About
Darcy Thomas is an osteopath who uses her hands to bring balance to the body for self healing.
The purpose of this site is to spread awareness about issues regarding health, longevity, and the environment.
The purpose of this site is to spread awareness about issues regarding health, longevity, and the environment.
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Dr. Thomas, after finishing her family medicine residency in Lawrence Massachusetts, started her own osteopathic medical practice in 2009. She started writing in 1992 when she left high school for solo travels in South America. With a journal in hand, she explored many parts of the world. Her journey over the last 27 years was ultimately one of self discovery and transformation. This site was intended to help others on their own healing path.
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Darcy Thomas, DO
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The Secret of the Shell
By Darcy Thomas
On a wide sandy beach under a clear blue sky, a girl of 11 years old walked along the water’s edge looking for treasures. Her brother ran over to her and showed her his new find of a flawless pearly rippled shell. The little girl envied the shell and wished to find one of her own. She watched the waves roll up onto the shore and recede back to reveal the flat wet sand below. Her eyes wandered to the line between the water and the sky. She peered up at the clear blue. Not a cloud could be found in her line of sight.
She heard a voice in her head telling her to turn around and walk away from the shore. She did just that. She meandered away from the sand towards the tall beach grass. A small path opened before her eyes. She passed between the reeds. After a short walk, she stopped and bent down. Combing her fingers through the sand revealed a small pearly white shell that was cracked and missing a piece. While it was pretty, it was not exactly what she was hoping to find. The voice in her head said, “Not that one. Keep going.” She dropped the broken shell, stood up, and continued walking. The voice spoke again, “Stop here.” She did just that and waded her fingers through the sand exactly where she was instructed to do so. This time she touched something smooth. “Yes, this one,” the voice spoke again. She clenched it in her fingers then lifted her hand to reveal a perfect unbroken shell that glimmered in the sunlight. It was exactly what she was looking for and the voice led her there.
With a great smile and shell in hand, she turned back to the water. While walking she heard the voice one last time. “You have the joy and beauty of the shell but you also have its pain and sorrow. You cannot have one without the other. Once it was alive, but it is no longer. This is the truth of the shell that you now carry.” She froze in terror. How could this simple beautiful treasure bring so much pain. She pondered the life it carried inside. She thought of her own life that too shall pass. She needed to find a way to rid herself of the curse of the shell.
Time passed and she went to her favorite spot by the river set in the mountains. The water had been flowing for centuries wearing away at the rock. The winter was ending. The trees were bare and the river had slivers of ice along its edge. She sat on her favorite rock and watched the water flow. The mountains were covered in snow and the water in the river was coming from that melt. When the chill penetrated down to her bones, she jumped up and headed home.
She planned her first trip to try to heal the curse of the shell. She decided to go to China to see a special Chinese doctor there. He spoke very little English. He took her pulse and looked at her tongue and said, “You lie down here.” He was abrupt but she did as she was told. After lying down, he proceeded to put 24 needles in her body. He put one on the crown of her head, one on her forehead, one under each collar bone, and one in the meat of her hand between her thumb and first finger. He then put a couple in her belly and many in her legs. The last 2 were placed in the web of her foot between her big toe and second toe. He then said, ”You lie here.” She remained on the table for about 30 minutes without moving. He gave her a limited diet to follow the next few days and then she was told to come back. She returned every other day for about 2 weeks before she decided to go home.
When she returned home, she visited her favorite rock. The river was strong since the snow and ice had melted. It twisted and swirled as it rushed by her. Blossoms and buds were forming all around. The warm air penetrated her skin, different from the last time she had visited.
She decided to plan another trip. This time she would visit Dharamsala India where a Tibetan doctor lived. She had heard about this man who had been the Dalai Lama’s physician for many years. Maybe he could help her.
Upon arrival in Dharamsala, she headed to his office first thing in the morning. There was a long line waiting to be seen by him. She stood and waited for her turn. When she was finally ready to be seen, an assistant who spoke English handed her a cup and said, “Pee into this.” Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, an older Tibetan monk wearing a maroon gown, appeared. He held the cup of urine up to the light and examined it for color and bubble formation. He mumbled, and the assistant said, “Open your mouth and stick out your tongue.” Dr. Dhonden looked at her tongue like the Chinese doctor and then felt her pulse. He handed her a bottle of pills that looked like rabbit poop. She was advised to take 3 a day until they were finished. After about 1 month, she ran out of pills and headed home. She was unsure what he did or if he healed her from the shell’s curse.
When at home, she eventually headed back to her favorite rock. She wondered what now. It was getting hot outside as summer approached. The vibrant green leaves provided shade. She sat on the smooth rock and dipped her feet into the cold water. She felt the thick and heavy water rush past her legs. The water felt icy compared to the summer air. It was coming from the snow on the mountains. She felt the curse still remained. She decided this time to go to Kerala in Southern India. There they practiced a form of ancient medicine called Ayurveda. She wanted to experience one of its healing practices called Panchakarma which means Five Actions.
In Kerala she was put on a strict diet of kitchari or rice and dahl (lentils). This was one of the five actions. The other four included: deep massage, enema, sweating in a sauna or lodge, and purging or vomiting. Every orifice was cleaned. Hot oil was dripped on the 3rd eye and rubbed into the nasal passages. Some of it felt really good and other aspects were grotesque. The whole process continued for weeks but not one person said the curse was gone. She returned home not really knowing where the curse of the shell stood in her life. She was uncertain.
At home, she revisited the rock to think about what to do now. While sitting on her favorite rock next to the river, she noticed the water had calmed a bit. It was not as hot and the leaves now had hints of yellow and orange. It was the end of summer and cooler. She dipped her feet into the water which was slightly warmer after the summer sun. She sat and rested while thinking about another trip she would like to make.
The next trip she planned was to visit a medicine man or Shaman in Peru. She heard about someone who could cure diseases, even cancer and pain but also had the ability to remove curses and evil spirits. She headed to Peru to see if this person could help her with the curse. While she was there, he told her he would help her remove the curse. They performed ceremonies and rituals every evening. He sang Icaros and waved his Chacapa leaves. Some days during the ceremony, they drank medicine from the plants of Peru for their healing ability. After a few days of ceremony, he approached her and lit a candle by her body. He waved the chacapa leaves over her back side and called the spirit of the Panther to help take away the curse. He then asked the eagle to come and carry it away. Lastly he bent down and sucked spiritual black snakes out of her upper back. He spit them out and after three direct and intense experiences of sucking the evil out of her body, she was finished. She felt lighter, freer.
When she returned home, she wondered again about the curse. Had the magical spiritual practices taken it away? She went back to her rock and sat there contemplating the Chinese doctor, the Tibetan doctor, the ayurvedic doctor and the shaman. She wondered if her journey cured her. How could she tell? She felt no different now, but she was also unchanged since acquiring “the curse”.
What was the curse anyways? How would she know if it was gone? She sat by the river, dipped her toes in the water, then closed her eyes. The water felt warm in contrast to the air. Her lungs rose and then fell with her breath. Reaching her hands into the water, she felt its soft nature wrap around her fingers. While sitting quietly, her breathe moved from her heart and lungs through her arms and legs all the way to her fingers and toes creating a tingling sensation. The feeling of doom had fled and she was calm. She found relief just sitting and breathing away those fears.
She opened her eyes and looked at the leaves that had turned bright red mixed with yellow and orange. Over half of the leaves lay on the ground beside her. She could see the sun better as the shade was falling. The water was warm on her skin in contrast to the cooler fall air. She remembered how it was to be at this rock the end of last winter and reminded herself that that time was returning. Spring marked a time of new life forming on the trees. Summer brought vibrancy and youth. The leaves had aged and would die and fall to the ground only to form new leaves in the spring, a new sign of life.
She studied the tree and realized that the same process of the shell was also happening all around her and within her. All the shell was telling her was that life was full of joy but also pain and sorrow. If you feel one, you must feel the other. Life was about living but also dying, just like the leaves above her. This wheel of life was present everywhere and in all of us. The shell was just trying to show her that.
The shell never said she was cursed. That was what she had created in her mind. She had been running around the world trying to control the truth that we all will die someday. When she sat and let those feelings go, she felt peace and could accept whatever came. She would not try to fight it but ride it like the river that flowed through all those changes. That was the secret of the shell.
The End
By Darcy Thomas
On a wide sandy beach under a clear blue sky, a girl of 11 years old walked along the water’s edge looking for treasures. Her brother ran over to her and showed her his new find of a flawless pearly rippled shell. The little girl envied the shell and wished to find one of her own. She watched the waves roll up onto the shore and recede back to reveal the flat wet sand below. Her eyes wandered to the line between the water and the sky. She peered up at the clear blue. Not a cloud could be found in her line of sight.
She heard a voice in her head telling her to turn around and walk away from the shore. She did just that. She meandered away from the sand towards the tall beach grass. A small path opened before her eyes. She passed between the reeds. After a short walk, she stopped and bent down. Combing her fingers through the sand revealed a small pearly white shell that was cracked and missing a piece. While it was pretty, it was not exactly what she was hoping to find. The voice in her head said, “Not that one. Keep going.” She dropped the broken shell, stood up, and continued walking. The voice spoke again, “Stop here.” She did just that and waded her fingers through the sand exactly where she was instructed to do so. This time she touched something smooth. “Yes, this one,” the voice spoke again. She clenched it in her fingers then lifted her hand to reveal a perfect unbroken shell that glimmered in the sunlight. It was exactly what she was looking for and the voice led her there.
With a great smile and shell in hand, she turned back to the water. While walking she heard the voice one last time. “You have the joy and beauty of the shell but you also have its pain and sorrow. You cannot have one without the other. Once it was alive, but it is no longer. This is the truth of the shell that you now carry.” She froze in terror. How could this simple beautiful treasure bring so much pain. She pondered the life it carried inside. She thought of her own life that too shall pass. She needed to find a way to rid herself of the curse of the shell.
Time passed and she went to her favorite spot by the river set in the mountains. The water had been flowing for centuries wearing away at the rock. The winter was ending. The trees were bare and the river had slivers of ice along its edge. She sat on her favorite rock and watched the water flow. The mountains were covered in snow and the water in the river was coming from that melt. When the chill penetrated down to her bones, she jumped up and headed home.
She planned her first trip to try to heal the curse of the shell. She decided to go to China to see a special Chinese doctor there. He spoke very little English. He took her pulse and looked at her tongue and said, “You lie down here.” He was abrupt but she did as she was told. After lying down, he proceeded to put 24 needles in her body. He put one on the crown of her head, one on her forehead, one under each collar bone, and one in the meat of her hand between her thumb and first finger. He then put a couple in her belly and many in her legs. The last 2 were placed in the web of her foot between her big toe and second toe. He then said, ”You lie here.” She remained on the table for about 30 minutes without moving. He gave her a limited diet to follow the next few days and then she was told to come back. She returned every other day for about 2 weeks before she decided to go home.
When she returned home, she visited her favorite rock. The river was strong since the snow and ice had melted. It twisted and swirled as it rushed by her. Blossoms and buds were forming all around. The warm air penetrated her skin, different from the last time she had visited.
She decided to plan another trip. This time she would visit Dharamsala India where a Tibetan doctor lived. She had heard about this man who had been the Dalai Lama’s physician for many years. Maybe he could help her.
Upon arrival in Dharamsala, she headed to his office first thing in the morning. There was a long line waiting to be seen by him. She stood and waited for her turn. When she was finally ready to be seen, an assistant who spoke English handed her a cup and said, “Pee into this.” Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, an older Tibetan monk wearing a maroon gown, appeared. He held the cup of urine up to the light and examined it for color and bubble formation. He mumbled, and the assistant said, “Open your mouth and stick out your tongue.” Dr. Dhonden looked at her tongue like the Chinese doctor and then felt her pulse. He handed her a bottle of pills that looked like rabbit poop. She was advised to take 3 a day until they were finished. After about 1 month, she ran out of pills and headed home. She was unsure what he did or if he healed her from the shell’s curse.
When at home, she eventually headed back to her favorite rock. She wondered what now. It was getting hot outside as summer approached. The vibrant green leaves provided shade. She sat on the smooth rock and dipped her feet into the cold water. She felt the thick and heavy water rush past her legs. The water felt icy compared to the summer air. It was coming from the snow on the mountains. She felt the curse still remained. She decided this time to go to Kerala in Southern India. There they practiced a form of ancient medicine called Ayurveda. She wanted to experience one of its healing practices called Panchakarma which means Five Actions.
In Kerala she was put on a strict diet of kitchari or rice and dahl (lentils). This was one of the five actions. The other four included: deep massage, enema, sweating in a sauna or lodge, and purging or vomiting. Every orifice was cleaned. Hot oil was dripped on the 3rd eye and rubbed into the nasal passages. Some of it felt really good and other aspects were grotesque. The whole process continued for weeks but not one person said the curse was gone. She returned home not really knowing where the curse of the shell stood in her life. She was uncertain.
At home, she revisited the rock to think about what to do now. While sitting on her favorite rock next to the river, she noticed the water had calmed a bit. It was not as hot and the leaves now had hints of yellow and orange. It was the end of summer and cooler. She dipped her feet into the water which was slightly warmer after the summer sun. She sat and rested while thinking about another trip she would like to make.
The next trip she planned was to visit a medicine man or Shaman in Peru. She heard about someone who could cure diseases, even cancer and pain but also had the ability to remove curses and evil spirits. She headed to Peru to see if this person could help her with the curse. While she was there, he told her he would help her remove the curse. They performed ceremonies and rituals every evening. He sang Icaros and waved his Chacapa leaves. Some days during the ceremony, they drank medicine from the plants of Peru for their healing ability. After a few days of ceremony, he approached her and lit a candle by her body. He waved the chacapa leaves over her back side and called the spirit of the Panther to help take away the curse. He then asked the eagle to come and carry it away. Lastly he bent down and sucked spiritual black snakes out of her upper back. He spit them out and after three direct and intense experiences of sucking the evil out of her body, she was finished. She felt lighter, freer.
When she returned home, she wondered again about the curse. Had the magical spiritual practices taken it away? She went back to her rock and sat there contemplating the Chinese doctor, the Tibetan doctor, the ayurvedic doctor and the shaman. She wondered if her journey cured her. How could she tell? She felt no different now, but she was also unchanged since acquiring “the curse”.
What was the curse anyways? How would she know if it was gone? She sat by the river, dipped her toes in the water, then closed her eyes. The water felt warm in contrast to the air. Her lungs rose and then fell with her breath. Reaching her hands into the water, she felt its soft nature wrap around her fingers. While sitting quietly, her breathe moved from her heart and lungs through her arms and legs all the way to her fingers and toes creating a tingling sensation. The feeling of doom had fled and she was calm. She found relief just sitting and breathing away those fears.
She opened her eyes and looked at the leaves that had turned bright red mixed with yellow and orange. Over half of the leaves lay on the ground beside her. She could see the sun better as the shade was falling. The water was warm on her skin in contrast to the cooler fall air. She remembered how it was to be at this rock the end of last winter and reminded herself that that time was returning. Spring marked a time of new life forming on the trees. Summer brought vibrancy and youth. The leaves had aged and would die and fall to the ground only to form new leaves in the spring, a new sign of life.
She studied the tree and realized that the same process of the shell was also happening all around her and within her. All the shell was telling her was that life was full of joy but also pain and sorrow. If you feel one, you must feel the other. Life was about living but also dying, just like the leaves above her. This wheel of life was present everywhere and in all of us. The shell was just trying to show her that.
The shell never said she was cursed. That was what she had created in her mind. She had been running around the world trying to control the truth that we all will die someday. When she sat and let those feelings go, she felt peace and could accept whatever came. She would not try to fight it but ride it like the river that flowed through all those changes. That was the secret of the shell.
The End