Listerine KILLS more than germs

Don't use antiseptic mouthwash

AI Overview
Frequent use of antibacterial mouthwash can unintentionally raise your blood pressure and increase hypertension risk. These rinses kill the beneficial bacteria in your mouth that your body needs to produce nitric oxide, a natural compound required to relax and dilate blood vessels.

AI Overview
Frequent use of strong antiseptic mouthwash can raise blood pressure. Antibacterial ingredients like chlorhexidine kill beneficial oral bacteria needed to convert dietary nitrates into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes blood vessels, and losing it can increase hypertension risk.

My recent personal experience:
     All my life I've had normal blood pressure readings, even during pregnancy.  Except for a period of a few months in 2018 when I had a bad tooth.  Once the bad tooth was extracted, my readings went back to normal.  Then, in fall of 2025 I got the notion to increase my oral hygiene and started using mouthwash.  After a few weeks my blood pressure readings were suddenly alarming 200/100.  These alarming readings were consistent over several days.  I finally went to the local emergency clinic in Smithville, Tennessee.
     At the clinic 2 different assistants took several readings over the next half hour using 3 different machines, — the last machine looked like it came out of storage, it was wheeled in and had the old-fashioned hand pump.   Finally they called the doctor, who prescribed 10mg lisinopril.  I asked what was the cause, since no way did I have that hypertension that comes in stages (atherosclerosis)...  I was told that my hypertention is "idio-pathic" which means there is no cause.  And that I need to get a primary care physician.  And I was assured that the PC will certainly not seek after a cause; and if I don't go on medication, then I will go blind and then have a stroke.
     The emergency doctor was right about the PC physician not caring to seek after a cause.  My PC physician told me that many people live the rest of their lives on lisinopril — that I should be happy because I'm on a low dose.
     I pressed my PC physician to seek after a cause.   So, I was given some tests: liver, kidney, "blood work" which includes sugar.  All results came back not just normal, but nearly ideal.  I was given a year's prescription for the lisinopril, and that was supposed to be the end of it.
     But.  I am not insured.  I pay my doctor bills myself.  So I am able to have some say.  I pressed again to find a cause.  The Google internet says that hormones can cause hypertension, so I asked my doctor for some hormone tests.  The results of the hormone tests were normal, and again, not just normal, but nearly ideal.

     ok.  I rule out hormones... where do I look next?  Again I found something on the internet — ORAL MICROBIOM.  Certain bacteria in a healthy mouth produce nitric oxide which regulates arteries.  And antiseptic mouthwashes kill those beneficial bacteria.
 
     I immediately stopped using mouthwash.  Tom's® toothpaste went into the trash, along with the Orbit® gum (xylitol).  I understood that it would take 2–4 weeks for my oral biome to be restored, so I tapered off the lisinopril accordingly.

I leave here 2 links:

1.)   https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7567004/  

    I highlight the word "reluctance" in this article because I ask, how come neither my emergency doctor nor my PC considered this cause?  I had told both of them about my recent increased oral hygiene.

2.) https://revitin.com
     Dr. Gerry Curatola

I am totally hooked on this toothpaste.   

...if you listen to all of what he says, his You Tube interviews with various interviewers, you see that he is developing for himself in his mind an evolutionary philosophy involving bacteria...   thus, he is being led away from Christ...   how sad....  But still he is right about the oral microbiome.  I thank him for the facts, but I'm sad he is led astray by the theory of evolution.    This seems to be the greatest hazard of a PhD or any University education....  (My dear Fr. Gregory Williams was also led astray in this manner when he was in Harvard... )  Today I fear what Etna Seminary is doing to the students, since Etna also teaches a form of "Christian Evolution."  
     Pray to St. Seraphim of Platina since he was able to crucify his very great academic mind and offer his mind to Christ.  God gave him a great mind, and he truly did great works with the talent God gave him.
     Please, everyone, read Fr. Seraphim's book, Genesis, Creation & Early Man, (ignore the editorial footnotes), so you can see how the Holy Fathers viewed creation before there ever even existed a "theory" of evolution.  The 2000 edition pdf is in Joanna's Shared Library, in the folder: "Fr. Seraphim Rose."

I had a dream last night

from Joanna's Notepad

Early morning on the Apodosis of Ascension, I had a dream about ROCOR-MP Matushka Elizabeth Williams.  

This is an event for me because I rarely have dreams.  And rarely I would remember a dream.  And even more rare is that the dream would make any kind of sense or be tell-able.  We are cautioned about dreams.  And the more we ignore them, the less they bother us.  This dream was an ordinary dream in every other sense, except that it was quite detailed, vivid, and had a logical sequence.

One segment of the dream I will describe:.

Elizabeth Williams visited me with a group of children, milling around her.  Maybe about 5 or 7 kids, but they were in the background.  There was a pile of wooden blocks (toys) with them that I only barely noticed.  Then after Elizabeth's visit was over, I saw there were some blocks left behind.  I gathered up those blocks to return to Elizabeth, because I was going to soon meet up with her at some other place unspecific.   

At this some other place unspecific, Elizabeth was there and I gave her back the blocks that she and her children had left behind when they visited me.  Elizabeth was glad to have the blocks returned, and she looked through them and asked about a certain block that was missing.

Later, when I went back home, I noticed the missing block that Elizabeth asked after.  It was in the center of the room.  Looking at this block:

     It was huge.  Too big for me to carry.  It was made of oak.  Heavily varnished.  Very shiny.  I knew it was supposed to be a fish, but it could remind somebody of an airplane with stubby wings...  The dorsal fin was like a whale fin that goes up & down, and not like a fish tail fin that goes side to side... but this was definitely meant to be a fish.  A distorted fish.   It was modern.  The wood was new blonde oak, beautifully heavily varnished and freshly polished to perfection, like a mirror.  

I looked at the huge wooden fish and wondered how I would be able to return it to Elizabeth.   

Then Elizabeth came to me at the spot where I was with the wood fish.  We embraced and she cried, and I cried with her for a long time.  Even in my dream, I wondered, how am I crying like this for so long?  it is not like me.   Not like me to cry or to embrace.  But I could not stop my weeping with her.  Many people appeared, gathered/approached, surrounding us, watching us.   Not sharing the sadness — just watching, with sympathy and concern....

Then, I noticed about 20 yards away Matthew sitting in a row of chairs..  Not a permanent row of chairs such as a movie theater with chairs bolted to the floor, or a courtroom, but something less permanent like maybe a funeral parlor or school auditorium.  There was only one long row of chairs.  All of the chairs were empty except for Matthew seated in one of the chairs near the middle of the row.  He was sitting there relaxed/patient but with a proper posture.  He was resigned to being there like that.  He accepted it completely.

So, knowing that Matthew could not move out of his chair, I went up to him.  I told him I wanted to talk to him in private, I had something to tell him in private.  Later, when there are no people around.  I remembered that I wanted to talk to him, but I did not remember why at that time.  I told him I wanted to give him some money.  But immediately I wondered to myself, where am I going to get any money?  Then, as I walked away, I remembered what it was I want to tell him when I have the chance to speak with him in private.

And the dream ended.  I woke up and wondered why I had that dream.  It was just a regular dream.   Nothing supernatural about it.  And I wonder, how did I even remember it?  

I went to Google Mat. Elizabeth and found this on the top hit:
https://www.givesendgo.com/help-my-family-keep-our-home

And here I was reminded why in real life I do want to talk to Matthew in private.  Matthew is being called a narcissist, which is a form of psychopathy.  A factor pointing to this armchair-psychiatrist diagnosis is that Matthew does not blame himself, instead he blames something/someone other than himself — he blames demons.   The thing is, Matthew is right: it is demons.  And I think I know where those demons came from.  I want to talk to Matthew about it.  I've seen "this kind" before...

We know there are different kinds of demons.  Christ said so and it is on record in the New Testament, when the Apostles asked Him why they could not exorcize a certain demon...  We know that when Lucifer fell from heaven that he took with him angels from all nine ranks.  All with different capacities, functions, abilities.  Matthew is right that it is demons — and not the every day demons that we invite into our lives with our sinful inclinations and sinful thoughts.   A different "kind" with which we do not have much experience.  It's not that Matthew is "possessed" — because he is not possessed.  Rather, it is that Matthew is a victim of a different kind of demon.

Towards Acquiring a Clear Concept of the Church

."Lord, grant us a clear concept of the Church."

     Many of our modern Church Fathers came from old Jordanville, old ROCOR.  Along with the New Martyrs and Optina elders, they are the "fruits" by which we are known, by which ROCOR is recognized as a true Church.  How quickly Jordanville lost it's grasp on the old ROCOR Fathers since it united with world Orthodoxy!  

A teaching from old ROCOR, St. Philaret of New York:

     “One must keep in mind that the Church is a theanthropic organism, whose Head is the Lord Jesus Christ and whose life is directed by the Holy Spirit.  Thus, the Church is in no need of human reforms, be they in the realm of her dogmatic teaching, in the amending of apostolic traditions, or the alteration of canon laws and liturgical practices hallowed by centuries of use.  Those who wish to reform the Church do not understand that they themselves must turn as quickly as possible to the grace-bearing life of the Church which, as the Apostle says, is the pillar and ground of truth.  Those who wish to renovate the Church, alas, do not desire their own personal renovation within her, according to the image of the new man who has put off the old man with his passions and lusts.  It is not for us to bring the Church to perfection, but we ourselves who must be perfected within her through the grace of the Holy Spirit."

— from an Epistle of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad to the Russian People (1978)    

ST. PHILARET OF NEW YORK His Collected Works, p. 581, 

©2024, ISBN: 979-833-571-5430, orthodoxtraditionalists.com  

     As we can see, the metropolitan Sergius Stragorodsky had it totally backwards.  So did metropolitan Laurus and all those folks who went into the ROCOR-MP union.  And then they who fell away quickly became hardened in their "passions and lusts" (aka: unthinking, pride, emotions) and blocked their ears to the calls for repentance that continue to this day. 
     It would be good to look up the rest of the Epistle, which was published in Orthodox Life magazine 1978 (6).  The Epistle goes on to explain how the striving for reforms is because of the ancient enemy trying to seize the Church internally — which is exactly what MP accomplished and is still accomplishing.  
     Our modern Fathers saw this coming.  Archbishop Averky spoke of this takeover, and would quote a Church Father of the generation before his, St. Theophan the Recluse, who warned us: 

"AN EVIL FAITH AND A FALSE CHURCH IS ARISING"  

     The takeover continues; the False Church is growing.  In 2007 the Sister Churches were four Churches.  Today we are three.  I wish I had the details, but we have lost our Old Calendar Sister Church in Romania.  One-by-one, country-by-country, first "official" Orthodoxy takes over the majority, then next what is left of true Orthodoxy disappears entirely.

 

 

Jordanville Book Sale

3 Books for price of 2
store-wide sale ends Sunday May 31st at midnight
https://mailchi.mp/holytrinitypublications/sign-up-for-patreon-11029724?e=dee8ebf611

GUIDE TO SELECTING BOOKS FROM JORDANVILLE

  TRUSTED AUTHORS
St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
Theophan the Recluse
Archbishop Averky Taushev
Archimandrite Panteleimon Nizhnik
St. Ilarion Triotsky
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
St. Philaret Voznesendky
St. John Kronstadt
Fr. Michael Pomazansky
St. John of Tobolsk
St. Metr. Anastasy Gribanovsky
St. John Maximovitch

  OTHER GOOD BOOKS
Chosen For His People, by Jane Swan
Meditation on the Divine Liturgy, by Nicolai Gorgol
Indication of the Way, St. Innocent
Hieroschemamonk Feofil

   BLASPHEMY!  
Glorified in America 
     This book groups our Saint John S&SF with deluded false elder Ephraim Moraitis.

  AVOID
In general do not trust any Jordanville book written after 2007.

   Regarding New Books of Sayings of Optina Elders
Translators are World Orthodox, and deprived of grace, which will certainly affect their ability to discern and to impart the Spirit.  Also, it is better for us not to take the words of the Elders out of context, it is better for us to read whole lifes.  Instead a better purchase would be Russian Ascetics of Piety compiled by HNM Bp. Nicodemus of Belgorod.

 older authors to avoid
  • Georges Florovsky died in world orthodoxy.
  • Seraphim Slobodskoy was a Christian evolutionist. 
  • Humble authors do not reveal if they have a PhD.  
  • Our Church officially has had only 3 true theologians: St. John the Apostle, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. Symeon the New Theologian.  

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Pilgrim's Guide to Services

In 2024 Fr. Gregory offered this series of classes to help us appreciate our Church Services

new upload to Joanna's Shared Library
https://app.box.com/s/ed2flgx2c8beswrc4kf0ve549o2e5ppm

Table of Contents

Pilgrim_s Guide Session I outline.rtf
Pilgrim_s Guide Session II outline.rtf
Pilgrim_s Guide Session III outline.rtf
Pilgrim_s Guide Session IV outline.rtf
Pilgrim_s Guide Session V outline.rtf
Pilgrim_s Guide Session VI and VII.rtf
Pilgrim_s Guide Session VIII.rtf
Session 1 - June 30 (July 13).mp3
Session 2 - July 7 (July 20).mp3
Session 3 - July 14 (July 27).mp3
Session 4 - July 28 (August 10).mp3
Session 5 - August 4 (August 17).mp3
Session 6 - September 25 (September 7).mp3
Session 7 - February 16 (March 1) 2015.mp3
Session 8 - March 16 (March 29).mp3
Session 9 - July 6 (July 19) 2015.mp3

SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FATHERS OF THE FIRST ECUMENICAL COUNCIL

Unless I were doing services at home alone, I would not have noticed this note on p. 254 of the SJKP Pentecostarion:

Katavasia: imoi of Canon II of Pentecost in Tone IV:
He who was slow of speech, having been covered with the divine darkness, gave utterance unto the divinely written law; for having shaken off the mire from his noetic eyes, He beheld He Who Is, and learned the understanding fo the Spirit, uttering praise with hymns divine.

 The beauty I want you to see is how the services overlap.  Even at the Feast of Ascension and here we are already hear a call from the coming feast of Pentecost.   Such wholeness! such beauty! such perfection is woven into our Church services.   

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Free Milkweed Seeds

seeds to share 
  

update: 6/4/26  

    currently I'm out of everything, but I will soon get:

 

  — curly dock  Tennessee native

  — wild lettuce Tennessee native

  — lamb's quarters Tennessee native

  — morning glory  Tennessee native
  — heirloom lime barberry bush (each berry has 2 seeds)
  — comfrey (European — not the Russian cultivar.  Viable seeds)

  — common milkweed Asclepias syriaca Tennessee native

  — butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Tennessee native

 

milkweed seeds do not need to be stratified

send SASE 

   Joanna Higginbotham
   12569 Nashville Hwy, Liberty TN 37095

 

or email me a mailing address:
   joannahigginbotham@runbox.com

Sunday of the Blindman

from Joanna's notepad

.Two things I want to talk about, and I have nobody to talk with.  As usual, I did Sunday Typica by myself.

 Gospel St. John 9:1-38

1.  I remember that this blindman had no eyeballs.  It wasn't like he was born with eyes that were useless.  He was born with eyeballs missing.  Empty sockets.  Our Lord Jesus literally created eyeballs for the man using dirt (earth) and his spit to moisten it to make a clay.   He rolled the clay into 2 balls, I imagine about the size of chestnuts, and pressed the clay into the man's empty eye sockets.  For the second time he uses water in this miracle, the first time His own spit, and the 2nd time the Sheep's pool, which is where the Jews would wash the animal to be sacrificed before it was killed according to procedure. 

Interesting is that before the Gospel reading we read a beatitude verse (from the Tone 5 Octoechos and Pentecostarion): ...Thou wast crucified between two thieves, one of them blasphemed Thee and was justly damned... 

And now in the Gospel reading we have the Pharisees doing the same blasphemy as the bad thief, denying that Christ is God.  

Right away I remember St. Philaret's sermon, "On Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit":
https://startingontheroyalpath.blogspot.com/2026/01/blasphemy-against-holy-spirit.html

First the Pharisees try to deny the miracle itself.   But the miracle is undeniable.   They also can't deny that this type of miracle could only be done by God.  They say that Christ can't be God, because he does not keep the Sabbath.  So the best they can do is to get the blindman to say it was God Who healed him, and not Christ.   But the blindman humbly and truthfully explains without giving them the attestation they demand.  So then they change the subject and attack the blindman for his daring insubordination, daring to contradict teachers who are superior to him.

St. Philaret's definition of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit:

  — a conscious opposition to the truth that is obvious to a person's conscience, when a person goes against the truth and against the voice of his own conscience.  This is the grave sin the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of, that it will not be forgiven in this present age, or in the coming age.

A conscious opposition is when somebody denies Christ is God while in their heart knowing He is God.  Not just somebody who is mistaken, misinformed or skeptical/cautious — St. Paul is an example of this latter.  We don't get tricked into committing blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.  When it happens it is deliberate.  Why was St. Paul not convicted of blasphemy?  The difference is that St. Paul loved truth more than he loved himself.  When he saw he was wrong, he submitted to the truth, immediately, "Who art thou, Lord?"  

2.  Backing up in the Gospel reading to where the Pharisees said that Christ is not of God because he keepeth not the Sabbath day.  This is using "Keeping the Sabbath" as a sign of who to trust.  The Pharisees deliberately were abusing the law.   But the people trusted they were being directed to use this as a sign of how to recognize a man of God.  If only such recognition were so easy...  Satan uses this "sign-trick" over and over. 

    A.  I see the sign trick used to confuse people about canonical/uncanonical jurisdictions.with the calendar and the canons.   One of the signs of a true Church is that it uses the Church calendar and follows the canons.  But that is not always the case.  Some of world Orthodoxy still uses the Church calendar (OCA in Alaska), and all of the R-fragments use the Church calendar (ROCiE, ROAC, RTOC, ROCANA).  

    B.  The other day I read in a 1970 interview with the then Metr. Philaret where he was asked what circumstances prevent cooperation between ROCOR and MP.*  St. Philaret answers that MP is controlled by the government.  That is the first thing he says in giving his answer.  Then later he expounds a little saying:

" ... the main sign of MP's captivity is that it does not glorify the New Martyrs; instead it mocks their memory claiming there has been no persecution of the Church in USSR. "

  Fast-forward to 1992 and MP realizes that it has to make show of canonizing some of the new martyrs to get ROCOR to submit to its control.   MP canonizing the New Martyrs was used as "proof" for the supposed rightness of the ROCOR-MP union.  This was an abuse of that sign, and look how many fell for it!  And now MP is still mocking the Holy New Martyrs by grouping them with abominables: Stalin, Lenin, and Sergius.

 

 Satan is so sickening; and when he makes us sick it delights him.  Satan delights in the people he fools with his tricks; and Satan delights in the people who see through his tricks are get disgusted.   I daresay he delights more in the people who are aware of his tricks, but can do nothing about them; and who are forced by circumstances to either participate in the tricks, or to keep silence; or else if they try to speak out, they are considered a mental case of some kind or a criminal of some kind.

. . . in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

* In Their Own Words, Private Letters, provided by Orthodox Traditionalist Publications ISBN: 979-829-448-2275