Learning how to heal thyself can feel a bit daunting, especially if you too struggle with over indulging habits like overeating, or if you’re a shopaholic, workaholic, alcoholic, etc. But it’s totally possible thanks to guidance from offerings like the recent Oprah and Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation Experiences – Shedding the Weight: Mind, Body and Spirit. It’s a lot of information, but I’ve taken the liberty of breaking this series into three parts. If you missed the first part, don’t worry. You can catch up on the gems shared during the first week here.
Restoration, Healing, and Recovery
The second part of the series is all about restoration, healing, and recovery, which Deepak Chopra says is happening inside of us all the time. We simply have to let go of trying to control it and allow stillness to guide us, so that we don’t deplete ourselves faster than we restore ourselves. Sure, working out, getting our hair done, getting a massage, etc. play a role in restorative self-care, but we have to make an effort to take care of ourselves as a whole – mind, body, and spirit.
I know personally I’ve been on a healing journey, completely focusing on the mind and spirit, leaving the body behind. Deepak says separations like that show that resistance to healing still exists. However, he encourages us to be gentle and refrain from blame and judgment, as they have no part in the healing process. Instead we need to bring awareness to every opportunity that warms our heart, raises our self-esteem, or adds a moment of lightness to our lives. This is who we are meant to be and how we are meant to live our life, free of negativity and self hate. If we start and end our day reminding ourselves of all the good that we have to be grateful for, we begin shifting our beliefs, attitudes, and choices toward what we want, vs. what we don’t. It’s the best gift we can gift ourselves.
Consciousness Beyond Distraction
Unfortunately our mind has learned to allow distractions like overeating, overspending, and any other general over indulgence you can think of, to hide all those negative thoughts, habits, and unresolved issues. They present themselves differently in everyone, but the outcome is the same. We turn to external things to distract us from dealing with the real issues inside. And the more we continue to repress and deny those negative feelings, the stronger they get, and continue to sabotage our life.
However healing is possible. We just have to make a conscious effort to choose how we respond when those negative thoughts pop up vs. letting a our old habits choose for us. As someone who reaches unconsciously to food for comfort, I know how hard that habit is to break. But what I’ve learned is that I’m the one who created it, so I have the power to break it. Deepak says when we acknowledge the fact that we alone are the healers of every burden we carry, we let go of victimization and get our power back to heal thyself. We just have to rewrite the narrative around our old habits.
To help, we have to bring more awareness to the choices in our life. This allows us to expand our consciousness and free ourselves from old habits which are no longer serving us. This transformation, Oprah says, gives us inner peace and creates a new, lighter self, free of hunger, frustration, and any sense lack. The outside distractions we are seeking like food, booze, finding a better job, partner, more money, etc. are not where peace and fulfillment lie. They lie in true inner peace, which is free of cravings, feelings of emptiness, or dissatisfaction.
The Healing Power of the Present
Yes it’s that simple. Why? Healing is a natural state of being for our bodies. Deepak says just to think of how quickly our bodies jump into action when we cut our finger. Our body immediately starts trying to stop us from bleeding, healing us to make us whole again. And it all happens in the here and now. Our cells only know and react to the present moment. They don’t live in the past or worry about the future. They’re too busy keeping our bodies going, reminding us to eat, drink, sleep, etc.
The same is true here. Our body is just eagerly waiting for us to get out of its way so that it can get rid of all the negativity that is keeping us stuck, so that it can begin healing, and make us whole again. We need to stop fighting our body’s natural, effortless rhythm and join it in the beauty and joy of the present. That’s what holds our power, not the past, or worry about the future. Those only expose us to doubt, uncertainty, and a sense of lack which takes away our power and allows weakness and victimization in. Don’t let it.
As you can see, the mind is a powerful thing. But as long as we allow stillness and awareness in, we can make it work for us instead of against us. Only when we choose to live in the moment, aware of every conscious decision, can we truly shift the power back in our favor and begin to heal ourselves.
Need more? Check out the recap of the first part of this series here and check out the last part of the series here.
How will you heal thyself?
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