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By Brian Dodds |
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Brian Dodds Health Services |
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Health An Overview
With regard to health I have come to believe that all aspects of the body/mind … physical, mental, emotional and spiritual … all play their part in the total well-being of the individual. For many of us that goes without saying, yet the degree to which these aspects are interrelated is little understood by conventional medical practitioners. Where they are recognized, they are seen as separate factors and treated as such. In holistic health, the interrelation is a finely tuned, mysterious dance — the physical cells, hormones, feelings, emotions, in fact, everything is continually responding to everything else.
As I delved deeper I have come to one fundamental conclusion. It is absolutely impossible for someone to have a feeling or an emotion without it linking to some part of the body. We may not be aware of it, yet it still takes place. This leads to the further understanding that every experience, every emotion leaves its mark upon the body … and the body stores this experience physically in the cells. Researchers call this cellular memory.
I would even go so far as to say that people do not become old through aging. We get old for two reasons:
How might this process be described? My explanation goes like this.
Any prolonged tension within the body indicates a problem that needs addressing. If it is not, in time pain will become apparent. For most people this is unwanted and seen as an inconvenience. First the individual will withdraw attention from the area to avoid the feeling. By withdrawing the person is not facing the issue involved … which may be a life lesson, an inappropriate belief or simply stress. At some point, painkillers are used and the inconvenience is gone, except for possible side effects. These may relieve the physical pain, but over time, the numbing results in a feeling of depression. This may ultimately lead to feeling nothing at all: not feeling pain, but also not feeling pleasure. At this point, other drugs are often prescribed, counteracting the resulting symptoms … the most common being antidepressants.
Finally serious disease ensues and the individual is faced with a crisis forcing him or her to take action. In very serious cases the outcome may be cancer or another life-threatening condition, where the doctor recommends radiation or removal of the affected parts by surgery.
All this sounds very frightening and at the same time very disempowering. Finally the doctor, whose predictions are based on his or her experience alone, delivers the prognosis to the new client and the family. The circle is complete and the individual takes all the dire predictions into his or her mind. This in turn sets off a new chain reaction in the body/mind, deepening the fear which is already present.
I want to say at this point, categorically, based on both my own experience of serious illness and my work with clients, that this whole scenario, although very common, is unnecessary.
It negates the natural process of the body healing itself. It negates the process of an individual learning from his or her experiences. It also negates any possibility of bringing about change. It basically implies that we are not in control of our destiny.
This, to my mind, is the ultimate in disempowerment.
If this book helps you to step beyond our contemporary conditioning, allowing you to take back responsibility for your health … then writing it has indeed been worthwhile. |