"If a peep peeps in the forest and no peeps are around to hear it, does it really make a peep?"
-Kris Garber
-Kris Garber
"If a peep peeps in the forest and no peeps are around to hear it, does it really make a peep?"
-Kris Garber
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I would like to share something from my own healing journey today. Before I found Ayurveda, I had a 5-year battle with recurrent acute pancreatitis. This condition often occurs in people who drink a lot of alcohol, but as that was not the case for me, my doctors could not figure out what was wrong. I couldn't eat anything without experiencing severe abdominal pain. I was too thin because I didn't eat much and my body wasn't absorbing all the nutrients from the little food that I ate. When I began eating an Ayurvedic diet for my body type, I felt a little better each day. Sometimes, during my healing process, I would feel bloated and have tiny pains that reminded me of the ones I had during my pancreatic attacks. I would begin to worry obsessively that my pancreatitis was coming back, I would question the wisdom of my Ayurvedic plan, I would go on the internet and research all the many things that could be seriously wrong with me. For awhile I was convinced that if I just did enough research, I could make absolutely sure that I was on the correct path to health. After going through this cycle a few times, I realized that the more I worried, the worse my pain felt.
Of course, being me, I did research on stress-related illness. I came away from that research convinced that the high level of stress that I had been under for 5 years was much worse than anything that my digestive issues were likely to be causing. I firmly decided to stop giving into my stress. When my little pains would remind me of my illness, I would push the obsessive thoughts away, reminding myself that anxiety over feeling bad would only make me feel worse. Instead, I chose to focus on what I was doing to get well. When I had relapses, I would mentally list all the things I was doing to feel better. Often I would say out loud, "I am getting well. I trust my path. I am giving myself permission to get well." Sometimes when we are sick for a long time, we identify ourselves with our illness and that identification prevents our healing. I did not want that to be the case with me. Just in case I was holding onto my illness because it was making me supermodel thin, I actually said out loud daily (several times), "I am giving myself permission to get fat if that means I will be healthy." I looked inside myself for any emotional attachments that might keep me from getting well. When I finally gained a few pounds and didn't lose them after several months, I bought new pants and gave away my smaller ones because I didn't want any part of me wishing I could fit into those pants once again. I didn't want to invite this illness back into my life. Keeping my stress level low while healing was a daily battle, but it was well worth it. Nothing is made better by nurturing stress over it. When I was healing, I chose to wage war against my anxious tendencies. I hope by writing this I can help others do the same. Thanks for listening. • This simple meditation can help to alleviate stress and depression. We all store physiological memories from past experiences in our chakras. By focusing on each chakra in this meditation, you bring attention to aspects of yourself you may not give much thought to in the busy routine of modern life. This rotation of your focus throughout the body, coupled with affirmations or prayers said at each chakra, helps to break the cycle of negative emotional patterns. • In this meditation, you will use the image of a natural cleansing force (such as white light, warm golden sunlight, or water). You will be visualizing this force traveling to each chakra, cleansing any energetic blockages. By clearing the chakras, you can facilitate smooth energetic flow throughout your body. • If you are stressed, begin at the chakra between the eyebrows and work down to the charka at the base of the spine. If you are feeling stagnant or depressed, begin at the base of the spine and work up. If you are a beginning meditator, you may use the graphic with your eyes open until you learn the location of each chakra. To facilitate communication between chakras, do in both directions. • Close your eyes and visualize your cleansing force entering the crown of your head (the purple chakra on the graphic) and traveling down your spine. • Stop at each chakra and imagine that cleansing force circulating there. At each chakra, use affirmations (“I am/I have…”) or prayers (“I ask for…”) appropriate to each chakra. Affirmations or Prayers: Between the eyebrows (Purple): clear understanding and will, imagination, clarity of perception Throat (Blue): power, clarity of speech, ability to listen Heart (Green): love, intuition, understanding and awareness of emotions, control of emotions Solar Plexus (Yellow): empowerment, wisdom, creativity, ability to act, willpower, confidence, letting go of anger Just Below Navel (Orange): compassion, nurturing, sensuality Base of Spine (Red): safety, support, grounded approach to life “Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
― Dalai Lama XIV In light of the Supreme Court's hearings on marriage equality, I thought it would be fitting to write about anger. When we harbor anger, we are living selfishly. No matter what we think our reasons for anger are, even if we think it is "righteous anger", it is poisonous. When we write catchy, hateful slogans on protest signs and use them to make others feel badly about themselves, we are nurturing anger. When we are angry, we feel terrible. We make others feel terrible. When two sides are angry at one another, no one benefits. Anger fuels anger. If people remain angry long enough, their physical health will decline. Their liver will be affected, their GI tract will become inflamed, they will get heartburn, insomnia, and cardiovascular disease caused by chronic inflammation. Is this really worth it to hate someone else because they don't live by your moral code? I am posing this question to both sides of the marriage equality debate. I myself am definitely in support of marriage equality. In addition to being an Ayurvedic practitioner, I am an ordained minister who has studied extensively the religious points of this debate. In debates like this one, the truth is it has nothing to do with actual backing by religious texts. People react to this issue viscerally based on what they have been taught from childhood and what they have learned in life. We could all benefit by stepping back from the emotional mess that is this debate. This hearing is deciding the fate of many American families. The fact is, regardless of your moral stance, there are thousands of LGBT families with children who are suffering because one interpretation of morality has dictated our nation's definition of marriage. Those families exist whether or not you like them, and probably you know and like many of these gay people and don't even know it. Those families are subject to the whims of many people on a daily basis. Imagine how it would feel to be told you could not see your husband or wife in the hospital. Imagine how it would feel if your child's teacher told you that you couldn't take them home from school because you weren't a legal parent. Regardless of your personal beliefs, these families deserve equality and compassion. There is no religion that is going to support the denial of compassion to those who deserve it. It is a dangerous road to travel once you begin to hate. No matter what your reasons are, hatred takes root in the heart and begins to grow. Don't give in to that. We can get more out of life by constantly looking for ways to benefit others who are suffering. This is the example set by all the great religious leaders whose legacies are with us today. Thanks for listening. So many of us live in the past. We obsess about good times lost or mistakes made. The truth is that every moment you have lived has made you the person you are today. Whatever good you have today has come from a myriad of tiny decisions made in your past. Regrets are useless because we cannot change the past and most of us would not give up the good things we have now to go back. When we go through the hard times, we can have hope that we will emerge from them with new insights and lessons learned. Sometimes all we learn is how to be strong for someone else. And that is okay.
If there are things in your past that you carry with you, you can move through them. If you have experienced severe trauma in your past, such as violence or sexual assault, it is a good idea to work with a practitioner who can help you move through the events of your past in a safe space with emotional support. There are energy healers, past life regression therapists, hypnotherapists, and people like myself available in addition to psychiatrists and counselors. If you are dealing with more mundane regrets and grasping, it can be done on your own. Before you begin, set the intention that you are going to let go of this particular part of your past that is holding you back. Acknowledge that holding onto the feelings surrounding this part of your past is not helpful to you. Set your intention to let go of any attachment to this part of your past once and for all. Attachment can be anger, regret, sadness, joy, and even love. Next, replay this part of your past in your mind. As you mentally watch the movie of your past, apologize to yourself as needed, apologize to others, forgive yourself and others involved, and let it go. If needed and where possible, you can apologize to others in person afterwards. If you are letting go of a joyful time in your past, remember the happiness vividly. Thank the universe or the divine for bringing you these joyful times. Then, let go of those times. Allow them to be part of your story without the attachment of trying to recreate them in your present. I have done these exercises to move through my past traumas and it made a world of difference in me. Letting go of lost loved ones was difficult for me and this is how I was able to do it. I hope that by sharing my techniques I will benefit others. Look back and let go. |