The Way Of The RakeMany years ago in the southern regions of a land far away lived a man by the name of Hewko. A poor man by providential state but rich in Mind, Body and Spirit.”Relationships” he would say, “are the true paths to wealth of soul, peace of mind and health of body”.And,”Relaxation is not for pillows as pillows are not for the relaxed”!Many seemingly wise and yet puzzling things he did say. . . leaving the disciples who sought him no further along in wisdom than before. No more peace of mind than a rabbit in the wild afraid to venture out of its hole for fear of being eaten. No less confused and no more focused on their self imposed task because they failed to act.But they sought him out all the same as all seekers must seek someone other than themselves to “show” them “the way”!The way of ‘The Rake’ clears all pathways that are unclear due to the fallen leaves of timeAnd what of you dear reader. . . do you also seek the spiritual healing that comes with the words of the Great Sage Hewko? Be of good cheer- the secret lies in the essence and foundation of The Rake! “The Way of the Rake”, as Hewko would say, “clears all pathways that are unclear due to the fallen leaves of time”; and I will share with you in a very few words the philosophy of The Rake and how you can apply it this very day with no further delay of peace to mind, depth to soul and life to body.”Just as the pathway of the forest is obscured by the leaves that fall there on. . . so also our minds are unclear by the task that fall upon our minds”. Too much technology, too many Business opportunities, too many bills to pay and just too many places to be and things to do. We are overwhelmed, our minds are cluttered, we do not exercise, we do not sleep. . . we know what we must do but do not!Meditation is a straw that eludes the grasp; yoga is an exercise of mind and body that does not always satisfy; crystals are debated, set on shelves and forgotten; and when feeling sluggish conventional medicine offers no cure- we seek “holistic” and/or “alternative medicines only to find more “alternatives” to the “alternatives”! Hewko would not deny all of the above as potential healing sources of mind, body and spirit. . . but one must first develop the discipline of The Rake!The Mind Body Spirit connection is Earth connected. . .All religions teach the importance of the Spirit Earth connection. The Bible says in the creation story of Genesis, “with labor and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life”. Man continually shirks his duty as “husband” of the land and wonders why he feels so lethargic. The sowing and reaping of years gone by is more and more distant from the lives of modern man. Hewko says, “Reach into the soil of your own backyard and grow something”!The Way of the Rake is nothing more than the rake you can buy at the local hardware store. . . take rake in hand and touch the Earth! Mind, Body and Spirit unite in that one simple action and you are centered, balanced and whole. The rake is literal but only part of it. Cultivate the earth, plant the seed and help it grow! The law of sowing and reaping has always been taught since the beginning of time through the planting of seed and is the foundation for all business and romance.If you are unable to find your way through religion. . . rake! If you are unable to quite the mind. . . rake! If you are overwhelmed with bills, business and the cares of this world. . . rake!Unplug from TV and computer, go outside and touch the Earth. Today’s modern man allocates these basic life giving energies to other men who regard these God given privileges as nothing more than a 9 – 5 J.O.B. How can we be sure our Mind, Body and Spiritual sufferings are nothing more than self imposed when we go for months and, for some, years without rolling in the hay?The man of religious conviction who studies the Bible and yet avoids his “curse” can no more expect God to answer his prayers than he can expect tomatoes to grow where he has not prepared the soil. Back to the land should be our motto. Home grown should be the description given the vegetables on our table. And the law of sowing and reaping should be the first law written on our hearts. . . Mind, Body and Spirit begins where the salad grows.Hewko’s Final Words”Clear the leaves from the path of your mind with The Rake! Touch the Earth and the Earth will touch you. When we Rake we use the Mind, we use the Body and we find our Spirit whole”.

Charcot’s foot is one of the many problems which might occur in those with diabetes mellitus. The higher blood sugar levels that stem from all forms of diabetes have an affect on numerous body systems including the eyesight, renal system as well as nerves. In long standing cases, particularly if there has been an unsatisfactory control of the blood sugar levels, you can find problems with the nerves supplying the feet. This will make the feet in danger of issues as if something fails, you don’t know it has gone wrong as you can not really feel it due to the harm to the nerves. This might be something as simple as standing on a rusty nail and that getting contaminated and you are not aware that you’ve stood on the nail. Should it be a blister or ingrown toenail which gets infected and you do not know that it is present on the foot unless you have a look. This is why foot care can be so necessary for those with diabetes and why it will be provided a great deal of emphasis. A Charcot foot is the destruction occurring to the bones and joints if you have an injury and you do not know that the injury has happened.

A way of looking at it could be to consider this way: pretend that you sprain your ankle horribly and you also are not aware that you have simply because you do not experience the pain from it. You then carry on and walk around on it. Picture all of the additional harm which you do by walking about on it. The earliest you may possibly discover that there may be something wrong happens when you take a seat and look at the feet and you observe that one is a great deal more swollen compared to the other foot. This is exactly what occurs in individuals with diabetes who develop a Charcot’s foot. There may be some destruction, such as a sprained ankle or maybe a progressive failure of the arch of the foot and as no pain is sensed they carry on and walk around on it. It should be apparent simply how much more injury that gets done to the original injury prior to the problem is finally observed because of the swelling. At times there is not much swelling, but the Charcot’s foot is picked up from the difference in temperature between the two feet as a result of inflammation related process in the damaged foot that generates more warmth.

The development of a Charcot foot really needs to be dealt with as a bit of an urgent situation since the further it advances the much more serious it’s going to be and the more challenging it can be to handle. The individual definitely needs to quit all weightbearing without delay or at least obtain a walking support so that the damage is protected. For the not too major instances and those conditions which were serious and have improved a really supportive orthotic in the footwear is required to support the feet and the injuries. Sometimes surgical procedures are required to straighten the subluxed and dislocated bones. By far the most critical situations can end up with the foot and/or leg required to be amputated as the trauma has been doing an excessive amount of impairment.