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The Hypothalamic Connection

 

The good news is that I’ve been getting a lot of questions related to the hypothalamus lately.

The bad news is that there are so many people not getting hypothalamic help.

This is a classic question that I believe should be addressed in detail:

I showed my naturopath the ingredients of Genesis Gold and he said “You have been on several of these but perhaps it is the combination of them that could work.” Is it the actual combination of ingredients? Do my symptoms sound to you as though they are hypothalamic in nature? (severe exercise intolerance, temperature intolerance, gastrointestinal issues, brain fog, insomnia, hormonal problems, constant/frequent urination, anxiety, fatigue coupled with strange frenetic energy, etc…) 

 

Yes, it is the combination of ingredients…that works.

And Yes, I do think it is your hypothalamus that is the root of your problems.

When I first started treating hypothalamic dysfunction fifteen years ago, I was prescribing multiple bottles of supplements for my patients then was constantly adjusting dosages. I found that putting it together allowed for lower dosages and better results.

Think of it like Mrs Field’s Cookies. While all chocolate chip cookie recipes have the same basic ingredients, her recipe produces a superior cookie.

Yes, Genesis Gold has all the herbs and micronutrients to support the neuro-immune-endocrine system that are typically recommended for hormonally challenged patients, no where else will you find them all in one bottle working together to balance the hypothalamus.

Sacred Seven contains all the same amino acids you will find in free form aminos, yet it’s the way they are put together that is specific to supporting the hypothalamus.

A very challenging patient with hypothalamic dysfunction consulted with me two months ago. With adrenal deficiency, thyroid imbalance, glucose intolerance, depression, anxiety, insomnia, vestibular imbalance (meaning she could not walk without support due to severe neuromotor dysfunction) plus no sex steroid production after a total hysterectomy, this patient was at her wit’s end.

Now on disability, she had been to seven different medical specialists over the past ten years, five different alternative healers, and multiple supplements by her own research. On her own accord, she stopped everything except some bio-identical hormone replacement therapy and started taking Genesis Gold.

Two weeks later, she came into the office walking on her own. She was sleeping, had more energy, and experienced a stability in her moods that was unparalleled by all the anti-depressants, anti-anxiety and other natural and illicit mood stabilizers she had tried over the years.

The key to her healing, I believe, is that she was ripe. She had done all her homework, tried lots of other therapies, and finally sat before me and surrendered to healing.

In the past, the patients who have not had such dramatic healing, well, they were not ripe…not ready to heal… She actually said, “I surrender to whatever healing you have in store for me.” And then she did the work.

It took work to accept healing. She had no idea how resistant she had been before taking Genesis Gold. Oh, that is one of the gifts of Genesis Gold, you become very aware of what your body needs, what you need emotionally, how your relationships affect your health, how your past affects your health, how your environment is helping or hindering your healing. Then over time, you learn to make the changes necessary to heal completely.

It may seem strange that a supplement could affect your psycho-emotional, body awareness. Yet that is what I intended when I created Genesis Gold. I intended it to upregulate the DNA to optimize health to heal body, mind and soul. And that is what has happened over the years. It just happens faster when you are ripe for healing…like fruit, then it’s sweeter. If you try to force healing, it’s like picking unripe fruit…the results are bitter…and may be seen as side effects.

A few of my past Genesis Gold patients had side effects due to detoxing so stopped taking it. Then years later, they come back and start again…and guess what? No side effects! They realize that they were not ready before.

I have learned to accept that I cannot force healing, that the patient heals herself, I am just a coach, an advisor, a cheerleader during the healing process.

I hope this helps you. I know it’s helped me clarify the healing process.

 

Thank You!

 

Deborah Maragopoulos MN FNP

Intuitive Integrative Health

www.genesisgold.com

 

Mucking Parasites

This morning I was mucking the corral, removing the old sodden straw from under the oak tree that my mare likes to lie under. The green swampy aroma of wet hay brought me back three and half decades as I remembered sampling the same kind of muck for my freshman biology class—the beginning of my love affair with science.

Mucking is hard work. I’m sure to feel it later. But the swampy soup of microbes living under this matt of straw must be moved. It’s not good for the oak tree and it’s not good for my mare. Unfortunately her wet slimy bed is contributing to the thrush in her hooves.

We live in a world of microbes. Some are parasites—feeding off of us, infecting us, weakening us. Some are symbiotic—helping us digest our food, protecting us from pathogens, breaking down our waste.

Thrush is horse fungus.  A parasitic microbe.

As I cleared the muck under the oak tree, I knew the sunlight would clear this parasite. The ground would dry enough to lay down fresh straw and my mare will be delighted. Fresh straw for a horse is like catnip for a kitty. She’ll be in heaven. And free of parasitic thrush.

How many times have I diagnosed parasites in my patients? Fungal infections, viral infections, intestinal parasites—all feeding off their resources, taking a toll on their health and wellbeing.

How many times have their parasitic infections been a reflection of their parasitic relationships in their lives? Human parasites—codependent relationships with loved ones and friends, emotionally abusive relationships at home and at work.

Parasitic relationships—inside and out.

Enlightening my patients as to the relationship between their internal parasites and those parasitic relationships in their external world helps begin their healing process. They recognize the connection and see the symbolism of their body’s language.

We all have skeletons in our closets. Old wounds, traumas, issues of dysfunction from childhood, from past relationships. Once we begin cleaning out our closets, we become aware of our parasitic relationships. Sometimes our body has to mirror the parasitic relationships as infestations before we recognize our human parasites.

And Genesis Gold often brings our parasitic relationships up to the surface of our consciousness. I created Genesis Gold to heal maladaptive genetic expression–one of which is vulnerability to parasites. Our body mirrors our soul’s lessons. Genesis Gold illuminates that which no longer serves, so we might release it.

As we begin to choose symbiotic over parasitic relationships, our reality shifts.

Dis-ease heals.

Relationships heal.

Yet like mucking a corral, mucking out parasites is hard work!

Parasites don’t give up easily. So be prepared for die off. Your parasites, whether they be microbes or humans, will hang on for dear life. They don’t want to be cut off from the source—of food, of finances, of emotional support—no matter how damaging for you.

Don’t give up. Stay the course. Treat the parasites. Then wait. They will come back. To test your vulnerability. So treat them again!

You’ll be sore. But it’ll be a good sore. Because you’ll know that you are choosing symbiosis.

Choosing to live in mutually beneficial relationships with everyone—microbes and humans alike.

So when the time is ripe, dig in and muck out your parasites—inside and out.

Dear Corporate Personhood, …

What has been your experience with large corporate entities? Are you just a cog in the wheel or do you have a voice?

I now have experienced the soullessness of corporations. I may be just a little cog in their wheel, but I have an effect.

The recession caught up to my small health care business. We held out for a long time. I will not close my doors, but I do need to supplement my income. So I sought outside employment to lower my debt ratio.

My plan was to work for a company in which I would not get attached. So the large national corporation that offered me a job seemed like a win-win. I would work for them for as long as it took to pay off my debts doing assessments of the elderly and making recommendations to their primary care providers. A public service without the strings.

I did cause some waves, I must admit. I was shocked at the misinformation of this huge national company who hired nurse practitioners and physicians. They clearly did not know the individual state practice acts. Their contracts left much to be desired. I was just protecting myself…but felt it my duty to my colleagues to offer suggestions of change within the corporation to better protect the health care providers.

And after a month of jumping through hoops for them and just a few days before I was to start work, I got a voicemail. Apparently the position no longer existed. Not because I made waves, but because they counted their chickens before they hatched. TheirCaliforniaclient pulled out after waiting five months for them to fill the position.

Hmmm. I felt strangely relieved, yet wondered why? And did not receive an answer, nor closure, nor condolences. I expected more. They were so friendly and available before I got the voicemail.

So I drafted a letter to them…

 

To Whom It May Concern; 

In an effort to seek closure, I am writing this letter.

As a nurse practitioner with 25 years experience, I have assessed, diagnosed and treated thousands of patients. I have helped birth infants into this world and the elderly and infirmed through death. And I have always been fully present in every healing situation. So with presence, I reached out to those who guided me through the process of employment within this national corporation. And I am grateful to each end every one of them for their kind assistance.

This is my first experience of employment with a national corporation. Corporations may have legal personhood, but this one, at least, seems to have no soul. I have yet to receive condolence, explanation, or compensation.

As an entrepreneur, I have created an entity with soul. My employees are well cared for, listened to, and taken seriously. They are not a means to an end, but the spirit of my practice. I am grateful to be reminded that my choice to open a small business and keep it running during the recession has been best for all of us.

During our long interactions, I do believe that your corporation has benefitted. I was the first part-time employee to bring to your attention the lack of clarity in your contract. Which I was told would be rewritten.

I was also the first who alerted you that your California Nurse Practitioner-Physician Collaboration Agreement does not adequately reflect the state practice act for either nurse practitioners or physicians and thus as written puts both parties at risk. I hope you change this as soon as possible.

I take responsibility for believing in your national corporation, for rushing to fulfill all that was asked of me as a contracted employee, for taking time away from my own business, and paying for legal counsel before signing your contract.

In the month it took to fulfill all that you required of me to prepare for employment—hours of filling out paperwork for credentialing, inoculations for health clearance, submitting to you my banking and identity information—all of which I completed by your deadlines—I have missed out on four weeks of income from the job I refused once I signed on with you.

I am sure your employment process is the same for everyone. Yet I was informed that the situation that happened to me was quite unusual. So I can only assume that you do not have a policy to deal with it.

At the very least, I wish acknowledgment that you have destroyed all my sensitive information.

Clearly it is not meant for me to work with you. If there is a next time, I will insist on a sign-on bonus. Executives with less responsibility for public well being receive sign on bonuses to make it worth their while. Nurse practitioners must have a higher sense of self to be valued by all employers, even national corporations. Especially those that base their profit margin on the services rendered by nurse practitioners.

I serve on the Past Presidents Council of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners representing 14,000 nurse practitioners and will be speaking at the annual educational conference in March regarding business practices. I am grateful for what I have learned in this experience yet am concerned for my colleagues should they choose to seek employment with your corporation.

I hope you make the necessary adjustments to policy so that another potential employee is not adversely affected.

I’m sorry that I cannot recommend your company to my colleagues. I wish you success in helping those you serve—patients.

Sincerely; 

Deborah Maragopoulos MN APRN BC, FNP

Intuitive Integrative Health

Full Circle Family Health

www.genesisgold.com

I have spent my life creating change. Being a pioneer. Walking down unknown paths, finding the pitfalls, and alerting those who might follow. I am an effective patient advocate and a voice for my colleagues. I created change as President of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners. I created change for patients by providing integrative medical choices when I opened my own practice in 1997. And now I am creating change in voicing my concern.

Health Care Reform is needed….for all our sakes…patients and providers alike.

We need choices from the best of conventional and complementary medicine.

We need freedom to choose what is best for us, for our patients, not be tied to insurers’ treatment protocols.

We need to educate our patients especially on the health care choices that are within their control…but first we need to educate ourselves on natural means to healing and how to help our patients heal themselves.

We need to stop creating dependency on prescriptions, on myopic assessments that force the patients to come back over and over milking the system, when time spent educating rather than medicating would heal them and be much more cost effective.

We need to remember as health care providers that we do not heal our patients, but are instruments in their healing process.

We need as patients to empower ourselves, take responsibility for our health choices, and learn to listen to our bodies’ innate wisdom.

We need to work together—patients and providers—with the goal of optimal health and wellbeing.

We need to start NOW!

My Secret Way to Help Set Your Intentions for 2012

2011 has been a time of turmoil for many. A rollercoaster of events creating great change. Some desired. Some unexpected, but needed. Some dreaded, but well, here it is. The whole world is transforming. People around the world are asking for change, gathering, protesting, demonstrating. The time is ripe for transformation. Why?

Because we cannot evolve without change. We have been like caterpillars consuming everything in our need to grow. And then it seems everything stood still…there was little growth…as if we were in a cocoon of our own making…some have called it a recession and financially perhaps it is, but I call it a transformation. For under the stillness, great change is occurring. The caterpillar is transforming into a butterfly.

2012 is the year the first of the butterflies will emerge.

You will see it as hope. Sweet happenings across the globe, in your neighborhood, perhaps in your own backyard…giving you hope…Like the feeling of wonder we get when we watch a butterfly emerge from a cocoon…then try its fragile wings in first flight. Hope.

So many of us have been cleaning house…our physical abodes and our subconscious as well. Getting rid of all that doesn’t serve us…it’s hard, but we must make room for the new. And you can’t receive if your arms and heart are full of old stuff.

I have been encouraging my patients this past year to literally clean out their closets. When they have felt stuck, reliving old issues over and over again, seemingly making no progress, I encourage them to see this stuckness as a sign. It’s time to clean their dwelling place. Start with the physical. Yes, their homes.

We all have stuff in our closets. Old stuff that once served us but no longer fits, no longer is useful. Stuff we don’t need anymore. Stuff that is taking up space. So if you haven’t used it for at least two years, you probably won’t. Give it away. Sell it if you must. But get it out of your closets, out of your cupboards out of your home. Lighten up and make room for the new.

Cleaning out our homes at the physical level will help us clean out ourselves. And this time I’m not talking about a liver cleanse. I’m talking about cleaning out our psycho-spiritual closets.

Those old beliefs in our consciousness. You know the ones.

I’m not good enough.
I don’t deserve more, better, anything.
I’m alone.
Good things do not come my way, do not happen for me.
I’m worthless.
No one loves me.
How can they? I don’t even love myself.

We all have these imprinted beliefs. Perhaps we have lived a life highlighting these beliefs. Perhaps we were imprinted with these negative beliefs in childhood. Perhaps we came into this life with these feelings.

Either way. These NOT GOOD ENOUGH beliefs lie deep in our consciousness and are often at the root of our real problems…Our health problems. Our financial problems. Our relationship problems. Our problems being happy and feeling love.

So let’s clear our closets. Let’s let go of that which no longer serves us.

I challenge each and every one of you to write down on a piece of paper everything in your closet that does not serve you. Everything… What are you ready to release?

Your fear? Write it down.
Your not good enough? Write it down.
Your feelings of worthlessness? Write it down.
Your poverty? Write it down.
Your loveless life? Write it down.
Your unhealthiness? Write it down.

Now. Hold that piece of paper in your hand. Close your eyes. And express your gratitude for these negative beliefs. Yes, thank them! You cannot release them in anger…they will come back to stick to you like a burr. Release them with gratitude and they will release you.

Now. Once you are finished expressing your thankfulness for all the old beliefs you have written down that no longer serve you, it is time to burn that paper. You can bury it as well. But I prefer to release the smoke of what I no longer need into the universe. It will be transformed into something else…something better.

Then get another piece of paper and write down everything you wish for the coming year. Not resolutions. But intentions.

I desire love.
I desire joy.
I desire to be debt free—financially and karmically.
I desire to be my best self.

Whatever you desire. Write it down. And then fold up the paper and write one word that comes to you on the outside of the folded paper. One word that represents all that you desire.

Freedom
Ease
Peace
Joy
Love

And let that one word be your mantra for the next year. Place the paper on your altar, under or near a candle, by a sacred object, wherever you feel is most appropriate for this little piece of paper that holds your hope.

Refer to it during the year. I like to do this ceremony at the winter solstice and refer to my hope at the equinoxes and summer solstice. A reaffirming for me. And the mantra becomes a barometer for all I do that year.

On the winter solstice of 2001, my husband and I came up with a mantra of EASE for the coming year. Everything we did was using the barometer of our 2002 mantra. If we were struggling with a decision, then we were not in ease…so we chose ease and things just started to flow. That’s how we found our current home. With ease it flowed into our lives. In a way that we could not previously imagine.

EASE. What a great mantra. I suggest it to many of my patients who struggle so in their lives. Let go, and be at Ease.

Last year, I chose FREEDOM as my mantra. And it started off with a need to be debt free, and ended with a clearing of my deepest soul issues that have freed me up to live in joyous relationships with all those that I felt bound by before. FREEDOM.

The mantra is a seed of energy we plant in our consciousness. Writing down our intentions and referring to them throughout the year is watering and fertilizing that seed so it might grow. Some seeds take a long time to sprout. Some grow into trees that take a long time to fruit. The seed of EASE sprouted into a lovely flower garden at first, but truly it is a deep rooted plant…for EASE continues some nine years later bearing us precious fruit.

May your mantra seed your life with great joy, with love, with beauty and with blossoms that attract butterflies of hope.

Love and Light,

Deborah Maragopoulos MN FNP
Intuitive Integrative Health
http://genesisgold.com/

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911 The Commencement

In researching my latest book, I found this poem I wrote exactly ten years ago on 9-12-01.

The Commencement

After all the tragedy, how will we react
Will we sit in fear, anticipating
Or will we allow the opening of our hearts
Letting this event move us beyond

Dear ones, just on the other side of the veil
Watching us, wondering if their sacrifice be in vain
Will we face the challenge with love
Or will we lash out in fear

We have reached the fork in the road
Which path will humanity choose
As the leader of the free world
They are looking to us to choose wisely

No longer the time of Solomon,
Although biblical tales true for then
Yet an eye for an eye, a warrior’s cry
Be not the best choice for our souls’ sake

We are our own enemy
Not good against evil
But a gracious opportunity
To find a way to heal

Dark and light are both of the One
Let go of judgment, let go of fear
Live in love and enjoy this life
Live in fear and repeat the cycle

React as the male warrior
And we take a step back
React with feminine compassion
And we move into the next dimension

It’s time to change, it’s time to love
Release the United States and be a United World
Una faza, una raza, one face, one race
For we are each a facet of the One

Even those who appear to be dark players
On the stage of life, we cannot all be heroes
Some of us offered to play the villains
So the rest could learn about love

Thank the players, wish them well,
Our karmic cycles to end
If we release fear, once and for all
Never again will we have to play dark parts

911 was an emergency call
A call to arms, not weapons
But a linking of arms, a holding of hands
Uniting us in a circle of love

Joined together as one being,
No one richer, no one poorer
Children living with conscious adults
Free from fear, surrounded by love

It’s time to make our choice
Choose to evolve the collective human soul
To be in a higher dimension of awareness
Embrace the commencement of the age of compassion

911 was the beginning of the end for many of us. The moment the towers were hit, I felt it. Although I didn’t know until my mother called a few minutes later what had happened. I couldn’t tell her what I felt. Nor anyone for a very long time. But I felt…great relief.

Like finally the birth waters had burst. The pressure was on. Time to push. It felt like the birth of the New Earth was finally eminent and that was such a great relief. Everyone was frantic of course. We hooked up our cable just to be a part of the tragedy. For days we watched with the rest of the world. Finally my daughter said enough. “Let’s turn it off, Mommy. We aren’t helping them by watching. Maybe we should send white light?” I heartily agreed.

Something happened to us on September 11th 2001. How have you been transformed?

In Love and Light,
Deborah

 

LESSONS FROM MY DOG CHARLIE

We got Charlie from a border collie rescue—the funniest looking border collie pup you’ve ever seen. The black and white markings unmistakeningly border collie, but the long, long legs and pointy nose, the dancing energy tempered with an un-border collie mellowness…well, he’s not purebred.

We believe he’s a lurcher—part border collie, part sight hound. He looks a lot like the border-greyhound crosses I googled and while he creeps and herds like a border collie, he runs and lounges like a greyhound.

A strange cross, but we love him. 

I was walking him this morning through the arbolada and thinking about all the lessons I’ve learned from my animals. My first dog, an Irish Setter, was a reflection of my teenaged emotions. The Danes I’ve had in the past were protective… I entrusted my children, my home, myself to their Nana-energy…reflecting my fear of coming out in the world. The shepherds and border collies were so focused on the task at hand—the ball, the chickens, the agility course—that play was secondary…reflecting my intense drive to accomplish. Most were so attached to me that they let very few others in. 

Charlie is different. He engages with everyone. 

I have never had a dog that got along with everyone and everything. Not a territorial bone in his body, Charlie is friends with all creatures. Never submits to aggressive dogs nor does he fight. If they’re cranky, he just goes on his way. He plays with everyone willing to romp, getting low for the little dogs, holding his own with the big ones. He respects the cats and the wildlife and most of all us. He heels so well, I can ride through town on my spirited mare and he only attends to us. 

He loves hikes, runs, and most of all water. The best beach dog ever. Not a great fetcher, no, he just adores the ocean, the waves, the sand, the seabirds, the fishermen, the other dogs, the surfers, the children digging immense sand caves…never a nuisance, always respectful, yet no one can resist his sweet face and wagging tail.

Watching Charlie check his messages along our walk this morning, I realized just how much he has taught me… 

* Keep in contact with your friends. Check your messages and answer every one, if only by tweeting.

* Smile at everyone. Hug those who need it. Gently press against those not quite ready for a full body hug.

* If others are grumpy, let them be. There’s always more friends to be found.

 

 * If you’re hot, get wet.

 

*If you’re cold, cuddle up.

* Don’t enter unless invited. But once invited, thank your host profusely.

* Respect cats and other creatures different from you.

 *Just hang out and relax, even if you have to wait a long time for your loved ones to return.

 

* Enjoy the ride, the run, the day, the sun.

* Laugh in the rain. Romp in the mud. Take your bath lightly.

* Be patient with caregivers, they’re only trying to help.

* If you can, figure out things on your own.  If not, ask for help.

 *Be ready to go at a moment’s notice.

 *Love your family

 *Love your friends

 *Love everyone you meet

* Listen carefully to your higher self. She has your best interest at heart.

* Remember Life is Joy.

Charlie seems to be a reflection of where I am now. I love my family, my friends, most everyone I meet. I try to attend carefully to my higher self. And I know without a doubt that life is joy.

 

Judgment Day or a Shift in Consciousness?

So judgment day came and went. Or did it? 

The fundamentalists are right. Great change is occurring on the earth. Apocalyptic. Yes. Greater transformation than any before. It shall be the end of the earth…As we know it. 

Honestly, I wasn’t even aware that judgment day was upon us until Friday afternoon. I suddenly had a strange sense that something of upmost importance would occur on Sunday. So I googled it. And all I got was what was supposed to happen the day before—May 21st at 6pm. I asked my husband about it. My husband thinks it’s hilarious that I do not know what’s going on in the world. True, I don’t keep up with the news. I find the media to be fear based in its perception of the happenings on earth. I choose love instead. 

Saturday at 6pm, well, not much happened here for me. I’d finished all my chores—washed my horse, my dog and myself after a three hour trail ride—and was getting ready to meet my husband for a picnic dinner at the beach. And the sunset was lovely, no different from the day before. 

On Sunday morning, my menses started. Was my premonition hormonal? It was a gray overcast morning. Perfect for spring cleaning. A Sunday morning all to myself. My husband just started day shift. After five months of graveyard shift, I could finally make the bed. I’ve come to cherish my time alone. Although I usually spend the first day of my cycle resting and taking care of myself (my personal red tent time), I felt compelled to do some spring cleaning. My home is my temple and I love to keep my temple clean. And I finished just in time to talk to my daughter.  

My daughter goes to nursing school at a very conservative college. When asked to bring into her psych-nursing class something that represented their culture, nearly every other student brought a bible. So Sunday she wondered what Christians believed was supposed to happen on the day before. She wanted to ask her fundamentalist friends, wondered what their ministers said in church that morning. I wondered if all were accounted for. She laughed, then got serious. “They must feel sad that they were left behind.” 

I explained that no one was left behind. That everyone here is needed to help the earth shift. 

We had just finished a profound conversation about relationships between men and women. How blessed I am that my 23 year old daughter comes to me for advice. So much so to bring a girlfriend in on the call, “Because, Momma, she really respects your wisdom.” And as I offered counsel to her friend, my daughter heard her piece. Afterwards calling me back to confirm what she might do as her own soul work to shift her perspective and better her relationship. These are two spiritually mature young women, realizing that change begins with them. 

That’s when the discussion drifted to what was supposed to happen on May 21st at 6pm. My daughter said, perhaps the fundamentalists are right. This felt like a judgment day to her, in which we judged ourselves and chose to grow, to move forward on our soul path, not expecting others to follow, but to just do our own soul work, to just be our truth. 

I believe my daughter is right. Perhaps the rapture is this great shift in our collective consciousness. And our consciousness shifted once more this past weekend.

Cycling with the Moon

As I enter the portal of menopause, I yearn for a way to release when my blood no longer flows. My cycle prefers to mimic the moon—menstruating on the dark moon, ripening with the waxing moon, experiencing the fullness of my power on the full moon, releasing with the waning moon—over and over every month, since I began Genesis Gold.

Not before. No, I had such low body fat that I did not have enough sex steroids to menstruate. Years of bulimiarexia had taken its toll. Until 2000, when I first took Genesis Gold, a botanical formula that came to me in dreams, did my body finally realize its Sacred Feminine potential and I had my first period without the aid of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.

It was a miracle that I even conceived my children. Both came to me in dreams and then I would gain five pounds and conceive…without menstruating…on my own. My gynecologists were flabbergasted, but my pregnancies were healthy, although delivering the babies was difficult. It wasn’t until my daughter was eleven that I tried to turn the tide of my eating disorder which began just before I entered high school. Although my mother had educated me well throughout puberty, she was disempowered by her upbringing, so my first period was not received in joy. Without a sacred chamam of women with which I might retreat and understand my budding feminine powers, I felt the burden of becoming a woman. So I stopped eating—lost twenty pounds, my breasts, and my period.

In the fall of 1999, I was determined to make peace with my femininity and began wearing a long gypsy skirt during my menses. It was my own personal red tent. My family treated me differently, because I began to treat myself with loving kindness. I rested, drank tea, took long baths, and retreated to my garden to commune with the earth.

A few cycles of wearing my period skirt and I began to have lucid dreams. In response to my prayerful meditation during my moontime, I conceived Genesis Gold. And within two months of taking it, I gained five pounds (the same five pounds I needed to make enough hormones to conceive my children) and started menstruating without exogenous hormonal support at the age of thirty-nine. My body has been following the moon cycle ever since.

So now at the portal of my next feminine transformation, my body still tries to cycle with the moon. At this time, I am taking bio-identical hormones again, a luscious blend of botanicals, I conceived with a wonderful compounding pharmacist. I am ever grateful that my body has waited this long to go through the change. With the support of Genesis Gold, I am entering menopause 4-5 years later than my younger sisters.

So this cycle like so many before, I celebrate with a great release. Under the new moon in the presence of countless stars, I set my intention to bleed out the illusion of unworthiness. It is this not-good-enough attitude that fueled my eating disorder for so long. It is time to let it go.

Just before going to bed, I watched a you tube video of conscious men apologizing to the Sacred Feminine. I wept with joy. I accepted their apology, released our past unconsciousness and opened to receive sacred partnership with the Divine Masculine. I am blessed to be in such a relationship with my beloved husband. And more so blessed to be alive at this time of transformation as the Divine Masculine awakens to honor and co-create a new reality with the Divine Feminine. Then I fell asleep and had a dream.

In my dream, I was ministering to my youngest sister. Her beautiful tan skin was peeling off and underneath was the pale blue veined skin of a man—one that has haunted my dreams since childhood. My daughter, a nursing student, was with me and started to examine her aunt’s desquaminating leg. I shook my head and told her silently, This is a condition that affects women who give up their power and choose to live in parasitic rather than symbiotic relationships with men. Treat her with love but do not take on her dis-ease.

I woke up knowing that the fabric of illusion called unworthiness was finally ripped. I had protected my Divine Daughter with Divine Mother Wisdom. I no longer must wear my not-good-enough veil. Blessed am I to be a woman at this precious time on earth.

A powerful woman healer once sang this to me…and now I can sing it to myself.

Hail, Deborah, full of grace.

Blessed is the fruit of my womb.

And blessed is the world to receive the sweetness of my labor.

And now I sing it to you…

Hail, Sister, full of grace.

Blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And blessed are we to receive the sweetness of your labor.

Thank you, dear sisters, for doing your soul work. For cycling with the moon and dancing with the Divine.

I am honored to be in your sacred presence and look forward to celebrating your feminine transitions with love and joy.

Blessed Be and So It Is.

 

I am 50! A Long Awaited Joyous Transformation

Sorry for the long wait. My blog has gone untended as I prepared for a joyous transformation.

March 20, 2011—the full moon spring equinox and my 50th birthday.

My beloved husband threw a marvelous party…a New Orleans crawfish boil…and I invited all I love past and present…yet was conflicted to who would come…I knew only those brave souls who would be part of this great transformation would celebrate with me…and we experienced a great storm…high winds, freezing rain, floods…one-third of the guests did not make it…but 2/3—a perfect PI—arrived wet yet happy to be with me. And we celebrated with food, wine and laughter. Dressed in a goddess gown with butterfly headdress in honor of this great transformation, I was queen for the day in violet, gold and white. The storm raged all day and night. My neighbor commented only the storm of the century for Deborah’s 50th birthday. A salt of the earth friend captured the day in photos while a couple of sister-friends from my past came to celebrate with a neighborhood triad and a tetrad of sisters from my women’s circle. The women in my life…my mother, my mother-in-law, and my medical assistant…all wise women who support and love me unconditionally.  Most of these women brought their men…only those men in deep reverence for the sacred feminine came. And my grandmothers held space in the ethers. Best of all my children were here…to help my beloved husband…throw the party of the year!

I AM DEBORAH!!!

What a relief to know my truth.

It all began awhile ago, when I began receiving gifts of honey. First after the new year, from an old friend—a magic sister from my past sharing the fruits of her shop—then from a patient, who just “knew” she needed to buy a jar of macadamia nut honey…I ate it all, both honeys, wondering what’s next. Each spoonful of sweetness evoked a deep remembrance. I am Deborah!

Finally 50 and now I know.

Deborah is the Mycenaean Queen Bee Goddess, worshipped in ancient Crete. The bee represented the soul and rebirth for the Mycenaeans, as well as being a symbol of feminine power. Bee society is organized around a central Queen, with the female worker bees as builders of the hive. The power of the Goddess Deborah was carried forward into the character of Deborah in the biblical Book of Judges. She is referred to as the “mother of Israel”, and inspired her people to a victory over their captors, the Canaanites. The Song of Deborah is one of the oldest parts of the bible (dating from the 8th century B.C.), and is said to be her victory song.

Awake, awake, Deborah:
awake, awake, utter a song.

Judges 5:12.

I felt the shift coming, on the edge of the mystery, within the portal of transformation. I always knew that after 50, I would not exist. Death or transmutation into something unknown. March 9th began the ninth wave in Mayan belief—where everything speeds up in preparation for the shift.

I KNOW the shift is necessary to create what I DESIRE.

In the meantime, I am slow. Waiting, dreaming, doing very little….except remembering, ceremony, creating.

I write a little…dances and songs of old come through me. Then in women’s circle, I had a vision of birthing from the womb/heart of the Earth Mother. I emerged golden with amethyst wings in sweet repose on a powerful blood horse. I had to sculpt my vision…and I did. Over the next seven weeks midwifed by a grandmother, my vision emerged from my hands. And now she sits waiting to be colored, to be fired, to be seen.

A great need to celebrate my 50th year here on earth. Once with my blood sisters…in a three day weekend filled with family drama—oh sisters, I long to know your soul, yet when we gather, we play roles of old—pain and pleasure as sisters fight and kiss, judge and love in their “you are blood, you are ours” way—then a great release of all that does not serve me…At my women’s circle, I became the new “maiden” in the triad of sisters who shall serve the circle, there I planted a seed of intention—TO RECEIVE THE ABUNDANCE OF LOVE AND JOY FROM SACRED SISTERHOOD—Let it Be, Let it Be!

Just as California awaits the arrival of a wave of radiation, we turn dark Helga into fiery Margarita.

My Joyous Transformation

My Joyous Transformation – created by a patient while she went through the change – this metal sculpture of a woman transforming into a butterfly has been my inspiration as I enter the Change.

So many fear the effects of the earth changes, calling for advice on what to do to prepare for radiation exposure. I have no fear…I created Genesis Gold for just this purpose. To assist us physically, emotionally and spiritually through the shift of ages. There is enough seaweed in Genesis Gold to protect—no worries! And better yet the lucidity during this great transformation is profound. I am honored to witness the soul growth of so many who partake Genesis Gold.

And to conclude the formal birthday celebration…

A weekend filled with romance…Steve took me to Avila Beach and when we arrived I felt a pull from deep within a canyon near the pier…”What is that”, I asked. “Diablo Canyon.” Steve replied, “Where the nuclear power plant that sits on a fault line lives.” No fear. No sense of disruption. I wondered when I might “communicate” with the radioactive elements…

After a wet but lovely day of wine tasting…Had an amazing dream while in the arms of my honey…I was being drawn to the surface of the earth from her core…as an element…I was from deep in the earth and parts of me were surfacing all along her crust, brought to the surface artificially, not naturally. I was uncomfortably full of holding energies that were not mine…So very full…feeling that I might explode…no anger, no fear just this bloated feeling…I could hold no more…Then I could feel the light of the sun…our sun and the SUN…light energy from far away penetrated my being AND the bloating began to evaporate…a warm glow enlivened me…I felt lighter and lighter, sinking deeper and deeper into the earth, until She held me in her arms…I awoke knowing that I had experienced plutonium’s journey…

When we returned from our weekend of bliss…I found my seed of intention had sprouted! Sunlight, water and the rich soil of Mother Earth is all it needs to thrive.

All is Well. Those of us who are open to receive the light will help love the world into the next part of this amazing journey on planet earth!

Blessings of Love and Light,

Deborah Maragopoulos MN FNP

Sacred Feminine Healer

www.genesisgold.com

Lessons from 2010

The long nights of winter are a time of contraction—as we go within to find our own light. With the rebirth of the sun on the solstice, we appreciate our many blessings—as the outer light reflects our transformation. 

As I reflect on this season full of blessings, I cannot help but be touched by the transformative events of our lives this past year. 2010 was a year of great change. The first half spent living life in the moment—our new year’s mantra—as we cherished every precious drop of time spent with my husband’s beloved grandmother. Gran passed in July yet her light shines through every flower picked for a bouquet, every hummingbird sipping sweet nectar, every sip of coffee that we so enjoyed sharing with her.  

Gran’s passing heralded three more—a dear patient, our Great Dane and our old horse. Yet death begets birth…opportunity flows into our lives…we are filled with wonder… 

My daughter Kyra was the first to be blessed by Gran… only one month later…accepted into nursing school! A natural born healer, she is thriving spiritually and academically making the Dean’s list. The world is blessed to have her healing hands and intuitive heart.  

The first to feel Gran’s passing, my son Jarys has become filled with her light…truly seeing the light in each of us.  A newly credentialed teacher, he works with underprivileged children in San Francisco and every family gathering, he blesses us with his wisdom. 

My husband Steve is the most sweetly affected. Gran has inspired him to enjoy the present while sipping the past like sweet wine and allowing the future to manifest in ripe time. He prepares for retirement by collecting lessons learned while serving the public as a police officer. I am so very grateful he arrives home safely and ever wiser after every shift. 

My own growth has been profound.  Taking care of Gran at the end of her life and helping midwife her through the veil of death has helped me become a more complete healer—embracing spirit as I heal body, mind and heart.  More challenging patients come yet it is not clear who is more transformed—them or me. 

This holiday season as we celebrate with family and friends, I pray to honor Gran by embracing the light in each and every one of them.  

After so much time spent in the cocoon of our making, we shall finally emerge in 2011—like gracious butterflies—enjoying each flower of opportunity. 

MAY YOU DANCE THROUGH THE NEW YEAR WITH A JOYOUS HEART, A PEACEFUL MIND, AND A LOVING SOUL.  

Many Blessings of Love and Light,

Deborah