Thoughts, ideas & insights

This blog is intended to be a creative outlet in which I share my ideas, feelings, and inspired thoughts on the subjects of healing and spirituality.

Trusting Your Body

Second Blog Entry

February 5, 2022

At some point in the past, how many of us have noticed a new pain or bodily symptom, almost immediately started Googling our symptoms, and then shortly thereafter found ourselves sitting in the nearest Urgent Care waiting room believing that we have a rare deadly disease? Sigh… I think it has happened to us all! Leave it to our fight-or-flight response to cloud our judgment and lead us astray.

The intelligence of our bodies is far beyond anything we can fathom. And yet, even when we truly know this, we can sometimes fall into the belief that they are breaking down and failing us when a new symptom or condition sprouts up. When we attach to this belief, we start to worry and become anxious. We usually get into our heads, wondering how this happened, what caused it, and what must be done to remedy the situation. A downward spiral ensues. Unfortunately, this mental and emotional downward spiral is the opposite of what the body needs during this time.

When bodily symptoms crop up, the body is attempting to communicate with us. It may need something, it may need us to stop doing something, or maybe it is even speaking to us about an unhealthy relationship. Whatever it is, we need to slow down and listen. I repeat… we need to slow down… and listen… And, we need to trust. We need to trust that the body is not crumbling apart, and we need to trust that the body has the wisdom and the resources (or will soon have the resources) to correct itself. After taking the time to quiet our minds and to access trust, we may find that we do not feel the situation is urgent and that giving our bodies some time to rest and heal is the best course of action. Alternatively, our newfound clarity may allow us to remember that one of our friends recently raved about their naturopath, and making an appointment with him or her brings palpable relief. The bottom line is: Unless this is an actual emergency, we need to get out of fight-or-flight before moving forward.

Trust yourselves. Trust your bodies. You've got this!

Pondering Self-Care

First Blog Entry

January 21, 2022

One of my favorite things to contemplate these last couple of years is the increasingly popular subject of self-care. My intention is to dive a little deeper than we usually do and to touch upon why self-care is so fundamentally important.

When we usually think about self-care, what comes to mind most readily are activities like massage, meditation, walks in the woods, maybe even resting by the fire with a cup of hot tea. We sometimes think of self-care activities as activities incorporated into our lives with the purpose of counteracting the stressors and negative effects of modern living.

If we dig below the surface a little, we may realize that there is a way to implement self-care at a level which addresses our challenges more effectively at their root. Self-esteem, self-worth, and how we perceive ourselves and our value all contribute to the way in which we perceive the world. Working on our emotional health and healing our wounds allows us to navigate the world without being triggered as frequently, which decreases the amount of stress hormones circulating in our systems. Improving our sense of self-worth helps us to create a life which is more supportive to our emotional and physical health, thereby needing less superficial self-care which can, in certain cases, be acting as a band-aid.

Sometimes people perceive the concept of self-care as being a selfish endeavor, one in which we indulge ourselves and our desires at the expense of others. But, I think it is necessary to look at the bigger picture and broader perspective. If we can more effectively care for ourselves and show up to life as our best possible selves, we have more to give and more to contribute. Our positive energy improves the energy of the whole. At a spiritual level, we are all connected, so as we individually become healthier, we all become healthier. Also, as much as we individually would love to improve the condition of the world, how much can we actually do or change by taking action? I believe action is very important, but if we could individually become healthier and more whole, I believe that the condition of the world would improve exponentially.