How do you know who’s a quack just out to get your money and who to trust?  How do you tell the snake-oil salesmen from the experts?  I realize it can be a tricky prospect, but I’ll share with you the tips and tricks that have worked for me.

First of all, there have to be some experts you recognize in other areas of your life, if not when it comes to holistic health.  Have any of them ever recommended anyone’s program or book as someone they trust or look to for information?  If so, start there.  If you already recognize some experts in the general area of holistic health, whether it’s related to exercise or nutrition, that would be a good place to start.  Pay attention to whom they associate with.  Experts tend to be aware of other experts.

If you watch who someone you trust is associated with, the company they keep, you can start to get some ideas.  When you find someone whose philosophy you agree with in one area, then that’s a good place to start for a valuable opinion about an area you know nothing about.  When I first became aware of Dr. Andrew Weil and read one of his books on the recommendation of a family member, what he had to say really resonated with me, as much of his philosophy agreed with mine.  So, when it came to something I wasn’t yet able to form an opinion about, I was more likely to trust his opinion on the subject than I was someone else’s.  And when he recommended a program or idea, I did more research and was able to identify the experts in that field, which further added to my list of trusted experts.

The most expensive referral I ever got cost me $800 plus a trip to California, with air fare, car rental, and motel costs.  I went to consult an expert I learned about through Suzanne Somers’ books on hormone balancing and holistic health.  I didn’t get much help from him, but the referral he gave me to an extremely gifted bio-energetic doctor in my own backyard made the whole trip worth it and has blessed my life for the past two years.

The way an expert conveys the information they share can be a red flag to me.  I don’t really connect with a lot of media hype or antagonism, so that always warns me away.  If someone is making a name for themself by running others down, that doesn’t make a good impression on me either.  If what you bring to the table can’t stand on its own, then it’s probably not worth my time.  There are a few exceptions in this area, when it comes to “whistle blowers”, but even then, if someone regularly speaks in an inflammatory style, with lots of generalizations, my gut instinct is to head for the door.  There are some actual experts in the holistic health field who use this type of rhetoric and I believe they do a great disservice to the whole field.  To me, and many other people, that type of language instantly denotes a lack of credibility and it’s too bad because some of these experts have good information to share.   I realize that the shock value they impart to their words can get attention, but it can’t always sustain it and it drives a lot of people off.  So, when I come across this, I turn the other way and keep looking.

Credentials can be an important indicator of an expert, but not always.  Credentials are good, but I’ll take experience over degrees any day.  And for me, personally, an M.D. after your name actually is a strike against you, because I know that Big Pharma had a big say in what you learned in medical school.  That said, it’s not necessarily an actual strike-out, depending on what you’ve done since then. 

When I was going through my accreditation process to become a La Leche League Leader, I learned that a certified lactation consultant doesn’t have to ever have had any breastfeeding experience of their own to be certified; even a man can be a C.L.C.  In contrast, a LLL Leader has to have at least a year of breastfeeding experience in order to begin the accreditation process.  Neither one nor the other is necessarily better, but some things are really tough to teach, or to gain credibility to teach, if you’ve never actually done it yourself.  Breastfeeding would be one of those.

So, when it comes to accreditation or certification or a diploma, while that can count in someone’s favor, it’s always a good idea to find out what their experience is.  Often, experience can trump certification.  People used to learn by apprenticing themselves to a master of the skills they wanted to learn.  I still consider this to be a valuable way of learning which can be more valuable than going to school to learn about doing it rather than actually doing it.  Everything else being equal, I will always choose to learn from someone who has actually created in their own life, and others, the change they claim to effect, over someone who has only learned about it in school. 

Personality and character should not be ignored, either.  Doesn’t mean they should be the first or only qualities to consider, but they should be taken into account.  If you don’t have feel a basic connection to and trust in a potential teacher, then how can anything they say to you be valuable?  What’s the vibe you get from a potential expert?

When I was looking for a Reiki Master (teacher), it took me a long time to find one I could work with, simply because so many of them in my area were also into things that conflict with my basic faith and belief system.  When I was checking out websites, many of them listed other services such as past life regressions or occult practices.  None of those other things have anything to do with Reiki, but many practitioners do bring other practices and philosophies into their Reiki practice.  I really needed to work with someone I could relate to and I really couldn’t relate to someone whose belief system so radically differed from mine.  More importantly, I was not willing to open up energetically to someone who was open to these other types of practices, so it took me a long time to find the right teacher.  One of the things that helped me choose my teacher when I finally found her was that the other services she offered were modalities I or close friends had experienced and benefitted from, such as EFT and BodyTalk.

Choosing an expert in any field can feel a little like navigating a mine field, but paying attention to a practitioner’s associates, education, experience, character, belief system and getting referrals can help you find teachers and mentors who can give you the tools you’re seeking.  I hope I’m able to offer this type of information on a wide range of experts on this website, to help narrow your search.

But WHY?  Isn’t that the quintessential question asked by every preschooler?  It’s like a rite of passage.   When a little child asks that question, what he’s really saying is, “tell me more.”  Sometimes we do the same thing.

It’s reasonable to want to know why things work.  It’s interesting and it also helps us form opinions about what we believe in and what might work for us.  Like exactly how e-mail gets into our Inbox, exactly how the television works, and how radio waves can make the radio work even though we can’t see or feel them.  Can you give a detailed  answer  of “why” or “how” any of those things work?  I can’t, but it doesn’t stop me from using them on a regular basis.  I can’t explain exactly how my computer is allowing me to type up this blog entry, but I’m doing it.

Yet this is one of the biggest reasons I hear people give for not trying out energy medicine techniques.  For many people, it’s just too scary to try something they don’t understand.  But not being able to explain it doesn’t keep you from using other things that benefit your life.  Why this?

 Many people are satisfied that some technical expert understands why and how something works, so that’s good enough for them.  If NO ONE understands why and how something works, well, they figure they’d better leave it alone.

But here’s the thing:  Sometimes things work, but not for the reason an “expert” says they do.  Our lack of understanding doesn’t keep them from working, though.  I think we are often fooled into accepting explanations for things that may or may not be accurate, but it doesn’t really matter if they work.  Sure, it’s interesting to know, but it shouldn’t stop us from enjoying all the health and well-being possible.

And here’s the thing that baffles me:   People accept an explanation for something that seems to be invented by man, from the man that invented it.  But if they can’t identify someone as the creator of it, then it must be suspect. 

The law of gravity was working for about a gazillion years before Newton discussed and demonstrated and attempted to define it.  And even then, Newton couldn’t accurately explain WHY it worked.  Didn’t keep it from working, though, did it?  Stand under the apple tree long enough and you’ll eventually get bonked on the head by an apple.  But WHY?

I don’t know how God created the earth or me.  But I’m here.  On the earth.  Every day of my life.  I can see the evidence, if not the process of creation.

I can also see the evidence of energy medicine.  It’s so easy.  It doesn’t hurt anything to try it.  If it works, great.  If it doesn’t, fine, don’t do it anymore.  Can you see the evidence in other people?  Then try it for yourself and see if it brings you benefits.

Did y'all see the Oprah show where the discussion was about women not putting themselves at the top of their "To-Do" lists and one woman said she forgot to even put herself on the list?  Was that an "ah-ha" moment for you?  Did you change the way you approached taking care of yourself?  Did you put on your own oxygen mask first, before trying to be of service to others?  Was it the beginning of a new day?

Or did you just nod understandingly, or shake your head at the poor woman, and then go on with your life?

Now, I've worked through my own issues in this department, so I have a pretty good understanding of what goes on here.  And yet I'm still stumped by all the people, especially women, who keep rattling off a list of excuses for why they're not taking care of themselves.  Oh, sure, they SAY they're on the list -- right after they go here and do this and do that and take care of some other stuff for their family/job/charity/[insert commitment here].  But somehow, days and weeks and months and years go by, and they just never quite get around to taking care of themselves. 

And here's the kicker, the thing that really gets me -- all those other responsibilities are so much harder to accomplish and take so much more time and energy because they're attempting to do them without the oxygen mask.  So, whatever they're doing is taking more time out of their life than if they made the time for some vital self-care to help them be more efficient.  How much longer does it take you to do anything if you're only getting half the oxygen you need?  And if you're getting sick on a regular basis and having to stay in bed for a day or a week, how much of that time could have been saved with an hour a day of activities that feed your body and soul?  For some of you, even half an hour could result in huge benefits (you know who you are). 

Figure out what's causing the disconnect and getting in your way, and focus on fixing that.   If you're like one of my friends, who gets distracted and doesn't remember to do self-care, take a page from her book and program your cell phone to give you reminders.  Or whatever the problem is, spend some time looking at WHY you're not taking the time for yourself and DO something about it.

Or maybe, you've made one pretty decent change in the way you care for yourself and you're just sticking with that.  You've done something good for yourself and checked it off your list and that's that.  Great!  Wonderful!  Are you feeling completely healthy and great now?  No?  Well, then it's time to add something else to your routine.  Baby steps are great, but notice it's plural....stepS.  What's next?  What's your next "one thing"?

I'm so glad you asked!  I have a few suggestions.....

I often hear people use the saying "moderation in all things" to justify almost anything they do that they know is not really good for them, particularly in relation to food.  I don't think anyone really stops to think about what they're saying (which is usually the case anytime we try to justify something), but I would like to really delve into this concept further.

What, exactly, does "everything in moderation" mean?  That literally everything we do is okay as long as it's in moderation?  Hmmm, so, say, Russian Roulette is okay, as long as you play it in moderation?  Or is Russian Roulette actually a version of trying to kill yourself in moderation, since there's only one chance in what, six, that you will?  I realize that's a really extreme example, but you see where I'm going with this.

Let's relate that to things we put into our mouths.  Poison in moderation?  Petroleum in moderation?  Excitotoxins that kill brain cells in moderation?  Drugs in moderation?  Pesticides in moderation?  Anti-freeze in moderation?  Think I'm getting carried away again here??  Well, you can find every single one of these things in processed foods on the grocery store shelf.  Yep, you read that right.  Artificial food dyes are petroleum products.  There are pesticides in virtually everything and hormones and drugs in the animal products, like meat and milk.  Monosodium glutamate is an excitotoxin (yes, toxin) that kills brain cells.  It's put into your food not to enhance the actual product but to drug your tongue so that it tastes the food more acutely.  It's basically hallucinogenic speed for your tongue (so that those nacho cheese Doritos taste like a lot more than they really are.  Why else would you eat them??).  Oh, yes, and propylene glycol in the ingredients list?  Yep, that's antifreeze.

Now don't get me wrong -- I actually believe in the sentiment, but I'm very clear on what it means to me and it's not a convenient excuse to treat my body poorly.  I believe that moderation in all GOOD things is a good idea.  I don't think it's a good idea to eat the very same thing every day, day after day.  Variety is good, too.   But we all know that it's not good to eat too much sugar or too much fat or too much protein -- too much of anything, really, is not all that healthy for us.   THAT is where the moderation should come in.  I can eat all good things with moderation and be healthy.  I don't have to eat salads every day all day to have a healthy body.  And since I don't love salads, how happy am I going to be in my healthy body if that's all I eat?

I think moderation is really about balance.  And I don't think you can be in balance when you're eating garbage.  Garbage in = garbage out.  You wouldn't scoop some garbage out of the compost pile and drop it into the soup pot, would you?  Of course, not; the whole thing's garbage now.  Well, it's the same principle.  Garbage is garbage no matter what name you give it.  And by the way, that compost is much healthier for your body than chemicals, drugs, and poisons.  Think about it.

Do I eat sugar?  Yes, I do.  I eat it in small amounts, from high quality sources that are minimally processed, in combination with healthy proteins and fats.  I don't eat it by itself and I don't eat it mindlessly until I'm stuffed.  I enjoy every bite.  Same thing goes for fats and proteins.  I don't eat any of them by themselves and I eat them all in balance, in just the amounts my body needs.  That's the important thing, not to avoid any actual food group.  We need proteins, we need carbs, and we need fats, and we need them in the right balance with each other.

But I eat only real stuff;  as "clean" as possible, meaning without chemicals and as little processing as possible.  I eat organic as much as possible and especially for the things that matter most.  I don't eat anything that's been altered in a lab, like hydrogenated fats or high-fructose corn syrup.  If I have to eat out, I try to eat somewhere that uses real food, like Chipotle or the Whole Foods deli.  And because I eat so clean, once in a while I enjoy a meal out at a regular restaurant (NOT fast food), but not very often, because I don't like the way I feel afterward.  That's real balance, because it's not worth it to me to spend any more days feeling yucky, now that my body feels pretty darn good.  Once you clear out the gunk, that junky food really doesn't have as much appeal any more.  Maybe that's how you know you really ARE in balance.