Of Presence, Mindfulness & Healing
Each issue of Healing Garden Journal, the wise editors develop suggested topics for us to write on. I love the topics they produce, and it is the reason I so enjoy the Journal. When I reviewed the list for this issue, one listed was “Natural Healing”. I was very excited…as a physical therapist, a craniosacral and lymphatic therapist, and a clinic owner, my goal has always been to offer natural healing options to each client. It is the entire mission of the clinic and part my life purpose. But then I started reading some of the other suggested topics…peace, forgiveness, loving thoughts and quiet times. Whoa…hold the boat…all of these have to do with Natural Healing….how am I to possibly choose? So I didn’t. Each has such an important role in enabling our own innate natural healing process.
In the Sept/Oct issue I wrote about using Peace in overcoming pain. In chronic pain situations, something in our life path has created a state of dis-ease. It can be physical, emotional, or spiritual pain or trauma. I have learned from many of my clients, and in my own journey, that finding Peace can be a critical first step in the healing process. Many times we attempt to find Peace, i.e... “treat” the physical aspect. We do that via medications or other invasive interventions to try to “fix” what is wrong physically. Sometimes that can be the answer. I believe God put well-intended doctors and surgeons on this planet for a reason. Many times, however, this may not be the answer. Many of our physical ailments have a deeper emotional or spiritual basis. The good news is that we have a lot of control over our emotional and spiritual life. The key is to be open to doing things in a new way. Find a new way to bring emotional or spiritual Peace into your life. Some ways I often suggest are yoga, meditation, walking, attending church, prayer, spending time in nature, counseling, or physical activity.
Forgiveness is a key component to this healing process. I have experienced the healing that can occur with forgiving others, but more importantly, forgiving ourselves. A key to forgiving ourselves is to live in the moment…being Present in the Now. Eckert Tolle’s philosophy of “Being in The Now”, has exploded the concept of Presence. Being Present is such a powerful tool in living the life that we were meant to. To me, the power comes from efficiency of energy. Efficiency of our energy…our energy that could be used for healing, for intuitive insight, for changing ourselves and/or our world. When we live in the Present, we expend no energy fretting over the past (this includes things that we can forgive). By letting the past go, we can live in the moment. I found it helpful to internalize the concept that I cannot change the past, I can only learn from it. We all have something in our past that we wish did not happen. Yet, it did. Now we can only learn from the experience and change ourselves so that we do not repeat the pattern. By doing so we forgive. The energy that we expended, dare I say, wasted on that fretting can now be used in the Present. In the same way, we waste energy worrying about the future. Expending energy with thought processes about the future is completely wasteful…we can only make change in the here and now. Try this process…see how much more energy you have for your own daily life and healing process.
This blends so naturally with Loving Thoughts. When we are Present and choose to have only Loving Thoughts, we are in a place of Mindfulness. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, scientist and US leader in Mindfulness & Meditation, writes that Mindfulness is being in a state of nonjudgment while being Present. When we choose to have only Loving Thoughts, we are in a state of nonjudgment. In the same way, when we have forgiven, we are in a state of nonjudgment. I have found that when I am in this state of Mindfulness…not judging myself or others…projecting and receiving only loving thoughts…it opens the mind to receive large amounts of positive and intuitive knowledge and energy. The ability to make change (create healing) in the world and within myself is never higher than when I can achieve this state.
This is where Quiet Moments can be critical to the healing process. Creating time and space to have Quiet allows the other components to blend and create a beautiful synergy of healing and creating. I call these my Mindfulness Moments. Mindfulness and Presence is something, for me, to develop and aspire to. While it is a beautiful vision and goal of being in this space all the time, it is probably not realistic. For me, I try to incorporate Mindfulness Moments throughout my day. I find that my day flows with much more ease if I can achieve Mindfulness 2-3 times per day. When I get busy and don’t make time for these Quiet Moments, things just don’t click in the same way.
Together, these skills help to create a pattern of health and well-beingfor me, and for others. You may have other skills and techniques that can help you achieve this Presence and Mindfulness. The key is to finding and utilizing what works for you. Be open to trying a new technique.
I wish for you, this day…Peace, Forgiveness, Loving Thoughts and Quiet Times…together these have powerful capabilities of creating Presence and Mindfulness. In this space I have witnessed miraculous healing and creating. May you find yours!
Vanessa Cayle, MSPT is a physical therapist and owner/director of the CranioSacral Institute of MI, LLC. She teaches and presents craniosacral therapy and Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM). She actively treats clients, teaches, lectures and oversees numerous wellness-focused groups at her Shelby Twp. office and abroad.