Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Living with a persistent health condition often feels like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Chronic pain, arthritis, anxiety, depression and other persistent health conditions can put us in the unwinnable situation of experiencing our bodies as an uncomfortable, unsympathetic even hostile environment in which to live. We are in it, we can?t escape and we have to deal with it. But how?

Holistic health models serve as a reminder that all of us, regardless of our current state of health, have a vital force?a force of vitality and intelligence?running through us. Our relationship to this vital force determines our health, and perhaps, more importantly, our experience of our health. The success of accupuncturists, accupressurists, herbalists, massage therapists and many other holistic health professionals in helping their clients heal serves as a testament to the power of working in concert with the lifeforce to bring about positive change in people?s lives.

This is a different approach toward healing than that to which we are accustomed here in the West where pain and suffering are often viewed as problems to be ?gotten rid of? or ?solved.? In contrast, Nature?s laws governing healthy growth and maturation show us how the natural world (of which we are a part) achieves wholeness. In a garden, for example, weeding (getting rid of the things we don?t want) plays a secondary role to the preparation of the soil?the environment in which the plant lives?to foster a plant?s healthy growth and development.

By connecting to experiences of wholeness, we nurture the soil of our bodies (and our psyches and souls) in which we live and in which we may prosper. Setting aside time each day to reflect upon experiences of wholeness is a way to cultivate that soil. Two simple ways to do this are to meditate on the breath, and to spend time in Nature. When we meditate upon the breath (closing your eyes helps), we silently witness and follow with our attention the drawing in of breath to the point at which the body releases with the out breath. Placing the hands gently on the belly guides the breath there. (Often people breath shallowly which inhibits relaxation and the full experience of feeling alive in our bodies). When we consciously meditate on our breath, we invite the bodies natural breathing ?rhythm? to establish itself bringing with it comfort, ease and a physical level of trust that gives us renewed faith in our body?s innate healing capacities.

Plant meditations are another way to connect with the lifeforce, both within and without. If you cannot get out into Nature because of time, mobility or other limitations, I encourage you to bring a plant into your living space that in some way attracts your attention. In a quiet, undisturbed place, take time to smell the plant, note it?s texture, it?s visual harmony, it?s overall expression. Reflections might take the form of journaling about what you notice and appreciate about the plant, how it makes you feel, what longings or reflections it stirs in you about life, and your life specifically or in general. Drawing the plant using a rich array of colors is another way to celebrate not only the beauty of plant life, but to experience the creative interplay and ?aliveness? that occurs as you create a visual expression of your appreciation and experience of the plant.

Relating to the natural world through our senses is an important way we can awaken to our sense of wholeness through the richness of our sensual experience.

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