" Important ... "

“ ... Maybe if I liked being alone 

I could give you your life back and let you go ... 

I guess I'm important, 

but what about them standing there they can't get in ... 

They're smiling at me, I guess they're used to this. 

Maybe I'll stop wondering when I'm gonna die.

Maybe then I'll stop holding so hard to my life.

Maybe next time I see my reflection my mind won't be with me ... “

~ Lisa Marie Presley ~ Important ~ 

***

Recently I was asked this question ... Who is the most important person?  As we pondered, the answer came back as the person in front of you right now.  Perhaps not the answer you would expect.  As we are taught that WE are the most important person in the world.  Yet consider this ... the most important person you will ever meet is the one in front of you ... the most powerful thing you will ever say is what you are about to say right now ... and the most important moment in your life is the one you are in at this time. 

We have been in situations where we drift into autopilot and zone out.  We are not fully present ... unless the situation changes.  A situation like when we meet someone with an impairment, with a disability or something that slows us down.  We may begin to articulate our words better, listen fully and simply soften up a bit.  We take better care to check for understanding.  We become more thoughtful in being present fully, so we don’t miss anything.  We allow the person in front of us to be the most important and what we say may be more thoughtful.  As for the moment, we only have this one ... and now the next ... and so on ...

Personally, I remember a time when the company I worked at had a Vice President with a speech impairment.  He was young and had suffered a stroke early in life.  He was working his way back AND he was our keynote speaker.  It took everything in the audience to listen fully, be present fully and completely aware of what was being said.  It made us truly listen, really listen.

So what if we took that approach in every interaction?  Not judging those in front of us, but giving ourselves fully and completely in the moment.  Are we able to slow the chatter in our minds?  And how much extra time would it really take?  Yet in a society that is about convenience, it can be a challenge for some to slow down.

Life is beautiful as it reflects back what is inward.  If we feel a void where we are not truly heard, it may be a time to explore if we are hearing ourselves.  Our higher self recognizes that those in front of us are another expression of the Divine.  So as we treat those in front of us as the most important person in that moment, we are truly giving this gift back to ourselves.

www.walkstrong.ca

" Feed Your Ego ... "

"Love's only here for a while
Make up your mind
This is the last time
Oh the last time
I feed your ego
I'm not feeding your ego "

~ Feed Your Ego ~ Angel Taylor

***

Feeding your ego in illness.  How do we do it?  If we complain, feel self-pity, or resent being ill, our ego becomes stronger.  And when we make the illness a part of our identity, then we feed our ego in illness ... "I am a sufferer of such and such a dis-ease".  Oh, well thank-you for clearing that up and letting us know who you really are.

We all know someone in our lives that has a big ego and lives a grand life ... and then suddenly they become gentle, kind and humble when they are ill.  They gain insight, they access their inner truth and speak words of wisdom ... until they get better and with the return of their energy, so does their ego.  Did they get the lesson or??

Regardless, our ego burns up considerable amounts of energy when we constantly feed it instead of managing it.  When we are ill, our energy level can be quite low.  We use most of our energy for the healing of the body, so there is considerable less for egoic thinking and emotions.  Yet in some cases, the ego retains the energy it needs for its own purposes ... and these people who experience a strengthening of the ego in illness take much longer to recover.  And unfortunately, some never do .. the illness becomes chronic and a permanent part of their false sense of self.

My experience with illness has been humbling.  Those moments I have in my journey when I don't feel like I have the energy to get back up, I mange to do so.  I have had to find the energy, courage and strength to get back up.  I look for empathy and not sympathy.  I reaffirm my intention to practice loving, kindness and compassion.  I remind myself each day to work at letting go of ego clinging, selfishness, controlling behaviour, negative thoughts, possessiveness, aggression, resentment and confusion.  I resolve each day to find one small way that I can change a frozen behaviour pattern and try to do so.  

By continuing to use my awareness to genuinely understand my ill patterns and behaviours, I have a fair chance to release them by assessing how fruitful they actually are.  I stop feeding them and as a result take the ego out of illness.

" Heal The World ... "

"There Are Ways
To Get There
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me"

~ Michael Jackson ~ Heal The World ~

***

Recently, I read about Dr. Bernie Siegel.  For some this name may sound familiar ... Dr. Siegel is a physician who has cared for and counseled countless terminally ill patients.  He embraces a philosophy that bridges medicine and spirituality.  And although he has a few best-selling books, I am intrigued by his book titled Accept, Retreat & Surrender: How to Heal Yourself.  Heal Yourself resonates quite nicely with me, but I was curious of the acceptance, retreat and surrender aspect.  

For me, now, I look at my illness as an opportunity.  What am I to learn from this dis-ease and where do I start.  Knowledge is power right? ... so I have been super keen to learn as much as I can.  According to 

Dr. Siegel he asks the question "What approach should you take to your illness?" and has three words of advice .. Accept ~ Retreat ~ Surrender.  He says those words might scare us if we were inexperienced, but according to him, those that have employed these tactics have won great battles.  

Acceptance ...  Dr. Siegel says we need to accept our situation if we want to be empowered to change it.  He doesn't mean we need to accept any particular outcome of a dis-ease, but need to accept that the dis-ease exists in our lives and that we are a participant.  Once we accept that the dis-ease or other misfortune has become a part of our lives, we can eliminate or alter it.  We cannot play a part in changing it and our lives if we avoid, deny or feel hopeless.  Accepting the situation does not mean accepting someone else's prediction about what will happen to you.  No one knows what your future will hold ... the best course is accepting that you have problems while denying anyone's predictions about how the situation will turn out.  My favourite saying .. "Individuals are not statics".

 

Retreat ... retreat does not mean withdraw.  According to the wise doctor "retreat means withdrawing to a quiet place where you can be aware of your thoughts and feelings. The quiet place may be anywhere; the source of true peace and quiet are inside you. In my retreat I withdraw from all the demands of life, but at the same time I am fully alive to myself and my loved ones. I do not always retreat alone. I can retreat with those who are close to me so that we can heal our forces and prepare to take on life when our retreat is over. When we return we are ready to fight for our lives".  We need this space, this withdrawal as a time to restore and heal ourselves.

Surrender ... not to the outcomes but to the events.  Dr. Siegel says we waste so much energy fighting the nature of life.  "Accept the nature of life and surrender to it".  When we do, we will have peace.  When our energy is restored, we stop fighting things we cannot control, and we start re-building our lives.  He says "Surrender is not about doing nothing; it is about doing the right things".  Surrendering allows us to continue to receive and repair, to let go of the pain, fear and worries and welcome joy, love and gratitude in our lives.  

We continue to learn and heal ourselves as our journey never ends ... above are a few thoughts to help us deal with adversity, misfortune and in extreme situations, illnesses.  I believe we can play an integral part by choosing to be a participant and not a spectator.

"Diseases can be our spiritual flat tires ... Disruptions in our lives that seem to be disasters at the time, but end by redirecting our lives in a meaningful way"

- Bernie S. Siegel 

"Soul Inside ... "

"and the beat of my heart
Marks the passing of time
And I just wanna scream to the sky
There are times when my mind is an explosion of feelings
I`m trying to hold on to the soul inside"

~ Soft Cell ~ Soul Inside ~

***

Another supplement prescribed on the Gerson Therapy is Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).  CoQ10 is a naturally-occuring vitamin-like nutrient found in every cell of the body.  It is present in highest concentrations in cell mitochondria or where energy is produced.  It's primary function is to help with the conversion of food and oxygen into energy.

You may be wondering if CoQ10 is "naturally-ocurring" why prescribe it?  Well as you know, those diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses have a direct connection with weaken immune systems and require all the tools available to rebuild themselves.  And, anti-oxidants are important.  They are substances that protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals.  Free radical damage may lead to cancer.  Antioxidants interact with and stabilize free radicals.

So, back to Coenzyme Q10 .... it is a powerful antioxidant and provides additional help neutralizing damage-causing free radicals.  Studies have show that additional supplementation supports healthy blood pressure, cholesterol levels as well as promotes healthy immune-system functions.  Also, due to aging, levels of CoQ10 decline, resulting in less efficient organ function because of reduced energy supply.

As always, check with your health care practitioner prior to taking any supplements.  Inquire about the "type" of CoQ10 you are prescribed to ensure you are getting the highest quality, 100% natural form.  Some synthetic forms are processed using tobacco and other non-natural molecules of unproven effectiveness.  Making sure CoQ10 is produced by natural fermentation; the version identical to the human body's own CoQ10.

"A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his   illnesses" - Hippocrates 

"Soul Meets Body ... "

" I want to live where soul meets body,
And let the sun wrap its arms around me,
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing,
And feel, feel what it's like to be new, 
... Where soul meets body"
~ Death Cab For Cutie ~ Soul Meets Body ~ 
***


This week I have been practicing my visualizations I learned from ADAM, whom I wrote about in my last blog.  In the past I have used these visualizations, but not on a daily basis and not with the same focus and intention.  It is common knowledge that what you think can affect your body.  Some refer to this as the mind body soul body connection.  Science has proven this over and over again, studies focusing on the placebo effect.  We have the capacity to control physical reactions.  


So it is all in your mind?  With intention, if you can bring in wellness, can you bring in illness as well?  Something to ponder, which is exactly what I have been doing.  I recently read about The Wellness Formula of Life.  Intrigued, I thought I would explore exactly what this was.  


The Wellness Formula of Life ~ Mind Body Soul Connection, is described as a chain of command, starting with your soul, your spirit, your higher self or your guide, whatever you choose to identify with. Your guide will tell you ... if you listen to your intuition and meditation.  But if you are not paying attention or acting on the messages, you may need some assistance in listening.  This message then goes thru your mind and heart depending on the situation.  You may have random thoughts, lose focus or just can't get conversations out of your head.  These are the signs and coincidences trying to raise a flag, get noticed and give you a heads up to pay attention by pointing you in the right direction.  Next you get feelings or a sense of what is not real, when something is not right, anxiety ... this is your heart getting involved, and leads to stress.  And if you are not paying attention still, the message gets louder and louder and build up ... similar to a whisper, to a loud talk, to tap on your shoulder, to a hit in the arm, to finally knocking you down ... the universe is really trying to get your attention!


You can decide where in the process you want to pay attention ... your guide uses the mind body soul connection and gets more and more physical with each step described above. Physical can not only mean your body, but also material world ~ property, money, relationships, traffic, losing keys, computers crashing ~ losing "something" in your material world tends to get your attention quickly!


When it comes to dis-ease or loss, there are many aspects that affect your life, not just missed messages, this is just one of them.  In the case of illness, your actual physical body is the connection to consider ~ energetic messages so as the messages get stronger, more energy moves thru your mind and heart ... energy can start showing up as pain, discomfort, damage, infection, etc ... We often are "too busy", obsessed with other things until we are forced to take time rather than taking it when you first realize you need a break ... S-L-O-W-D-O-W-N.



So with all these messages and signs how can we keep track?  Well maybe write down each day what you did or didn't do instead of just marking it off which energetically is not as effective.  

• Track Body ~ write notes on what you did and where you are improving
• Track Heart ~ affirm how well you are doing and/or what emotions are coming up and restate your intentions
• Track Soul ~ give thanks for the assistance and give appreciation for having another day to continue your development.

Trust yourself, you know more than you give yourself credit for ....You may need to build up that trust by following through on everything you promise - this means not promising what you feel you shouldn't do!  And making sure that what you are committing to is in alignment with your higher self/guide/spirit.  


So, before you start anything - be very clear on your intention = the what and why you are committing to your self.  Then, honor your promise.