So many people consider themselves “spiritual” rather than religious, nowadays. We think about, read, learn and practice pursuits for the health and nourishment of our soul. Because our soul is occupying our body, we must realize that one of the ways of connecting with our soul’s needs is by understanding what is going on in our body.
Mind/body medicine is attempting to bridge the gap between the way that allopathic doctors treat symptoms of illness by combining complimentary techniques such as meditation, prayer, hypnosis, and mental healing. I think that the spiritual seeker, and mind/body practitioners may still be missing an important point.
STRESS IS A SIGNPOST ON A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
When we feel “stressed out” our body may react with tense muscles (one of the first signs). Over time and by not dealing with the cause of the stress, this may become chronic pain (tension become more “pressing” or intense). Eventually degeneration of the health in practically any way can become the result of ignoring the soul’s message.
Stress is a SOUL message telling us: “There is an incongruity; a disconnect between the way we want to be, and the way we are living our lives. That becomes emotional and physical stress. (To clarify terms, this is referred to as a stressor; and the result is a stress reaction in our bodies.)
We cannot separate the mind and the body. Think about the words we use to describe our actual experience: We “think” in our hearts (learning by heart), have “gut” reactions, and it’s been shown that all of our cells have this ability. (“Molecules of Emotion”, Candice Pert, Ph.D). When you pay attention to the subtle physical signs as you do/say/feel something that you don’t want to be doing, some part of your body is going to be giving you a signal – tightness in the chest, nausea, a headache? In scientific terminology, this is called a “feedback loop”: a cause-and effect that goes around in both directions. Your mind informs your body, your body informs your mind. Each one of us is different, and has our own physical path that gives us more evidence that we have to stop and pay attention to what we are doing! The more we ignore the symptoms, the stronger and more insistent those symptoms will become!
There is no doubt: the mental stress will REVEAL itself in someway in our bodies. The sad thing is that we mostly treat the stress symptom (the muscle aches, the headaches, poor sleep, belly fat), and ignore the core reason that we feel stress in the first place! A spiritual person who ignores the signposts, the symptoms of illness in their body, is practicing only PART of learning their soul’s message. That message is written on our health. We cannot clear a physical condition until we pay attention to discover what those symptoms are telling us about the decisions we’ve made and their impact our lives.
Whether stress is an event in our present life or from the distant past, it creates a reaction that leaves its mark on our health. You can spend your money on dealing with the symptoms, or you can identify the root cause and heal your mind/body and soul.
There are effective techniques to help you understand the message of your body. As a licensed coach, I use HeartMath’s® techniques along with meridian tapping to get to the “heart of the matter”. Contact me for more information about how I can help you hear your soul’s inner message, and restore your health and wellbeing.
From the heart,
Lianda
