if they implicate my wife or mother's decisions. They have suggested that everything from genetics to diet to immunizations and even mode of birth can be factors. If one was selected as the true progenitor, would I be able to tell the women in my life? Would they be able to face themselves if it was their fault - even in an unintentional way?
Then I realized that it is more like alcoholism and the various drinks that support it. For most of America and many, many people (if not most) around the world, a drink of beer, wine, or something similar is not only okay, but expected. Men come together and watch the game with bottles in tow. Women expect to be "wine and dined" by the men who desire them. Yet, very few think about the risks to the alcoholic nor the problems that alcohol does to everyone regardless of addiction.
No one condemns the world at large for the tolerance of alcohol. Most consider the access to the drug a rite of passage into adulthood and thereafter a privilege thereof. And alcoholics aren't exposed before their first drink of liquor. They find out from the interaction afterwards.
Similarly, we don't know the cause of the Asperger's syndrome for certain. It could be any of the listed items above or it could be something else entirely. What if it is vaccines? Do we begin condemning our mothers for their shortsightedness? I think not. We would, if truly understanding, forgive them knowing they were doing everything they "knew" to be right to help us in our growth and progress in life.
In light of this idea, I still wish to know the cause someday, but only in general to help in the future. I am not upset at my wife or mother for choices they have made. I know them both well and see they love their children and have done everything in their power to give them life and happiness. I love them and their courageous spirits.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Another Look
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| NEW RESULTS Aspie Score 148/200, Neurotypical 60/200 October 2010 Scores: Aspie Score 164/200, Neurotypical 46/200 |
First of all, let me clarify that I am not concerned about the results nor am I running around shouting, "See! I told you so!" I retook it at the request of my wife since the week I took the test the first time was during a very emotional week (Caleb had been diagnosed and I was worrying about myself). She was just wondering and not concerned about me either.
I am simply posting the score because I not only took it with a calm and almost uncaring attitude this time, but also because I noticed the shape of the chart is close to the original. It is a pattern, not necessarily of autism, and a part of who I am (though not guaranteed asperger).
If you respond to this post with comments about "Don't worry about it" or "I really don't think you should..." and so forth, I will simply refer to this final sentence because it is a curiosity and no more: I am fine.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Thought: Emotional Credation
While thinking about emotions and their place in my life I found this coming out of my head:
By telling myself not to feel something (by burying it or by other means) I am telling myself I am wrong. No one wants to feel wrong - it hurts and you makes you feel less of person. I once heard, and I may be a little off on the numbers, that it takes nine positive encounters to fend off one negative experience. Then burying most of my feelings tells myself, constantly, that I am wrong - creating a perpetual negativism within me.
If I was dealing with another person's incorrect emotion, the appropriate response would be to first validate their feelings before anything else is done. The emotion is real and is a part of them. Even if it is based on a false idea, to them it is truth. You cannot progress until you let them know they can trust you and you believe in them. The same standards must be applied to ourselves or we invalidate our own lives and create torment on top of buried emotions.
By telling myself not to feel something (by burying it or by other means) I am telling myself I am wrong. No one wants to feel wrong - it hurts and you makes you feel less of person. I once heard, and I may be a little off on the numbers, that it takes nine positive encounters to fend off one negative experience. Then burying most of my feelings tells myself, constantly, that I am wrong - creating a perpetual negativism within me.
If I was dealing with another person's incorrect emotion, the appropriate response would be to first validate their feelings before anything else is done. The emotion is real and is a part of them. Even if it is based on a false idea, to them it is truth. You cannot progress until you let them know they can trust you and you believe in them. The same standards must be applied to ourselves or we invalidate our own lives and create torment on top of buried emotions.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Unscientific Science
So tonight I went to my first "doterra" class. I was already converted, but tonight was really neat and I have been thinking a lot the past week about the doterra oils and other medicinal substances and practices that science discredits (which doesn't mean much to me since science discredits itself all the time). See, modern "western" science doesn't accept things like my N.A.E.T. treatments from the past few years or these oils. It places energy meridians and chakras up to superstition and regards any change as a placebo affect.
Well, I am not a scientist. But I understand the scientific method - experiment and observe - and got to try it out first hand. First was with our bout of illness from a few weeks ago. We'd been going through the worst cold our family had ever seen. My wife and kids had each had it and my son was getting it again. Stephanie finally called her friend and made her bring her oils and put them on the kids and us. They all recovered within a few days with frequent use and I stubbornly avoided more contact and had to deal with a sinus infection for the next week.
Next, Stephanie was scanned (bio-scanner) and it showed one oil specifically that she needed. We got that oil and the affect was incredible. She calls it her "crack" because it makes her so happy. I was loosening up at this point, but still a bit sceptical for my own needs. Then I caught the vision.
Last weekend I took a trip to Arizona to see my brother go through the Mesa Temple for his endowments. While the experience was awesome, I had to stay in homes that housed dogs. Pet hair has always keeled me over. I get wheezy and runny nosed the first hours and even with drugs my symptoms persist for a day followed by a week of asthma issues. All I had that weekend was a little bottle of Breathe (a blend of oils) and used it consistently. It didn't completely remove the symptoms, but it made a huge difference and I never had to get an inhaler.
After the two day trip I got home and used a diluted vial of Balance (diluted for the kids, another blend) and the symptoms stopped by the next day. For this whole week I should have been coughing and slowed down by my lack of oxygen. Actually, I was running late the past two days and had to run a good deal to get to work on time. Still no asthma and no relapse. Yeah, I'm convinced.
The allergy treatments with N.A.E.T. were a blessing and a miracle. They fixed issues I didn't even know I had, but saw the impact they had given me for years once they were lifted. These oils are very similar. I get that people will doubt and reason them away, but I am tired of relying on "modern" medicine and its magic pills. Pills often don't work exactly right or build up tolerances, plus many times they only function as a mask for the issues. The oils are not a bandage (as they said tonight). They simply provide the nutrients our bodies lack - thus giving the body a chance to heal itself.
What I was thinking from all these things was how much we are missing when we bind ourselves into a medicinal hole, especially with western medicine. There is so much more out there to help us. I don't think we should completely abandon the sciences and their fruits. Surgeries and drugs and even over the counter medications have their places and help many people. It is when we rely solely on them that we are blinded to truth that may exist elsewhere.
How many other amazing health things are out there? Just doing a brief search on Wikipedia (obviously not the most accurate source out there) revealed this self-proclaimed, incomplete list: naturopathy, chiropractic medicine, herbalism, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, meditation, yoga, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, and nutritional-based therapies. I don't know how many work or not, but I am more than open to the idea that they might and I know that at least a few do.
God doesn't place all his eggs in one basket. He spread his truth and light over all the earth in different ways. Medicine, real medicine (whatever kind that actually works) is an inspiration from God and blesses lives. False healers (whether people or compounds) bind us down and yoke us to addictions and practices that keep us where we are and force our dependence upon them. I believe that many truths of medicine from all over the world could be blended into one great whole and hope to incorporate truth from wherever it may come.
Well, I am not a scientist. But I understand the scientific method - experiment and observe - and got to try it out first hand. First was with our bout of illness from a few weeks ago. We'd been going through the worst cold our family had ever seen. My wife and kids had each had it and my son was getting it again. Stephanie finally called her friend and made her bring her oils and put them on the kids and us. They all recovered within a few days with frequent use and I stubbornly avoided more contact and had to deal with a sinus infection for the next week.
Next, Stephanie was scanned (bio-scanner) and it showed one oil specifically that she needed. We got that oil and the affect was incredible. She calls it her "crack" because it makes her so happy. I was loosening up at this point, but still a bit sceptical for my own needs. Then I caught the vision.
Last weekend I took a trip to Arizona to see my brother go through the Mesa Temple for his endowments. While the experience was awesome, I had to stay in homes that housed dogs. Pet hair has always keeled me over. I get wheezy and runny nosed the first hours and even with drugs my symptoms persist for a day followed by a week of asthma issues. All I had that weekend was a little bottle of Breathe (a blend of oils) and used it consistently. It didn't completely remove the symptoms, but it made a huge difference and I never had to get an inhaler.
After the two day trip I got home and used a diluted vial of Balance (diluted for the kids, another blend) and the symptoms stopped by the next day. For this whole week I should have been coughing and slowed down by my lack of oxygen. Actually, I was running late the past two days and had to run a good deal to get to work on time. Still no asthma and no relapse. Yeah, I'm convinced.
The allergy treatments with N.A.E.T. were a blessing and a miracle. They fixed issues I didn't even know I had, but saw the impact they had given me for years once they were lifted. These oils are very similar. I get that people will doubt and reason them away, but I am tired of relying on "modern" medicine and its magic pills. Pills often don't work exactly right or build up tolerances, plus many times they only function as a mask for the issues. The oils are not a bandage (as they said tonight). They simply provide the nutrients our bodies lack - thus giving the body a chance to heal itself.
What I was thinking from all these things was how much we are missing when we bind ourselves into a medicinal hole, especially with western medicine. There is so much more out there to help us. I don't think we should completely abandon the sciences and their fruits. Surgeries and drugs and even over the counter medications have their places and help many people. It is when we rely solely on them that we are blinded to truth that may exist elsewhere.
How many other amazing health things are out there? Just doing a brief search on Wikipedia (obviously not the most accurate source out there) revealed this self-proclaimed, incomplete list: naturopathy, chiropractic medicine, herbalism, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, meditation, yoga, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, and nutritional-based therapies. I don't know how many work or not, but I am more than open to the idea that they might and I know that at least a few do.
God doesn't place all his eggs in one basket. He spread his truth and light over all the earth in different ways. Medicine, real medicine (whatever kind that actually works) is an inspiration from God and blesses lives. False healers (whether people or compounds) bind us down and yoke us to addictions and practices that keep us where we are and force our dependence upon them. I believe that many truths of medicine from all over the world could be blended into one great whole and hope to incorporate truth from wherever it may come.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Farewell Old Car
Seriously, fare well! The new owner needs a good car!
We sold the Nissan Sentra tonight. My parents and my sister gave us that car for our wedding back in 2005 and we've abused the poor thing without mercy. I drove to my last job every day and put on most of the mileage we're responsible for adding. It had 94,000 miles originally and we parted with it at 169,500.
Although we replaced an engine and did some repairs over the years it was a blessing to have that car. It gave us transportation and helped us run errands and take road trips and simply performed above what it should have needed to do. God certainly helps us all the time.
So goodbye Sentra! Hope your life continues on for a while with your new owner. You were a good car.
We sold the Nissan Sentra tonight. My parents and my sister gave us that car for our wedding back in 2005 and we've abused the poor thing without mercy. I drove to my last job every day and put on most of the mileage we're responsible for adding. It had 94,000 miles originally and we parted with it at 169,500.
Although we replaced an engine and did some repairs over the years it was a blessing to have that car. It gave us transportation and helped us run errands and take road trips and simply performed above what it should have needed to do. God certainly helps us all the time.
So goodbye Sentra! Hope your life continues on for a while with your new owner. You were a good car.
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