Celery is kind

28/06/2023

If you thought you'd discovered all the hidden gifts of celery, read on. I am truly touched by Aoife's story and the sensitivity of her art. All quotes are from the Medical Medium series by Anthony William. The title of the first work you see below is "Rising", specially created by Aoife as a commission for Santé Sauvage for our Thank You cards. The painting is framed and in my office as a reminder of the delicately interconnected beauty and power of the human spirit, a message of hope and transcendence. The healing power of celery never ceases to amaze me, in more ways than you could imagine... May this article inspire you on your own healing & creative journey. Love, Geni

Aoife Fia - www.AoifeFia.com

“If people knew all the potent healing properties of celery juice, it would be widely hailed as a miraculous superfood. Celery has an incredible ability to create sweeping improvements for all kinds of health issues.”

In early January of this year I was standing in my kitchen, having just finished my morning celery juice, when I looked down at the pulp and thought, 'I can make paper out of that.' In an instant a block between my life and my art dissolved and a world of possibility opened up.

I have had many turning points in life, but a handful stand out as times when it felt like a whole new life began: the day I left an abusive family for college; panic attacks stopping after learning how to meditate on silent retreat; the morning I had my first glass of celery juice; and, nearly three years later, the morning I realised I could make paper out of the celery juice pulp.

Like most people, I came to Medical Medium information in a very sorry state. I had tried many, many things to heal and they all just made my health worse. On the surface I was facing losing five teeth, but the wobbly teeth were just the tip of a huge iceberg. Years of trying to meditate away serious health conditions had dug me a hole so deep I was convinced there was no way out.

In the space of just a few months my hearing and eyesight had started deteriorating, the shake from my hips to my head I'd been managing for decades became impossible to hide, and the pain in the nerves of my head from trigeminal neuralgia so overwhelming I was consumed with thoughts of taking my own life.

Then celery juice came along; a little ray of light bursting through the dark.

“The electrolytes in celery hydrate on a deep cellular level, lessening your chances of suffering from migraines, anxiety, panic attacks, and more. Celery also stabilizes and supports the adrenal glands, offers stress assistance, and repairs damaged cells inside the liver.”

I had been listening to Anthony William, the Medical Medium, on Hay House Radio for years. To me he was just one of the many selling an approach to make life more bearable. He had some ideas that confirmed how I had learned to eat through my twenties, but he also pushed fruit, which I avoided because of fear of diabetes and bloating.

By the summer of 2020 the pain in my jaw from exposed nerves was excruciating. With nearly two decades of daily body-centred meditation practise I had a very high pain threshold, but this didn't help my body get any better. I was calmly getting worse.

I had to accept there was something very wrong with me, and not just with my body, but in my mind. I had to really ask myself: Do you want to live?

When I realised that I did, that I deserved a long life and healthy body, I remembered celery juice.

“Celery juice is most powerful when you drink it solo. While it’s great to consume other green juices or vegetables juices and add in items like spinach, kale, parsley, cilantro, or apples, drink those mixed juices at a different time than your straight celery juice. These blends function differently than what I’m recommending as your greatest tool for recovering your health: pure celery juice taken on an empty stomach. If you drink your celery juice first thing in the morning, it will also strengthen your digestion of foods you eat for the rest of the day.”

I went to the nearest shop and found a plastic hand-crank juicer for €21, bought a few bunches of celery, and set it all up for the following morning.

When I stood in my kitchen and drank that first celery juice it felt like I had a real, actual friend for the first time in years. Celery was kind. It didn't make things worse, but seeped into my body like gentle dawn light, soothing ragged nerves and nourishing exhausted organs.

Celery juice felt like home, like hugs, like love.

“Celery juice is teeming with powerful anti-inflammatory properties. This means it’s highly beneficial for people who suffer from chronic and mystery illnesses... Celery is perfect for reversing inflammation, because it starves the pathogens, including unproductive bacteria and viruses... plus it contains a multitude of undiscovered mineral salts that act together as an antiseptic.”

Celery juice was a revelation to body and mind. Over the months that followed I didn't miss a day. I began reading the Medical Medium books, one by one, removing foods he says are harmful or unhelpful, eating more fruit, and drinking more water than I have done in my entire life. Revelation after revelation arrived, along with crying, laughing, a lot of anger, and sighing with relief.

It was a spiritual awakening. As my body flooded with such a rich variety of anti-oxidants, I remembered all the things I used to know about how to look after myself, but had been talked out of by someone 'smarter'; I remembered the kind of life I wanted to live and began the tough job of climbing out of the deep hole I was in... one day at a time.

“Mineral salts are critical for our bodies to function optimally. They keep your kidneys and adrenals functioning and raise your gut’s hydrochloric acid so your body can break down and assimilate what you eat—while they balance your pH as well as cleanse and repair your stomach, the rest of your digestive tract, and, most importantly, your liver. They also allow information to travel throughout your body so it can keep itself in balance no matter what’s occurring.

The mineral salts specifically in celery are instrumental in the electricity that governs the body—they’re building blocks for neurotransmitter chemicals, they ignite electrical impulse activity, and they support neuron function. A brain with weak electrical impulses and weak neurotransmitters shuts down and goes into “low battery” mode—which makes celery juice, a battery charger for the brain, an answer to stop this from happening. Mineral salts keep the heart pumping and create the neurotransmitters needed to take information from point A to point B, that is, from neuron to neuron. (Picture a thought as a boat and mineral salts as the ocean: if the ocean dries up, the boat can’t go anywhere.)”

Nearly three years later I am living a life I never thought possible, having healed conditions I thought were unhealable. I still have those five teeth, gums are growing back, teeth stronger and whiter, massive bone growth, the trigeminal neuralgia has gone, the shake from hips to neck is gone, mind clearer, emotions calmer, and the list goes on and on...

But the most astonishing thing of all is the correction of complex structural injuries from childhood that left me dependent on a serious yoga practise for twenty five years. I have a whole new gait and can finally, for the first time, stand completely straight, feet to head. My legs feel sturdy and reliable.

“We tend to hold a lot of fear in our guts. Nervousness causes those sensations we know as tummy flips or butterflies in the stomach, and anxiety can run deep through the nervous system, putting our guts in knots. By restoring the entire digestive system, celery juice puts our minds and hearts at ease, too. Use it for its calming effects when you are feeling frightened, panicky, shocked, fretful, nervous, threatened, unsure, afraid, or defensive.”

I have never given my all to my art. As I healed and got stronger it became clear that the time had come for me to do the work I came here to do.

Body and mind humming with all the anti-oxidants, I began to see these healing plants in planes of light and colour. Their sacred patterns invoked reverence and a need to express my gratitude for their giving me my life back. I began painting the geometry of flowers and earth forms, ancient knotwork patterns, and created a style that honours my love for God and Mother Earth.

“Contrary to current thinking, the body does not attack itself or turn against you. Your body only goes after pathogens, and only two factors cause inflammation: injury and invasion. Pathogens cause both. They’re invaders—foreign bodies in your body—and can also be injurers, sometimes damaging tissue in their travels through your system. (It doesn’t always take both factors to cause inflammation; for example, if you break your leg and it swells up, that’s solely an injury. It does always take at least one of these two causes.)

Which brings us back to why celery juice is such a big deal. As celery ushers pathogens out, your body will be much better able to handle whatever life throws your way.”

It has been a steep learning curve, but I now have a good routine of papermaking and painting. The celery juice paper I make is incredibly sensitive and changes radically depending on the light. It is strong and flexible like skin, and up close the fibres look like they're having fun.

After years of being intimidated by empty sheets of perfect, white paper, celery juice paper feels like an invitation to a conversation, like a relationship. As a surface it is unstable, and that's why I love it. Every stroke of the brush invokes a reaction, and as the painting comes together it feels like a journey I couldn't have taken alone.

To have right-livelihood in this way, creating work from healing plants, makes me very happy. The paintings are both archival and biodegradable, which means they can hang around and please us as long as we want, or they can dissolve into the earth, adding only soil structure. They are harmless.

And it all began with the realisation that I deserve to have a healthy body.

Celery juice is a gateway medicine. It lead me into a garden of wonders I couldn't have dreamed. This journey has not been easy - healing in such a sick planet is swimming against a strong current. But it is possible. I feel blessed to know that the Medical Medium information exists and that everyone of us has a chance to fully live.

“Don’t let the simplicity of humble celery mask it’s strength—it’s often the simplest of measures in life that gracefully work wonders in the most complex situations. Celery juice truly is a miracle juice. It’s one of the greatest healing tonics of all time.”

Celery Juice recipe:

Ingredients:

· 1 bunch celery

Directions:

Rinse the celery and run it through a juicer. Drink immediately for best results.

Alternatively, you can chop the celery and blend it in a high-speed blender until smooth. Strain well and drink immediately.