Do you ever feel like unease is running your life, even if you don’t have a diagnosed illness? Do anger, resentment, or frustration often cloud your thoughts? You’re not alone. We all grapple with these feelings at some point. This article explores four creative steps toward healing, offering insights into your behaviors and how you engage with your own well-being.
**Step One: Understand Your Energy**
We’ve all heard of auras, but how do they relate to our health? According to Carolyn Myss, the energy exchange within our aura is where our thoughts translate into energy, shaping our very biology. Our thoughts create energy waves that impact our health, positively or negatively. This energy is influenced by the seven major chakras, or energy centers. Myss describes these chakras as ‘computers’ that collect and interpret information. Scientifically, each chakra corresponds to an endocrine gland. Just as ‘you are what you eat,’ it’s equally true that ‘you are what you think.’
**Step Two: Let Go of Old Wounds**
Now that you’re hopefully examining your thoughts and shifting negative energy, consider this: Myss suggests that ‘healing is unattractive.’ This may seem counterintuitive. Why would healing be unattractive? Myss argues that our wounds give us power. Consider these ways we might lead with our wounds:
1. *Using wounds to manipulate situations or people:* Avoiding situations or relationships due to past hurts prevents genuine connection and growth.
2. *Attracting other wounded souls:* Sharing wounds can devolve into a competition of pain, hindering true healing and empathy.
3. *Giving up our ability to listen:* Dr. Bernie Siegel emphasizes that listening is a powerful act of support. ‘Woundology,’ or constantly focusing on our own wounds, blocks our ability to truly hear and support others.
Consider this example: Someone shares their grief over losing a loved one. Do you immediately search for a similar experience to one-up their pain? Instead, offer unconditional listening.
**Step Three: Learn to Forgive Yourself and Others**
The final two steps offer remedies for anger, resentment, and frustration. Forgiveness releases the emotional investment in the past. It frees us from wasting energy on negative thoughts. As Myss suggests, forgiveness brings our energy into the present. Authentic forgiveness allows the body to release the weight of the past.
**Step Four: Love Yourself**
Loving yourself is the final, and perhaps most challenging, step. It begins with accepting yourself as you are today. How does this aid our health? Recognizing that negative self-talk stunts our growth allows us to cultivate self-love, piece by piece.
Try this exercise (inspired by Louise Hay’s ‘You Can Heal Your Life’): Spend 15 minutes daily sending love to yourself in the mirror. Start by finding one aspect you appreciate. Gradually expand your focus to other areas. Soon, you’ll see an image of perfection and purify your energy.
In essence, these steps boil down to one core principle: True healing comes from learning to love ourselves.