I woke up in the middle of the night choking. Out of my grogginess, I realized I was having a full blown panic attack, which made little sense in light of the absolutely exquisite day I had just had. My throat was constricted and filled with mucus that I couldn’t clear. It was a terrifying 10 minutes of choking and struggling to breath.
I wasn’t sure if I should call 911 for help or wait it out. In the midst of my terror, I said “What is going on here?” A crystal clear voice in my head said, “Don’t worry. It’s only trauma releasing.” I know that voice, and I knew what it was referring to. A calm started to come over me. Within a few minutes, I was totally calm and breathing normally.
The Inner Physician
The voice that I heard was my Inner Physician, who I have worked with for 15 years in my journey to heal my body. This Inner Physician is a person’s most important resource and greatest asset, and yet we have little knowledge of it. The Inner Physician is not a topic of discussion, so how can the average person know about it? That is why I feel it is important to start a dialogue.
We have in our consciousness a personal doctor that is an expert on what is happening in our unique body. It is aware of what our body needs to heal itself from any disease, discomfort and illness that we encounter.The Inner Physician is active and engaged in every moment, whether we realize it or not. It keeps all of our systems working smoothly, controls breathing and heart rate, and knows how to maintain homeostasis. When we consciously work with the Inner Physician, miracles can happen.
"Inner Physician" is also known as the “Inner Healer” or “The Doctor Within.” It is a universal archetype that carries our highest and deepest wisdom, as well as our connection to the Source. There is no disease, illness, or physical imbalance which will not respond to the power of the Inner Physician, who is waiting for you to call it into action.
People in touch with the Inner Physician are more likely to accept responsibility for their behavior and are empowered to take charge of their lives. Working in concert with the Inner Physician, you take back your power and gain an ally for life. Your diet might change, you may begin an exercise routine, or seek out alternative forms of medicine because you are listening to its voice.
The intelligence of our Inner Physician is evident by the fact that we can think and pick up a pen or sit at the computer and with our hands, put those thoughts to paper and share them with the world. It is amazing if you think about it. The fact that we can send a thought from the brain, through the body to the legs and feet, so that we can move from place to place is incredible. The fact that we don’t even have to think about it, and our heart beats to pump life giving blood through our veins, and our lungs expand and contract to bring the air we need, is mind boggling. Yet we take all of this for granted, never thinking about it.
This intelligence goes even deeper. We cut our finger and a few days, new cells have closed the wound. After a week or so, you would never know there was a cut in the first place. The same is true of bones. If they break, they heal themselves. Every 5 days, our whole intestinal lining is renewed. Every 11 days, our respiratory lining is replenished. Every 15 days, all our white corpuscles are replaced. Every 120 days, our red corpuscles are replaced.
Every six months, we have a new blood stream. Every 11 months, we have a new cell structure. We get a new set of bones every 2 years. And overall, an entirely new body is recreated every 7 years.
This is pretty amazing, and if true, then all the diseased cells are replaced with healthy cells over time.
Let’s play with this consciousness for a moment. Here is a scenario from a doctor’s visit where someone finds out they are very sick.
The doctor comes into the room and says, “I am sorry to have to tell you this but you have_______”
The blank can be any number of diseases or afflictions that are serious and/or life threatening. The first thing the patient says to themselves is “Oh God, I have______!”
That becomes the story they tell to everyone. They announce it on Facebook and tell all of their friends. What happens? The moment we give our agreement to a belief, we bring it to life and now we have other people bringing it to life too! It is easy to predict what is going to happen.
What if the doctor came into the examination room and said something like, “We have some challenges ahead of us, but I am confident that if we all work together, they can be overcome. I will work with you, your family and your Inner Physician to find the right resources to get beyond these challenges.” Think of the seed the doctor is planting through that statement and imagine what would happen.
Dead Doctors Left Clues
I discovered this concept on my own healing journey, yet the idea of the Inner Physician goes back to the middle-ages and Paracelsus, a Renaissance physician during the 1500’s. He was part medical doctor, part metaphysician, and part shaman, so it is not surprising that he would take a mind/body/spirit approach to healing.
Paracelsus said, “Nature is the first physician, and man is the second.” He clarified that statement in this way;“By observing nature, the ancient physicians realized that there must be an inner healing principle in living organisms which systematically combats diseases. The defensive processes, curative will and healing capacity of the patient are regulated by a higher authority, which Paracelsus called the “inner physician”. Paracelsus declared that all diseases, except ones which were caused by accidents, have an invisible origin in the inner man. The Inner Physician is part of our consciousness and just as any talent can be promoted or suppressed, so can its activities be encouraged, restricted or even paralyzed.”
This Paracelsus guy was way ahead of his time, and many people thought he was off his rocker! This kind thinking was cutting edge for his time and he angered many physicians with it. Today, it is still cutting edge.
Albert Schweitzer, famed medical missionary, was also onto the idea of the Inner Physician. He described it this way: “Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. They come to us not knowing that truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work.”
What a powerful concept that is! What if every doctor today adopted that philosophy? It would be wonderful to watch.
Schweitzer believed in the inner healing power and encouraged his fellow physicians to help their patients discover the Inner Physician. If the patient is only seen as “ill,” he is cut off from his inner capacity to heal. He also gives his power away to the doctor. Those who are aware that they have the innate power of the Inner Physician are empowered to work on their own behalf to find the best solution, whether it is allopathic medicine, alternative means of healing, or a combination of things.
The key to discovering this Inner Physician is twofold. First, we must understand that miracles happen all of the time. Second, we must learn to trust ourselves and the ability of our body to return to homeostasis. In partnership with the Inner Physician, you can overcome not only minor ailment, but major illness. You can call it intuition, sixth sense, clairvoyance, prophecy or Divine Intervention. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that it’s available to each of us, just waiting for us to call upon it.
When I woke up choking and afraid, just as it has done so many times in the past when my body was out of balance, my Inner Physician stepped in like a loving, nurturing friend to calm me and let me know that it was there. It was ready to support me, and tell me that I didn’t have to worry. The Inner Physician is there for all of us, just waiting for us to ask for assistance.
Learn more in the book, Empowered Health and Wellness: Awakening Your Inner Physician