All About the Healing

Changing is not just changing the things outside of us. First of all we need the right view that transcends all notions including of being and non-being, creator and creature, mind and spirit. That kind of insight is crucial for transformation and healing.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Wow!  I have been on Lesson One for a long time.  I believe it to be the most important lesson in our healing process.  So what do I mean by healing anyway?

Healing, to me is restoring balance in our lives and reaching or re-establishing holistic wellness. It is creating optimal health in all the dimensions of little self...body, mind, relationships, life circumstances etc so that we are "fit" enough  take the final most crucial step into wellness.  I believe this step begins with being ready to have the little me step back so the greater "I" "Self" can step forward to guide our lives. It ends with our full awakening...our remembering that the greater Self is all we are.

Huh?

I am simply saying that I believe healing involves two stages: the physical world healing and the healing of atonement: waking up beyond the limits of the physical world.

1) Physical World Healing:  We need to take care of the things we perceive with the five senses before we can wake up in this busy world to get beyond them.  :) We need to take care of our bodies, our minds, our relationships with one another and our environment (which includes Mother Earth, of course).

2) Atonement: Here we need to let go of attachment to all the things we worked so hard to take care of in the first stage. We realize there illusionary and temporary nature. We then  go beyond physical sight and sensing to true vision...seeing what is real.  We see we are not the bodies we take care of; we are not the  separate little minds we think we are changing our thoughts in; and this world is not the way we see it.

1) Physical world healing

Taking Care of the Body

I am in the process of attempting to re-establish a sense of physical wellness in my life.  I perceive and experience physical limitation and loss.  I used to be quite fit: I was actually a certified fitness instructor at one point, did an hour of yoga a day, I ran, hiked, danced, skated, and cross country skied to name a few of my active pursuits.  I loved to "move" my body. I loved my work where I taught about the miraculous functioning of the body (among other things). Though I was never the greatest housekeeper  I liked being able to maintain some semblance of cleanliness and order. I thoroughly enjoyed playing with and encouraging activity in my children-we had a blast! I loved and was very attached to the active and full life I had.  Now, I will sometimes be overwhelmed with a great sense of loss because I no longer have it.

Because of  a perceived health condition  I am reduced to working 9-10 hours a week, ten minutes of yoga a day and short walks in the woods as the extent of my physicality. My house which was the first thing I was willing to give up lol...is messy and chaotic most times. Though I still encourage activity in my youngest  I do so from my sedentary position and that makes me a hypocrite. I am by other and "little self" perception limited.

I am looking for away to rise above that with less (to as little as possible) dependence on medicine ( I am not a fan of the medical model or my past experiences with it).  I limit myself to the bare minimum in medication...just enough to keep my pulse from fluctuating too much and keeping the coronary spasms to a minimum. I am aware of what my body is doing and I do my best to listen and learn from my symptoms.  I monitor myself.  I rest when I need to. At the same time, I constantly try to increase exercise and exertion in my daily routine ( I was never one to be afraid of pushing myself physically but after the death of one sister and heart attacks in two others at early ages I know not to push too much).  I eat right following a predominantly plant based diet which I intend to develop into a vegan one. (I sincerely believe that besides stress and negative belief, diet is the biggest indicator of disease). I try to drink enough fluid to keep my valve moving forward smoothly  and my blood pressure up as to avoid the nose plants I am famous for at work. I take care of my body and seek Physical wellness.

Yet I know this is such a tiny, tiny part of my healing because the body is such an insignificant part of who I am.  I also know my body is at the mercy of my mind.  If I truly envision health...I will have health.  If I see illness and limitation that is what I'll have.  I am obviously still dependent on sight over vision so I feel that even more important than taking care of my body, comes the taking care of my mind!

Taking Care of the Mind

The wanna be psychologist in me is so hung up on this notion that if we change our thinking we can have healthy minds, healthy bodies and healthy, abundant lives. Our relationships and external circumstances are never the problem if life isn't going the way we want it to...how we respond to them is. Healing the mind by changing our unhealthy thought processes can definitely heal our lives. It is also the first step into our true healing.

2) True Healing: Atonement

This is where this blog is hopefully taking us.  In order to get beyond the little self to the greater Self; from illusions to Truth and from fear to Love we need to see not with the body's eyes but with Spirit's.  That begins with changing the way we think...thus my big long spiel in Lesson One.

We will get to true healing ...one step at a time, one lesson at a time.

All is well.