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Passionate: Naturopath, Jacqui Fernandez is looking forward to celebrating Natural Medicine Week and welcoming locals to discover more about what natural therapists do.

​NEXT week, 20 to 26 May, is Natural Medicine Week, and the Central Highland Complementary Medicine Network is hosting a collaborative community event to celebrate.
Between 9am and 12pm on Monday, 20 May, qualified registered naturopaths, nutritionists, mental health practitioners and an exercise physiologist will be at the Ballarat Business Centre.
Amongst other therapists, they’ll be available to meet locals in a safe and open environment, answering questions, concerns and scepticism about natural medicine over a cuppa.
Special guests include Journalist and Naturopath, Julie O’Connell Seamer and General Practitioner, Dr Rod Hanton.
Organiser and Naturopath, Jacqui Fernandez has a background in Health Science. She said collaboration between bio-medical and natural medicine practitioners is important to deliver the best healthcare model.
“It’s not us versus them, it’s what we can do together,” she said. “I think a lot of people think we’re still hippies in orange robes and bare feet chanting. We’ve moved far from that.
“We take traditional philosophies and principles of treating the whole person, identifying the cause and use traditional knowledge along with more evidence-based practice to improve patient outcomes. Health is a way of living, and that’s what we want to showcase.”
Mrs Fernandez believes the government should regulate and register Naturopaths for public safety and best practice. The event is also an opportunity to discuss this issue.
The event is near-on sold out and a gold coin donation will be requested upon arrival, with all proceeds going to Creswick-based palliative care charity, Shannon’s Bridge.
The Federal government was recently under fire for cutting private health insurance rebates to natural therapies. Following public protest, Health Minister, Greg Hunt has said the changes will be reviewed.

This book was given to me and on first impressions I was not one bit impressed. Then I started to read it and found the words mesmerising, I would read a sentence and ponder on it for minutes to hours to even days. 

It forces you to evaluate yourself on a deeper level. It goes beyond the surface to look at how we live our lives and the impact on others. Rather than waffle on, I will let Stephanie do the talking. This is an extract from her work
“Mostly we live in a heightened state of insatiability, wanting what we haven’t got, forgetting and discarding what we already have. Brittle, fragile relationships are normal, with each person watching their own back, rather than the face of the person they most want to love and be loved by.
 Caring about people lovingly and well demands fidelity. ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little way, is faithful also in much,’ said St Luke.
To bring fidelity to life – taking on what it means to choose to be consistent, persistent, trustworthy, committed, truthful, loving, and delicate in your discernment between what matters and what does not – you need to be capable of vigilance; of staying awake to the subtlety of what happens between you and other people. This means caring about details as well as the big picture. It means learning that what may be a small thing to you may carry much greater meaning for someone else. Your own view may not change as you discover this, but it is usually possible to express your respect for a different view and to take this as an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of that person. Because fidelity also asks that you care about other people and yourself equally and simultaneously.
This is not so easy. It involves being ‘transparent’ to your own self-deceptions; taking responsibility for what your needs are; facing what is unpalatable about your intentions or behaviour. It involves developing the strength and clarity of mind to distinguish between intention and action, knowing that what you desire and how you act may sometimes need to be two quite different things.
It means acknowledging that the way you feel about someone may sometimes ask something difficult of you. It may mean, in thinking about yourself and those you love, that you must look inward sometimes, as well as outwards. It means taking stock often, and pausing.”

Wishing you health of mind, body and soul. Lots of love and light. Jacqui ​

It is with great deliberation I decided to include this clip. Recently there have been a spate of deaths and people in deep mourning for their lost loved ones. 

So hopefully now is the right time to include this clip and reflect on life and the message of hope from Anita.
Anita had a near death experience and reluctantly decided to return as she felt she had not fully completed her purpose. But she describes her experience of being transported to a place of unconditional love and acceptance. A place of feeling connected and a oneness. But the greatest lesson she gives us is to live and love fearlessly. To be ourselves because we are loved and accepted unconditionally.
Live and love without judgement or fear! ​

This long research confirms for us the value of positive relationships and connecting with each other as family and friends. 

This has come when loneliness has been identified as one of the major causes for mental & physical ill health. It is fantastic, that we are now complementing traditional methods of treatment which focuses on the cause of ill health and  including positive psychology which places emphasises on an  individual's strengths and how things can go right. 

Bob Marley makes the case that accepting your flaws is part of what makes you. 
"He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.”

 Obviously this applies to both genders and to all of us. Lets cherish the people who come into our lives.
​ Lots of love and light. Jacqui ​