Life is ENERGY and it takes WORK

I promised you I would share my experience with Energy Work, or energy medicine. I like to keep my promises. Here we go!

Over five years ago I was introduced to Flowtrician, my first dose of energy work. My daughter was miserable, crying, in pain, no one was sleeping and I was desperate for help. In our desperation and humility we often find the best vehicle for positive change. I prayed every day for help, for solutions, for clarity of mind, and for this tiny human being to find relief. My heart and head were wide open to guidance because I was at a loss for solutions.
At women's book group one evening I mentioned my exhaustion to a friend who I adore and respect deeply. She explained her sister in Colorado practices a form of energy work called Flowtrician that could help L. This sister could remotely help L find some emotional and physical relief.

WHAAAAT? Really?

This was brand new and sounded wacky but coming from this source, one of the most meek, humble and faith filled women I have ever known in my life I opened myself up to this possibility.

I set up our first appointment and answered the phone very curious to see what would happen. This stranger who would remotely energetically work on my newborn baby was a relative of a trusted friend, a member of my church, and .... nope, that's it. That's all I knew. Oh and she had been trained in something called Flowtrician. That's it.

As she talked to me about it I understood that I would hold my newborn in my arms while being on the phone and if needed answer questions. That's it.

Then I witnessed what looked like a miracle. My squirming, grumpy, tense baby relaxed in my arms and over a few minutes of silence settled into her own body and FELL ASLEEP! My husband and I had struggled to get her to sleep every single day of the her life. Holding her, rocking her, nursing her, singing to her, swinging her. This sudden relaxation and rest in what had been a tormented body would not be a coincidence and certainly not the result of the placebo effect. I myself was not relaxed or restful. I was a hot mess from all the stress of no sleep, nursing, diet, and family unbalance. My baby, however, was showing me the possibilities of Energy Medicine.

We worked with this practitioner a couple more times and I felt deeply grateful for the positive change we had seen in baby L. She and her sister have a cherished space in my heart for teaching me.

Fast forward a year and a half and the same baby girl stopped walking and was diagnosed with juvenile idiomatic polyarticular arthritis, also known as rheumatoid arthritis. Again, my heart and mind opened up to any and all solutions because I am a result driven mama who had no idea what to do. Do you all notice a *cough, pride* cycle in my life and learning. ;)

Yet again, God answered my deep yearning and prayers by sending me direction. Another friend who I respect and admire with all my heart briefly mentioned that her friend did a kind of work that might help. Enter Chelsea Porter. This woman has become one of my earth-side guardian angels and I thank the Lord for giving her gifts and then bringing her into my life. She has become a dear friend and a vehicle for healing in our family and gives us ongoing support. My experiences with Chelsea have been so profoundly personal and spiritual that I keep the details mostly to myself. 

Both Chelsea and I openly admit that Jesus Christ is the real source of all healing and the giver of all our talents in life. I thank God for sending the gift of healing in many forms to bless and benefit all His children. I praise Him for leading me to the forms of healing my family has needed on our journey, in the form of healing foods, plants, music, books, relationships, experiences, and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. 

Please read more HERE about the work Chelsea does and her superior explanations on:
1) what is energy work
2) how energy moves
3) how it relates to the gospel of the Master Healer


Since my introduction to both of these Energy Healers I have met many more! They have been male and female, older and younger, religious and not so much, but all of them are spiritual. There are many names for this work, modalities and ways people frame the way they move energy. Reiki, Total Body Modification, Emotional Freedom Technique, The Body Code, Energetic Well Being Process, and more.

Prayer moves energy.
A clean diet moves out bad energy.
Hypnosis and meditation change our energy and invite healing.
Essential oils diffused change the energy in a room.

All things are energy. Energy medicine is one way to move it and I sincerely thank God for putting the right people and resources in our path so we could live the abundant, healing, forward-moving life we enjoy now.

Parable of the Pokemon

Once upon a time there was a 7 year old boy who LOVED Pokemon. Admittedly, he was obsessed for a time. His homeschooling mama didn't know or care much about Pokemon but knew her boy loved the stories, battles, creatures, and especially all their unique powers. He read chapter books about Pokemon, he watched the Pokemon show, he play with Pokemon figurines, he read reference guides and cookbooks about Pokemon, and he even slept on a Pikachu pillow. Every single day involved conversations about Pokemon characters and their powers. Like I said, obsessed.

Passion and obsession can be a fabulous tool in a home school. This wise (cough..... winging it) homeschooling mama decided to capitalize on her son's obsession and used Pokemon in her lessons (if that's what you want to call what we do around here).


Okay, enough with the third person narrative. It's late, I'm tired. 'Nuff said.

Pokemon became the subject of math, reading, artwork, and writing. So. Much. Pokemon.

"If Ash's team of 8 Pokemon battle against Team Rocket's 9 Pokemon, how many Pokemon are battling all together?" 
"Let's write a story about Pokemon that you make up!" You get the idea. 

I was so fed up with Pokemon and wanted to never hear that word again. One morning, we are working together to write a story and I started to really listen to my son's excitement. I asked a lot of questions about these useless, nonsensical characters and why does my boy really love them. Then - BOOM, like I lightening bolt I finally see it. I finally see the beauty of Pokemon. Here's why. 

S explains to me that all Pokemon experience evolutions, which is what happens when they transform from a simple, less powerful form to a more powerful form. Charmander evolves into Charmillian who involves into Charizard and has the potential to become Mega Charizard. 

"So how do they evolve, Stu? Not all of them evolve at the same time, right?"

No. First they have to develop trust with their trainers into order to evolve into a more powerful Pokemon. They can also evolve by conquering bad guys. However, some Pokemon never evolve. When they do evolve they might gain new types of powers (fire, water, etc) or retain previous types of power that are just more powerful.


My mind started to see how this applies to life, because that's what I do. Everything I learn I ask, "what does this have to do with my real life?" My mind began to spin! 

We are like Pokemon!!

We human beings are like Pokemon and our life on Earth is like our time to experience evolutions. We start out like little Charmander - a little person with a few powers and a growing relationship with our trainers. Our parents, teachers, mentors and most of all God are our trainers. We evolve through life too. We may gain different spiritual, physical, or mental gifts through trust in God. Through the same process we may become more powerful in the talents we already have. We also become more powerful by conquering bad guys, or our own personal demons in life. Some of us never evolve past our most simple self. Why? Perhaps because of lack of faith, trust, and bravery in life?



I can honestly say that I loved learning about Pokemon that day from S. We talked and talked and fell in love all over again, through The Parable of Pokemon. Kids and their imaginations have so much to teach us about life!

Take that, childhood arthritis!

It's been a long road to help our little L get to this place, yet I'm so grateful to report she is doing well and has been for so long. Although I haven't written in years, these little (and big) successes deserve to be documented.

First her blood work showed her body was responding positively to the emotional, detoxifying, pharmacological and dietary treatments. The inflammation markers in her blood came down, even during a double ear infection last year. Her limbs shrunk and she moved with more ease.

The hike when she first showed difficulty walking.

She has been seen by a beloved chiropractor (Maimonides Chiropractics) regularly since she was a newborn. It started with cranial-sacral therapy to help her sleep and nurse as a tiny baby. Our chiropractor did her work on L's skull while I nursed her. I could feel her jaw shift and settle into a more comfortable place while she sucked. It was phenomenal! The point is that our chiropractor, Dr Erica, has seen L through a lot since birth. When L was about 3, around 2 years ago, we went in for more help. Instead of a list of things needing help, L just got a simple adjustment. I nearly cried when Dr Erica said, "This girl has turned a corner." And indeed, she had.

Over time her disposition changed from grumpy and touchy to happy. She was more content and at peace, at least in part because she was not in pain all the time. I might be grumpy too if my body hurt all the time.

Once the pain and inflammation were under control we discovered we have a monkey daughter. She loves to climb and is quite the acrobat. We attended a birthday party at My Gym where the kids play physical games and tumble around. She was in heaven! A staff member led them in a game where they run in a large circle, one child at a time. During her turn, while she ran around the circle, they all chanted her name. Again, I teared up and remembered with gratitude that the days of no walking or limping were behind us. She limped for over a year and that was no more.

People at church commented at how wonderful it is to see her walking better because they had noticed that she used to walk with a limp. Once again, this mama almost cried. Sigh. I feel so grateful that others see her progress and joy.


Early on in this journey we attended a few Arthritis Foundation events to connect with other families and gain knowledge. I thought, maybe this could be an empathetic community from which we could learn from veterans. I learned many valuable nuggets but it was not the experience I expected. At one of the first events, a mother attended and her daughter was in a wheelchair. At that point, L was on methotrexate (a chemo drug) to alleviate the inflammation. This mom told me pessimistically, "When that stops working they will put your daughter on X drug. When that stops working they will put her on a different class of drug, Y. When that stops working the next drug is Z, which is extremely painful to administer." This was not comforting. I had to use my "Bubble of Peace" to tell myself that is their experience and that does not mean it will be ours. When I asked the presenting doctors and researchers about treatments outside of pharmaceuticals, they had nothing for me. It felt like I had read more about diet or lifestyle changes and their effect on autoimmune disease than they had. That may not be true but they could not tell me anything that I couldn't read on my own, so I stopped attending.



L had been selected as a Spotlight Patient at a Arthritis Foundation Fundraiser. We were going to do it to help raise funds and share our story very early on in treatment. We moved forward wit this plan Then something absolutely fascinating happened. During a session of energy medicine (more on that later, I promise), the therapist spoke with me about the value of letting go of the label and identity of "having JRA". She explained that this identity and strong link to this community of unhealthy people was holding L back from seeing herself as a healthy person. She was only 2 and a half year old, mind you.  So, the therapist helped us work on letting go of this identity and label. Within a couple weeks the Arthritis Foundation event was canceled and we haven't worked with them since. I fully acknowledge that this was no coincidence. As L and I made positive changes in ourselves, things moved into their proper place around us. I believe God made it easier for us to move forward in a positive direction by having this event canceled and I didn't have to confront it myself. Each person's journey is their own to live, and so we focused on Team Ondricek and no one else's story.


Whoa... Phew.... that was a long tangent. Thanks for sticking with me. You are patient. Gracias.

I'm grateful to document these little moments along the journey and thankful for progress, even if the road is messy and crooked. Thank God for progress.

Three year sabbatical

Aaaaand I'm back.

Can you believe it? I last posted on this blog three years ago, almost to the exact day. THREE YEARS! Life has a way of becoming a run away train and I was no longer the conductor driving. Three years of following something or someone elses's lead has helped me flow with the guidance of the Divine hand in my life yet it has created space for me to come back to the driver's seat as well. Allow me to explain.

Three years ago I was in the throes of juvenile autoimmunity hell. Our daughter Elsa had been diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when she was 22 months old, after she had completely stopped walking. Her physical pain and emotional anxiety overrode everything else in the house and I jumped into problem solving mode. These three years have been both a black hole of never-ending problem solving and deep light-giving learning. At times I feel anxiety and PTSD swelling up inside at the thought that our baby G is now the same age Elsa was when she stopped walking. So much has transpired in a short period of time that feels like an eternity behind us. I thank God for carrying us all through the darkest years of parenting thus far, and for putting the right people and services in our path. He took the wheel these last 3 years and I lost myself in the service of my daughter.

Yes, she's wearing make-up. A rare treat from her older cousin. 

Our baby G

Facing a illness that could possibly leave our daughter crippled and in pain every day, I did my best to put my ego and fears aside. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." I battled between fear and love/power. The fear took over when I felt like I was the only one responsible for making things right in her world. If I ever felt alone in solving this medical enigma then I would collapse. I found a lot of strength and comfort in these verses: 

 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion [or Team Ondricek]; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God. (Doctrine & Covenants 101:16)

 He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that abaseth himself shall be exalted. (Doctrine and Covenants 101:42) [translation - don't get prideful, thinking you can fix this Amanda...]

 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order. (Mosiah 4:27)

As I diligently spent a lot of time researching and learning about autoimmunity, holistic healing, emotional healing, whole food diets, cooking, advocating and personal revelation some order returned to our lives. This journey has not only been about L's healing, but also our entire family's healing. 

We give thanks to God in Heaven that she is doing well and rarely experiences physical pain. She has no permanent joint damage and very little inflammation. We manage the autoimmune condition through diet, energy medicine (more on that later), supplements and one biologic drug.

Now that the run away train has slowed down a bit the new year brings with it big goals to write and CREATE more often. All the kids are home this year for home school and writing on this blog will help school me as well. 

Welcome back --- to you, to me, our health, and to a year of more writing. :)