Today it is my pleasure to have Dr.Lesley Phillips, author of The Midas Tree as guest on CelticLady's Reviews with a guest post!!!
LIVE YOUR LIFE AS IF YOU MEAN IT
By Dr Lesley Phillips
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful." - Buddha
This quote from Buddha offers a truth about how we
eliminate pain in our lives. We all suffer, from time to time, from pain
whether that is emotional, physical or mental. At the time of the affliction it
can be difficult to believe relief will come or even be possible. That is when
it is time to take advice from great teachers that have come before us and
transcended the suffering that comes from health challenges or those of
emotional distress and any other form of dis-ease.
Attitudes and thoughts can have much to do with the
level of suffering we are experiencing. Much of the pain that comes when we are
ailing is self created, yes that’s right; it is created in our minds. We focus on the hurt just like a little child
that scraps his knee playing. There may be some discomfort but not until he
sees the blood does he begin to bellow. Why? Fear sets in.
Our minds can be our best friend however the
opposite can be true as well. I have experienced illness that has developed
strictly from my fear or discomfort about a task that I needed to perform. For
example, there were mornings when I dreaded the thought of going to work. I can
remember saying “If I had the flu I just would not go in today.” Well wouldn’t
you know it! It wasn’t quite 10 minutes later and I presented symptoms. I began
coughing, became slightly dizzy. I even ran a fever of a couple of
degrees. Nothing changed in my environment
other than the will to be healthy.
Well-being can be compared to a triangle made up of
three states; the emotional, the physical and the mental, each representing a
side. When one side alters length, becoming shorter or longer, the other two
sides are affected. This is true with our states of being. When, let’s use the
example above, my emotional side was affected by the thoughts of going to work,
my physical nature was in turn changed.
Now I pose, to you, an interesting question. If I
can alter my well-being with negative thoughts and emotions can I possible
alter my negative well-being with positive thoughts and emotions? If there was
a vote being taken I would submit my ballot with an affirmative. In my healing
and meditation practice I have worked with many people that have been helped by
a simple and relatively easy adjustment of one of the sides of the well-being
triangle.
Does this hold true for major ailments as well? I
again vote in the positive. Even if you resist this notion regarding a cure, I
ask you “Would it hurt to try?”
Another aspect of health and well-being I would
like to draw to your attention is living in the present moment. As Buddha’s
quote above infers, it is critical to positive well-being to be present. When
we move out of present frame we are either pondering the past, usually in a
negative way or the future in a fearful manner and either of these can be
detrimental to good health. Meditation is a great tool for learning to be
present. In fact this is one of the reasons I wrote my book the Midas Tree. I
wanted to teach children and adults alike the simple meditation techniques,
including being present that have helped me to be happy and healthy.
A mentor once told me, “The only time we should
look backwards in time is to propel ourselves forward. Not unlike an archer
that draws back the string of his bow to give the arrow the ability to thrust
forward, hopefully hitting it’s appointed target.”
Ruminating on the events of the past or fearfully anticipating the future takes us
out of the most powerful state, the present when and only when any and all work
can be done to become healthy, wealthy and yes, even wise. Whether you are
strong and healthy or are suffering pains of disease remember your life is YOUR
LIFE. Employ as many positive thoughts, deeds and emotions as you can possible
muster and your Now will be much more pleasant than the alternative.
Twitter: @DrLesleyP
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Thank you so much Dr.Phillips, this post has particularly hit home as my husband is undergoing chemo and some days I have to keep encouraging him to not focus on the treatment but what is at the end of the road for him...cancer free... It is a hard thing to do though as I really have no idea what he is going through mentally and emotionally. I still try to express positive thoughts to him. Thank you again for your thoughts.
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ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. It can be difficult in times of illness not to take a solely physical perspective. Especially when going through something as tough as chemotherapy. I'm glad you found my words helpful.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. It can be difficult in times of illness not to take a solely physical perspective. Especially when going through something as tough as chemotherapy. I'm glad you found my words helpful.
ReplyDeleteHappy to have you on my blog...we all need uplifting every now and then..
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