Freedom of Natural Medicine: What Does this Mean to Natural Medicine Folk on Steemit? + STEEM BOUNTY

What does natural medicine mean to you?
Do you have the freedom to exercise your right to choose what goes in your bodies?
Are you free to make choices about natural healing?
How might natural healing be restricted or impeded?

On the weekend, Steemfolk got busy exploring the theme 'Freedom of Natural Medicine', brought to you by @eaglespirit under her 'Freedom Friday' initiative and supported by Freedom Tribe and Natural Medicine, both who gave a total of 10 SBI to the winners. Another two SBI was generously donated by @eaglespirit, and you can read about the winners in her post here.

As we made the Natural Medicine video, we were asking people: what does natural medicine mean to you? Some of the responses are featured in the video (you can see the video at the end of this post). Today, however, we'd like to showcase some of the beautiful explorations of what natural medicine means to folk here by giving you extracts from their 'Freedom of Natural Medicine' posts. We loved these in particular, and hope you do too. We've also set a steembounty on this post where you can win steem by responding to the extracts below or writing about what natural medicine means to YOU.

Congratulations to @freedomwing, @artemislives, @SenorCoconut, @sagescrub and @celestialcow @Raven [metametheus] @Lola.Imma @bifilarcoil @riverflows and @porters who all won a share of Steem Basic Income.

The more governments try to regulate, protect and close down natural medicine products, the MORE this lifelong learning aspect of natural medicine freedom raises its head. Yes, it IS frustrating that there is so much contradiction. Yes, it IS enormously time consuming. Yes, it IS frustrating when several remedies or treatments don't appear to work. But diligence, study, learning and personal responsibility with natural medicine lead to the ULTIMATE FREEDOM: the personal choice to be free from damaging & toxic side effects from Big Pharma's so-called medicines, and the choice to not be enslaved to exorbitant medical cost structures which enrich governments and pharmaceutical companies whilst impoverishing the communities they claim to serve. Life Long Learning and Personal Responsibility are intrinsic to the evolving natural medicine paradigm. With great freedom comes great responsibility. @artemislives

Learning about herbs has helped me realize that I can be my own authority over my own body. I do not need to take a doctor's prescription blindly. Even if I do not have all the answers or knowledge I can still have choice over my body. With every herb I learned to identify, to grow, hold in my hand, have some knowledge about, I gained a little more confidence in taking back power over my body and also my mind. Every herb I learn about opens a window a little bit wider. The window opens up to a view of a world outside of a box of authority and dichotomy @sagescrub

It's an ethical practice when all choices and options are given to patients when it comes to their treatments and managements as it is their RIGHT TO KNOW. Getting a second opinion is very common when unsure of what to choose. If unhappy with their doctor, he/she can also be replaced, having the freedom to request or demand whoever they want or willing to entrust their care with. From conventional to natural medicine, is it an option? It's understandable that our present medical practitioners don't offer it nor consider it as an option as they don't have any kind of exposure of its' usage. Call it ignorance on their part but the majority don't have any experience or knowledge, most of all the expertise in using it. But would it be nice for patients if another option is the use of Natural Medicine? @lolaimma

To me practicing and carrying the knowledge of Natural Medicine gives me the freedom when something is ailing me to gather from what is around me or from what I have prepared and stored. There is no appointments to make and no waiting to get in or prescription to fill that effect my finances. Many of the remedies provided by the Conventional Medicines have serious side effects that really tie you into the system and leaves you having to treat the side effects along with the original disease. I choose to be free of that and look to the natural remedies that have been past on through generations, proven over time. With no serious side effects (although some natural remedies do come with a warning.) The Big Pharma is in the pharmaceutical business and it always comes down to their bottom line, making profit. They are more than happy to sell you a pill to help with the side effects of a pill you bought and a pill for the side effects of those pills and so on. Before you know it you are taking numerous pills. With taking all those pills is the quality of your life improving? @porters

Natural medicine covers so much and is a huge part of my life. I strive to live a mostly natural life with my children. From the way they were born, to the foods and medicines we consume. I am very passionate about living naturally, because yes, I want the best for me and my children, but I also want what is best for the earth too. I am a huge advocate for a person's right to choose, yet what we consume hugely clouds our judgement. For us to live in our natural state, for us to be healthy and aware, we need our bodies and our minds to be nourished. The only way to do this, is by feeding our bodies what they need and not what some have convinced them they need - @trucklife-family

Myself and our family already for many years tried to use mostly natural herbs or spices when get some problems with health. Therefore we understand very much all those people who talk about Big Pharma and business of "Medicine Industry", which actually more interested in people to remain sick than get well and healthy. Why? Because if person becomes healthy - they already can not make money from him! That person can not be their good regular customer who will continue using their services, pay them money for that and buy all sorts of things from them. But person who remains sick - oh, that is actually much better! Because such person depends on doctors and all the medicine and keeps using their services. There is another reason why I sincerely support this idea of promoting Natural Medicine. Because in my own personal experience it happened already few times, as well as with my family members - when modern medicine does not help. Sometimes doctors even say that directly: "Sorry, we can not do anything about it. We can only observe, keep watching how this disease will continue and may be can suggest you some vitamins". It has really happened to us few times, honestly! However after that we decided to use natural herbs and some other natural products, as well as some natural herbal treatments (from traditional medical practitioners) and somehow it did help, it worked and healed that problem! Even though in normal hospital or clinic - they said that they can not help, because their modern medicine can not understand the reasons of that illness, how to treat it or what medicine to use, also that they simply don't have medicine to cure it! Then how traditional herbs could cure and heal it? Why modern medicine which has a lot of scientists, big research centers, a lot of money spend and provided by governments, very highly developed technology, expensive equipment - and all that can not help to solve the problem? @freedomwing

Unfortunately, even the natural medicine professions are starting to fall under the same spell which is crippling mainstream biomedicine, and that is the need to prove that their treatments work, and placing more emphasis on results in a lab, rather than results in the clinic. Humans are a chaotic bunch, and human health and illness even more so. The dependence on gadgets and technology are removing the human factor in the clinic. How many doctors still inspect tongues, complexion, and eyes? How many still palpate their patients and feel the pulse beneath their fingertips? How many sit in total presence as you tell them how crap you feel? This is what natural medicine is all about. It's about connection between humans, and feeling what a person needs to help them @metametheus

Please consider delegating to @naturalmedicine by clicking any amount below. The minimum entry for membership is 20SP (unless you are under 150SP, in which case it's free!) and helps support and celebrate your work with natural remedies, healings and nurturings on this gorgeous blockchain!

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