I bring this post to you at the time of the Winter Solstice, the time when we are closest to our unconscious, and therefore have the greatest potential to create deep shifts within our psyche-body in service of our evolution, both individually and collectively. Today I want to share with you thoughts that I have gathered that have to do with our health and healing. It also seems particularly appropriate due to so many people around the world being sick, and who are frightened as a result.
The single most important factor in someone’s healing is their belief that they can heal. I realize that many people do not heal physically even when they firmly believe they can. However, I strongly feel that the point stands. The very decision to heal is, in itself, healing on at least some level.
In our culture, we have given most of our healing power over to the doctors and the medical establishment. We are, indeed, conditioned from a young age to do so. Most people see the doctor as the one who knows more about their bodies than they do, and who has the authority to tell them what they need to do to heal, or even whether they can. They project absolute knowledge onto the doctor, as a kind of all-seeing guru. Some people dread going to the doctor for this reason too — fearing that they will be diagnosed with something that the doctor will tell them is incurable. And they believe her — that’s the problem. Immediately, without even realizing it, they give that authority over to the doctor without even questioning it. In other words, it happens unconsciously, as something that’s been “built in” in such a way as to assume the doctor’s certainty. Receiving a diagnosis, such as cancer, strikes so much fear into people’s hearts, that they regress and want someone else to take over their treatment. My sense is that that’s the real reason people deteriorate and even die — because they’ve given away their own sense of their bodies and their incredible healing potentials over to the doctor who has decreed that their condition is incurable.
This runs very deep, because it is part of our Western culture, where from the moment we are born — and even before — the doctor is determining whether we are healthy, and later on our parents bring in the doctor for our various sniffles and childhood illnesses. The trouble is not with bringing in someone who can be a healing presence, but with the implicit, unspoken, giving-over of authority to someone else to the exclusion of our own awareness and our own potential for healing. From a very young age, we are subtly (or not-so-subtly) taught to ignore the wisdom of our bodies and our own intuition, and to instead “do as the doctor says”.
Healing is possible in an instant. The skeptical mind will reject this statement, citing so many people who never heal, or who take years or even decades to heal. However, I’d like to point your attention to the 4-minute mile phenomenon. For years, it was believed that the human body could not run a mile in under 4 minutes. Then one person (Roger Bannister) decided to challenge this — which means that he rejected the assumption that was being made about the human body as a general rule. But here’s the most amazing thing: once he did it, it showed the rest of the world that this was, indeed, possible, and hordes of people have since repeated this feat. And so it is with healing — if one person can heal from cancer, or any other illness, they prove that it is not an impossibility the way Rodger Bannister showed others about running a mile in under 4 minutes. And that healing comes from a decision — whether it’s made consciously or unconsciously.
We all have times when we unconsciously know that we will heal, such as, when we have a cold or the flu. We know that, if we are in generally decent health, we will eventually recover, and we don’t fret about it too much. We might even enjoy a few days of being snuggled into the couch with some hot tea and comfy TV shows, even if we are physically uncomfortable. We simply expect that after a few days of symptoms, the body will once again go back to normal. (Colds and flus are, by the way, the body’s way of detoxing from an accumulation of toxins in the body, such as after consuming lots of processed foods, or being around environmental toxins such as those used in cleaning airplane cabins.)
However, given what we have been taught over decades of cultural messaging, when it comes to more serious illnesses, the decision to heal must happen consciously. Whether the person believes that it will be “a long road to recovery” or if they know that healing is possible more quickly than some statistical chart dictates, there is a conscious decision made. It looks differently depending on what kind of illness it is, and what the person chooses to do, but it is always a mobilizing energy. One might decide to see a practitioner of some branch of Traditional/Holistic medicine (such as a naturopath, functional medicine doctor, acupuncturist, herbalist, etc.), or perhaps treat themselves at home with herbs, supplements, and dietary adjustments. Some read the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza, and enter into a regular meditation practice focused on entering into a state of health. Whatever it is, it’s an energy that demonstrates their belief that healing is possible, an empowered state of being, rather than a victim stance.
This shift is not an easy one to make. I realize that what I wrote above can be a challenge to believe, especially if you are dealing with something very deep, such as cancer or autoimmune illness. The beliefs about our body and what is possible run so deep, that they can feel immovable. I can relate — and I am myself still at times plagued with doubt, which I have to crawl out of through painstaking moments of intense awareness. If you are intrigued by the above, I do recommend reading the works of the authors listed below to help you really internalize a new way of thinking about your health and your life. Healing IS possible. Even if the physical body is “too far gone” by some standards, healing is possible on at least the psycho-emotional-spiritual levels. That is why you are here. I invite you to bring in your Inner Healer and decide to heal.
Authors Worth Reading
Joe Dispenza
Bruce Lipton
Lynne McTaggart
Gregg Braden
Alberto Villoldo
*I am saddened that we live in a society where, I am legally obligated to defer to doctors (it’s one glaring example of the conditioning I described above), as if they hold all of your healing capacity. However, I am required to note that my statements are not intended to serve as medical advice or to substitute regular medical treatment.
Loving Psychoanalysis 