Question All of It

When we think about our health do we believe everything we read or are told?  Do we rely on a doctor’s prognosis to determine what happens to us?  There is plenty of evidence that supports the stories of a doctor giving the “six months to live” prognosis and the patient dies in six months.

What if we start questioning everything?  How would our lives look if we opened our minds to the possibilities instead of believing what we think is true?  Our thinking is being constrained by our perspectives and preconceived notions that are learned “facts” and notions.  When we question all of it we can stop making errors in assumptions.

I find it helpful to sit quietly in meditation and allow my body to give me answers.  Our minds get in our way.  We accept dogma as truth.  We tend to believe the “experts”.  What I have found is that everything is in constant flux including “facts” espoused by the experts.  The world’s dogma was once a belief that the earth is flat.  We now know that isn’t true.  It took questioning and researching those questions to get to the point of changing the system.  This is where I find meditation very helpful.  It is also where Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy can play a huge role.

My body knows what it needs.  My mind, my intellect, does not because it operates in a world where the facts rule.  And the facts of today can very well be the fallacies of tomorrow.  The Intelligence of my body and the larger universal connection that we enjoy through our fluid system is awe-inspiring. 

When I put my hands on another person I give them the permission to let go and let their Truth prevail.  Their truth is always different from my Truth and that is the ultimate gift that I can give them.  Their body resonates with the energetic field that is created when judgment is suspended.  My intention is staying present – much like a meditation.  Whatever needs to arise will show up.  I say “hello” and “welcome” and truly breathtaking shifts in the physical body, the mental body and the spiritual body can happen.

Many times there is a story behind the body’s disruption in its expression of health.  Our attachment to that story is oftentimes our downfall.  For whatever reason we may not be ready to let go of the drama surrounding it.  Oftentimes we aren’t even aware there is a story connecting the two seemingly separate issues.  From a holistic perspective it is all connected.  It is our awareness that is disconnected.  But, we do not need to be mentally aware of this connection in order for Health to arise.  Our body is aware and can make the changes needed without ever recreating the drama that might have caused the problem in the first place.

In the presence of a caring therapist who allows the body to express itself through its fluid system, which is also intricately coupled to our nervous system all possibilities open up.  I am not adding anything into the mix.  I am allowing the internal environment to have a voice.  The compression we have carried around with us is allowed to expand and shift to an inclusive energetic blueprint where ALL possibilities become a part of the answer.

It’s similar to looking at a building’s blueprint and asking ourselves, “If I moved this door over here and replaced that wall with a window what new and exciting possibilities can I experience?”  We never know unless we investigate the questioning.  We open ourselves to the expansiveness of the Universal Health that exists at the core of each of us in our own unique blueprint.  This is the priceless benefit of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, a hands-on treatment uniquely different for each of us.

Honoring Ourselves

I was quite busy last month and I forgot to take a container of food out of my refrigerator and dispose of it.  When I realized it was in there and I had no idea what it was, I opened it to the aroma of rotting food.  I jumped back and said “That really smells!”  I reminded myself that it was suppose to smell because that’s nature’s way of protecting us from eating what might make us sick.

Nature tries to warn us against hurts we inflict upon ourselves, as well.  Pain, conflict and frustration are all ways the universe tells us to change our course of action.  Do we listen?  Usually not.  At least not until we get it drilled into our heads for the umpteenth time.

We tolerate dysfunctional relationships, abusive business dealings, addictions, and numerous other situations that are bad for our level of health.  We tell ourselves that we are forgiving and selfless to put up with these situations.  “Next week I’ll talk to my boss”, or “he’s a good person and he can change.”  What we really need to hear our inner voice saying is that we need to do it differently.

In training a dog we reward them when they do what we expect them to do.  If we didn’t praise them how would they know they were doing it correctly?  If only we were so smart.  How many times must we not be rewarded until we climb out of the hurtful situation?

This is one way that Craniosacral therapy can be quite helpful.  When we lie on the table and allow our body to speak to us in the quietness of the present moment with a witness to help keep us aware we have all kinds of revelations of the spirit.  Our answers reside there.  All we need to do is to listen.

Honoring ourselves to live in the light and goodness of what the world offers is the better way to live our lives.  We need to tell the truth about our pain before we can excavate our way out of it.  The best way to live a pain and conflict-free life is to love ourselves.  Once we learn that lesson we need not become entangled in the frustration again.  We’re worth it.

Random Acts of Kindness

If we were to look at our body as being the tip of the iceberg, we’d understand that what we see is just a very small part of what determines whether we’re in good health.  There’s much below the surface that plays such an integral part in the wholeness of our entire structure; and unless we become ill, we might not even be aware of its existence. 

The metaphor of the iceberg allows us to understand what it takes to enjoy a healthy life and to see that what affects the body is more than what meets the eye.  It illustrates that good health is more than addressing just the needs of the physical body, but concerns the needs of the soul and the mind as well.  It reveals why healing is a way of living and being.

There is an old philosophical truth about healing:  It’s not just a science, it’s a way of living.  It should happen every moment, not just when we become fearful that some ache or symptom might be an indicator of something more serious.  If we’re experiencing illness, healing requires that we look inside ourselves for the hidden motives behind the illness.

Using the metaphor of the iceberg, the layer directly below the surface is behavior, which represents how we act, what we do, what we eat, how we interact with people, how we manage the stressors in our life, how we take care of ourselves, and how we safeguard ourselves against illness.

Practicing acts of kindness towards ourselves is paramount in keeping our bodies functioning well.  Most of us take better care of our cars than we do ourselves.  Taking time each day for some quiet introspection is important for us to get in touch with what is happening with our inner health.  And by design that touches every other area of our total being.  I’m trying to practice random acts of kindness to myself each day.  I hope that it makes a difference in other’s lives as well. 

The Great Oz

As a craniosacral therapist I spend much time in silence “listening” to the body tell me its story.  Deep healing can happen within that space.  Becoming attuned to that part of our bodies that handle those healing resources takes much practice at being present.  It’s much like meditation in that respect.

I recently had an image during one of my sessions that was a very still pool of water that ended at a right angle to form a waterfall.  However, the water was not falling over as I suspected it should, but was trickling.  Down in front of that and off in the distance was a city.  It reminded me of OZ.  As a child that was my favorite movie.

Of course I thought I was really weird and wondered what the heck.  But I have learned to be okay with all that comes my way and to not question.  Immediately after reminding myself of that it occurred to me that the Great Oz did not give the tin man, the lion or the scarecrow anything that they did not already have.  He acknowledged what was already within them and sent them on their way.

For me, this image represented that part of ourselves that refuses to believe that everything we already need and everything we already are is within us.  On one level we can relate to the fact that the Great Oz did not give those creatures anything, nor do we need anything in order to be complete. Yet I believe that the trickle (as opposed to a rush) of water was that space within us that doubts the truth of that.

I propose that each of us learn to truly appreciate ourselves and who we are.  We’re good enough just as we are in this moment.  Once we acknowledge that, our growth begins.  Our attitudes change and we start attracting the health and happiness that we all desire.

Developing Presence

I can hear the deep silence anytime I remember to listen.  It’s right below the noise.  This is what I am reminded of each day during my meditations.  It is the stillness where my answers arise, where my pain melts and I feel gratitude for my life with all its joys and all of its sorrows.

It is this present moment awareness that is my foundation for exploring my life journey.  If I can remember to be gentle with myself once I start my daily relationships it makes me doubly appreciative of the time spent honing this awareness of what Stillness is capable of.  It isn’t only the moment of the “aha” but all the spaces in between; the process of living my life step by step by step.  And yes, stumbling at times as well.  In fact many times it is the stumbling that creates more insight than the “aha”.  Or, maybe the “aha” is the result of the stumbles.  It’s probably a chicken or the egg discussion.

At the heart of it is my realization that the process is what has created the form of my life.  If I focus on the answers that I think I need I entirely miss the experience of how to live in that moment and the next moment that provides the ultimate result and deeper meaning.  It is the deeper meanings of those steps and stumbles that provide healing. 

It is developing presence that gives me knowledge of myself.  And, more fully knowing myself allows me to heal.  If I can heal myself I can help to heal the world.

The journey

The spiritual journey, which to me is essential to our health, can have many connections and interpretations.  It is as unique as our fingerprints.  From this basis we can all learn to appreciate the healing capacities held within us.  As we journey into a present moment awareness and delve into the Stillness that arises we are able to access our original Health, which resides under all the layers of undigested experience and is never lost.  This allows us to appreciate the magnificence of who we truly are and become a co-creator of the manifestations we desire in our lives. Using our bodies as the vehicles for this experience will allow us to sense the details of the process.  This gives us real knowledge; not just information.

What I have found is that this knowledge is always there but that I tend to distract myself from it.  If I get too close to a change I need to make, or it becomes painful I think of something else or I get up and do something to take my thinking mind away.  When I have someone put their hands on me with no agenda except the intention to be present I am able to sink more fully into allowing the arising process to resolve itself.  If I start to wander, a skilled practitioner will gently bring me back to the present by keeping herself present.  If the practitioner is willing to wait for whatever revelation needs to manifest then my system responds to that TLC.

There is really no mystery here.  When we can be present we create the space needed for life to do its work.  This is what Mike Boxhall calls letting the work do the work.  With a mind that is open to all possibilities the expansiveness of the Stillness is free to express itself.  Our choice is whether to accept that answer or elect to bury it again.  Sometimes, we’re not ready to let go of the pain.  We still have a few more lessons for it to teach us.  There is no judgment about that.  It just is.  Sometimes the wait increases the sweetness of the final resolution. 

We cannot get here before we have been there.  The journey is what it is all about.  There is no dance; there is only the dancer.  Life is perfect.  One of our jobs is to remember that; especially in the midst of our chaos and pain.

No Judgment

Sometimes, when I have my hands on another I feel an overwhelming sense of wanting to get things right.  Not that I want to “fix” them but that I don’t want to make a mistake of judgment.  It can so easily happen as I find myself with an idea of what needs to happen to have the fluid reorganize or to have a bone move into its proper movement pattern.

Hold on!  Within seconds I come to my senses and realize that I am not the judge.  What I might think “needs” to happen is absolutely the last thing that does need to happen.  I’ve come to realize that perfection is exactly the situation we are in at this very moment in time.  Each one of us is as individual as a snowflake so what may seem an imbalanced pattern to my senses is the perfection of another’s system.  For me to have a thought otherwise is affecting that system.  This is why it is so important to sit in present moment awareness and stillness and be a witness (and only a witness) to what arises.

I’ve heard it said that the heart of clinical practice is listening.  It reminds me of the times when I need to vent about a situation I’ve found myself involved in.  I don’t need anyone to give me answers.  I need someone willing to listen to my feelings about what transpired.  Afterward I feel as if a weight was lifted.

That is how it is with this hands-on work.  I need to be willing to listen to pain, suffering, hope joy and the deeper forces at work in my life without attaching any story or fear.  Can I leave agendas behind and be open to the forces of life itself?

That is the greatest gift we can give our clients.  This is what allows their system to decelerate and reorganize around the Health that exists at the core.  This present moment is where healing takes place.