If everybody knew about something, it wouldn't really be a secret; now would it? Well, very few people grow up hearing about such things as self-healing; I know I didn't. I had actually been trained to believe in medicine and technology and insurance and hospitals; and it was almost 40-years before I realized what it meant to have control over my own health - to be able to choose illness or wellness with nothing more than my choice of thoughts. Now I want to give you that secret; and you should pass it on, too. No person should keep a secret when "spilling the beans," or, "letting the cat out of the bag," could help someone reclaim their quality of life - or possibly even save their life by helping them overcome a potentially life-threatening condition. By the time you've finished reading this article, you'll understand how you can heal yourself and maintain perpetual wellness.
Your body's natural state is one of life, growth, health, and harmony; if it wasn't, you couldn't exist, survive, or thrive. You are built and wired for life and happiness. And then, some of us are programmed for struggle, stress, drama, and illness. But we all have internal healing mechanisms that are designed to operate automatically. Your immune system is always healing and building your body - unless, of course, you are stressed out. That's right; when you are experiencing stress, your body shuts down your immune system - allowing you to become ill, among other things. Struggle, drama, fears, doubts, and any negative thought or emotion, are indicators of stress; whenever you feel as if you don't have enough mental, physical, emotional, or financial resources to meet a given situation, your body automatically goes into the stress-response - or, the "fight, flight, or freeze-response." And, when that happens, your body shuts down your immune system, your reproductive system, and your digestive system - and other systems, as well. Chronic problems in any of these areas are simply indicators of chronic stress - signs of these systems being in a chronic, or constant, state of dysfunction, disrepair, or non-functionality.
To turn-on your healing response, you must turn-off your stress response. The stress-response will actually turn itself off automatically after a few minutes - as soon as you start thinking less-stressful thoughts about your situation. From the time you recognize the fact that you are thinking stressful, or negative, thoughts and make the decision to think new, positive thoughts, you will have to endure the feelings of stress for a few minutes after you change your thinking - just long enough for the short-lived adrenaline, and other stress hormones, to dissipate. Regardless of the method of emotional self-management you employ, you will always have to make the decision to stop doing what you're doing and actually use the method or tool to resolve the stressful thinking or response - and you have to stick with and honor that decision. It takes a small amount of focus and discipline; but the rewards to your health, longevity and relationships alone are well worth the energy and attention required to gain emotional self-mastery. Until you are a master of your own emotions, you are a slave to them; and emotions - specifically negative emotions - are precursors to struggle, illness, and suffering. Learning to manage your thoughts and emotions will dramatically improve your overall quality of life in many ways.
The awareness of the stress response, and how it works, will help you stay calm when facing drama; once you understand what stress is, what it can do (stress is blamed for up to 90% of all trips to the doctor's office), and how easily it can be controlled, it will become harder and harder for you to let yourself get away with staying angry, afraid, depressed, ill, or a victim of anything. The stress response is ultimately responsible for all unwanted weight gain and retention; and stress also negatively affects performance in every other area of your life. You can turn-off stress, however; you can learn to master your thoughts and emotions. When you do, you are well on your way to healing yourself and managing your own health. Once you understand how to turn-off stress and turn-on healing, all you have to do is program your body for wellness.
One of the worst habits you can develop is to constantly state the obvious - especially when you are speaking negatively of your health, life, or body. When you don't feel good, there is no benefit to announcing that apparent fact to yourself - or anyone else - over and over again. Likewise, when you are injured, there is no benefit to making a big show out of it. If you need help, ask for it; but, for the most part, illness and injuries heal on their own, so that's what you should declare and affirm. The instant you become aware of a symptom or injury, you are already healing and you should affirm that reality to yourself rather than a reality that features you falling apart and suffering. For example, if you cut your leg, by the time you realized it, your body would have already started the process of healing by washing the cut out with blood, sealing the cut with the clotting factors in the blood, and repairing and rebuilding skin cells, nerve cells, etc, under the cover of a temporary "bandage" (called a "scab") built automatically by your body. Even pain and soreness are vital signals that keep you from undoing the repair work, or further damaging yourself while still in a weakened state. There are obvious benefits to applying direct pressure, or seeking professional help for serious conditions; but ancient wisdom reminds us that, "The physician dresses the wound and healing comes from within." The one thing you can know is this: If you're feeling it, it's healing.
When you're ill or injured, you can reason through this on your own; but it helps to develop programming that kicks-in automatically when you need it. I have an affirmation I say every time I become aware of pain, or other physical symptoms, that reminds me that I am not sick or injured - I'm healing. My affirmation is: "All I'm Feeling Is Healing." And it's true; you are always feeling good, healing, or dying - which is also a form of healing, and shouldn't be anchored, or connected, to concepts of fear or punishment. When I become aware of discomfort, I reflect on recent stresses in my life and apply forgiveness, release, and my affirmation, "All I'm Feeling Is Healing!" I practice this diligently; and it has become automatic for me - as it can for you. As a result, any time I become aware of tension or discomfort in my body, my mind immediately and automatically begins affirming my good health and healing - turning off the stress response and minimizing the harmful effects of stress while accelerating the healing process. Affirm your health daily; and reaffirm your health and healing until the healing response becomes as automatic as the stress response. With a little thought and practice, you can learn to manage your emotional state and turn stress into an automatic signal to activate healing - dramatically improving your overall quality of life.
