Healing our body, mind, soul, and social-eco-sphere.
10/05/2025
Pepino melon, also known as Pepino Dulce or Melon Pear, is a unique, oval-shaped fruit native to South America. It's a member of the nightshade family (like tomatoes and eggplants), not a true melon, but its flavor is reminiscent of a combination of melon, pear, and cucumber. Such a unique gift from Mother Nature, love summer sun, can be winter protected in green house. Easy to grow and taste fresh!
10/05/2025
Chinese yam, also known as mountain yam or Nagaimo (长芋) in Japanese, is a long, slender yam variety that originates from China and is widely used in East Asian cuisine. It's a nutritious food source with a mild, sweet flavor and a unique, crispy water chestnut but slimy texture when grated. Used fresh in salad or cook with meat in many different ways. It is a true yam root that can grow to 3 feet long deep in the soil. Vine is long and vigorous, climbing on trellis. There are YouTubes on how to grow it horizontally rather than let it root deep into soil (it’s natural habit). Be careful put it in confined area or large pots, do NOT let it grow wild without watching it, as it can be vigorous and climb around, become invasive in wild setting!
10/05/2025
Ube, the Philipino stable root vegetable, purple yam, has beautiful green purple leaves, loved by Southeast Asian kitchen. They are climbing vines, different from purple sweet potatoes (people often confuse the two different types). Harvest root in the fall and taste the fresh root not available in any store. They can grow fast loving hot summer, so put them in confined areas or large pots. See comment on thr YouTube link on how to grow them. There are several youtube on this plant.
10/05/2025
Ashwagandha, the cherished Indian Ayurvedic herb, immunity booster and stress release. It grows like a small tall bush, with beautiful orange colored small fruit. Love summer but winter hardy if roots are protected. People usually harvest the root (what you see in box store capsules), but fresh leaf are wonderful and can be used to make tea.
10/05/2025
Color changing confederate rose, exquisite beauty from China. Tall bush or small tree, can grow to be 10-15 feet, very large flowers about 10”, start white in morning, turn to deep pink by sunset, nature’s wonder, yet very easy to grow, tolerate summer, winter, and clay soil, in hibiscus family. The most intriguing thing about this flower is it not only change color but pedals and shapes too. And not only that, but also season too: it usually blooms in October, but somehow it flowers beautifully now in Spring…So strange, but happily. It has its own mind, according to my garden friends. I will share another personal story later about this plant, how flower connect with our mind and consciousness. But for now, here is another YouTube to share about how to grow them with cuttings, it is the same with common hibiscus: https://youtu.be/YD8UzOLZtVU?si=QQ1fWILspEfIqb-T
10/05/2025
Sacred Datura, flowering small bush, sacred symbol used in Mandala, in India, and in Asia especially in Buddhism. Native American Shamans and Indian sages also use the seed pots for rituals to induce spiritual vision. Large very delicate beautiful white flowers open in the morning Sun and close later. It loves summer, also winter hardy if protect the root deep in ground. Reseed easily from seed pots, easy to grow.
10/05/2025
Sunchokes, Jerusalem artichokes, root vegetable, sunflower native to North America (Helianthus tuberosus). Root is white crispy, between potato and water chestnuts, yum! They are native sunflower, so very hardy, vigorous, tolerate both heat and winter, easy to grow, tall bush, very productive roots. Can be aggressive/invasive, need to be put in constrained space, or large pots. Leaf also edible, cook like garden green in summer!
10/05/2025
Tumeric, curcuma longs, plant sprouted 1 foot tall, ready to plant in ground. These are white flowering regular yellow turmeric that will grow to be 4-5 feet tall, with large beautiful white flowers. Turmeric is the main ingredient in southeast Asian cooking, and recently many scientific studies have done to understand its health benefits especially anti-inflammatory antioxidant antibiotic anti-viral effects. Growing your own fresh turmeric is so much better than big box store capsules, as its fresh leaf is so beautiful can be cooked as spice, and fresh roots can be stored in fridge! Winter hardy: Can be planted about 1 foot deep in ground and protected with mulch in harsh winter, for next spring sprout. Plant reference links widely available online.
10/05/2025
Bush Clover (Lespedeza bicolor), a beautiful foundational or border bush, delicate purple and white flowers spreading like fireworks in the fall. Leaf and flower all edible, can be cooked. This is the non- aggressive, non-invasive type grown by local nursery, without having seed pots. But still, plant this for large garden or land, don’t plant it in small or crowded space, as it can grow to be 5 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Great for delicate border color, very hardy rigorous, withstand heat, cold, drought, clay soil. In the winter, it will loose leaves, and need to be trimmed and mulched to protect the root, and it will come back beautifully in the spring coReference: https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lespedeza+bicolorm
21/12/2024
Happy ❤️: It is a beautiful sunny day here in Houston, with the night sky crisp clear without the moon, a rare perfect winter evening to see the bright planets, Orion, the winter constellation and the star of Sirius. Once a while, we need to go back to nature and be reminded of our position in the universe, so the ego knows and remembers our proper place. Otherwise, men's mind thinks the world spins around them, they are the center of the universe (know someone behave like that?) It takes a lot of deliberate and consistent practices to change our perspective and shift our mindset. I always admired the earlier astronomers and scientists who made the breakthrough, not only with their discovery, but their courage to speak up the truth and break away from men's illusions and old stubborn dogma. We are still evolving along the same process.
17/10/2024
has so much nice info on how to make delicious fermented and yogurt food, good for your gut and body ecosystem: https://cleanfoodliving.net/
If you don't know someone already making kefir at home with the grains, it leaves many people asking, where can I buy kefir grains? This video will share wi...
17/10/2024
Healing and care of UTI, or Urinary Track Infection, for women (similar for men):
Modern life is busy and rushed, to the degree that people don’t even have time to drink water and go bathroom. Plus, tight underwear or synthetic prongs can rub bacteria back and forth into the urinary area causing problems for women.
Here is a very comprehensive list related to UTI prevention. One of my women friends also recommended taking probiotics, such as Kefir which has high levels of probiotics. Scientific evidence is still being collected. But if you end up with UTI and have to take antibiotics, then restore gut biome is a must, with combined prebiotics (rice bean soup, for example), and probiotics (Kefir, for example). See this post comment for a wonderful YouTube on how to make home-made kefir easily.
Take a healthy diet with a good mix of vegetables, grains, and fermented food. Reduce salt, sugar, meat, will be a good way to help the gut and bring back the immunity needed for the body and for the urinary track.
Stay hydrated, drink water
Urinate regularly, don’t hold p*e for too long
Cranberry extract maybe preventive
Take yogurt (such as Kefir with high concentration of probiotics) or other probiotic diet
Personal Hygiene
Wipe from front to back in the private area at bathroom time
Avoid tight underwear or prongs that rub against the area (bacteria travel back and forth)
Wear comfortable a underwear with panty liner
Choose showers over tub baths
Clean the ge***al area daily with warm water, but avoid sitting in unclean tub
Avoid strong soap or scented cleaning products, but use saline and vinegar mix will be more helpful (for women especially)
Hygiene and s*x
P*e after s*x
Change your birth control, does it affect your urinary health?
Avoid diaphragms or spermicides
Use a personal lubricant, not sharable ones
Other prevention
Use vaginal estrogen (for post menopausal women)
Consult doctors for more medical advice, prevent or treatment options.
UTIs are an infection in your urinary system. Bacteria cause most UTIs, and symptoms include problems p*eing and pain in your side. Treatment includes antibiotics.
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Helen Shih Holistic Health posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Everyone creates an “ecosphere” around him/herself. In a physical sense, it is the space and environment around you, from your bedroom, to your kitchen, living space, office, and extending out to wherever you go. You bring everything into your personal space, so you are the creator and maintainer of this environment. It in fact reflects the state of your mind and is a record of how you have lived in the past and now.
Then there is a relationship ecosphere you live in too, with your family members, your friends, co-workers, and whoever you interact with. This environment is dynamic and live with thoughts, emotions, and actions of yours and others. Again, you are the creator and maintainer of this space as well. The state of this environment also reflects your mind and how you have encountered relationships.
People tend to hoard things in their physical space, so decluttering has become a popular subject. It is something worth pay attention to, as everyone desires to live in a clean and healthy space, and it will in return affect your health and state of the mind as well.
The same thing is true to your relationship space. People also tend to hoard on relationships. How? Someone you think of once a while probably are not here anymore, or have changed so much that they are no longer that same person you remembered. Imagine your childhood friend run into you and tells others about your stories or your old habits. You will not be so thrilled to hear about those unless it is something you are very proud of. The fact of the matter is, everyone loves to move on to something new in life instead of being remembered and framed in the old box that no longer fit them anymore. So how about we let go of those old stories as well?
Some of these relationships did not serve us well, but our mind likes to remember and hold on to those, and once a while bring them back. In some way, this is how the mind heals itself of the past wound and regain insight of the past lessons. It is sort of like regurgitate upon the past experiences. But once the nutrition has been absorbed, we simply need to spit the rest, and move on. Often there are also relationships and how we deal with others which were hurtful, unfair, and dangling around in our mind, causing pain and bitterness. Sometimes we desire to “get equal” with others, teach them a lesson, or simply forget about it.
Whatever reason there maybe, non-serving past relationships are just like the old shirts piled up in your closet. They simply do not carry meanings or any benefits but occupy space, causing cluttering, messiness, and eventually look like a jungle in your ecosystem.
When you learn how to throw away some of these relationship clutters in your mind, you will open up more space, welcome new relationships coming in, and get things flow again. Imagine your relationship space looks like a perfect Zen garden, clean, spacious, healthy, and beautiful. Wouldn’t you want to live in places like that? Let’s give it a try our healing retreat at the special time of Easter and Earth Day: https://www.facebook.com/events/358437641440518/
