[singlepic id=5 w=320 h=240 float=left]Artist: Lisa Pulman
Title: The Green Fairy
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Contact: lisapulman@hotmail.com
FEATURE ARTICLE
Healing – An Ongoing Drive Towards Balance
What does healing mean to each of us? Sometimes words like ‘therapy’, ‘healing’, ‘curing’ and ‘treatment’ are used synonymously, but in fact they are not the same. Curing means (among other things) the alleviation of specific negative symptoms – we feel better – while true healing can sometimes lead in the short term to an increase in unpleasant experiences.
Healing has many aspects. There is widespread recognition among health practitioners that mental, psychological and even spiritual factors underlie most, if not all, physical illness. While symptoms can be alleviated without necessarily addressing underlying causes, true healing (wholeness) requires all aspects to be balanced.
The word healing derives from an old English word, ‘haelen’, which is also the basis of our words ‘whole’, ‘hale’, ‘health’ and ‘holy’. So we can see that there is much more to healing than curing: someone might very well be symptom-free but not whole, hale, healthy or holy.
When we seek ‘healing’ from a doctor, therapist or practitioner, what are we hoping for? How realistic are our expectations?
The quest for an instant cure
We live in an age of quick results. While previous generations understood that change takes time, people who have lived most of their lives with TV (where problems are often resolved in a one-hour show), pre-cooked frozen meals and the Internet, have learnt to expect that every goal can be achieved virtually immediately. There is an expectation of a quick cure, and along with this is often a ‘fix me’ attitude – a belief that someone else will have the answers.
Generally, healing is an ongoing process. Not understanding this, people hop from one healing approach to another; we have lost the ability to wait – to contribute time and effort and allow things to resolve in their own right time.
It can get worse before it gets better
Whether we seek healing for a physical or emotional concern, or are seeking personal or spiritual growth, true healing requires that we uncover and resolve the issues underlying our apparent lack of wholeness. This can involve gaining painful insights, periods when we seem to have stalled or to be going backwards, uncomfortable physical reactions or loss of things dear to us, such as relationships, roles or possessions.
Balance is a natural state
Within each of us are the drive, the ability and the knowing we require in order to achieve balance. This means that while others can assist us to access these aspects of ourselves, no one else can ‘heal us’. Our spirit knows what we need for healing; our body knows how to heal itself. Intuitively we are drawn to the people, the experiences and the means by which our state of balance, our healing, can be reached. When seeking assistance from someone or something outside ourselves, we should always weigh up any advice or information we receive against our own inner knowing, trusting our own instincts.
The healing journey
The whole of life is a healing journey, leading to the recognition and expression of our true physical, emotional and spiritual selves. We can undertake this journey the hard way or the (slightly!) easier way. Doing it the hard way means not recognising the healing potential of life, and therefore fighting against those aspects of our lives that don’t fit our desires or expectations.
To apply an understanding of the true nature of healing:
– Trust that you have the drive, the ability and the knowing you require in order to heal, and don’t give your power away to others;
– Tune in to your inner sense of what ‘feels right’ for you in any situation, and follow this direction whenever possible;
– Know that life will not always be a bed of rose petals. Aspects of your self that you haven’t acknowledged or dealt with must come to the surface in order to be recognised and embraced as a valid part of you, and this can be uncomfortable or even painful;
– When something unpleasant happens to you, try not to resist what is occurring. Just allow things to be as they are, while you wait to get a feeling about which way to proceed;
– Be clear what you are seeking. Is it just a relief of symptoms that you want, or something deeper? If it’s true healing, then be willing to put in time and persistence to achieve your desire.
Above all, know that within every one of us is a longing for balance and wholeness – a yearning to re-discover our true nature and experience ourselves as one with all-that-is. This is the force that will impel you along your own path of healing. May the Force be with you!
Annabel Muis
REGULAR ARTICLE
Lavender Oil – Oil for Balance
Because it is the most versatile of all essential oils, no home should be without it. Lavender is soothing and refreshing. While it is a great aid for relaxing and winding down before bedtime, lavender also has balancing properties that can boost stamina and energy. Rub on feet for calming or rub on your pillow to help you sleep.
Therapeutic-grade lavender is highly regarded for skin and beauty. It may be used to soothe and cleanse common cuts, bruises, and skin irritations.
– Apply 2-3 drops of lavender to a rash or insect bite to stop itching and heal the skin.
– Put 2-3 drops on a minor burn to decrease pain.
– Spritz several drops of oil mixed with distilled water on sunburn to decrease pain.
– Mix several drops with organic oil such as almond oil and use topically on eczema and dermatitis.
– Put a drop of lavender oil on a cold sore.
– Diffuse lavender to alleviate symptoms of allergies.
– Put a drop between your palms and inhale deeply to help alleviate the symptoms of hay fever.
– For motion sickness place a drop on end of the tongue, around navel or behind ears.
– Rub a couple of drops of lavender oil on dry or chapped skin.
– To minimise the formation of scar tissue, massage on and around the affected area.
– Place a few drops on a cotton ball, put in your linen closet to scent the linens and repel moths and insects. Place a few drops on a wet cloth and throw into the dryer.
– Place a drop of lavender oil in your water fountain to scent the air, kill bacteria and prolong the time between cleanings.
Safety Data: If pregnant or under a doctor’s care, consult your physician.
Information found here refers solely to products from Young Living Essential Oils and is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. We urge you to do the health-related research necessary to learn what is right for you. Young Living uses only therapeutic grade oils. Perfume grade or poor quality oils may possibly be harmful due to unknown additives and poor plant or distillation conditions.
I use and recommend Young Living Essential Oils as they are therapeutic quality oils and farmed sustainably.
If you would like more information please contact Judi at escentialbliss@bigpond.com or visit escentialbliss.webs.com. Young Living Distributor # 1179654