The physical side of healing has always been easier for me than the mental and emotional sides but that doesn’t mean that it has not required effort on my part. Self care is at the top of my list in terms of my values. I spend a lot of time on food preparation. I buy mostly organic produce, grains, and meats. I spend time at farmer’s markets and shop at bigger health food stores like Community Natural Foods. I spend time finding recipes that are nutrient rich and relatively simple to prepare. I choose food with life energy; this means food that is fresh versus foods in a box or a can. I cook my food from scratch. That ensures that there is optimal life energy in the food. If there is more life energy in the food then this translates into more life energy in your body. I used to hate cooking but somewhere along the way, I realized that to really enjoy my food and be satisfied,I would have to learn to cook. I realized that yummy food does not get yummy in a flash. It takes time to prepare. You have to be patient and enjoy the process of food preparation because it is time consuming. Now I enjoy cooking. I put on my favorite music and make an afternoon of it or an evening of it. I cook more food on the weekend such as stews and soups and freeze some so I have some food that is ready to thaw out when I am really tired or am time pressured to make dinner due to some other pressing commitment. I eat gluten and dairy free and find that I have more energy as a result. I wouldn’t recommend that everyone go gluten and dairy free because it is a lot of work but try it for two to four weeks and see if it gives you more energy or alleviates symptoms that you are experiencing on a daily basis. I am now more well versed on the subject of whole grains and know what is required to prepare them in nourishing ways. I try to rotate different grains to reduce allergenic potentiality and to keep myself from getting bored. The physical side of healing involves nourishing your body with nutritious, delicious, nutrient rich food. I subscribe to allrecipes.com for free and modify the recipes to make them more Robin friendly. I also am on emails lists from food blogging friends that are preparing beautiful food (healthy green kitchen – Dr. Winnie Wine who I graduated with). She is always a source of amazing recipes. It is in this way that you actually become inspired to cook beautiful food for yourself. Even living on your own can be a beautiful dining experience if you take the time to prepare a special meal for yourself and celebrate you. Light some special candles and put your favorite music on; say a blessing of thanks for the beautiful food you prepared and bon appetit!
The Mental Side of Personal Healing
I wanted to comment more on the mental side of healing. You are only as strong as your beliefs. You need to have belief systems which will maximize your ability to heal on the mental realm. What do you believe about your ability to heal? You must be unwavering in your belief to heal from anything. People will try to convince you of your reality…’the statistics say this about your disease’. Stay firmly convinced of your ability to heal from anything. Healing does not always mean curing but if you are focused on your own personal healing a greater capacity for peace, happiness, self acceptance and love will naturally abound; and this in turn can greatly improve your health. Examples of belief systems that are supportive of healing: I am healing every day. People defy statistics. My mind is a great ally in my ability to heal. These are belief systems that support your healing. Limiting belief systems would be: The prognosis is not good. I will never get better. My mind is my own worst enemy.
Focus on what you want. Choose belief systems that are supportive of your healing. You might consider writing down positive affirmations supporting your ability to heal. I am strong and stable. I have consistent energy. My primary senses are functioning at their optimum capacity. No matter what you are experiencing in this moment, write down what you are wanting to experience in this moment. Write a positive statement as to what you are wanting to achieve. You might want to write these affirmations in big bold letters and post them on a wall in your house. The more you see these positive statements affirming what you want, the more they will imprint on your subconcious mind and that in turn will help in your healing.
Mind/Body medicine can help you strengthen the capacity of your mental healing. If you enlist the mind to help you heal, it can in turn affect your body. I mentioned meditation as an incredibly important tool to enhance self awareness and centredness, other tools to help you include guided imagery. Guided imagery uses the senses to enhance your visualizations. Using your senses to enhance a visualization will facilitate deeper healing and facilitate self transformation. A simple imagery exercise to reduce stress involves picking a happy memory from your life history that you love and then remembering it in vivid detail to create the feelings that memory brought up for you at that time. For example, I did mind/body training in California four years ago in the month of February. The conference was at a beautiful hotel in Northern California (Berkeley). We would meet during the day to attend the conference and then at night we would have free time. One night in particular it was lightly raining and I decided that I would go swimming. It was a warm rain so I decided I would swim in the outdoor pool. It was about 8 pm so the pool area was a bit dark apart from the lights around the pool that illuminated the circumference.There was noone swimming that night but me. I started swimming laps and I remember how peaceful that night was and how absolutely content I felt to be swimming solo. I conjure up this memory whenever I want to feel those same feelings in this present moment. I recall the feel of the water on my skin, I recall the feeling of the rain falling on my body as I swam laps; I recall the steam rising from the pool drifting into the night. It was such a magical night. I remembered how the air felt and the taste of salt on my lips as I swam. I recall the sounds that night; because of the proximity of the airport, there were airplanes passing overheard. I remember seeing the lights of the airplanes out of the corner of my eye when I would lift my head to breathe. When I was finished my laps, I got out of the pool and went indoors to the clubhouse where I had a restorative sauna and steam. I was thoroughly relaxed and happy that night. I bring this memory back to life from time to time when I want to feel happy, peaceful and content. I can cause the same healing chemicals in my body just by remembering that night in vivid detail. The recollection of that memory then has a healing effect on my body. You can do this too; bring up a memory from your past that gives you well being. Try to remember it in vivid detail; bring it more alive by enlisting your senses. Try to remember how it felt (touch), the aromas (smell), the sights (vision), the sounds (hearing) and the tastes if possible. This will enrich the visualization and this maximizes the process of guided imagery. Until next time, visualize yourself in perfect health…