How many times have you been sick with the flu or cold and complained about what misery you are going through?  Most of us do this automatically.  There is another way to look at this; that being sick gives our body the time it needs to take care of itself.  Sickness is a sign that in some way we are not aligned with our spirit.  By spirit, I mean our true self, our inner voice, or our soul - that part deep down that knows the truth of who we are and what is best for us. 

Our bodies have long been telling us to slow down, rest, eat better or make some kind of necessary change. It starts as a whisper, then a shout and finally a scream.   Usually, we wait until our bodies are screaming at us, and we are forced to ask what’s wrong with me?  Why am I unwell?   Sometimes are bodies will literally stop working and we can not get out of bed or do the simplest task.  Everytime we abuse our bodies, it keeps track.  Each cell has a brain and thus a memory system and does not forget.  The accumulative effect over years of choosing to neglect heeding our body’s voice leads to serious mental, emotional and physical conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, heart disease and cancer. 

If you change nothing, nothing will change

Louise Hay, renowned spiritual speaker and author talks about this at great length and shares recommendations to heal oneself in her book ‘You Can Heal Your Life’.  I highly recommend reading it. I agree with her whole-heartedly that our thoughts cause our problems.  Years of negative, toxic thinking results a toxic body and brain.  I have stated in prior articles that ‘you are what you think’.  So, the anecdote quite logically, is to think the opposite:  positive self-affirming thoughts. 

Now, an alternative approach to the same situation.  You pay attention to your body signals when you notice the increase in back pain.  You take it seriously, after all the back affects other parts of your body and impacts your lifestyle.  You practice self-care and nurture yourself with activities such as baths, massages, stretches, and meditation focussing on healing this area.  You had read Louise Hay’s book recently and ask yourself what is going on in your life that may have brought this pain on.  Almost immediately you pinpoint the work and relationship tensions you have been avoiding, as manifesting in your body as back tension.  You engage in further self-exploration and change your thoughts of victimhood to ones like ‘I am responsible for myself’ and ‘I have a pain-free body’ and ’I send loving energy to my back’.  Lastly, you make a conscious choice to face your external problems head-on to get some resolution.  Within a few days, you notice a decrease in back pain.  This motivates you to continue doing what you are doing.

I don’t want to oversimply problems.  Most health issues require a wholistic examination.  You may need to visit a health professional.  In the example I used, it may involve looking at your sleeping habits, diet, exercise and posture to name a few.  But, I think you get the idea: that until you listen to your body, take the signals seriously, identify and change limiting beliefs, deal constructively with issues causing you stress in your life, and take a wholistic approach, your sickness or ailments will only get worse.

Please don’t wait for a health crisis.  Take charge now.  No one did it to you and no one can fix it for you.  This is why I call sickness a blessing - because we have a golden opportunity to turn our lives around.  

If you have experienced your thoughts healing you or making you healthier, please share them with us.  Readers would greatly benefit from seeing the ‘proof’.  If you have questions or are skeptical, I would love to hear from you as well.  Let’s talk. 

In loving health,

Anita Mann

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at 7:45 am and is filed under Life Coaching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.