Its All in Your Head!

I was disappointed greatly when our pilgrimage to Oaxaca was delayed due to the rain and poor road conditions. Looks like my life changing consult with the oracle will have to wait until Tuesday. Ed tells me that the Shaman only sees people with our type conditions on Fridays and Tuesdays at 5 am. So we may fly to Oaxaca Monday just to be sure we get there on time.

I'm feeling better day by day, which is both surprising and good. I{m able to get down a full meal with little discomfort and my appetite has come back somewhat. Maybe the antibiotics are starting to clear the gremlins from my gut, maybe its just that I'm in Mexico on an Adventure. Maybe what Ed says about "it all being in my head" has some truth to it. What he means by that is, "Yes, you have AS and you're gluten intolerant and you're sick, but if you THINK you're sick, you're going to BE sick."  And I must not forget, HE would know. Its hard to say how much better I'm feeling, and Ive been trying to quantify it. Its tough to rate on the Scale of Health, because when you start at deaths door, getting to maimed and wheelchair bound can feel like a miracle.

Speaking of possible miracles, Ive been pondering my questions for the Shaman, trying to keep it simple and pertinent. Its not that easy for a guy who has never really had any deeply held spiritual beliefs. I cant help´wondering, is my declining health tied in some way to a crisis of faith? Should I be practicing some religion or praying to some unearthly deity? Is the answer not in one strictly practiced religion or belief but rather in a mixture of the best parts of many with a combination of compassion, faith and love for all things?

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, I don't know about all that.

I do know I'm getting restless hanging out in the Opium Den...

A Typical Morning In The Opium Den (Identities Protected)

Its been sometime since Ive crashed on a couch for 3 days in a room with 4 people. (Insert extreme expression of gratitude to the makers of Ambien HERE) Sharing that small space means you go to sleep when they sleep, you get up when they get up, you eat when they eat, etc. Its a bit of a switch for a guy that lives alone in a spacious house with 2 cats. Not to mention their RELENTLESS jokes about what I can and cant eat are getting a little old. "Paul, does that cheese have glutamen in it?" "Don't drink that wine it has GLUTAMEN!" Glutamen is the Spanish for Gluten, why I guess they needed an extra syllable just to complicate things.

Ive been doing well on the diet and can say with a high degree of certainty that my gluten intake has been pretty close to zero. Although when you eat out you never really know about cross contamination. Ive brought some of my own stuff, mostly agave fruit and nut bars from the health food store en caso de emergencia. Eating is a little less stressful taking these gut specific antibiotics as catching a bacteria is unlikely. At a cost of $300 for an 8 day supply, they'd better be good.

So today's post is short and sweet and to the point. As for what my plans are for the weekend, who knows, I'm making it up in my head as I go along. And its all about whats in my head anyway, remember?