These days, it looks as if our world is filled with storms: Political storms, medical storms, human rights storms, and any other agenda the mind can invent and turn into a storm…
Mysteriously enough, these storms seem to have the tendency to become a whirlpool that uproots and swirls us until we are slowly striped from our own personalities. It feels that in our panic of the storm, we act as if the only way to survive it is to let the storm peel away everything we have, and many times, after it passes, we might regret and re-think our actions.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Could there be a different way to survive a storm? A way in which we trust that our own personalities are worth standing rooted while letting the storm pass alongside us instead of swirling everything within while it passes through us?
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Of course there is a way! But this way is not granted! An effort needs to be made to keep us strong facing a storm. I will explain how this can be done, but beforehand, let’s understand why we want to do so.
Remembering the legacy of Hersh Polin Goldberg, RIP, an American-Israeli 23 yrs old, who was kidnapped on October 7th, 2023, and was murdered along with 5 other young Israeli hostages while held captive for 11 months in the tunnels of Gaza. In his page-turner must-read book, “Hostage”, Eli Sharabi tells his own story and reflects how Hersh inspired every hostage he met with his famous sentence: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.’” Eli Sharabi, who was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri, held onto his own ‘why’ – returning to his British-Israeli wife and 2 teenage daughters – for 491 days, then was released from captivity only to discover that they were murdered on Oct 7th, 2023. May they all Rest in Peace.
Back to our storms, looking for our own, much less intense ‘whys’ to let storms pass alongside us without allowing them to pass through us. I will note here my thoughts, examining what is building our character and personality. Feel free to add as many of your thoughts as you need.
WHY?
Our character is made of critical thinking skills, which help us decern what benefits us and what does not. We operate these skills by asking questions. Keeping in mind that every question is relevant, when we are swept off into a stormy swirl, we might feel that our questions are dismissed without a satisfactory answer. Then, we might feel lost or even irrelevant.
Our uniqueness is part of our personality. Every decision we make, about our health, our money, our life, should be made in accordance with our unique needs, regardless to the popular (maybe even engineered) opinions about it. When we are swept off into a stormy swirl, while our unique necessities are mostly lessened, we might experience an unhealthy internal conflict between our physical, emotional and mental states, which can lead us to depression and/or physical illness.
Our own values are the foundational building blocks of our character and personalities. When we are swept off into a stormy swirl, we might feel that our values are compromised, maybe even to the level we feel as our whole self is being diminished. And this as well could lead to a physical or mental illness.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
All of these sounds very gloomy, and many times we choose to disregard and continue our lives as if none of them exist. If you choose to do so and you are happy and healthy, then all is great. However, if you are not truly happy and not truly healthy, I would like to invite you to read further unfolding my opinion on how to make a brave decision to stop being swept into a stormy swirl.
How?
First and foremost, we need to tend our nervous system, and it is our window to the world. We act and react to everything that is happening around us through the state of our nervous system. The more our nervous system is on a survival mode, the more automatic and repetitive will be our response. When we succeed to relax our nervous system and take it out of its survival state, we can make time to create new plans of actions, which are more beneficial and upon repeating they can become automatic as well.
As I explain in my article, The Art of Healing Yourself, we have to create the environment for our body to meet its survival needs, in order to relax our nervous system: “What are these survival needs? Think about babies – what do they need? To sleep, to eat, to be touched, to be soothed, to be clean, to move and to learn how to coexist with others in the world. We may have grown out of our baby stage, but our needs have not changed. However, now, we are engaged with so many responsibilities which have become a priority over our basic needs. Here begins our part as self-healers, by tending to our basic needs and helping our body meet them. How can we do that? Simply by going back to basics – returning to all the actions that we usually skip through our busy life. These actions are also known as the pillars of Traditional Naturopathy: Nourishment, Bodywork, Rest/sleep, Energy work, Herbal medicine, Hydrotherapy, Education, and Movement.”
Could a castor oil pack make a difference here? I have no doubt about it!!!!!
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Is it worth all the trouble just to be able to allow the storm pass alongside you? I cannot make this decision for you. I can only advise to look back at your “why” list and decide from there. My journey, learning with great effort how to stand tall alongside storms, helped me understand, that even though my values and beliefs are different than anyone else’s, they are never less valid. And this is what I preach and teach ever since.
If you need my assistance to learn how to shine your wonderful personality and never allow any storm to diminish it, contact me. I am happy help!
And if you are around on November 9th, 2025, you are invited to a special hands-on event, led by Ariana Buksdorf and me, at the Hampton Inn Commerce Novi. All details in the following link: The Art of Caring for Self.
Always remember that a change is never easy, and it will happen only when you feel that you are ready for it. As we open the new Jewish year, may it be filled with blessed changes to lift us up to our best possible lives, and may we always find the strength to allow every storm to pass alongside us without swiping us up into its swirl!!!!!
Spring is here. We can feel the shift in the air even though some days are still too cold. This is the time when many of us actively rid ourselves of what is not serving any longer. Some do so by an internal cleanse to clear body’s elimination channels, others by a physical cleaning of their homes and surroundings. All in order to create more space for something new to come.
This act of elimination is truly a productive action, but what if there are things that would benefit us more if we made an adjustment to the way we perceive them rather than getting rid of them?
Let’s take our fears for example. How many of us would love to get rid of any fear that paralyzes them? Fears that eventually forcing us to make important decisions while in an impaired state of mind, ending up with an outcome that we never wished for? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a way to clear these fears out, allowing you to make a new start without any hesitations? Of course it would! But would it be the most beneficial act for you?
What if changing your perception about your fears – viewing them as mirrors to your situation or as guides implying that a change is needed – would bring a more meaningful aspect into your life? What if turning your fears into your allies would carry more value than clearing them out?
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Evolutionally, fear had an important roll – to warn you of a certain danger which requires the need to save yourself from. Back in the days when these dangers were actual threats to life (a bear, a fire…), you would be open to take the advice and make adjustments in order to survive. Evolving into modern life while daily tasks becoming significantly less dangerous, one would expect that the level of fear would subside.
In reality, even though your life mostly is not threatened, your fears never subsided. With that, because your life mostly is not threatened, your willingness to take the advice to make adjustments dissolved in the air.
It doesn’t make much sense, does it?
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Succumbing to your fears comes from a deep ingrained thought that bad things will happen if you do not follow the popular/accepted solution. This solution might be great for some but not necessarily for you, and maybe without succumbing to your fears, you might be able to make a decision from a more neutral perspective. Yet, would you be able to trust that an original decision will be beneficial even when it is different than the popular thought?
Before you detach yourself from your fears to enable this trust, we need to establish a basic understanding that your fears have the power to affect you only when you are living in a survival mode. With that said, you might not always be aware that you are in this mode, simply because everyone around you operates the same – a behavior that has been rooted in our society as a normal state. Let me assure you that even though many of us live like that, it is not beneficial to any of us at all! Therefore, if you want to liberate yourself from this survival state you will need to create an environment where your body meets all its survival needs. I wrote long about it in my article The Art of Healing Yourself, with many suggestions.
In short, when this environment is created, your body will shift from a survival mode into a deep relaxed state where your perception completely transforms. It is important to understand that the situation you are dealing with will never change, and you will be facing the same challenges as before, whether your nervous system is relaxed or not. But the way you perceive the situation will be different, allowing you to take a fresh look and productive actions to resolve it.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Whenever you are ready so create this environment, you can start with these three simple steps (feel free to add as many more as you need!!!):
Breathe
First and foremost, stop in our tracks and take a deep breath!!! A shallow breath is not supportive to a relaxed state. A deep breath will convince your brain that “war is over” since there is time now to breath.
There are so many breathing techniques, which you can find all over the internet, and choose what works for you. I personally like the diaphragmatic breathing technique, in which you take long inhales and exhales while activating your diaphragm. I also advise everyone to put notes on mirrors, in cars, in kitchens, with the word “Breathe” so they can take one deep diaphragmatic breath whenever they see a note. It would be awesome if you can take few minutes to take few breaths but always remember that one is more than zero! No need to stress if you can fit only one breath in! Begin with what you can and embrace it!
Wim Hof’s method is also one of my favorites. He has an 11-minute video with his technique which is very meditative and calming.
You can also take a breathing class or a yoga class or singing class or scream your lungs out in the woods. Whatever makes you breathe!!! It doesn’t matter what you do – just breathe!!
Nourish
Nourishing your body will reduce its survival stress worrying for the next meal. When you routinely nourish your body with foods that it can use, your body will learn to trust that this need is fulfilled, and no stress is required for that any longer.
My go-to for nourishment is chicken soup / bone broth or root vegetables soup if you prefer a vegetarian version. This soup should be consumed daily, even few times a day.
Create a slowdown routine
Establishing a routine of slowing down your activities as you get closer to bed time will help prepare your body for a deeper rest. A repetitive routine will help your body to trust that you are serious in your intentions to relax and that regardless to what happened through the day – you will provide your nervous system an anchor to reset later in the evening. Here are few suggestions. Please do not limit yourself to these only:
Drinking a comforting tea in the evening such as Lemon balm, calendula, oat straw, chamomile, a combination of these or any other herb that you like and calms your nervous system down.
Epsom salts baths to relax your muscles.
Self-reflexology especially on your nervous system reflexes.
Reading real books to allow your imagination and creativity to thrive.
Set your cell phone to rest and recharge in a different room or floor if possible.
First mission of every spring cleaning is to shine and polish who we are. When you create the environment for your body to deeply relax, you will be able to make the most effective use of the communication your body provides. And while understanding that the situation you are dealing with will never change, you will be able to manifest a new way to perceive your situation, allowing you to take a fresh look and productive actions to resolve it.
Would that be fast and easy? of course not! But you have the whole spring to work on it:)
And guess what – when spring is over, summer will always be moving in!!!!!!
How often are we frustrated as we realize words that we have been told came without any foundation behind them? How often are we promised something, only to discover that it has been just a maybe? How often do we offer empty words ourselves?
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Empty words come from a place where a commitment is not being honored. Historically, honoring commitments have been highly valued but somehow through the years it lost its prestige and became the first thing to compromise about. As appealing as it may sound to drop a commitment and be free to do everything we want, my own experience led me to believe that this compromise will take a toll on our emotional and mental states which in turn may evolve into a physical health issue.
What if this toll is too heavy for us to carry? Would there be a way for us to stay committed and follow our own values in a world that does not respect any? Since my personal view is that we should never let anyone’s behavior change our owns, I would like to share here my way to honor commitments and values in a world that would not do so.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
First, we have to survey the strength of our internal commitments to our own selves before we can learn how to stand by our commitments to others, offering credible words and not just empty ones.
Then, we have to bring to our awareness that a promise we make to ourselves is as equally important as a promise we make to another person. Many times, we tend to regard ourselves as invisible, and then, EVERYTHING becomes more important than our word to ourselves: If we are tired and decide to rest but a friend calls to ask for a favor, we will be rushing to fulfil it as we are still on the phone; or if we made up our minds to stop eating junk food but are invited out for a pizza or ice cream then we quickly drop our intention.
For me, when I do not stand by my own word, I interpret this as being dishonest with myself. Living in a constant habit of being dishonest with myself makes it is impossible for me to change my habits towards others – offering sincere words when I have no idea what this really means.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Dishonesty, whether it comes from a survival need, or has been demonstrated by our surroundings as the only way to behave, creates a conflict within our internal environment which carries a great toll on our bodies. This toll often tends to manifest in a physical way – a rash, an ache, some weight gain, some digestive issues, some auto immune issues or many other deeper issues.
We might not be aware that we are being dishonest to ourselves, especially if this is the way we have been conducting our lives throughout our years. Thus, we might not even know that we are creating an internal conflict. The best test to reveal our honesty is to take a moment to observe our commitment to our own words – simple observation without judgement. If we discover signs of dishonesty to our own selves, maybe it is the time to do something different than we did before. Repeating the same actions will always bring the same results, so why not surprise our brain with a new way of thinking? Keeping these surprises small is the key for their success. Some simple examples are listed below. The examples are endless!! Please do not limit yourself to these only, just use them as a starting point:
Nourishment – committing to eating one nourishing dish every day, regardless to what we eat throughout the day (my go-to would be chicken soup/bone broth).
Sleep – committing to going to sleep five minutes earlier than we usually do every day.
Movement – committing to parking our car one parking spot further than we usually do when we are out.
Energy work – committing to saying one kind thing about us every morning (my go-to would be: “I am awesome!!”).
Bodywork – committing to laying our hands on our feet for one minute every day. A simple hold! The heat of our hands will draw the blood to our feet and will operate the reflexes.
New experiences – committing to making one cup of herbal tea in the morning or in the evening (my go-to would be Calendula – calendula officinalis).
Breathe – committing to taking one deep breath every day (can put notes in the car or on the mirror as reminders).
Exploring our range of emotions – committing to listening to our body before we make a commitment in order to understand how we feel about that commitment. If we whole heartedly want to engage in a certain activity, then a commitment is definitely in order. But if we don’t really want to do it and feel guilted into it, then it is time to explore our range of emotions and allow our heart to make the decision if to commit.
Can a Castor oil pack on our abdomen assist in this process? No doubt about it! A castor pack on the abdomen will be a spectacular pathway to our brain, as it has the ability to shift our nervous system into the parasympathetic state, which is the deepest relaxed state of our body. And once we are experiencing the parasympathetic state – our perception of everything we encounter becomes more sincere.
Of course, a castor oil pack is a commitment as well…. 😉
Picture by Amit Shlagman
The secret to learn how to commit to ourselves is by making small meaningful and intentional commitments which we won’t need to break. Nothing extravagant! Nothing to show! Just opening a communication line within us in order to build a trust in our own selves. This will make us visible. Once we are visible, we will not be able to ignore our genuine promises to self and slowly begin honoring them.
When a heartfelt commitment comes from a deep intention to follow through, it will not encounter any internal conflict and will never lead us into a thought of breaking that commitment. This will allow our physical issues to settle down and heal. As we heal, we will learn to establish the habit of honoring our own word to our own selves, simply because we love the way a healthy body feels. We will not be able to go back to dishonesty once we discover what it is doing to us. This will lead us to the understanding that our word, whether promised to self or to others, must come from an earnest desire to commit. And when a word comes from a deep honest intention to fulfil it, it will never be empty, no matter to whom it is addressed.
“Don’t waste your money”, said the orthopedic surgeon, coming out of my son’s ACL & meniscus repair surgery, answering my question whether there are any contraindications for massaging his knee or leg. Humbled, I asked, “what if he does it himself?” and was dismissed with the statement that no one does it.
Realizing that he might not be aware of any benefits simply because he believes that nobody does it, I smiled and thanked him for everything he did and granted myself the permission to follow my beliefs.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
In 2017, I completed 800 hours of massage classes in order to obtain my license to touch. In the advanced medical massage class, we had to present 2 projects, showing progress with the volunteers’ condition following the massage treatment.
A friend, who suffered of numerous medical issues, many of whom are contraindicated for massage, but in deep need of healing, volunteered to one of these projects. We mutually agreed to follow all the rules, as otherwise it would be a life-threatening situation.
With much fear and anxiety, as it was my first time working with someone experiencing a life-threatening condition, I allowed myself to touch, understanding that while there are some conditions that massage is contraindicated, Touch never is!!!!
Human touch is unreplaceable. Human touch cannot be substituted with any medication or procedure or imaging or a vitamin IV. Human touch is a crucial component in our healing. Human touch does not have to come from an external source – it can be applied to your own tissue by your own self. Regardless to the popular modern codes that it is unacceptable to touch anyone and definitely our own selves.
Picture by Anat Shlagman
Needless to say, the progress of my friend was beyond every expectation, as many issues improved without even addressing them!!
Fast forward to my son’s knee story, I applied my understanding of human touch to his knee every day from the moment we arrived home, until he headed back to his own house 2 months later.
At his first post operation follow up visit, two weeks from surgery, he was the only one among the many patients waiting in the large waiting room (young and old), who was able to quickly hop towards the PA calling his name. She was surprised to see how fast and pain free he moved (no narcotic meds involved along the process!) and asked him what he was doing.
Happy to share all our work at home, I offered to tell her if she’s willing to listen. She politely smiled and left the room.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
My son’s progress has been phenomenal. Touch was an imperial component, along with nourishment, physical therapy, and allowing himself the time that was needed for healing, even when we discovered post operation that longer healing time is required due to the severe nature of his injury.
The orthopedic surgeon was very pleased with the recovery, but never once asked what is done at home for it. Indeed, many credits are due to his skills for conducting this complicated surgery meticulously. With that, many of us might not be aware that a lot should be done afterwards at home to progress the healing. The written post operation care instructions cover very important care to eliminate complications, but do not extend to a whole healing experience. There is so much more that can be done to help your body heal.
Picture by Amit Shlagman
Yes, “don’t waste your money” is a great advice! Yet, it is our responsibility to decide what brings us value and what is just a waste. Even when an opinion comes from a respected source, we still have the right to take it as an opinion only.
Our thoughts, knowledge and understanding of our own body are as important as anyone’s thoughts and knowledge. If you struggle with allowing your thoughts to count, try a castor pack!! You will be astounded to discover how relaxing your nervous system and getting yourself out of the “war zone” into a peaceful mode can shift your perception of yourself and/or your situation. I am always here to listen and to teach everyone who wishes to learn how to create the right environment for whole healing.
May we all have the courage to use as many resources as we need to allow our body to heal itself regardless to the thoughts and perceptions of others.
My mom owns a Magic Pot. She did not buy it magical at all but turned it that way with her enormous loving intention to nourish everyone around her. If you have been privileged to eat one of my mom’s meals, you know that this soup is just the appetizer of a 1000-course meal. No one leaves my parent’s house hungry! FOR WEEKS AFTER….
And no, my mom’s pot is not the one that may have popped into your mind reading the title of this blog, even though it might be the ultimate answer for your joints….
Mica’s Magic Pot
Beyond the fact that this is probably the best chicken soup you ever ate in your life, my mom can make the soup in this pot last 7 days – regardless to how many people eat it or how many servings they take per day! Just like the Chanukah’s miracle of the little pot of oil that lasted 8 days… Only here we have a nicely sized pot of pure Gold!
I wish I had my mom’s patience to prepare it the way she does, but I don’t. That’s why I will add my altogether-in-the-pot-just-add-water-and-boil version of my mom’s soup. If you have the pot and the patience – by all means – follow her steps! It will turn out great!! Especially since you will not have the real legend to compare………….
This famous chicken soup has been prepared in my mom’s family for many generations. Living in Romania, the soup survived through wars, famine, communism and many other unimaginable inhumane actions. As kids, in Romania and later in Israel, we ate it every day without having any idea how beneficial it is. Starting my own family, I kept the tradition, again clueless – automatically doing what intuitively felt that I need to do to care for my family.
It took me almost 40 years to appreciate the gift my mom gave me! And for over 10 years now, I have been preaching it in my practice (could there be a better companion to the Castor oil Packs than a chicken soup???). I went through many versions of the soup until I finally reached the one we all love. Truth is that it doesn’t matter how you make it, as long as it contains real ingredients and not artificial flavored powders. Herbs are awesome in any shape. Powdered artificial flavors are not!
There are so many reasons to eat this soup daily! Beginning with its fats which nourish your nervous system – calming down the fight-or-flight response. Continuing with its gelatin which calms digestive disorders, and its collagen which protects your joints (again, the ones that hold you, not the ones you hold), ligaments, skin, and its minerals and its nourishing properties for basically everything you could ever imagine!!
We also cannot ignore our Jewish connection, as Sally Fallon best describes in her book, Nourishing Traditions:
The 12th century physician Moses Maimonides prescribed chicken broth as a treatment for colds and asthma. Modern research has confirmed that broth helps prevent and mitigate infectious diseases. The wise food provider, who uses gelatin-rich broth on a daily or frequent basis, provides continuous protection from many health problems.
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
Whoa! If it was me – I would eat and feed everyone around me every day!!! Oh, wait. I already do it!!! All thanks to my mom’s teachings with her own actions.
You can choose to start your own tradition, or you can choose not to. The choice is yours. I can only give you the tools by diving straight to the secret of preparing this magic gold, as revealed by my mom, Marcela (Mica) Haimberg. Picture credits to my mom as well!!
Ingredients: 1 Chicken – cut (preferably organic, free range) 1 bulb of Garlic – peeled 15-20 Carrots – whole. If organic -no need to peel. 1 onion – whole, peeled 1 bell pepper – cut and deseeded 1 celery root (peeled and sliced) + stalks & leaves (if available) 1-2 parsley roots – peeled and cleaned 2-3 celery stalks 1-2 bunches of parsley 1-2 bunches of dill Salt, pepper to taste Water to top the pot
Setting everything in the pot in the following order:
Cutting the chicken and placing the pieces at the bottom of the potAdd garlicAdd carrotsAdd onion and bell pepperAdd sliced celery rootAdd celery stalks and greensTop with parsley and dill
Now that everything is in the pot: Add salt & pepper, top with water (my mom adds boiling water) and bring to a boil. Spoon any spume that accumulates at the top, lower the heat and simmer for 4 hours. strain and enjoy!
Chicken soup is ready.Strain and enjoy!!
My version is much less structured: I use a bigger pot -16 qt, as I cannot replicate my mom’s 7-day magic in a smaller one. In order to accommodate this change, I use 2 whole chickens (not cut!!). Many times, I will use one chicken and add feet or knuckle bones (grass-fed beef) or chicken backs & throats. Also, many times I do not have the vegetables at home when I need to make the soup, so I start it with the meats only and add the veggies the next day, spooning any accumulated spume. I put all the ingredients above in the pot, add some cayenne, salt and pepper (sometimes also nettle, chaga, turmeric root, burdock root) and simmer for 2-3 days – turning the heat off when I sleep or am out of the house and on again when I am back. This version creates more of a bone broth, rather than a traditional chicken soup.
Last but never least – these are my lovely parents – a rare species of hard-working caring people, who can make everything possible without anyone noticing the long and exhausting labor behind the scenes – Mica and Solo Haimberg:
My parents love to travel the whole world, but at the moment they arrive home, you can be sure that my mom’s pot is already bobbling with magic!!!
Traditionally Empowered Healing LLC 