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Why Reconnect with Spirit?
To be perfectly honest, I would not have “reconnected with spirit” if it weren’t for the suffering my illness caused. And I say “reconnected” rather than “connected” because we are always connected to our spirit. It’s just that most of us don’t know how to access this sacred place.
In the depths of my illness, I was angry, resentful and depressed. The last thing I thought of was consciously connecting to my spirit. I just wanted to be fixed! Have you ever thought that too? Yup, I just wanted all the pain, fatigue, and sorrow to disappear… instantly. I didn’t have an extra ounce of energy to “push” any further. I was done. I was desperate. I had given up totally.
Desperation - are you there yet? Maybe not. Maybe you won’t have to get to that painful place. Or maybe you do have to in order to create real empowered change. I don’t know. Only your Higher Self knows. If you don’t like to be told what to do, then you may very well have to experience complete surrender like I did in order to heal.
I still remember the desperate moment when I re-connected with my spirit, my Higher Self. I was in bed, crying as quietly as I could, while lying next to my husband. I wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. As the tears rolled down my face, I suddenly felt a voice inside me say gently, “You have a choice, you know”. It stopped me in my tracks. I countered stubbornly, “No I don’t! I have to stay in this marriage even if it kills me. Divorce just isn’t right! I don’t want to be a bad person! I don’t want to fail.” The voice continued gently, “Ok, if that’s your choice, then you can continue on your current path and nothing will change. It’s ok if that’s what you choose”. At that moment, I realized that by accepting the status quo of feeling obligated to stay in my marriage no matter what, I was making a choice.
Do you ever feel like you don’t have a choice? Many people don’t, and I empathize. I know what it’s like to feel obligated. It feels heavy and yucky in my body. I had no idea that that type of energy was literally clogging up my energy channels and making me sicker and sicker. All the acupuncture, herbal supplements, and counseling in the world would not have done one bit of good if I had not finally listened to my Higher Self, my intuition, and had the courage to choose a different path. Of course, these tools supported me in the process by helping me balance and increase my energy so I could take action.
For me, the path I chose was getting up the courage to stand up for myself and separate from my husband. I knew this path would be wrought with extreme emotional backlash as both my husband and parents would feel devastated by my decision. Since childhood I had always felt responsible for everyone’s feelings, so it was extremely difficult for me to make a choice that might hurt another’s feelings. And indeed, it was heart-wrenching to witness my father crying for the first time in my life. The pain was great, yet the pain of ignoring my spirit, my soul, was greater, so I stood firm and weathered the storm.
Fast forward ten years. I could not have guessed back then who I would be today and how happy my life is. I couldn’t have guessed that my ex-husband would forgive me and go on to marry a woman who was a better match for him and father two beautiful children. I couldn’t have guessed that my parents, would not only forgive me, but lovingly accept my new partner. The gifts that have come from my reconnection to spirit are countless.
If someone were to ask me the one thing that made the most difference in my healing, I would say “reconnecting to spirit”. The reasons you may wish to reconnect with your spirit are plenty, and healing your physical pain is just one of those reasons. Here are some others:
Living a life of joy and purpose – feeling like you are making a difference in the world
Being able to access your intuition to help you make positive choices so you and others can reap the benefits
Discovering your mission through self-acceptance and appreciating your unique gifts
Enjoying your life, your relationships, regardless of any challenges life may throw at you
Appreciating that you are an amazing, unique, fabulous soul and that the world needs you
Having fun and experiencing the joy of conscious creation
Serving the world by being your true authentic self
Can Being “Spiritual” Help My Pain?
Having chronic pain slows you down doesn’t it? Does it prevent you from enjoying your life? Did you ever take your “health” for granted before you experienced chronic pain? The answer for many is yes.
Just for a moment, put aside any arguments or “buts” you may have and consider this thought: Your chronic pain is exactly the opportunity your spirit created in order to grow you spiritually. What if this were true? What would that mean for your life right now? Could it be that your chronic pain is not actually an obstacle in your life, but an invitation to reconnect with your Higher Self? If you are reading this chapter, it is likely that you’ve somehow attracted this thought into your consciousness. Whether you consider it or ignore it is up to you.
Think about this possibility: what if pursuing the relief of chronic pain became a spiritual journey? What if you discover more opportunities to develop happier relationships, joyful livelihood and prosperity in the process? How open would you be? Reconnecting with spirit can help you heal your chronic pain. It’s a matter of jumping in and seeing your illness as an opportunity rather than as a burden.
In my experience, my openness (and desperation) to connecting with spirit was responsible for my relatively quick recovery from fibromyalgia. Most people do not recover from fibromyalgia. In fact, few are able to return to work and most people become permanently disabled. Although I cannot say my health is “perfect”, I appreciate that my pursuit and deep desire to be healthy has brought many wonderful opportunities and I am enjoying the process of healing. Healing is a process, not an end point. You’ve probably heard the saying, “It’s the journey, not the goal”. Healing is like that. It is a journey of self-discovery and self-development whereby you may also experience the physical healing of symptoms.
Spiritual Healing
According to quantum physicists as well as spiritual mystics, energy comes before form. In other words, before something gets manifested in “reality” as solid matter, it has to be transformed from one energy form to another. Thought is energy and through a process of manifestation, can become a tangible thing that we can touch, taste, hear, smell or feel. Healing the spirit is synonymous with healing at the quantum level.
Out of all the processes outlined in this book on healing chronic pain, I feel that my spiritual healing was the number one most important factor in my healing. Consider this thought: everything you are experiencing is for your highest and greatest good. Sounds weird doesn’t it? Maybe the thought even angers you? But just for a moment, imagine if you will, if this were true. Then how would that change your perspective concerning your chronic pain?
So what does the process of spiritual healing feel like anyway, you might wonder? Well, it feels different for everyone, but I can describe the process that I often witness in my patients:
1. A crisis, illness, or unpleasant situation gets our attention
2. This situation gives us an opportunity to choose how we perceive it. If we perceive it as “bad” and resist it at every turn, we suffer. If we perceive it as an opportunity and choose to use it as a way to grow our spirit, we enjoy the process
3. When we can perceive the situation as a calling of our spirit to grow ourselves bigger than we were before, we manifest the courage it takes to expand beyond our comfort zone
4. When we’ve expanded beyond our comfort zone and integrated our new experiences, we get to know ourselves on a much deeper level and appreciate newly developed strength and skills. We learn to appreciate the opportunity our pain has brought us to allow our spirit to grow. In the process, we are less attached to the outcome and more vested in the actual experience
5. We perceive our world differently as our spirit evolves, letting go of pre-existing beliefs and judgments at each level and we start to understand how everything we think and do affects every other being in the Universe
6. As we spiritually evolve to higher levels, our joy increases as we experience healing on many levels: health, relationships, money, and career, to name a few
In the next few chapters, I’ll be introducing you to some “spiritual” concepts and exercises so that you can experience how accessing your spirituality can support you in healing your chronic pain. Hopefully, you’ll manifest much more than just healing your physical symptoms.
Chapter Summary
Your chronic pain may be an opportunity rather than an obstacle to experiencing a full and happy life
Reconnecting with spirit, your Higher Self, may be one of the quickest ways to recover your health
In addition to symptom relief, there are many “side” benefits from acknowledging and working with spirit in your life
The process of spiritual healing may feel different for everyone, but many people find that they grow to enjoy it