Creating Your Own Healing Tools

I believe that we all possess the inner resources needed to make changes in our lives. When we get in touch with our "Wise Mind," the part of us that knows, we can be self-healers, Masters of our lives. Mastery means that we are no longer victims; we are no longer feeling out of control. Each of us has the capability to gather our inner strength and to select some strategies for healing that utilize positive belief and expectancy. What we focus on expands! Healing involves turning from isolation to a connection with Spirit. I believe that most dis-ease stems from not being at ease with ourselves, that is, feeling a disconnection from Spirit. Some see disease as a gift, serving as a redirection, a "reset button." It is only through the darkness that some of us find the light.

Progressive relaxation is a technique used to promote health by releasing tension through direct suggestions. Muscle groups begin to relax as we focus our breath and intention. Think of it as taking a tour through your muscle groups inducing relaxation from head to toe. I invite clients to imagine a healing, calming color and allow it to flow through every cell of the body, releasing all stress and tension. Breathe in peace and tranquility; breathe out stress and tension. Taking in some long, slow, deep breaths, counting from twenty-five down to one also begins to relax our body and mind. Relaxation exercises can be a great boost to our health as well as allowing us to feel more balanced, having peace of mind. I believe any type of relaxation/meditation is akin to preventative medicine. Besides physiological benefits, it de-stresses us.

Mindfulness teaches us to embrace the fullness of the moment. You might tune into your immediate body sensations to determine where you are holding fear, hurt, pain or other emotions. Gather up all the feelings and sensations that you are experiencing in the present moment. These may be related to a particular situation. You might give these feelings a form, such as a black prickly ball or red molten lava. Move into this form and ask for a message.

• What's going on with this pain, this tightness?
• What is it representing?
• Do I need to learn something from this experience before I release it?

Trust the response from your wise self. If you are willing to release the constriction, you may choose to feel the healing rays of the sun melt down this clenched energy. You can use a cosmic vacuum to suck it up and transform it. When you are ready to release, let it go in that moment. One can use the breath to let go of both physical and emotional pain, clearing away any negative thoughts and detaching from the pain. This detachment allows us to open pathways to comfort. Learn to be very kind and compassionate to yourself in the moment. I usually invite a client to use a beautiful rose-colored light to fill the space where the constriction was held. This healing color, representing unconditional love, replaces the old energy.

Using mental imageryinfluences numerous body responses including blood pressure, heart rate and autoimmune performance. There is clear evidence that surgical and cancer patients who use imagery increase their likelihood for remission. Any consistent use of imagery can improve physical health and well-being. We can guide our thought processes to invoke and use various senses: vision, taste, smell, hearing, touch and movement. Imagery provides essential communication links between perception, emotion, and the body. Healing imagery is limited only by the scope of our own imagination. I had one friend who envisioned little "pac-men" ferociously attacking her cancerous cells, while another friend chose to send loving energy in the form of colorful bubbles to heal the cancerous cells.

Creativity, while in an altered state of mind, is useful to stimulate inner journeys for healing. One can imagine entering a healing room surrounded by Angelic helpers. In this room you can release all the fear and push out the harmful toxins in your body. See or imagine yourself filled with a radiant healing light releasing all that is not of love and health. In this room you have the ability to reinforce all the thoughts, words and actions that contribute to your healing process. You may choose to select healing lotions, cosmic capsules, and specialized tools to completely restore your body to health. For instance, people with chronic pain might imagine moving into a central control room in the brain and encountering a control panel. They discover where the circuits for pain control and emotional distress are stored. They can imagine on/off switches, dimmer switches or circuit breakers to disconnect painful reactions to past events. You can "turn down" the intensity of emotional or physical discomfort. Give the problem to the subconscious mind and trust that it will solve the problem. It intuitively knows what is needed.

Loving and accepting ourselves is the key to healing at any level. Many of us perceived growing up with a "conditional" love. When love is based on conditions, we feel imperfect and unlovable. Children need unconditional love and discipline, not punishment. Yet, it's never too late to experience the self-love we didn't receive as children. We can give it to ourselves now. Healing the child heals the adult. Be mindful of the wounded child within, and go back and reassure that little child that you are there for it now as a much wiser adult. Change doesn't happen over night. It's hard work. It takes persistence. The process of healing is really a process of remembering who we are, our God-connection.