There are two types of suffering. The first is the actual physical condition: the migraine, the cancer, the broken bone, the hip pain. The second is the mental suffering that typically goes along with it if we are not careful. Thoughts such as "I'll never get over this", "This is going to ruin my life", "Woe is me, why did this happen?" You get the idea. Negative thinking compounds our suffering.
I think we can all agree - illness or injury is not fun to deal with. We can't do the things we usually do like exercise or walk, dance or shop. We have to go to the doctors, undergo tests, xrays, mri's. All this sets us back from our regular routines and duties which adds to the stress. Often we may be housebound or worse, bedbound. And that's in addition to our physical symptoms which can be very painful and debilitating. Life seems to spin out of our control. So where is the good in all this?
Sometimes things happen that are just out of the blue, through no fault of our own. We catch the flu. We slip and break a bone. In these cases, jump to the section on thoughts and emotions.
You know we are body, mind, and spirit, right? When one part is ailing or in pain, it notifies the other two parts. There is a message in our pain. Something needs to change. Illness or injury is a call to change. To doing things differently. To eating better. To making our bodies and our health a priority. To not overdo it. To slowing down. There is often an emotional component involved as well. What is driving us to overeat? Overexercise? Overdo? We must get to the root cause of the problem.
Illnesses and injuries are often a result of some stored negative emotion such as anger, fear, resentment, perfectionism, and the like. We overeat because of stress. We over-exercise because of perfectionism. When we are ill or injured we are forced to slow down and do less which gives us an opportunity to be more introspective and more mindful. When we learn to surrender to what is and practice not stressing about what we cannot control, we can have more peace and enjoy our days despite our circumstances.
Identify the thoughts and emotions
Our thoughts control our emotions and we have to control them, not the other way around. It is important to identify what we are thinking and feeling during the day. Otherwise we will act out in unhealthy ways, such as overeating, overdoing, etc. and we will suffer more than we need to.
To control the secondary suffering, try asking yourself "What am I feeling?" "What am I thinking?" on a regular daily basis. When you catch yourself thinking woe-is-me, I-am-doomed, victim-type thoughts, recalibrate. I have often found I have undealt with anger that causes several of my issues. I have learned to suppress my anger and often am quite unaware that I really am angry which manifests itself in physical symptoms -not good. Emotions sometimes are buried deep but they are the key to healing.
Speak out affirmations
Instead of negative words and thoughts, speak out words of life and health. I use scripture to encourage me,because God is required to honor his word. One phrase I like is "God is healing me everyday in every way". "I will have a long and healthy life." For more on what the Bible says about health, check out this article, Health according to the Bible
Get the message
Disease of the body and mind is usually related to spiritual/emotional issues that have not been resolved. Our bodies are speaking to us, but again, we have to be willing to listen. What is your body telling you these days? Am I doing too much? Are my priorities out of whack? Do I need to take better care of myself? Am I eating right? Getting enough sleep?
Take advantage of the downtime to rest, reflect, and relax.
When we start loving ourselves radically we can change our biochemistry which lead to wellness. Ridding ourselves of negative energy makes room for our energy to rise and allows the body to heal itself without the use of meds and pharmaceuticals which can have serious side effects. More importantly, we can recognize and then change old thinking patterns which no longer serve us.
Don't guilt yourself
In order to heal, the body needs positive energy flowing. Some call it "chi" or "prana". I call it Joy. Stuff happens. We all overdo from time to time. Guilting ourselves is not going to help us heal. False guilt sucks our energy that our body needs to heal. Take the necessary steps to get better, but try your best not to get down in the dumps for too long. Remember, this too shall pass. The body naturally wants to heal itself, but there is often more than one message in any injury or illness and it takes time to figure out what these messages are and what changes we need to make. Our task, in addition to healing our bodies, is to heal our minds and thought patterns. I always find out something about myself when I go through a illness or injury.
Reflection
What can I do to physically, spiritually, and emotionally heal myself? What needs to change? Am I unhappy in my relationships? My career? Am I feeling joyful on a regular basis? Do I feel anger towards someone? What needs to change in my life? How can I change my thinking about this situation or condition?
I hope this post has been helpful to you. My goal is to help us all achieve healing, wholeness, and harmony. If you enjoyed this article, consider signing up for my weekly posts by entering your email address in the box provided. You'll also receive my free eguide entitled "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path". I would love to hear from you so please comment below and connect with me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
Stay tuned for more on learning to surrender more and control less this month so you can ignite the power within and discover YOUR destiny!
Until next time, keep looking up!
Ariel Paz
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