9 Keys to Self Healing
The following 9 keys are a few of the things you to explore and utilize your natural ability to heal, what I call the Inner Physician. Whether you are currently dealing with a physical, emotional or mental challenge and receiving medical treatment or not, these 9 keys will allow you to access your Inner Physician and accelerate the healing process. I speak in depth in my book Empowered Health and Wellness: Awakening Your Inner Physician about these topics and more but these are a good place to start.
1. Focus on health and healing rather than disease.
Remember that you are not your disease. Your disease has been “created” by your mind/body and the Mind/body can “uncreate” it as well. What we focus on we create. One of the hardest things to not focus on when we are in pain and discomfort is the pain and discomfort. Find ways to get your focus off of the problem and focus on what you want to create.
One of the biggest mistakes doctors make are telling people they have a terminal disease. Here is what happens. The doctor says " I am sorry to tell you that you have cancer and you only have 6 months to live. The patient thinks " Oh my God I have cancer! I am going to die. From there they tell their family and all of their friends on Facebook and now they have hundreds of people holding the energy of cancer. This pretty much limits the possibilities for most people to "uncreate" the cancer.
What if the doctor came into the room and said, "You have a serious problem but we can work together to change that. I will work with you and your inner physician and we will get through this together. Let's focus on finding ways to get you healthy again.
The outcome would be completely different.
2. Find good reasons why you want to heal.
One of the most powerful things you can do to set the course for health and wellness is to find your Why. IT could be a trip you were planning to take, your children, a book you want to write, anything that you can look forward to in the future. Start to pay attention to the parts of your life that are working and focus on them.. Pay attention to the small “stuff”, that makes life worth living (e.g. a hug from a friend, a beautiful sunset, a walk in the woods on a summer day, the smell of roses.)
3. Give specific “orders” to your Inner Physician, body and your mind what you want it to do.
For example: If you have pain, tell the body to create ease and comfort; if you are dealing with a tumor, tell your body to let it “melt” away; if you have emotional challenges, tell your mind and body to create inner peace, harmony etc. You do have control in this situation even if it seems like you don't. Your Inner Physician will listen and give you suggestions as to what might help you heal. You can even paint a picture of your problem and paint a solution. For example paint your tumor and paint pac man coming in and eating it.
4. See the disease as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Transformation can happen if you can find the gift in your illness. What is it helping you to see about yourself that you couldn't see another way. Identify the metaphors of the illness – if the illness had a message for your, what would it be. Notice the messages of the symptoms you are dealing with – sometimes symptoms can be taken very literally (“pain in the neck”, “heaviness in the stomach”, “stiffness in the joints”). Also search for significant emotional events, traumas or inner conflicts that were preceding the illness. If you find something this is a good time to seek the help of a therapist or support group to help you move past the old pain.
5. Use visualizations and creative imagery to stimulate your self-healing potential.
If you know about the Law of Attraction, you know that thoughts become things. This is a good time to start to visualize what outcome you would like to see. How would you like to see your body in the future? What do you want to feel like? Focus your thoughts on what you want to create not what you have created that is causing you discomfort. There are a lot of guided meditation CD's out there that you can work with around self healing. I dedicate a whole chapter to creative healing.
6. Never give up hope / trust.
Always look for evidence that you can heal and are healing. Pay attention to the small steps you are making in the direction of healing. Even the smallest steps can add up to bigger things if you focus on them. Avoid listening or “buying into” negative prognosis, statistics... Surround yourself with positive people, positive life and health affirming messages. Don't explore the internet looking for information on your disease. Everyone's body is different and you don't have to respond the way other people have responded to the same issue.
7. Use meditation and relaxation exercises on a daily basis.
Meditation and relaxation have been shown to be very beneficial to treat chronic pain, migraines, hypertension and other chronic illnesses. Relaxing the mind and the body also activates our immune system because is reduces stress. Even 10 minutes per day will make a big difference. A great way to start is to simply to find a quite and peaceful place, sit back and focus simply on your breath. After one to two minutes start inhaling for 5 seconds, hold the breath for 5 seconds and the exhale for 5 seconds. You can gradually increase the times to 20 seconds. I have several breathing techniques in my book. The effects of this Kundalini Yoga breathing meditation are immediate and 5 minutes of this breath replace 30 minutes of sleep. Other great alternatives to relax are self-hypnosis , which directly stimulate the subconscious mind, massages and other body work etc.
8. Give your body proper nutrition and sufficient rest.
Healing occurs when our body is well rested and well nurtured. Consult your physician, naturopathic doctor, nutritionist or herbologist to find the proper way to nutritionally support your body. Reduce the amount of processed foods you are eating and eat more organic unprocessed foods. Processed foods are filled with ingredients that your body doesn't recognize and doesn't know how to process, which taxes the immune system and makes it harder to heal.
9. Feed your body with joy, harmony and laughter.
I am sure you have heard the adage " laughter is the best medicine". There is a lot of truth to that saying and research that supports it. Extensive research has shown how the enormous healing benefits of joy and laughter. In 1976 the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published an article by Norman Cousins, who was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (also known as Bechterew Disease) a painful inflammation of the spine. His case was so severe that he was given a very dim prognosis. Realizing that negative thoughts and attitudes can result in illness, Norman Cousins believed that positive thoughts and attitudes may have the opposite effect. He left the hospital and checked into a hotel where he took high doses of vitamin C and watched funny movies and shows. He found that ten minutes of laughter resulted in several hours of pain-free rest. He continued this "treatment" until he recovered. Cousins proved that laughter is a very effective medicine and added another important piece of evidence of the power the mind-body connection.
1. Focus on health and healing rather than disease.
Remember that you are not your disease. Your disease has been “created” by your mind/body and the Mind/body can “uncreate” it as well. What we focus on we create. One of the hardest things to not focus on when we are in pain and discomfort is the pain and discomfort. Find ways to get your focus off of the problem and focus on what you want to create.
One of the biggest mistakes doctors make are telling people they have a terminal disease. Here is what happens. The doctor says " I am sorry to tell you that you have cancer and you only have 6 months to live. The patient thinks " Oh my God I have cancer! I am going to die. From there they tell their family and all of their friends on Facebook and now they have hundreds of people holding the energy of cancer. This pretty much limits the possibilities for most people to "uncreate" the cancer.
What if the doctor came into the room and said, "You have a serious problem but we can work together to change that. I will work with you and your inner physician and we will get through this together. Let's focus on finding ways to get you healthy again.
The outcome would be completely different.
2. Find good reasons why you want to heal.
One of the most powerful things you can do to set the course for health and wellness is to find your Why. IT could be a trip you were planning to take, your children, a book you want to write, anything that you can look forward to in the future. Start to pay attention to the parts of your life that are working and focus on them.. Pay attention to the small “stuff”, that makes life worth living (e.g. a hug from a friend, a beautiful sunset, a walk in the woods on a summer day, the smell of roses.)
3. Give specific “orders” to your Inner Physician, body and your mind what you want it to do.
For example: If you have pain, tell the body to create ease and comfort; if you are dealing with a tumor, tell your body to let it “melt” away; if you have emotional challenges, tell your mind and body to create inner peace, harmony etc. You do have control in this situation even if it seems like you don't. Your Inner Physician will listen and give you suggestions as to what might help you heal. You can even paint a picture of your problem and paint a solution. For example paint your tumor and paint pac man coming in and eating it.
4. See the disease as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Transformation can happen if you can find the gift in your illness. What is it helping you to see about yourself that you couldn't see another way. Identify the metaphors of the illness – if the illness had a message for your, what would it be. Notice the messages of the symptoms you are dealing with – sometimes symptoms can be taken very literally (“pain in the neck”, “heaviness in the stomach”, “stiffness in the joints”). Also search for significant emotional events, traumas or inner conflicts that were preceding the illness. If you find something this is a good time to seek the help of a therapist or support group to help you move past the old pain.
5. Use visualizations and creative imagery to stimulate your self-healing potential.
If you know about the Law of Attraction, you know that thoughts become things. This is a good time to start to visualize what outcome you would like to see. How would you like to see your body in the future? What do you want to feel like? Focus your thoughts on what you want to create not what you have created that is causing you discomfort. There are a lot of guided meditation CD's out there that you can work with around self healing. I dedicate a whole chapter to creative healing.
6. Never give up hope / trust.
Always look for evidence that you can heal and are healing. Pay attention to the small steps you are making in the direction of healing. Even the smallest steps can add up to bigger things if you focus on them. Avoid listening or “buying into” negative prognosis, statistics... Surround yourself with positive people, positive life and health affirming messages. Don't explore the internet looking for information on your disease. Everyone's body is different and you don't have to respond the way other people have responded to the same issue.
7. Use meditation and relaxation exercises on a daily basis.
Meditation and relaxation have been shown to be very beneficial to treat chronic pain, migraines, hypertension and other chronic illnesses. Relaxing the mind and the body also activates our immune system because is reduces stress. Even 10 minutes per day will make a big difference. A great way to start is to simply to find a quite and peaceful place, sit back and focus simply on your breath. After one to two minutes start inhaling for 5 seconds, hold the breath for 5 seconds and the exhale for 5 seconds. You can gradually increase the times to 20 seconds. I have several breathing techniques in my book. The effects of this Kundalini Yoga breathing meditation are immediate and 5 minutes of this breath replace 30 minutes of sleep. Other great alternatives to relax are self-hypnosis , which directly stimulate the subconscious mind, massages and other body work etc.
8. Give your body proper nutrition and sufficient rest.
Healing occurs when our body is well rested and well nurtured. Consult your physician, naturopathic doctor, nutritionist or herbologist to find the proper way to nutritionally support your body. Reduce the amount of processed foods you are eating and eat more organic unprocessed foods. Processed foods are filled with ingredients that your body doesn't recognize and doesn't know how to process, which taxes the immune system and makes it harder to heal.
9. Feed your body with joy, harmony and laughter.
I am sure you have heard the adage " laughter is the best medicine". There is a lot of truth to that saying and research that supports it. Extensive research has shown how the enormous healing benefits of joy and laughter. In 1976 the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published an article by Norman Cousins, who was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (also known as Bechterew Disease) a painful inflammation of the spine. His case was so severe that he was given a very dim prognosis. Realizing that negative thoughts and attitudes can result in illness, Norman Cousins believed that positive thoughts and attitudes may have the opposite effect. He left the hospital and checked into a hotel where he took high doses of vitamin C and watched funny movies and shows. He found that ten minutes of laughter resulted in several hours of pain-free rest. He continued this "treatment" until he recovered. Cousins proved that laughter is a very effective medicine and added another important piece of evidence of the power the mind-body connection.
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