May 2016 Newsletter

Hello, and a magnificent May to you!
Welcome, or welcome back, to my newsletter. The photo above shows me entering an energy medicine workshop, encountering a friend I hadn't seen in a long time, then us exchanging a joyful hug. Appreciate the friends who bring joy to your life!

Today's issue has an article on mistaking a symptom for the entire problem, and not looking any deeper. Enjoy!

In EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, or "tapping"), or other forms of energy work, you might hear "The problem is not the problem". (If you're unfamiliar with EFT, you can learn a bit more about it here.) What does this mean? A client might come in complaining of a sore lower back. Yet when we do some work together, we find his long-suppressed rage at his dictator boss is at the root of his back pain. Once he starts to speak up for himself and regain some power in his job, his back "magically" feels better. Traditional western medicine has been criticized for "treating the symptom". But if you've got an open wound, you want the bleeding stopped! And you want any potential infection prevented. Once the situation is stabilized, then it might be time to look for an underlying pattern which led to this, maybe rushing or carelessness or not being present. Don't drive yourself crazy with self-examination, or especially with self-blame. Nobody's perfect! And there may be an enlightening "ah-ha moment" which comes from noticing a recurring self-destructive theme in your life.

To me, troublesome symptoms are the body's way of communicating, trying to get a message through to us so we make a change in a healthier direction. It bothers me when people mask the symptom so they don't have to listen to it, and can just continue on as usual, at least until another symptom pops up. A few months ago, in the coldest part of our winter here in NY, I strained my knee from working out without warming up sufficiently first. I was annoyed at myself -- I know better. And maybe because of the cold weather when all my muscles are tighter, or because I wasn't babying it enough, it seemed to take forever to heal.

After 2 weeks of no solid improvement, I started wearing 2 pairs of sweatpants in the house, just to keep it warm and loose so I wouldn't strain it further. (I should have done this from the beginning.) And I "tested" it a few times, trying to work out gently, to find it just wasn't ready yet, so this probably set me back a bit. I also needed to take stairs slowly, both up and down, making sure I was warmed up enough -- I couldn't just leap up from sitting at the computer and bound upstairs like I normally would, or my knee would complain loudly.

This was a difficult experience for me, who once ran many miles a day. I knew my body was speaking to me, and I'd better listen. Pain killers would have been stupid -- I'd just have done more damage if I couldn't feel the pain. It's almost completely healed now, and I'd say my lessons from this have to do with the need to remain present and grounded and in my body. If I'm distracted, my attention elsewhere, I can hurt myself!

I'm not seeing this as a punishment for a wrong choice, or as bad luck. It feels like a necessary reminder, which although I've gotten many times before, apparently I still need to hear! So look at your current "problem" a bit deeper, seeing if you can decipher the teaching from it. The way to move foward is to learn from our past. And laugh at yourself for your human-ness. I sure am!

To read about looking beyond the symptom of blur with your eyesight, click here.

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Please send me your questions and comments
Let me know what you've wondered about concerning energy medicine or vision or dreams. I'll be glad to write a short article addressing that topic. Thank you to those who have sent me questions, or see a question you asked me in a private session written about here. You're helping many other people! Enjoy the beginning of your May. I'll write again in a few weeks. Take care!