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The Manifestation of Wellness

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Bing images

I spent the greater part of the month of August 2010 very ill with what started out as strep and quickly morphed into pneumonia.  This isn't unusual for my body, as I've been susceptible to strep since childhood and also have a weakness when it comes to pneumonia.  I mentioned this very thing to a Facebook friend who is very spiritually centered and she shared that on a spiritual level, strep is very useful and intentional with burning off of old karmic energy.

This captured my attention because it is a concept I have noticed and paid closer attention to as I have become more spiritually focused in my own life over the years.  I learned to recognize that, quite often, when I would leave an old job where I had been for way too long, I would become very ill.  I recognized that this seemed to be my body's way of releasing all the pent up, stagnant, negative energy patterns that had existed with that old job.  It can be a dramatic act for the body to become seriously ill, but at times it is necessary.  Can we manage, on our own and without illness to release the same level of negative energy?  Most likely, we can, but I daresay it would take us much longer to achieve.  Illness, by its very nature, is a bright, fast burning fire that consumes everything in its path and aggressively purges the body on every imaginable level.

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http://www.infobarrel.com/

On a mundane approach - think of what illness accomplishes.  It forces us to STOP....fully and completely.  We are usually bedridden for at least a couple of days, wherein rest is accomplished with sleep and literal inactivity.  We sleep a great deal.  We replenish our bodies with nourishing foods and liquids, and if we're gracious enough, we allow loved ones to cater to us and express care and devotion.  Our hearts lap up the attention and respite from the hectic pace of the business world, and for a short period of time, we rejuvenate on myriad levels. 

The spiritual and karmic side of things are ones that we cannot see with the naked eye, unless we choose to do so.  It is more of a feeling, a sense of change occurring that may not make itself evident in the midst of illness - we're focusing more at that moment on how badly we feel!  Afterwards, as recovery begins, if we do pay attention, we notice a lightness of being.  An inner feeling of closure, of cleansing, of releasing and of peace that has been brought about by the moment of illness. 

It is something to ponder, of a certainty.  For me, as a freelance writer, it is of vital importance to always be searching for new projects and contracts; to always be sourcing new avenues of work, connecting with new business contacts, networking...always working, working, working to keep forward momentum in my personal work pipeline.  When I contracted strep, this process came to a screeching halt.  I stopped everything, simply because strep hits my system violently, and the ensuing stages of pneumonia are virulent and aggressive.  I find that I cannot focus my mind enough to write.  My blog posts came to an equal screeching halt, which also meant that the websites and ezines where I am a contributing writer were all put on hold.  This concerned me, as it meant that active attention to my blog - which is a business calling card of sorts for me as a writer - also came to a definitive stop.  I had topics for blog articles in mind, but I simply could not focus enough to write the content.  All I could focus on was getting through the stages of being ill. 

So, as my Facebook friend reminded me, strep and pneumonia had a purpose.  There was a greater reason at hand that I became ill in the month of August, than just for the face value of strep going around my hometown.  What is this greater reason?  What is the purpose behind my whole life grinding to a ceremonious stop for a whole calendar month?  At the moment, I don't know the answers to those questions.  I do know that this time of illness has been very purposeful in burning off karma.  I recognize that this moment of illness drew a proverbial line in the sand, cutting off the past and burning it away via fever and bodily dis-ease.  I celebrate this fact, as it means that past struggles have been jettisoned....literally burned away and purged from both my physical and spiritual bodies. 

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http://www.pineconecenter.com/

There is a phenomenon in forest fires that comes to mind as an analogy here....conifer trees have their seeds deep within the fruits, or pinecones, of the tree.  These seeds can only be released by intense heat, which melts the resin that seals the pinecones and cracks them open, allowing the seeds, or gymnosperm, to fall to the forest floor.  The only time an intense level of heat occurs in forests is when a fire happens.  This is when new seeds are released and germinate to produce new trees.  It makes complete sense to me that illness, which generally carries a high fever as one of the common symptoms is necessary for our bodies to release a type of seed...planting, as it were, new dreams, new desires and beginning new stages of growth.

Dramatic illness sweeps out all the cobwebs and presents a new, clean slate for me to write on...again, literally.  I know that new doors are opening as a result of this enforced inactivity and healing.  The past difficulties, disappointments and frustrations have been cleansed from my existence and if I embrace this concept, there is nothing to stop me from writing this new chapter as I choose.  This is the true challenge - to stay clearheaded and bright in personal purpose.  I can choose to stay clear and free of negative mindset and old, kneejerk reactions that I have allowed to drag me down or self-sabotage in the past.  Subconsciously and spiritually, my body and my Soul recognized that it was time to purge those very things and engaged in the process of illness to enact this purging. 

It may come across as a novel, or even bizarre concept to embrace that at some level we invite illness into our bodies.  I believe this is a strong truth, and I believe there is purpose behind every single illness and physical injury we experience.  Many ancient esoteric concepts espouse the fact that the physical breaking of a limb releases enormous amounts of negative karmic energy.  If we accept this concept, it becomes a bit more challenging to believe that 'accidents' are truly random.  I, personally, do not believe in accidents.  I believe that everything does happen to us for specific reasons and that Divine Order exists in all of these applications. 

So, as I recover from this rather lengthy illness, I am mindful.  I am paying attention to how I feel as I recuperate.  I am noting the freshness and lightness of my inner and outer self.  I am eager to step into this new phase, this new chapter, this new experience in my life and see what new stories are yet to be written.  Cycles....the eddies of a pebble dropped into a still pool....the bands of light that refract from a prism....the waves of sound and color billowing out from our personal auras....it all dances together to produce a new reality. 

Illness can be cathartic - cleansing - burning off old karmic energy.  Why not choose to accept and embrace that concept, and find purpose in this moment?  It is what I choose to do on a personal level.  I see this month as a gentle nudge from God/Universe that now is the time for change to sweep in, first through the burning, encompassing hand of illness to prepare and weave a new canvas.  And next, for me to release the emotional ties to habits, beliefs and actions that no longer serve a positive purpose.  With these conscious choices and hallmarks recognized, I am being empowered...blessed, some would say....with the ability to move forward in new, different, positive and much more powerful energy.  In this knowledge, I embrace the illness I experienced and I give thanks for its presence and its purpose.  Many, many layers of what and who I was have been lifted away and I bid them a wave of farewell, honoring what they brought, while consciously choosing to never again embrace those habits.  Will this be easy to do?  It can be if I decide it to be so.

My newly buffed physical and spiritual presence is here and how I step forward in this clean state is of paramount importance.  I realize I am creating a new blueprint.  Am I saying we should all greet illness with a spry step and joyful heart?  Absolutely not!  I haven't enjoyed being sick for a whole month - this is not what I am saying here.  More to the point, I am shedding light on the reasons behind certain types of illness.  There is a purpose to how our bodies behave, and there is reason and order here. As I age and continue to learn, I am captivated with the fact that I find usefulness in areas that many would dismiss out of hand as a pure waste of time.  This day, I smile as I write about the usefulness and purpose of illness...and the growth it encourages.  Light can be found in many dark moments, if we choose to look for it. 

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http://www.gratitudeplanet.com/

While being ill is never a pleasant experience, the result can be profound.  Days, weeks or months from now, I shall be able to look back on this month of August 2010 and see the perfect order of it all.  Today, it is unclear what doors are opening, but I am aware with immense clarity that this month of illness has been not only a purging and cleansing, but a preparation for beauty to manifest.  One might go so far as to call it the manifestation of wellness!

Let's talk reincarnation

Some will read the title above and immediately freak. Most likely the people who find my blog are already of a similar mindset, so I won't waste time explaining or proving the concept of reincarnation. You will either click to jump from my blog to something else that interests you, or you'll bide a wee here and keep reading.

I want to discuss Dr. Michael Newton's Life Between Lives regression therapy. About twelve years ago, I "accidentally" stumbled across Michael's books at my favorite place to be....a bookstore. I think it may have been Barnes & Noble, but can't say for sure. Any bookstore is a happy place for me. I was looking for something to pick up as a gift for a friend in the hospital and the rule there is, if I enter a bookstore to pick up a gift, I get one for myself as well. That keeps me from going hog wild and keeps the purchasing insanity to a minimum. So, there I was, poking around in the New Age section and that's where I discovered Michael Newton. He is a psychologist and a hypnotherapist who specializes in regression therapy - taking a subject back to a past life in order to heal issues existing in the current life. At some point in his practice, Michael inadvertently gave a "wrong" command to his client, and rather than taking that person back to a past life, he wound up taking them to Between Lives - that space we occupy after completing a lifetime and preparing for the next go 'round. I was hooked immediately and devoured that first book in record time, then went in search of the second book Michael had written. The titles are "Journey of Souls" and "Destiny of Souls" and can be found on Barnes & Noble or Amazon websites.

In order to not spoil the lovely experience for you too much, I won't go into broad detail about each book. I will say that reading Michael's work was a life changing experience for me, personally. For those of you who pick up either book, I am going so far as to say that you also will be changed by reading the contents. Michael has compiled over 20 years of case studies of Life Between Lives (LBL) regressions that challenge the reader to embrace concepts that we are not raised to contemplate in the U.S. Reincarnation obviously flies in the face of most American theological beliefs and Michael's work is not different in that regard. You will read of concepts that dabble in quantum physics and the ability to split energy and "bi-locate" into more than one existence, or lifetime. You will learn of life contracts made prior to birth in your current life, of viewing chambers that "program" key moments, images and circumstances into your subconscious as a kind of migration instinct in order to connect with vital members of your Primary Soul Group, and many more concepts that I won't go into here. Search these two books out, read them, and shoot me a comment after.

I'm always fascinated to hear how other people are affected by this whole concept, and I regularly recommend both books to anyone who will listen. For those of you who then decide to seek out a hypnotherapist and experience a LBL session, there is a website available for you to search out a therapist trained in Michael's specific techniques. If you're interested, click here to go to the website for The Newton Institute. Michael is now semi-retired and rarely does LBL sessions these days, preferring to do the occasional lecture for large groups, as well as guest appearances at various hypnotherapy schools. I was fortunate enough to be able to correspond with Michael for several years and he has a very large, warm, healing energy, as you might imagine. I went on to have this type of regression session done after writing back and forth with Michael and being guided to a therapist he had trained personally. It was quite an experience, but that's a topic for another blog.

We come here to learn, that much is clear even if you don't embrace the concept of reincarnation. How fascinating, if...just IF, however, we really do come back again and again, and there are all these infinite layers, energies, stories, dramas and experiences to explore?

It's a continuous journey...and a curious touch

We live in harried, hurried times. Racing to and froe on a daily basis, chasing the hours through the day, dropping off children at school, barreling through the business day, picking children up, perhaps buying groceries, picking up dry cleaning, fixing the evening meal, cleaning the kitchen, feeding the pets, helping with homework and finally falling into bed exhausted. This is, oddly, an overview of what might be called the American Dream. For many, it works. For others, it builds a nagging sense of dissatisfaction that the world is passing them by as they rush through their busy, eventful lives. Yet, in the midst of all this frenetic movement, there come moments of inspiration. That curious touch on the mind, that moment of wonderment that fires the imagination and gladdens the heart, spilling from lips opened in song, flowing from fingers applied to a keyboard or pen to paper, paintbrush to canvas, fingers gloriously messy in wet, glossy clay, all of which make the insane daily existence we sometimes lead, lighter and easier to shoulder.

At times, inspiration comes speeding towards us with all the power of a locomotive, the images highly charged and fraught with electricity, passion and fervor. Those moments might take the Wall Street executive from his daily existence in the city and lure him to hike in the mountains to physically express the inspiration that touches his mind in the confines of his office space. Standing on a mountain trail, breathing in the fresh air, becoming a part of nature brings that person an inestimable sense of peace, beauty and happiness that he then takes back to the city with him, allowing him to approach life, renewed and recharged.

Inspiration isn’t always a powerful sledgehammer blow. There are moments when it speaks gently, whisper soft, barely disturbing a busy mind, yet insistent as the eddies and ripples on a calm lake surface….nudging, lapping at the mind, repeatedly touching here and there until that moment of incredible beauty occurs. Suddenly, all comes together in that crystal clear flash that is no less stunning for the calm, quiet manner it was born.

Haven’t we all felt myriad moments of inspiration? Hearing an old story, watching a heroic moment on television, viewing a work of art in a museum, absorbing moments in nature such as a snowstorm or a single, perfect drop of water clinging, trembling, on the velvet petal of a flower…beauty and inspiration come cloaked in many forms. Rough hewn or pristine and elegant, the moments, sights and textures strike each of us differently.

That curious touch is what drives us, I believe, as human beings. We yearn, sometimes silently, other times with willful, vocal intent, to embrace inspiration, to feel it fill us up to overflowing. At some point the joy does, indeed, overflow to the point that we, in turn, become that same inspiration to another person. We underestimate ourselves in this regard, quite frequently, thinking that small gestures go unnoticed, unaware that we are impacting others greatly. Helen Hayes made a comment that, “We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too.” That statement, on its own, has provided inspiration to me countless times since the first moment I read it.

Inspiration, then, is the truest, most pure form of aspiring. We are born with such a capacity to aspire, to dream, to grow and these desires are the foundation for inspiration to take root, plant a seed, flourish and grow into something truly incredible, whether that something is a loud, large bang, or a small, delicate touch on that quiet lake. The ripples are the same, no matter the delivery…that curious touch goes on.