I have been in the field of toxin free and natural produce
for the last 7 years and have used the word ‘chemical’ as my USP all the while.
Do not eat chemicals.. move to natural food- has been my mantra! List of
pesticides and fertilizers that are used by farmers to ensure a good crop in
turn lead their way into your vegetables in an unseen form and shape and become
a part of you- so watch what you eat. My kitchen due to this, has pretty much
been toxin free upto 85% atleast.
But I attended a toxin free session from Jeevitnadi ( an
NGO formed by the alumini of the Ecological society) with my bi focal
spectacles on, and realised how there are numerous other toxins unseen and
unfelt that I was breathing and internalising within my house, other than food!.
The list started with assumed purified water that one drinks from our posh
water purifiers and ended with the moisturiser that one uses on the skin – the
organ that absorbs 80% of whatever it receives!!
The Farrago jumped and reappeared... How do I go about
this? Sometimes it is not enough that
you are told what you are doing is wrong once, you still justify yourself and keep
doing what you are doing. Habits die hard. So I attended this session couple of
times with different audiences. Each time I felt all the more nauseated, dizzy,
and lathargic. The feeling of the body and mind, when you know what you are
doing is wrong, but you are not able to take the right step.
I figured, these
were identity issues I was experiencing. I was known for the smell of the
moisturiser that I used, the whiff of the perfume that travelled before I did,
the brand of the shampoo and conditioner that made my hair and me feel good,
and the sparkling look of my house that I felt made everyone envy the way I lived. The person I was and the person I
wanted to see myself in the mirror were two different ones.
And when one goes through something like this, the first fall
back option we take to is ‘excuses’! I did the same. List of excuses :
1. Alternatives to all the household items are not easily
available.
2. Everyone in the house has a different opinion on this.
3. My per capita consumption from childhood until now
hasn’t increased, so am I really making a difference to the situation?
4. There is too much of struggle – both internal and
external to make this happen.
Et al.. it continued and still continues☺ .. ..
As this was going on, the news of deaths caused by cancer was
luring me from everywhere, within the family and friends. And I knew that
toxins within my house were also beyond the permissible limit for my family. I
had to take charge of the photons releasing from my body that were reflecting back
and making me see my own image!
Like the step to solving every problem is to break them
into smaller solutions, one bit at a time, I began by experimenting one aspect
of all that I had learnt, one day at a time.
Step 1: I gave up toothpaste. Dathmanjan was introduced in
the house. The brown, black powdery substance felt like chapatti flour once I
put it in the mouth. I tried different brands, made my own mixtures and played
with what I felt made me feel good about using this first thing in the morning.
Soon the minty, fresh feeling gave way to salty and tightened gums feel!
Effect: The sink was messy, the stains of the powder
remained, and overall the whole episode didn’t feel that great. I was scared my
oral hygiene was not upto society standards. I used to carry a lavang in my
purse and kept munching on it through the day, lest my mouth should stink.
Analysis: As I kept doing it, I got used to the taste, and realised
that since the dantmanjan worked on the gums more than the teeth, the source of
the problem was being treated and thus lesser were dental issues cropping up. I
decided to have the maid clean the sink more often and reminded myself that
even if it was okay for me, I had to clean the place up when I knew someone was
coming. The lavang also disappeared, as I was learning to be okay using the D
instead of the T.
How people visiting, view me and my house always played an
important aspect of making any changes to myself and my way of living. I
wondered why, when the frequency and intensity of this activity was never huge,
when spanned over a year. We had times when the house had relatives for couple
of days, and then they were gone. But still what they would think mattered. I slowly realised that the person I used to
see in the mirror was a reflection of not me, but of all the outside people who
saw me. Little bit of every one of them made up the whole me I saw myself to
be. I started using the mirror a little less, and for now used it only to see
how my teeth looked ☺.
Sagar and I started using danthmanjan regularly but
Sunishka my 9 year old brat tried it, but got back to her paste. The messy kid
of mine found this process too messy to handle ☺ . I
however explained to her how fluoride that is advertised in pastes is actually
a rat poison and how it is written in fine print on the toothpaste that one
mustn’t use more than pea size of toothpaste on the brush. So for her, it is
pea size toothpaste for now!
I also simultaneously started experimenting on alternate
methods to clean the floor, clothes, cabinets and toilets. I sourced from
wholesale shops baking soda and vinegar. Pretty much the whole house can be
kept clean using these two products and though you miss the perfume fragrance,
essential oils and dhoop can make up for it if required. However when parents
or inlaws are in the house some powders, soaps, and cleaning agents do get
smuggled into the house,☺ the
tiff with the control button goes a little weary in these instances !
1.5 years hence, I have moved to simple boiling of water,
cooling and using it as drinking water, using coconut oil along with lavender essential
oil as a moisturiser, trefala churna as the body wash and reetha powder as utensils
cleaner. Shampoo and conditioner are still not out of the door completely,
though the frequency of usage has reduced tremendously. My experiments of finding
the closest non toxic alternative to a hair cleanser that fits my mirror image
is still on☺.
Problem existence –> Accpetance -> Analysis->Struggle->
Breaking the problem into small
steps->Working on the solution.
I did all the above.. so is the Farrago at peace??? Far
from it.. before I know it there is another confusion in front of me!!! Until
next time…
Link for the toxin free living details on Jeevitnadi website: https://www.jeevitnadi.org/toxin-free-living/
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