Pick Your Totems Carefully

Hi, this is Dr. Daniels, and you are listening to Healing with Dr. Daniels. And this is the Sunday, June 27th, 2021 edition. And today's topic is, pick your totems carefully, they shape your life.

Today, I'm going to talk about the power of totems and how to pick your own for the best health and happiness. As always, things happen. So, before I do today's show, I just want to give a little bit of follow-up. Mom is doing great, happy as a clam, chit-chatting with the kids and grandkids, and just working her way towards her 90th birthday. So, things are just hunky-dory. Next, Vitality Capsules, yay! Yay! We're still waiting for our final ingredient to pass its final test. We hope that that will be the case in a week or two here. So, we have our fingers crossed. And so, once that happens, then the next batch will be eight weeks out.

All right, I must tell you of my progress. As you know, I'm working on calisthenics and gymnastics. Yay! Yay! So, I'm getting better at my backbends and pushing things pretty hard. So, I did sprain my back, but it's getting better.

So, I'd like to encourage people to really go for it and just try maybe one or even two minutes a day of calisthenics. If you have to break it up into 15-second spurts or 30-second spurts, that's fine. But it's definitely worth doing.

As a person who is 64 years old, I can say it has just really made my life so much easier in terms of being independent, doing things that I want, getting up and walking somewhere, and just getting through the day without dread or worry or thinking like, picking this up is too hard. Oh, I'll just leave that on the floor and get it later. I can just, boom, as soon as I think of it, just pick it right up. Not a problem.

Next, questions. I do try to answer questions at the end of the show. We don't always get to them. And some questions are pretty complicated, so we might address them in a future show topic or something like that. So, there's no guarantee that any particular question will be answered. However, they'll be considered either to be answered on a show or as a topic for a future show.

And you can email questions to jdaaniels at gmail.com. That's jdaaniels at gmail.com.

And, of course, we must take our turpentine. Now, I love taking turpentine. Why? Because of how good it makes me feel. Yay! And first thing to start with is sugar. Sugar. And the spoon we use, this is an American teaspoon, 5 cc, 5 grams, for those of you who are using the metric system. All right. So, there we have it. A spoon full of sugar. And this part here is the medicine. This would be the turpentine. And you just have to label it well enough so anyone would know that it is not water. This is turpentine. And I'm going to take a little disposable pipette, which I keep reusing. This pipette is 2.5 cc up to the neck there. And that's the amount that I take, which happens to be half a teaspoon. And we're drawing on the turpentine now. Yay! It made it all the way to the top, so we're good. All right. There we go. You can see there that level pulsating. I'm squeezing it so you can see it. Okay. And so, we're just going to take this and put it, bam, right on there. Pow, pow, pow. Okay. So, my gymnastics teacher also teaches martial arts, so occasionally we have to say pow.

When you taste this water, you have to wash it all the way down to your tummy. So, that's that part. A lot of people say, oh, Dr. Daniels, isn't that sugar evil? Isn't the sugar going to kill me? Yeah, right. So, we have turpentine, totally deadly. Sugar, totally deadly. And you put the two together and you get something that's life-extending and life-enhancing. So, that's kind of the way it works. I didn't make the rules, but that's the way it shakes out. So, here we have Shilajit. As you can see, I'm not a neat neck. As you can see, this goo does get liquidy at tropical temperatures. And there we have it, a goo. And I just take a little chopstick, poke it in there, pull it out, and that's somewhere around 200 milligrams. I say somewhere around. Now, that's a lot more than 200 milligrams if you ask me, so I'm going to scrape some of this off. I've been at this for a while, so I can kind of eyeball it. Some days, like today, I think it's kind of right on the money. Other days, a little more. Other days, a little less. So, we take this, put it right in here. As you can see, it does not dissolve instantly. So, we exercise patience and just set it right there to the side. And although I'm not a neat neck, I'm going to put these tops back on and we can proceed.

Okay. See if I can get myself back in focus. There's the camera. Let's see if it'll focus back here. I tell you, I've got a future. I've got skills. All right. So, today's topic is pick your totems carefully. They shape your life.

So, what is a totem? Oh, there's a good question. So, when I was a kid, most of us know about, like, totem poles. And basically, these are usually carved in wood and they are the representations of animals or people or faces. And these plants or plants, they're on the pole, they represent spirits. So, when I was a kid, I admired the totem poles for their beauty, but I was very happy that society had moved beyond such superstition. Or has it? And the answer, the short answer is no, it has not. So, what is a totem? The first thing we have to understand is what is a totem? And then I'm going to look around us in our regular world, everyday life, point out a few totems, and then suggest how we can rearrange these totems to enhance our lives. So, the dictionary definition of totem is pretty complicated. And when you look up in the dictionary, there's about 12 slightly different definitions. So, I'm going to pick a very specialized definition to fit the times we live in 2021 and to kind of help as a tool of understanding. So, totem, as in the Ojibwe culture, and I live with the Ojibwe Indians, by the way, for about three years, actually, is a spirit being sacred object or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, like a family, a clan, a lineage, or a tribe.

So, in other words, this symbol identifies you as part of a group. And the symbol represents a spirit. So, the symbol is physical, it's real, as in a totem pole, it's real. You can see this piece of wood, these carvings, it is real. People spent time and effort and resources doing it. So, the totem itself is real, but it represents membership in a particular group and it represents a spirit. This is important. In order for something to be a totem, though, it has to be a symbol that is revered. So, in order for something to be a totem to you, you have to have a feeling or attitude of profound respect, usually reserved for the sacred or divine, like a devotion. So, a true totem is a plant or animal and is a spirit that's hereditary, that means passed on lineage, friend and ally of a group. And these are magical societies, by the way. Yeah. And modern day philosophers have described the television as a modern day totem. So, you kind of can see what direction we're going in here. But even the television is a bit of a huge, huge totem. I'm talking about smaller totems that can really give you a lot of power. So, why do we have totems nowadays? I can't speak for the past, I wasn't there, but I'm here today. In the last 64 years, I've been around, so I can tell you. Modern day culture is bereft. That means it hasn't got a lot of meaning, significance or connectedness. And many people want to show that they care. They want to show they're a member of society, but there are no words to express love, to show loyalty, social status, personal importance, success, respect, and so on. These are all very tenuous things. In the old days, it was real simple, right? You cut your hand, your friend cut his hand, you rub your hand together, now you're blood brothers. Easy. It was an identifiable thing, a symbol, an act, a totem. It has a spiritual representation of devotion and friendship. Nowadays, a lot of those old customs have just been erased.

Now, this is really important. I, as a kid, laughed at this. And as an adult, I no longer laugh. I realize how serious this is. So the spirit, we can think of spirit as how you feel like happiness, sadness, joy, excitement. But it represents a non-physical part of a person, the seat of your emotions, your character, your soul. This is an important matter because if your emotions, your character, and your soul are not at peace, then they have negative outward manifestations. A lot of times we'll call it disease. Maybe we'll call it poverty, um, homelessness. But so you've got to take care of your emotions, your character, and your soul. It has to be maintained. And totems are the tools for that maintenance of the non-physical part of a person, regarded a lot of times as your true self, and depending on what you believe or don't believe, capable of surviving physical death or separation from the body. So the spirit, your spirit, is what lives on after you die. The problem, honestly the problem, the issue with this, is whether you believe in God or not, is this is the basis on which marketers try to sell you the concept of immortality.

So even though a person might not be religious, they might fall off the pitch. Why? Because they have a soul, a spirit inside of them that's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So what we want to do then is figure out what these totems are in our, uh, in our everyday life. Okay, so this lack of positive spiritual communication symbols in modern culture has created a burning need and desire for expression, hence totems. Humans now have an avalanche of long love songs, hate songs, advertising that give guidance and totems to each generation. And they have these deep feelings, uh, individuals do, but really no way to express them in a socially acceptable way. And so to make the danger of this very clear, I didn't say danger, the challenge, the crisis, the hazard clear is a totem is a tangible thing or identifiable activity that represents something intangible. This is truly a person giving something of material value and we see of nothing of material value. In other words, the person will literally devote any resources towards at best nothing and at worst something that's very harmful. So let's take a look at some totems that we see in our everyday life and how they influence our life and what we can do instead.

So first I'm just going to go over some basic totems and to give you an idea of what they are so you can look around your life and see the totems that maybe you have. One huge totem is comfort foods. Yeah, just the name comfort foods. So the name reveals, of course, the totem, the meaning and spiritual and cultural meaning imbued in these foods. So if you eat any of these foods, you feel comforted, right? Yeah, of course. You have one of these whenever you need comfort and many helpings. Of course, who would deny anyone or themselves comfort? Clearly, any person would be far ahead if they could recognize a totem and found a non-food way to access the comfort. A lot of obesity would be gone. Pick a different totem, a stuffed animal that you squeeze whenever you want to feel comfort, a cup of tea, a warm soup, a small reminder of a fond memory. So if you can understand that this comfort food is just a physical item, a totem that evokes spiritual emotional feeling, then you can say, hey, well, what is that spiritual emotional feeling? Let me find another way to evoke or create that. And then we have the breakfast of champions. Another totem. If you eat this cereal, it evokes the spirit of a champion. You literally feel like a champion. The spirit of a champion fills you. And this is basically a fast food cereal. Unlike any breakfast cereal you eat all day long, it won't make you a champion. It'll make you weak. Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Suggest that diamonds become a totem for love and for friendship. You know, if you give a girl diamonds, well, she'll know you love her. And as a woman, if you receive diamonds, then no matter how the man treats you, you're going to feel love. Why? Because diamonds are a girl's best friend. So the diamonds then become a totem. And this is often what prevents people from buying an inexpensive cubic zirconium instead of a very expensive diamond that maybe they can't afford, right? Because the diamond has the value of the totem, whereas the cubic zirconium doesn't. Even though, you look at them both, like, I have nothing to say to me. And then there's another one. Promise her anything but give her a Fabergé. Suggest the perfume is a totem for caring and reliability. That you don't need to keep your promises. Just give her a Fabergé and she'll see you as a caring and reliable person. And so the problem with this totem is the person actually is not reliable. And they're lying. They made a promise, they're not keeping it, and they're giving the person something else. Not what they promised. So this is an amazing property of modern day totems, which is the actual physical totem destroys the spiritual feeling it evokes.

So there's a fast food joint that says, you deserve a break today. And so you have to go there, give them your money and eat because you deserve a break. But going there, giving them your money and eating is going to result in you being sick. And you'll then have to spend more money and more time addressing the sickness. But in that instant, when you go there and give them your money, you feel like, oh, I've had a break, but actually you've just complicated your life. And these are the totems that need to be unraveled and straightened out. And so if we look closer at society, these totems give us insight into seemingly senseless, even destructive behavior. So being obese, for example, is a totem for successfully gaining resources. Drinking Coca-Cola is a totem for adding life, a totem for immortality. So a beverage that shortens your life becomes a totem for immortality. Nike shoes, just do it, a totem for power. If you buy these shoes, you'll have power. Never mind, you just gave the shoe company all your power for this big pile of money you had for a pair of sneakers. But going to college, a totem for a valued member of society. But while the human being is sitting in college for four years, they're not making any contributions to society. And then when they graduate, they've borrowed money and they actually have a debt to society. And now it's being suggested they shouldn't even repay that debt. So what's really happening is you have a totem going to college, which represents being a valued member of society, but the person has no valuable skills, is not making a contribution to society, and is encouraged to be irresponsible and borrow money with no intention to repay. This totem actually makes the person a harmful member of society, a freeloader. So you've got to pick your totems carefully. If you want to go to college, if you believe, if you want to accept that as a totem of being a valued member of society, then you've got to take the responsibility of doing it in a way where you pay for your college. And if you do take out a debt, you repay that debt.

Another totem is getting medical screening exams. These are totems for personal responsibility. With a false positive rate of 80 to 90 percent, these exams are exercises in hypochondria, excessive worry about something that's not real. The totem actually is the opposite of the spiritual meaning assigned to it. So instead of being personally responsible, you're being personally irresponsible by being a hypochondriac. And we have vaccination. Excellent totem. This is a totem for caring about others. I've been vaccinated. And being worthy and deserving of being more valuable to society. And so there are people who are pro-vaccine, and they are very clear that it's the responsible thing to do. There are people who are anti-vaccine, and they are very clear that vaccines are not medically effective. Well, whether they're medically effective or not, or whether they're harmful or not, or whether they kill people or not, is actually irrelevant. It's irrelevant. Because the vaccination is a totem for caring about others. It simply evokes a spiritual feeling. And if the vaccination evokes that spiritual feeling, then it's effective. If it evokes that spiritual feeling in the person receiving it, then it's effective. And, second level effectiveness, if it evokes that feeling in others, where you can say, I've been vaccinated, and other people say, oh, you're a wonderful person. Here, come to our party. You're accepted, you're valued. And so the discussion of vaccine can't really make progress unless it's recognized that vaccination is a totem. And then I think it can be discussed in terms of whether a person wants to do it or doesn't want to do it, or what spiritual value society wants to place on vaccinations. So it's not a right or wrong question, and it's not even a question of science. It's a totem. It's a spiritual question.

Then we have gym membership. We know most people don't use their gym membership. And so having a gym membership is a totem for caring about one's health. Now, actually caring about your health would be exercising, which I have found can be done without a gym membership, and even without equipment. Wearing a mask over your face has become a totem for caring. Wearing a mask over your face 30 years ago was a totem for having something to hide, for being a criminal, or being in the process of committing a crime. And so wearing a mask, the meaning, excuse me, the spiritual emotion it evokes has changed. And this is an example of how society can pick totems and change totems very quickly.

Social distancing has become a totem for a way of showing respect for others. Even when I'm walking down the street, I will pause and move six feet further off to the side to show respect to the person who's maybe walking towards me, unless it's a handsome guy, in which case, well, just throw my arms around him. So social distancing and respect for others. Then staying home, or sheltering in place, I think is the term. It's a willingness to sacrifice for society. Hence, it implied that the society owes you for making the sacrifice. How cool is that? Hence, I stayed at home, I sacrificed, I did what I was told on behalf of society. Yes, I want the government to mail me a check. So that is a totem.

Health insurance, a totem for personal responsibility. If you get sick, and social responsibility for others if they get sick. So I said to people, hey, you know, I don't need health insurance. I'm not ever going to use health care. I'm not going to go to a doctor. I'm not going to go to a hospital. And should I lose my mind enough to do such a thing? I should certainly pay out of pocket. I really should stay home, but whatever. And they said, no, no, no, you've got to buy health insurance because what if other people get sick? It's not fair for you to withhold your money when you could put your money in the pot to pay for other people's health care if they get sick. Now, this makes a lot of implicit assumptions here that their sickness has nothing to do with their behavior, for example, and that health insurance is the only way to deal with their sickness. And I couldn't make another contribution like Rebecca bring them a covered dish. So health insurance in our society has become a totem. But it's a very expensive totem. For many people, their health insurance premium is higher than their house payment.

So these totems that I have outlined create poverty, financial ruin, social isolation, and poor health. So these are devastating, absolutely devastating totems. But because they're totems and they're physical objects representing spiritual things, a rational argument would not induce the user to change. You have to understand that. When you're dealing with a totem, you're dealing with the spirit world. And so if you're dealing with the spirit world, then you can give all the stats on masks not working to prevent the transmission of viruses. It's going to be ineffective because the mask is actually a spiritual symbol of caring. And so there are people who even after the government, who told them to wear their masks in the first place, have said, oh, no more mask wearing. I'm going to keep wearing my mask. So it's a spiritual issue and it has to be addressed on a spiritual level. And so if you're not having a spiritual conversation, then the communication is going to be difficult and ineffective.

So what has to happen for people to change their totems? And we're not going to talk about other people for the moment. We're going to talk about you. Yeah, real personal. Well, the first thing that has to happen is you've got to realize the harm and inconvenience the totem is creating for you. That's number one. And then you have to identify the spiritual meaning of the totem and then replace it with a totem that does not create the presence of an unwanted feeling or spirit. So let's talk about some different totems and then I'll give you more details on picking your own totem. So let's talk about comfort foods and caring. And so really what the comfort food is really talking about is caring. And in our culture is so hard for people to have the feeling that they're cared for. And I just can't even underestimate the magnitude of this problem. So unfortunately, there is not a good generally accepted totem for caring. That's a you care about or more precisely, we can start, well, we can start there and then we'll go on to the other part. Talk to each person you care about. Tell them that you care about them and ask them what thing you can do that will show them you care about them and are thinking of them. For example, you know, my friends know that there are certain things that I like, so they'll go pick it up and bring it to me. They'll know, for example, that I like red peppers and red peppers here are hard to find. Why? Because most peppers are hybrids. They're red peppers with streaks of green on them and the green tastes differently. It doesn't taste like a red pepper. And so it's like really a disappointment. And so my friend will do is bring me a true red pepper that's thoroughly red and tastes like a red pepper. And that is such an amazing caring gesture. So what you've got to do then is pick symbols of caring instead of, you know, southern fried chicken smothered in gravy, which is definitely, definitely caring. That's caring. Don't get me wrong. In my case, it would be a red pepper, which is a huge thing. But for each person, it's going to be different. And so talk to people that you care about, they care about you and decide for yourself what your caring symbols will be. So let me give you a few examples. For example, a hug or a kiss or a secret handshake, a shiny penny, doesn't matter what it is, just has to be something that the two of you agree on. Now, this is very important. It should not involve a third party. For example, getting a screening test, keeping a doctor appointment, taking a drug, going to school, it should be a direct something they do to or for you that lets you know they care or something you do to or for them and lets them know you care. No coercion, and it can be as simple as a smile or a wink. So because we don't have any big, huge symbols of caring, you've got to work on a one-on-one basis at the moment. And I'll put other things like pausing and letting you go first. Maybe standing close to you so you don't fall. Be calling once a week or once a month. So other things, a hug, sitting on a park bench with a friend, pick up a rock and talk to it. That's your own pet rock. You don't have to pay for it. So that's your comfort totems, your new comfort totems.

What about immortality? Immortality. Coke adds life. So rather than drinking a Coke to represent immortality, realize it is a spiritual concept and address it in a spiritual way. This body is temporary, really, really. All of us are going to die. All of our bodies are going to just one day not be here. So what can you do if you're addressing immortality? Literally reach back, or I should say forward, two or three generations. The older you get, the easier this gets. So I'm 64, so I can easily reach three generations away, say to a three-year-old or a four-year-old, and show them some caring and some kindness. And that would contribute to making myself immortalized. Those little kids, when they grow up, will say, hey, you know, there's this old lady, and she was really nice to us, and we played water games in her backyard. So immortality. If you can just do something for a member at least two generations away from you. So in my case, being 64, that would be doing something for someone who's 20 or younger. And when you think about that, that actually gets you out of the house. Because these people are not just sitting around the house. You're like, oh, where are they? So because of today's family structure, you have to actually get out the house to meet these people. And for me, doing gymnastics has certainly been a wonderful way to meet people who are under 20. And to communicate positively with them, and encourage them, and do nice things for them.

So how do you pick your totems? First of all, examine the habits or choices that are harmful to and ask yourself what they represent. What feeling do they evoke in you? And then pick a totem, an action you can take that is beneficial, that would evoke the same feeling or spirit. Or what I find is sometimes I can just think of something. I can think of an event that happened maybe when I was 20-something, or 30-something, or 40-something. And I think of that event, boom, a spirit of happiness, a spirit of gratitude, a spirit of caring fills me. So that would be the way to do it. It's so, so, so important. You have got to consciously choose your totems. You've got to look around your environment and see what totems do you have. And one way to see if something is a totem is to ask yourself, what would people think of me if I didn't have whatever the object is? And if you get a strong, emotional, negative reaction, you realize, whoa, that thing's a totem. I don't have that thing because I need it or I want it. I have it because I'm afraid that I won't be perceived as a member of the group or the clan if I don't have it. So there you go. There's the totem situation.

Let's take a look at the questions. We're a little over time, but let's find one question. Okay. I started taking turpentine and I now feel like I have a sinus infection. I'm concerned. I am eliminating three to five times a day. My gut is feeling better, although I noticed day four is painful as the candida regroups and battles for control of my stomach and small intestine. Have you ever had anyone take turpentine every three days instead of twice a week? Sure. People take turpentine all kinds of ways. Some people take it twice a year. They go from twice a year to every day. Personally, I take it every day, half a teaspoon a day. So you can really change it to whatever frequency you want. As for your sinus situation, that is simply your body cleansing. And when your body is dumping junk like that through your sinuses, that means that one, you're actively eating foods that are bringing in toxins either through your mouth or inhaling something and your body's cleaning that out. Or you have stuff inside of you that's being dredged up. And even though you might be having four battles a day or three to five a day, your body is not clean enough or in control enough to handle turpentine. So what I would do actually is I would do the opposite. I would cut back the turpentine, let the symptoms clear, continue with the bowel movements and hydration, and then try the turpentine again at a future date.

Okay, that is it for that particular question. And that brings us to the end of today's show. We'll see you again next week. And as always, think happens.