Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

I wrote this post several years ago. I'm back on track and grateful for it, but last week, I had the chance to speak to the Icons of Dentistry, women who have been trailblazers in their field.

I also had the opportunity to meet one of my heroes, Dr. Dan Fischer. Dr. Fischer is the founder of Ultradent, an inventor, entrepreneur and modern day abolitionist. His work heals and literally sets the captive free. Read about him and ask yourself what else you can do. In the meantime, let's all take better care of the only self we have.

Okay boys and girls, remember two things; you can’t shoot the messenger and the messenger had to take the first hit.

Wellness begins in your mouth; not just with the things you say, but also rather literally with your mouth.

Last week, I did something that I had neglected for a rather long time. It had been 3 years since my last “visit” to the dentist. Prior to then I went more than regularly with 6-8 visits and cleanings a year.

I have been blessed with great teeth. At 52 I’ve never had a cavity. A great deal of that is because of the care I had given my teeth, but let’s face it, the other part is pure genetics.
My genetic juice also blessed with me gums that require a deep cleaning every 6 years, but that too had been neglected.

So last week when I broke down and made an appointment (which only happened because my daughter needed to go,) I was embarrassed by the state of my oral health.

Wellness truly starts in the mouth. Your physician probably won’t tell you, because quite frankly, they don’t know, but the lack of oral health is related to heart disease, strokes, joint pain and diabetes. The bacteria of gum disease can get into your blood stream causing a slow and painful death.(Read more about the oral systemic connection)

If your mouth is not well, your body will not be either.

As my mouth put Michele and Dr. Breitberg through a workout, I cried out in pain. When Michelle, the hygienist asked if I was okay, I told her that everything hurt. She was about to call the doctor in for more Novocain when I stopped her and managed to say that the pain came from the realization that I had been caring for my mother, my children, family, dogs and friends, but I had forgotten to take care of my own mouth.

As I cried, I vowed to not let it happen again. I had another appointment with the dentist but I moved it up and got back in sooner.

The gum cleaning not only made my teeth look better; it made my body feel better too. The aches and pains I had been feeling in my back and knees have miraculously gone away.

I find most dentists to be a humble lot. They don’t tend to make big bold claims of miracle drugs and treatments, but what they know about the connection between the nerves in your mouth and those in your body will astonish you. 

If I told you that there was a way to avoid a heart attack or stroke would you listen?

There is and I’m telling you---get to the dentist.

Before you buy another pair of shoes, a dress or even a cup of coffee, put your money where your mouth is and see a dentist.

Be you, be well, be smiling.

Bertice Berry, PhD.

Into the Woods of Your Mind

What’s in Your Woods?

It is a poorly kept secret that I suffer from Mobility Stuff. (Same initials, I just won’t give it power.) After nine years of good and bad days, I’m getting better. So, I’m doing what I need to do and I’m walking through it.

Lately, I’ve been taking morning walks and I'm amazed to actually see some of what’s living in my woods. One morning, a fox strolled towards me before realizing that he might want to go the other way. The fox looked exactly like they do in a kid’s cartoon, bright red with a “sly” smile.

I saw a giant turkey vulture sitting on a fence. She looked at me as if she belonged there and I did not. And then I “discovered” the barred owls who starred at me as if they’d never seen anything so odd.

I may not have seen them before, but these creatures live here, and they have been here all along.

These encounters with the wildlife in my woods got me to thinking about my own subconscious. I began to wonder about what has been living in the woods of my own mind. What wild thought has taken residence and has birthed a family in my subconscious?

What lives in the woods of my thinking, nesting and belonging without me even noticing?

Maybe, I’ll heal better when I clear out the thoughts that have burrowed a nest in my subconscious and have sent pain down my nerves and into my limbs. 

Maybe, just maybe the woods of our mind are harboring creatures that keep us up at night, keep us from moving forward whispering doubt and disbelief.

The fox, deer, owls, vultures and even the snakes that I know are out in the woods can stay right where they are, but the unknown of my mind had better watch out, because I’m doing a clearing.

I am renewing my mind on a daily basis. I’m getting rid of anything that keeps me from moving forward into the best I can be. 

Be you, be well, be healed.

Bertice Berry, PhD.

Becoming Mature

On Maturity

I am now a woman of a certain age, but I must admit, I don’t really know what that certain age is. I’m 57, feel closer to 47 and can’t wait to be 67. I love getting older, more specifically, I love maturing.

For some reason, folks have been confusing maturity with aging. Getting older doesn’t mean that one becomes more mature. When people speak of mature adults, they usually mean old; but this is not the true meaning.

To be mature means that you have reached an advanced stage of mental and emotional development. Maturity is defined as one who is stable, sensible, responsible, levelheaded, reliable and dependable.

By now you are thinking of all the grown folks you know who are just not grown.

Now, join me in turning this on yourself. Ouch. I can only speak for myself when I say that as hard as I have worked and as much growth that I have seen; there are still several key areas in my life that can use some maturity.

I’ll spare you the details, but I will tell you this; it’s time we evolve, grow and become all that we can truly be.

I don’t want to be a 67-year-old kid. I’d like to be a wise and mature 57-year old vessel of light.

Be you, be well, be evolving.

Bertice Berry, PhD.

Where are the Adults?

Be the Light

“Where are the grown-ups,” my ninth-grade teacher had asked. He had just come back from his uncle’s funeral. He said that he’d been told that he was one of the pallbearers and his first response was “Where are the adults?” It was then that he realized that he and his cousins were not the next in line; they were at the front of the line.

So where are the adults? I have asked this question a lot lately. I’ve asked it of politicians, corporate, community and spiritual leaders; I’ve asked it of my family and I have asked it of myself.

The answer is simple; I am.

We are the adults and we must be capable, fearless and ready to shine a light on our own ills and fears. We must be the repairers of the breach. We must be the adults.

I am starting with me, in my own house and in my own life. Someone once said, “Adulting is hard.” No kidding and we should have listened when we wanted to be grown before it was time.

Now, it’s time and as adults we should recognize the fact that time is time and our own is finite, but the light we carry inside of us goes on and on. The light grows with each good deed and life we encounter.

So, shine your light; it's ageless.

Be you, be well, be the light.

Bertice Berry, PhD.