I have been trying to understand our healing power and what it is for a long time. It is deeply fascinating that we possess the ability to heal ourselves.
With experience of autoimmune disease, I have personally experienced what it feels like in body and soul when you are not in your own life force. I have also experienced the power coming back. In this blog post, I try to understand this process more. I am like a small child who is unsteadily exploring and making my way forward, to gain clarity. I vaguely suspect that I will spend the rest of my life trying to understand this.
When you have the life force within you, you don't question this. During short illnesses, we accept that we become tired and weak, but have the confidence that our strength will eventually return. As long as we rest and take care of ourselves. Earlier in my life, I had not reflected on the fact that health can come and go. Health is the most valuable thing we have. My mother said that "without health, we are nothing". But having grown up without the slightest allergy, I did not have the ability to understand what a lack of health means.
In the case of chronic or severe, life-threatening illnesses, we may instead experience a loss of vitality. When we are constantly or repeatedly tired, have pain, brain fog or inflammation in our bodies, it does something to us. We do everything to get healthy again and the only thing that ultimately matters is getting our health back. Because without health, we are nothing. When we have tried long enough, perhaps our trust begins to fail. Will things ever get better again?
We can no longer take anything for granted.
My own journey with autoimmune disease came insidiously. Maybe it all started with several infections of parasites and amoebas. Too many antibiotic courses. This gave me an upset stomach for many years. After the pregnancy came an avalanche of symptoms. Weight loss, sleep disorders, fatigue, pain. A terrible brain fog. Thyroid problems, severe PMS and miscarriage. Anxiety and worry. Over the years, I had less and less stamina. When I exerted myself, whether it was sports, work or emotional stress, my body would run out and I had to catch up.
I remember thinking that it was as if I was given a jug of life force every day. Earlier in my life, life force was unlimited and I didn't have to think about conserving it. Later in my journey, another analogy came to me. It was as if the cork had been pulled inside me and the energy was slowly seeping out of me. Like a constant leak.
These experiences and parables made me wonder.. what is this life force, energy, health? How can we be in the life force and energy and how can we call it back when it has weakened?
My own health journey took a different turn over the years. I did many things and I tried everything. But above all, there were three specific things that worked for me. Part of it was finding the right thyroid medication. But it was also addressing anemia in the right way. And the third was working on parasites. To help me, I had a supportive family and a very smart naturopath and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine.
Suddenly one day thirteen years later I realized that it had been a long time since the brain fog set in. Suddenly one day I realized that I had unlimited power. Within me I felt the power of life pulsating. And it flushed on my cheeks. Pleasure and well-being like warm waves inside.
I will continue to delve into the healing power and understand it with all the means at my disposal. It is magical, but it is not to be taken for granted. So cherish it well.
This is what the wonderful herbalist RJ Whelan writes:
"The first step in any healing journey is the one in which we let Nature help. At some point; younger, older, all of us will get sick. If we are wise we will know that we need to ask for help in a way that does not just remove our troubles without our involvement, but rather uses these ancient allies, these herbs, whilst seeking to address the reasons we have become unwell".
Photo: Sofie Selling
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