IS YOUR SOAP TOXIC?
Is your soap and shampoo toxic? It really is amazing what the letter agencies allow into most household products consumed by Americans. In some soaps and shampoos, product manufacturers utilize the compound "sodium lauryl sulfate" as a foaming agent. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate has a laundry list of negative ramifications. It is a known skin irritant. It pollutes the groundwater. It is a pesticide/herbicide. It is used as a flea and tick repellent. It emits toxic fumes when heated. It is corrosive and an eye irritant. Lastly, it is a penetration enhancer which enables other chemicals to enter your body. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? You may ask yourself how I was able to discover this. The story begins below. Let me begin about 3 years back.
Swami Atmachaithanya, my guru was in the United States on his world tour and he always stops in Los Angeles to teach his methods of meditation and pranayama to the world. On this particular trip, my guru wanted us to make our own batch of homemade organic soap. The first task was to secure the ingredients necessary to finish the task. Ambica, another of Swami's devotees, and myself took the lead and discovered some of the ingredients we would need from a website called Bulk Apothecary. We were able to secure the necessary essential oils and components from this website. We secured the remaining items necessary to make soap from local stores in the area. When my guru presented this concept, I felt like Ralph Macchio in the Karate Kid and that this would turn out to be a very important development for my spiritual pursuits. Once all of the ingredients arrived, Swami explained the steps. The critical component is hand stirring the ingredients. It was supposed to take around 6 hours to get the soap to the perfect "trace" consistency. I was the first one to start and mentally I was ready to stir for the whole 6 hours. I would do this because I felt intuitively that there was a major lesson in this exercise. After about an hour and a half, my guru called up the next person to stir the mix. I was somewhat relieved that I wasn't going to be a human blender for the next four and a half hours. Once the consistency was perfect, the soap was put into molds and allowed to harden. It turned out fabulous and I now had a new skill in the arsenal; although it would take me another two and a half years to utilize them.
Roughly six months ago, my intuition was screaming to me to make a batch of my guru's soap on my own. Thankfully I listened. I purchased the ingredients and made it a weekend project. It turned out to be extremely enjoyable and soothing. While stirring I would continuously chant the mantra "OM NAMASHIVAYA" which means , "I bow to eternal bliss." It was a very zen experience and I was pleased with how the soap turned out. I could not believe that I could make soap. Wow!
Around this same time, my son was having terrible allergy problems in the evening. He was waking up 4-5 times a night with his nostrils completely clogged. One late evening I could hear him crying and upset in his room. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "I can't breathe." As a parent, this is the most helpless I have ever felt. What could I do to help my boy. Somehow I stumbled upon the ingredient "Sodium Lauryl Sulfate" and realized that this chemical may be the reason for my son's issues. The next day the family threw out all products with this ingredient and I instructed my son to only use the soap that I had made. MIRACULOUSLY, his allergy issues were virtually cured in one day. He is now able to get a full night sleep and is performing much better in school. He can finally breathe through his nose. I am so grateful to my guru for teaching me to make homemade soap. I am grateful that I listened to my voice and spirit guided me to a solution. Believe in the magic of this world and it will come to life. Infinite blessings to all.
