What’s your dis-ease? We all have something! We all are looking for health and wholeness. Today I’m talking about “dis-ease” that develops into “disease”. When we are out of alignment with ourselves in some way, when we are not easeful within ourselves emotionally or spiritually, over time physical disease or illness will set in as an acute or chronic ailment or disease. I first learned about “dis-ease” from Louise Hay back in the 80’s. Quoting the Course in Miracles she wrote, “…all dis-ease comes from a state of unforgiveness” and that “whenever we are ill, we need to look around to see who it is that we need to forgive.” Sometimes the “who” is ourselves. This is true of the common cold as much as any other disease. Let me use my own life as a cautionary tale.
For the last two weeks, I’ve suffered from a flu or cold and cough (When you’re miserable, it’s often hard to tell them apart but it’s probably a nasty cold. Can you relate?) I’ll start at the beginning. I’ve had an extremely busy summer- more than usual- filled with travel and family visits, an engagement and wedding planning. All wonderful blessings! I love my family and was happy to have everyone around to celebrate, especially my grand miracles, but my disease is the “Disease to Please” so before I knew it, my own place on my TO-DO List sunk far to the bottom.
I “forgot” to eat right having far too many celebratory desserts. (Sugar depresses our immune system.) I didn’t remember my vitamin supplements. I didn’t have a chance to exercise but was too tired to even remember that I should. Add to that the fact that I was constantly around people and crowds (Disneyland and Universal Studios for starters), and as an introverted empath who needs time and space to recharge, we had an illness in the making.
I developed cellulitis earlier in the summer then the night before my daughter left I felt the ominous tickle in my throat that tells me I blew it. The next day, it moved to my chest and two weeks later, I’m still not back to normal. The dreaded Disease to Please was back! I guess it’s easier to get sick than to say NO or ask for help.
Now I’m not saying we all consciously make ourselves sick or that we do this on purpose. Not even me! I know we don’t. In my case, with my Sedona Soul Coaching® training coming up, I have too much to do to be sick. I don’t have time for this but my body told me that I have to take the time. Somehow, no matter how much we know and understand, it’s easy to continue on doing things the way we have always done them, even when it does not serve our highest good and feeds our disease. Therefore it is important that we learn to listen for clues from our body. Ok Louise, I’ll start with self-forgiveness!
This is true of our obvious habitual behaviours like smoking and drinking and couch potato-ing. But it’s also true of our thoughts. What habitual ways do you think of yourself and how do you talk to yourself? Are you kind or do you find fault with yourself? Believe it or not, we choose those thoughts, but the good news is we can choose different thoughts!
Often we have the inner child self acting one way- the way that helped us survive our childhood- and our adult self who knows better, goes along. I know the child I was needed to please and take care of things to be okay. So why do we still do it? For as many people who read this, there are that many reasons we fall into dis-ease. In a sense though, when those behaviours are repeated, we are all stuck . How do we get un-stuck? Here are four things that can help. I’ve to put them into practice for myself but feel free to adapt them to your situation and your dis-ease.
Dis-ease Awareness
You can’t change what you are not aware of. Spend time watching yourself. Become the sacred observer and see what you are actually doing that may not serve your highest good or be in alignment with your soul and your life. Then keep a journal and write it down. It is hard to see our patterns unless they are right in front of us, in ink!
Intention
What is your intention? Do you want to shift the way you speak to yourself? Do you want to change a less-than-optimal behaviour? Set your intention! The universe will meet you half-way but you have to do your part. Setting your intention is the best way to begin manifesting change. Your energy will begin to align with your intention and as like attracts like, you will begin to draw different and healthier habits and experiences to you.
Honesty
Perhaps this could be added to Awareness above, but the fact is, we have to be honest with ourselves. This isn’t always easy but if you have already begun to observe yourself, you might as well tell the truth. Pull out your journal and write it all out….Those times when you weren’t kind (to yourself or others), when impatience led to an outcome you’d like to forget, or when your life began to feel like Goundhog Day (the movie)…write them all down with honesty. Buy a mirror and see yourself the way others see you. No BS. No sugar-coating your story. I’ve been doing that with my latest cold and while I don’t like some of the things I’m discovering about myself there, isn’t a better way to get shifting.
Dream-Catching
Yes dreams! When I was deciding what to write about I asked for a dream. The dream that I caught was chock full of symbolism that didn’t need much expertise to decipher. I was having trouble communicating and connecting with the internet. People were crowding me. Babies needed feeding. I awoke feeling overwhelmed with it all. Bounce your dreams off friends and partners, as long as they are respectful with your feelings. You can always book me for some dream time if no one in your life fits the bill. The reason we track our dreams as we try to shift, is that they will serve as a barometer of your feelings as well as tap into your unconscious. The Creator has given us the gift of dreams, so why not use them to shift?
At the End of the Day…
At the end of the day, for those of us taking baby steps towards health and wholeness, there will be a point of surrender. We are not “running the show” and we have to let go of the need to control the show or be perfect. But if we do our part, with intention and honesty, we will begin to see the connections between our thoughts, behaviours, and the dis-eases we manifest. And we might just decide to do it differently next time.
A Sad Post Script
Just as I was writing this, and mentioning Louise Hay, I learned of her passing! She was 90 and died in her sleep. Though sad, I can’t help but think, “What a great and blessed exit!” She helped millions and if you’d like to read more about her click here. G-d speed Louise. You were my first teacher.
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