Thoughts on sickness

Thinking happy, healthy thoughts. At home, December 2008.

The past two days, I experienced a serious turn-around regarding sickness. On Sunday evening, I began to feel icky. My body ached, I was sniffling, my glands felt swollen. I immediately recognized it as the feeling I get just before getting sick. I chose to take on the position of the observer, and just watch what my thoughts would do around this new predicament.

Aha! Suddenly I realized what a strange thought this was- "I am getting sick." This of course implies that things are going to get worse. But would they worsen without the thought?

I believe that when I begin to get too stressed out and busy, my very clever body reminds me to slow down by creating certain symptoms. These symptoms tell me (sometimes, force me) to spend some time resting. However, does the Universe really require that we experience all-out sickness? (Of course not.) What if, in all of those times when my throat was a bit scratchy or my body felt fatigued, what if that was all I needed to remind me of what my body needed? What if it was simply the thought "I am getting sick" that caused my symptoms to worsen and become an illness?

I noticed too how quickly after thinking "I am getting sick," my brain got to work proving that to be true. I recalled several winter breaks in the past in which my body, exhausted from stress, created some really wicked earaches and sore throats. I then remembered that Tara, my best friend, had been sick when she attended my birthday dinner on Saturday. "Oh crap," I thought. "I was sitting next to her, so she must have passed it on to me." My brain then recalled talking to my father on the phone last week when he was fighting a nasty cold. Ahhh, the old favorite- "It must be going around."

WOW.

I decided to spend some time in the present moment, to let go of my negative thoughts and give my brain a break. I noticed my glands feeling tender, the dull ache over my entire body, the bit of congestion. I sat with it, just noticing what I felt. I listened to my body. I pampered myself with hot baths, a heated pack on my neck, my softest pajamas and socks. I slept more than I have in a long time, without any guilt whatsoever for not being "productive." (Of course, now I notice that I was being quite productive in giving my body exactly what it needed).

My body continued to hurt through Monday, and I just continued to watch. I turned down invitations to hang out with friends, let my voicemail handle my calls, and just continued the interesting process of not resisting.

Incredibly, my symptoms never worsened. Then, when I woke up this morning, it was as if nothing ever happened. My body felt light, rested, and joyful. All of this because I chose not to resist, and I chose not to tell a negative story about what I was experiencing.

WOOHOO!!!

This Christmas, I am so grateful for my health and the amazing power of my mind.

Happy holidays to all.

xoxo