Capacity for Change

Something significant has emerged in my recent thinking which is partly why I’ve not added any further posts, until now. I was developing clarity on the matter. It feels like a startling revelation to my inner consciousness. The words I previously spoke, about considering illness or change as an opportunity to embrace, have now taken on greater depth and inherent clarity.

I am not ‘In Limbo’ . 

Acceptance creates freedom

These last months have not seen me while away my hours totally in a limbo state. Acceptance has been the key to unlocking a sense of peace. Since my total acceptance of having an undiagnosed illness and knowing that a solution or cure was not imminent I turned to myself. When there is nothing else, there is still Self. Can you sit quietly and listen to the sounds around you without thinking about what to do next? Take away the words should and could. There is only now. Jon Kabat-Zinn assists in how to use mindfulness in an otherwise chaotic world. His audio tapes are valuable when our own minds are struggling to focus. His voice encourages us into a healing state of meditation. When the mind is calm the body can begin to rest, to heal even.

You can change your life

When we inspire ourselves with uplifting quotes and images, we find a way to release negative emotions and fill the void with hope and positivity. These emotions are essential for our wellness. Laugh more than you cry. Love more than you dislike. This next one is far more difficult but if you can find a way to replace hate for forgiveness then you are likely to find the key to unlocking your own success. We know that hate breeds negativity, darkness, bitterness and despair. How can we move forward with the very acts that create the feelings of hatred? It is hard. Forgiveness is not so much about the perpetrator but it is about us. Those at the end of our hatred rarely feel it and the only harm being done is to ourselves. However we get there, the fact remains that through forgiveness we can experience greater emotional healing and the growing of the life that we were meant to have.

Being a Reiki Practitioner, I have witnessed the ease of many people’s difficulties and each time been in awe of the beauty contained within each of us to begin to heal ourselves. For me, Western Medicine has an essential role but when it reaches its outer limits there is only that which is contained within each of us that can help and we really can. 

For a while, in the depths of illness, I found it difficult to concentrate, difficult to meditate or get the energy flowing. Over time and there’s certainly been a lot of that, I have deepened my practice of mindfulness and other meditation techniques. Without realising I alleviated my anxiety which was a response to the distressing symptoms and reactions my body was having. I’m certain now that it has also prevented me from dipping into a downward spiral of depression.

Find joy in the small things

Physically, life currently remains a challenge but something that Dr Wayne Dyer says in his book, I Can See Clearly Now, sums up the very thing that I realise has altered and positively affected my mental outlook: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Yes, life is different but with a positive outlook this time of my life has become an opportunity. My motto used to be mind over matter but now I take heed of my body and it’s needs too. Deepening my understanding of illness in others and the effects on everyday life has been profoundly enlightening. 

From A Guide to Rational Living by Dr Ellis, I’ll leave you with this thought, We are responsible for the way we feel and have within us the capacity to change the way we view the events in our lives.