BODY-MIND-SPIRIT: HEALING THE WHOLE YOU
By Reverend Margaret Shepherd, MBA
I was moved by the courage and positive attitudes of those of you I met at the San Antonio conference. And yet I know many of you are still suffering.
Perhaps you are managing your condition with medications, chiropractic, exercise, or through surgery. But too many of you still have not restored your health. You want a better quality of life. And you deserve to have it.
Perhaps you feel powerless. Our society, institutions, even some religions have offered messages of powerlessness that we have accepted. And when we feel helpless over our life circumstances, we suffer. The truth is you have infinite power . It is hidden where you might least look for it - inside your being - in your mind and heart and soul.
You do not have to depend exclusively on medical treatment. You are not just a body that has been victimized by a medical condition. You are a whole being. You are body- mind-spirit, and you can use all of your body-mind-spirit to heal your physical self.
During the last hundred years there has been much proof of the power of the mind and spirit to heal the body. In the 1950s a psychiatrist named Rosenthal discovered what he termed the self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon. He demonstrated the power of suggestion on the mind when he told one group of teachers that certain of their new students were exceptionally bright, and another group that theirs were exceptionally slow. In truth, all of the children had tested as average ability. He found scientific evidence that the beliefs of the teachers affected the performance of the children. What they believed about the children literally became true. At the same time in our history studies were proving the placebo effect in medicine - patients beliefs in the power of a remedy dictate its effectiveness. Around the turn of the century transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and others gave birth to a philosophy known as New Thought. It teaches that 1) your beliefs create reality, 2) to control your beliefs is to control your destiny, 3) that there is a loving universal power or God that is always operating for your highest good, and 4) that the universe responds in predictable ways to the thought energy of your beliefs. Unity, Religious Science, and Christian Science are modern representatives of New Thought. Each offers evidence of physical healing through the practice of spiritual metaphysics. In the secular realm we have Tony Robbins, Dan Millman, Scientology, and many others who have demonstrated the power of thought to overcome physical ills. In the realm of modern medicine we have the work of physicians Larry Dossey, Deepak Chopra, Norman Cousins - again all offering scientific proof of the power of mind and spirit to heal the body. Dossey's work, for example, studied other's work on the power of prayer to heal and found most studies on prayer to be valid. The concentrated good will of prayer does heal.
You hold your beliefs about what's true in your conscious and subconscious mind. These beliefs create ALL of your life experience. Believe it or not, there are no exceptions. Mastery of thought creates mastery of life - including mastery of your health. You can change your health by thinking new thoughts. Universal metaphysical laws show us that thoughts are energy, thoughts create through attraction. When you don't like what you have created turn your attention away from it and focus on the ideal instead. Send your energy to what you want - never to what you don't want. Your most powerful thought energy is your strongest emotions, which are born of your strongest beliefs. You change your beliefs by replacing them with different ones until new ones take hold. You do this through the practice of holding to a vision of the experience you desire, and by creating affirmations that support that vision. Practice makes perfect.
A VISION is a thought form, a magnetic blueprint, a causative idea from which events, opportunities, inspiration, energy, action, feelings, creativity and infinite power flow.
A vision attracts resources for its creation -people, opportunities, information, finances - all that it needs. Your job is to keep the vision fueled with your energy. That job is easier if you surrender to the natural process by which the universe delivers the vision. This is important: keep your mind free of thoughts of "how" and keep focused on your vision.
A vision differs from other related forms of spiritual practice, though all can serve your healing. The process of VISIONING is the contemplation of an ideal state, allowing that ideal to take form in your conscious mind. VISUALIZATION begins with an idea in mind, a mental picture on which you focus to give it life. (In a sense you visualize your vision.) PRAYER is either asking for or claiming an experience of life. MEDITATION is maintaining an open state of consciousness so revelation and insight are welcome.
As you commit to living from vision and witness your vision taking form, remember to stay in the present moment, and trust the process. Two of my favorite quotes about this are:
"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just the first step." Martin Luther King
"Go to the edge of the light you see." Mary Manin Morrissey.
So, now you know that your body-mind-spirit can re-create your perfect health. Here are the steps, for whenever you are ready. And please, please, please, give yourself the kindness and patience you would a small child learning a new skill.
Step One - PREPARE YOUR MIND.
You must prepare your mind to accept a higher experience of health. (Remember, there is something deep within you that has accepted ill health, and that must be changed.) You do this by simply setting your intention. Because it is thought, intention creates. Also, your desire for perfect health is in harmony with the nature of the universe. You were meant to live in perfect health.
Remember these truths; let them settle in your mind until you can accept them. This is an important part of preparing your consciousness.
Remember you are 100% responsible for all your life experiences.
The key to living the life you want is to choose now , in the present moment. Create what you desire from your inner Self. Turn away from past or future. In the past is longing or lamentation; in the future is limitation or fear.
Forgive yourself right now for any choices you have made you judge as wrong. They were not, and you are not. Forgive anyone else you have judged as wrong. Cleanse your consciousness of all self-judgment and judgment of others. Get free.
Step Two - CREATE YOUR VISION
Now you are ready to create your vision and focus your attention on it 100%. Articulate it clearly to give it velocity and strength. Use your heart ( not your logical mind) to fuel it with energy. Allow the power of focus to bring your vision into form. As you send it energy it attracts all required resources. Nourish and protect your vision. Act on its behalf as you are inwardly guided. Trust the process. (If you don't trust the process you will limit and impede it.) Accept the opportunities, funding, ideas, connections, chance meetings, courage, clarity of thought, creativity, wisdom, information, and personal power -any and all resources that issue forth from your vision. And most importantly, remember that the purpose of your vision is to bring you joy. Accept the joy.
Here is an idea for how to create your vision of your perfect health. Give yourself some quiet time, have a pen and paper handy. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Say a prayer if that is comfortable for you.
Ask these questions of your inner wisdom, your intuitive guidance.
"What is my vision of perfect health?" "How can I best describe it?" "My experience of perfect health is .?"
Then, or later, ask yourself:
"What in my mind must transform?"
"What in my behavior must I do differently?"
"What am I willing to do now?"
Articulate your vision
Write, draw, sculpt in clay, paper cutouts, sing, dance, whatever. Express it any way you can to give it maximum power. Leave open questions open. Your vision may refine itself over time.
Create Your Affirmations
Affirmations are a powerful tool to support the manifestation of your vision. The average person is said to have 60,000-75,000 thoughts daily. You can see that it does take your sustained conscious attention to implant new thoughts in your subconscious mind. Old beliefs will predominate until they are transformed. You can support the process of changing your beliefs by "acting as if" - behaving as if you already have the restored good health you desire. Fake it till you make it.
Affirmations are declarative statements of what you desire to be true, spoken in the present tense. For example: "I love and accept myself exactly as I am." "I experience the natural perfection of my physical being." "I always attract the perfect resources to support my good health." "All my muscles, nerves, and tissues are relaxed or alert at the perfect times." In working with your affirmations, begin with the phrase "I am willing to fully experience this in my life now..."
Step Three - ACTION PLAN:
Ask yourself these questions: "What 3 actions can I take in the next 6 months to create my vision? What can I do in the next 30 days? What can I commit to do?
Share
With someone, all or some of your vision, plan and commitment, however you chose. You may also want to support each other. In the Los Angeles area I facilitate Mastermind Groups that allow people to work together in support of each other's dreams. There is great power in knowing others are supporting you, holding you accountable for your commitments to yourself, and in giving support to others as well. I encourage you to work together, and share the joy of healing.
When you have a story of your own healing to share, please give others the gift of your inspiration and hope. Let's work toward an article soon on healing triumphs! Contact me at 800-264-9690, or email HYPERLINK "mailto:revshep@earthlink.net" revshep@earthlink.net . Meanwhile, know that I am holding the high watch for each of you, and sending you love.
Reverend Margaret Shepherd, MBA
2613 E. Chevy Chase Trace Dr.
Glendale, CA 90216
