A few days ago when in conversation with someone, she said to me, ‘I sometimes feel like I am a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.’ I wonder how many other people share that same sentiment. I would guess many, many people. I know that I have often felt that way in my life. Look at my choice of profession… my choice to go to naturopathic medical school versus conventional medical school (which was the path that most people expected me to take) raised many eyebrows at the time and even some audible gasps of disapproval. It is not the norm to choose a different path than most.  It takes courage and the conviction to walk your path alone when it’s necessary. At this time, especially, in the world, we are being called to really be who we are. We are getting more in touch with what works for us as individuals in all sorts of ways. This same person went on to say that ‘she is tired of doing what other people think that she should do’ and that she wants to get in touch with what she wants to do. This time is about recognizing your own individuality and allowing your own unique personal essence to shine through the collective fog. Being who you are versus who others want you to be is a crucial step in self individuation. There is collective pressure to fit in yet there are a lot of people who do not fit into the collective whole and that is okay; in fact, that is fantastic! We need a variety of people in our lives who do things differently than us to make our lives more colorful, more enriching and to allow us to see other points of view that differ from our own. You do not have to agree with other’s points of view rather listen with detached awareness. Learn to stay strong inside of yourself but do not be too attached to own your point of view either…be willing to entertain other possibilities. But what if you aren’t sure of your opinions, your interests, or what you want to do?

You have been conditioned to follow the herd, fall in line, choke back your thoughts, feelings, or opinions so as not to rock the boat. Perhaps you have walked in others footsteps that have gone before you …the path well traveled one might say, footsteps that have been deeply entrenched…and you have no idea what other path you would consider taking if the footsteps suddenly disappeared. It’s perfectly normal to feel some trepidation in learning to stand on your own two feet and direct your path from a self individuated stance. Read The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell or The Road less Travelled by Scott Peck and draw the parallel in your own lives. This is a common theme for the human race as a whole. It often takes getting angry first about having not followed your own path and then subsequently finding the courage underneath to spark a small fire of desire for things to be different in your own life. The time is ripe now to know thy self, to know who you are and discover more about yourself knowing that self growth and evolution never end rather go hand in hand…So I say, congratulations for feeling like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. You have realized this now so your journey is going to get far more interesting moving forward…

Healing requires a tremendous amount of commitment. You have to be committed to yourself every day in every way. From a physical standpoint, healing involves alot of self discipline; discipline with regards to what you put into your body in the form of food and drink every day; discipline with regards to the exercise that you choose to commit to daily, discipline with regards to self care, sleep/wake habits, cooking, etc. From a mental standpoint, healing involves discipline with regards to the thoughts you choose to focus on, the stories you choose to tell yourself, and the beliefs you choose to live by each and every day. From the emotional standpoint, discipline is required to stay in emotional harmony throughout your day, choosing not to react to your external world, rather holding your center and hoping to affect your environment like a zen pebble dropped into a turbulent pool. From the spiritual standpoint, ?choosing to trust despite the mystery of the journey, not knowing where the twists and turns of your life will take you; discipline required to focus on the moment and not allowing your mind to take you anywhere but one that serves your highest good, focusing on the journey itself versus the destination, choosing to love and accept yourself despite your perceived imperfections, choosing love over hate, faith versus fear and commiting wholeheartedly to participating in your life each and every day when you might rather tune the world out and sit on the sidelines. From all angles, one can see that healing requires a tremendous amount of commitment and self discipline. ?This are examples of the extreme vigilance required on your part…?

However, it is not a world devoid of joy, quite the opposite… It is a world designed to help you be at the top of your own personal game in your life. Be clear on the reasons why you are doing the things you do. If you can see clearly your motivations and the end result or benefit to you it will be easier for you to stay commited and motivated on a daily basis. Your commitment and self discipline to healing yourself comes back to you in spades. You are but a ripple in the chain. Each one of us is linked together in the chain of life. Through this healing journey you will begin to access more happiness and joy and that will then affect others in your personal orbit… the links in the chain downstream from you. By agreeing to heal yourself of all your previous misconceptions, outdated beliefs, and erroneous conclusions, and challenging all the ways in which you withhold love from yourself and others, you are doing your small part in healing the rest of the world. Healing requires a tremendous amount of commitment and self discipline but there is no better way to spend your time when you are in a state of dis-ease…this commitment to heal yourself is the most rewarding journey that you can ever take…

Healing is all about self love and self acceptance. In the sea of all the course work and workshops I have taken – this one truth rings back at me consistently and repeatedly. Healing is about self love and self acceptance. Look at all the ways in which you restrict that from yourself. I challenge you to look deep… at the landscape of your soul and ask yourself where you find it difficult to love and accept yourself. Find an area which you believe precludes your ability to love and accept yourself and challenge this erroneous idea. No one else can love you more than you can love yourself so why not give that gift to yourself. Why not become your greatest supporter and your fiercest ally? How well do you think your body’s cells would respond to this kind of loving support? I would guess better than you could ever imagine. There is no reason not to love yourself and accept yourself – no reason. This may not feel like a natural action to you if you have never done it before. You may feel like an imposter when you choose to love and accept yourself. I give you full permission to be an imposter. Fake it until it starts to feel real. Over time, it will get easier and become second nature. Make this your full time job to send love and acceptance to your cells all day long then note the positive changes that you begin to feel in your body. You will likely wish you had known to do this from your first day on the earth planet…

I struggled a lot with my body image when I was growing up. I did not love and accept myself because of my body image. I thought my body was flawed and that no one could ever love me because of my body. That was an erroneous belief that I bought into from a young age. I believed that so that became my reality for most of my life… until I decided to challenge this belief. I decided to make a conscious effort to love and accept all of me. I chose to challenge my views on my body’s acceptability factor. About ten years ago, I decided to dream into my world someone that would love my body just the way it was……. and guess what? it worked. It took six years before this person turned up in my life; there was a significant lag time where the universe had to catch up to my present reality of who I was; a lag time before my new belief became my reality. This individual that turned up in my life affirmed that my body was beautiful and never for a moment viewed it as anything flawed or unworthy of love; I could feel the genuine love and acceptance that was behind that proclamation. But I needed to believe the reality of that statement before someone came into my life that would mirror my new belief back to me…