An Introspective Doctor's World View of Why We Get Sick & Suffer. The discussion of identity versus non-identity.

Let's talk about the ultimate dichotomy - Life and Death

Our body's dark days are those spent in illness. We shiver, we shake from the cold sweating, we sometimes vomit or crap out the infestation. Our body struggles to let go of the invader. In this process of shedding and fighting, we are actually becoming stronger.
Do you see this as a creative process or one of being a victim ?
Yes, just as a broken bone heals with increased strength than it had before, our body will also create antibodies and memory to the struggle. The next time we are threatened, our body's instinct is to fight back with more of an arsenal. And what if you constantly suppress the natural intention ?
What if you deny the signs ?
What if instead of accepting, you choose to counteract the intelligence of your natural body ?
Do youtake Tylenol or ibuprofen at the feeling of an ache or the threat of a cold?
This DENIAL of the process actually Weakens us.
As we continually ignore the necessary "Urge to Purge", we are actually increasing the chances of greater illness in the future.

YOU HAVE TO FEEL IT TO HEAL IT
If you deny the feeling and pretend it's not important, the feeling persists.
WHAT YOU RESIST, PERSISTS.
I can guarantee you that and if you were to be honest with yourself, you would recognize this is true as well.

I have seen patients who persistently self-administer tylenol and such medications to numb the pain of a chronic, low-grade illness such as a sinus infection or cough.
Disclaimer : A doctor must assess illness as you must know what is NOT OKAY in the process of illness. I am not recommending this for you.
But if it is appropriate and I can support a person to safely see that there can be liberation from their suppressed inflammation or infection by allowing the body to use its innate essence to heal and repair, this is a healing process. Steps can be taken to actually bring resolution to chronic illness. There are ways to encourage the natural process of the immune system, and it cannot only be suppression as a pathway to true healing.

In my practice as a Naturopathic Doctor, I look towards a person as the metaphor of an onion.
We all have layers in our health and illness.
There is only so much that can be done to support a body at one time. And as you peel away these layers, you move closer and closer to the root. To the essence of what is self and what is non-self.
What is it that motivates the movement that I am witnessing in this person's health ?
What direction are they moving and what are their goals ?
In which direction do they want to move ? In what direction can I help them ?
It is not always that a person is moving towards CHANGE in their healing. At times, they are in a place of stagnation....of emotion....of processing and feeling. They are not ready to change. They need to just BE.
Be sick, be unwell, moving towards death. And this can be ok. This does not need to be healed. Perhaps this just needs to be embraced ? And what then ?

What of the pain of despair ?
What about things beyond the physical? In what way does this approach of identity apply to our minds as well ?

Let's take a moment to consider that maybe EVERYTHING.....GOOD & BAD....EVERYTHING that was happening had purpose ?
Even if that purpose was to experience, witness, and walk away.
Will you choose to either INTEGRATE or LET GO ?
To accept and express identity with the process........ or ..........to deny it and leave it behind?

Do you feel that you are authentic in your life ?
Are you committed to be truly yourself ?
Might you choose to possess a strength in your perspective that can be expressed WITHOUT VIOLENCE being your initial instinct ?

Are you able to get along and communicate with others ?
Do you value becoming wiser and someone who others can turn to in a crisis?
Are you a BUILDER in your life ? Do you nourish your gifts and choices and GIVE WHAT YOU WANT TO RECEIVE ?

I believe that the closer you get to your authenticity, the more you become aware of how your choices reflect the mirror of polar opposites, and suddenly you are navigating amongst the simple choice of YES OR NO ?
If I was WILLING to fully embrace this choice and consequence, will I proceed or will I walk away ?
Do I choose to belong to this moment or will I walk away and wait for the next one ?
Deny, deny, deny.
Accept, accept, accept.

Have you ever taken a moment to recognize the emotion within rejection ?
Each time rejection happens, we either move towards the criticism or move away. And what is our motivation for that CHOICE?
Is it that we don't want to be INFECTED by what we don't accept ?
Or we don't want to accept the truth that perhaps they were perhaps right ? Even this slightest moment of reflection and empathy can alter the course of the moment. Not to own this experience outside of us, but to perhaps allow the parts of it that we accept to TEACH US and increase our strength. To allow the wound of the past, the trigger of our hurts to infiltrate, gain momentum towards our wellness and move on stronger than we were before.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A VICTIM FOREVER.
YOU CAN CHOOSE YOURSELF BACK FROM THE HURT AND WOUNDEDNESS.
YOU CAN.

I have learned the most from being wrong.
I didn't actually grow up until I started to take responsibility for how the what I was creating in the now was actually from my past. That my experiences had created triggers that I had to decide on whether I wanted to perpetuate the "illness" or to take a stand and embrace the darkness so that I could move beyond it to what was light.

Let's just say that for a moment you were going to accept and explore..........
What purpose would this event have in my life ?
What is my lesson ?
What can I embrace that is partly the truth ?
Leave the rest......No need to hang on.
MOVE IT THROUGH, MOVE IT THROUGH, MOVE IT THROUGH
FEEL IT TO HEAL IT
AND MOVE ON --------------------------------YES !
Gaining strength as you go. Learning more and adapting. Changing, Evolving, getting Stronger.
YES!

This is it. This is what is happening inside of you, all of the time.
Our body does not want to give up. There may be pieces of it that are dying and being excreted, eliminated.
And still EVOLVING !

What direction will you encourage your body to change ?
And what of your soul ?
Do you have FAITH? Do you have BELIEF?
You have a world view and there is someone out there who can relate and learn from your process.

I treat people as a doctor in situations where I have certainly never experienced what they have gone through.
But I believe in the experience that there is a UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF HUMAN EMOTION.
And to engage at a level of empathy is to set yourselves both free from barriers in communication.

What prevents us from choosing otherwise ?

We question our authenticity. Is this what I've got ? Is this what I'm capable of ? Am I willing to be happy with this moment for this time.
Who will I choose to be in this one moment in time ?
A moment in time is all there is before it forever changes and the world moves on around us.
There will always be parts of it that ARE US and that ARE NOT US. Parts to embrace and parts to reject. Move away and keep moving. Let that shit go. Move it through. And move on.

Do you believe in the power of manifestation ?
If not, you are missing out, my friend.
I believe that BECAUSE I look for the appearance of meaning in events, BECAUSE I ask for help and BECAUSE I choose not to be a victim to my life, that I see the manifestation of open doors and higher meanings in my experiences.
I seek to find my truth
I find this an interesting journey to consider : The Search for my Ikigai

Back to the human body :
So there actually is a thing known as the "healthy fever". We are often taught to fear the fever. Sedate the fever. Fight the urge to cave and allow the fever to wreak havoc on our tissues. This denial of the truth weakens us. There is research to show this. Taking Tylenol prophylactically before immunizations actually dulls the capacity we have to use the vaccine for our body's memory.
It's self sabotage, really.

I believe this is a manifestation of our resistance to displaying weakness. Of being forced to a will other than our own. Of spending time giving to our most simple needs of resting and being non-productive. Of connecting and being ok to just be.
There is strength in vulnerability. And modern medicine. And traditional medicines.
They are all needed and valued.
But where is your power ? Where is your willingness to gain wisdom ?
Are you willing to embrace your process to strength, to healing, to disease or despair ?
What is your choice ?

xo