Positive Health Online

The Hidden Problem

'Monica' believed solely in the tangible, Western medical paradigm, which told her she needed shoulder surgery. Afterward, she was told to do rehabilitative exercises, but her range of motion was limited due to the non-elasticity of her deltoid muscle. The muscle could only go so far without sensations of pain being sent to and from the brain. In this case, the pain was a gift – a signal that only X amount, say three inches, of movement was possible - but a gift of pain was not what Monica expected after surgery.

Because the pain limited her desire to do the recommended exercises, her doctor recommended taking a prescription pain reliever. Though her doctor was well-meaning, all this did was prevent her from perceiving at what point her muscles were being stretched beyond the three inches, her current edge. There was no sensation of pain – no warning system in her conscious awareness letting her know how far she should move. Like a rubber band, a muscle can only stretch so far without damage. Because of the insular paradigm presented by her doctor and the numbing effects of the 'pain reliever', her predicted two-month recovery took almost a year.

This is the current mindset in Western medicine. Get the patient out of pain. At all costs. And while being pain-free certainly is preferred, the way we deal with pain and illness in our society is in need of a shift.

An Answer

I see pain and illness not as the enemy to conquer, but rather as ally we can relate to, understand, learn from, and release.

It's like a warning light on a car's dashboard that signifies something in the engine is awry. Ideally you trace it to the source and adjust or replace the part that's worn. The last thing I do or recommend is to cut the wires to the warning light. But that's what medication does. It blocks these valuable signals from reaching our conscious minds, letting smaller problems fester into larger ones over time.

Whereas most practitioners of any sort tend to focus on the symptoms and relieving them, to truly heal we need to know and understand the causative factors and reverse them at the core - ideally, sooner than later. In fact, if we focus on the symptoms, the Law of Attraction says we'll only get more of the symptoms! So we must become aware of the underlying cause. And my experience has shown me that our mind's interpretation of any given data is often the culprit. It is the mind-body paradigm, demonstrated.

Most people, even if unconsciously, understand that the mind and body are connected. We know that if we are stressed, our bodies immediately go into fight or flight. Too much of this causes what's called stress-related illnesses. We know that when our mind is relaxed, our body will follow. I'm not here to convince you of this because you already know it to be true. What I am here to do is raise awareness of the underlying and lesser-known causes of pain and illness and help you and your clients reverse them at the core for what I call true, permanent healing.

An Example

I've worked with countless numbers of people who had been trying to lose weight with diet and exercise, some for two or more decades with little or only temporary results, and it's always because they forgot the third part of the triune of losing weight. Many of these people were taught, and their mind took it on as a preferred way of being, that it's not ok to express grief. They, and we, learned from the moment our mouths were stuffed with a pacifier, that oral satisfaction distracts us from our sadness, and certainly from our expression of it. So when we're sad later in life and are without the tools to deal with it, we tend to reach for food, cigarettes, alcohol, or even sex - anything to 'pacify' us. But they are temporary distractions at best. So is it the food that causes obesity? Yes, but only indirectly. As we use what I call the reverse domino effect, we peel away each layer, and in each of these cases, the learned way of being that said to repress grief was at the core.

I explained to them what I'd read in Traditional Chinese Medicine and what I know intuitively that has been confirmed by experience. The repression of grief affects insulin production in the pancreas, metabolism, creates lethargy and more. Those who got it and took on the challenge of dealing with a long-buried issue got fantastic results. Their diet and exercise for the most part stayed the same, but by getting in touch with and releasing the grief, the third and final piece of the weight loss puzzle had been completed! Some seemed to lose weight almost effortlessly after I told them to honour and express their emotions.

My Journey

If that sounds weird to you, then I'll thank you in advance for reading on. And let me assure you that my doubts of what I currently do were only outweighed by assuredness of my past experience, which was right in line with typical Western beliefs. But one day I was forced to question what I thought I knew. After being undiagnosed and having no results from ten well-meaning practitioners of all types for mouth sores in 1992, I wondered if there was another way. Not necessarily a better way, because all systems have both their benefits and limitations, but rather, another way. It was only after years of lack of success did I venture into anything holistic. Eventually, if not reluctantly, I was able to see that I was the cause. The blame game didn't work any longer. By not expressing myself, the energy in that area had stagnated. When I realized this and began to communicate more effectively, the sores vanished and haven't returned in almost two decades. No antibiotic, herb, prescription etc. had any effect anywhere near me taking responsibility and reversing the symptoms at the cause.

That experience triggered what can now be called spiritual growth. I've seen how spiritual growth affects our lives and bodies as well. It does not include running from challenges or burying emotions, but rather being truly authentic in day-to-day expression. If I'm angry I purge it, whether by playing tennis (poorly) or writing a letter to someone I'm angry at that I never send; I manage to purge the energy from my body. Ideally; however, I have a conversation with the person I'm angry with. My grandmother told me that a good argument leads to a better understanding. A good argument; however, is more a conversation that involves true expression of what's real, how one is feeling, and a quality listening, so it's not really an argument at all. In fact, I've given up arguing. If people want to argue with me about what's in my book or something I say, I tell them it's going to be the shortest argument they've ever had. I have no need to prove myself right any longer. I just say what's real for me and invite people to try it on. I'm completely detached if you, a client, or a lecture attendee tries anything on that I speak about. But when they hear that I haven't needed to go to a doctor in about 15 years, haven't filled a prescription in that time, can fall asleep immediately, always have energy regardless of food intake or amount of sleep, and am often mistaken for ten years my junior, they begin to listen.

Health Is A Verb

I've come to learn that health is a verb; it's something you do. Life can be done easily - in a flow, or with difficulty - in resistance. But either way, we can choose. One is definitely healthier than the other, but still, we can choose.

Life is an energetic exchange between atoms, people, countries and more. When we're in the flow of life, we are more healthy. When we resist what is, we create blockages in energy, which is what we're all made of. Repression of the energy called grief causes skin problems, colon issues, and even lung disorders. Repression of grief is the primary cause of what's called depression.

I'm not perfect at living in the flow; I still have my mind's ideas about what should happen and doesn't at times, but when I remember how arrogant that is, to think I know more than God does, I can let that go and get back into the flow. It's a blissful place to be in.

Imagine for a moment being in full acceptance of everything in your life. You don't have to like X, Y, and Z, but you do have to accept them. In fact, that's one of the Five Steps to Healing discussed in my book, Healing with Source: A Spiritual Guide to Mind-Body Medicine, published by Findhorn Press, September, 2010. It doesn't mean to not change something you don't like, but rather describes the energy behind the change. "I don't like X and I'm looking to change it" is a higher thought vibration than "I shouldn't have to deal with X." Likewise, asking, "What can I do or be to change X?" is a more empowering question than, "What am I doing wrong?" Linguistically the difference is minimal; energetically it's night and day, and because we are all made of energy vibrating at different frequencies, the higher the vibration, the closer we are to what I call Source.

What Actually Does The Healing?

Which brings us to a much deeper topic: What actually does the healing? No well-trained practitioner of any sort can fully take credit for the healing of his or her client. We all know that different people respond differently to even ardent sciences; not all who get the same surgery for the same problem have the same end result. I have found that one of the primary variables is the client's receptivity. Some people get a benefit from having pain or illness, so the subconscious mind tends to prevent healing.

Someone I know received a recommendation to take an herb for a joint problem. Thousands upon thousands had taken the same herb for the same problem and had dramatic success, but he was the only one to have a negative side effect. Why? His ego was immersed in the Western paradigm of healing; if the pill didn't come from Big Pharma, to him it was untested, unproven, and potentially unsafe. And his belief system proved himself correct.

I have found that quality healers recognize the triune necessary to heal as the receptive client, the skilled practitioner, and God, or what I call Source. What is Source? To say that I can fully answer that would be arrogant beyond measure. How could I describe the infinite with words? The current belief system, based on Quantum Physics and confirmed by mystics throughout the ages, is that Source is the underlying field of energy that is pure consciousness, and by its nature only wants to share itself. Because it is the underlying field of all things, it runs through each of us, and is the interconnecting web that flows between us as well. It is the wireless Internet service that's free, loving, and most of all, healing. My experience shows me that if the client is open, and I can be at my best, that is to say, that if we can set the parameters and let Source heal, then it does. While this part of mind-body medicine may seem esoteric, perhaps even blasphemous by some, it's just my experience. And I'm only the messenger.

If you cut your finger, you know it will heal. You may place an adhesive bandage over it, you may elevate it for a few moments, but intrinsically, without any shadow of a doubt, you know it will heal. This is based on experience of things you saw and therefore know as true. To me, this unwavering faith, or inherent self-healing process, is the same for all ailments; only our minds don't want to see that as true. To the Quantum world, there is no difference between a cut on your finger and a cancerous tumour. The difference is solely a creation of the mind.

Quantum Reality

The mind perceives things as solid. It lets us believe that we are solid when in actuality, we're made of energy and information. And that energy is never still. Therefore we are never still either. We are always shifting, changing, but the mind doesn't like that. And this is the crux of mind-body medicine. When we can live our lives as if we are energy in motion, healing of even serious illness seems possible. Certainly more possible than when looking solely through the eyes in the 3D world of tangible matter. If we can really get into that quantum version of reality, healing of anything is more a certainty than a possibility. Whereas before it was the anomaly, now it is the norm.

The mind will fight you every step of the way, that's why if someone calls me out of my mind, I genuinely reply, "thank you". We need the mind to navigate day-to-day reality; however, there is another reality to acknowledge, not instead of but rather in addition to. That's why I tell people who break a bone to get it set by a doctor first, and then to see me for mind-body healing. Those who live solely in the Quantum world, or as called by some, the metaphysical world, are often unhealthy, even though they believe they're doing their spiritual work by communing with angels and alike. We can't forget about the 3D world. We were given bodies to use and to enjoy, not to abuse and destroy. And the best way to love the self, body and all, is to integrate realities. Just like the clients who were dieting and exercising but missing the third part of the three-part puzzle, we must include all things and realms to truly be healthy. We must understand the game of life; its rules beyond what we were taught by well-meaning family members, teachers or religious leaders toward a larger, more holistic worldview. Know it's just a game. And all games have rules. But the rules we're given are often hand-me-downs from prior generations, who although perhaps living in an relatively simpler time, often succumbed to the most minor of illnesses. So why should we keep playing by those rules? With the latest understandings of mind-body medicine, we can see which rules really do work, which are empowering, and which can heal.

We must plant seeds and pull out weeds. My book teaches readers how to do all of this and more. And it includes several bonuses: In the book there is a link to a page on my website where you can download an audio MP3 that contains a subliminal reading of most of the chapters' main points. It's absorbed at a deep unconscious level under a bed of soothing ambient music that is used worldwide in yoga centers, birthing centers, and for those that are transitioning. It's an all-purpose soundscape that can relax even the noisiest of minds. There is also a cutout of the Healing with Source symbol, which, similar to Reiki symbols, contains a high-frequency healing vibration. Of course instructions – the rules to allowing the healing to occur – are included.

And that's what any game is about anyway. Find out the rules, play by them, and hopefully win. We need to know what we've done to create whatever pain or illness we are dealing with so that it does not reoccur. We need to learn form that dashboard warning light what needs to be looked at, and how to catalyze the shift. And whether you get this information from my book or from Archangel Michael who appears to you in the shape of a grilled cheese sandwich is irrelevant. The messages of how the mind and body are connected and its relationship to rules of the game of life have been given to us repeatedly in various forms throughout the ages. The only question is, "When will we listen?"

To do so requires a major shift in what we are taught. So does learning a new language, but many of us are or can become bilingual. Inclusion vs. Exclusion. We don't throw out the old language - Western medicine - to learn the new. We can integrate both. The difference, from what I've seen, can mean the difference between resistance and flow, lethargy and vivaciousness, and pain and blissful living.

Further Reading

For more Western analyses of different aspects of mind-body medicine please read:
Bruce Lipton PhD. The Biology of Belief. Mountain of Love. 2005.
Deepak Chopra MD. Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide. Harmony; Rev Updated edition. 2001.