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I've been trying to figure out how to navigate social media, and honestly I've been wanting some deeper and more thorough conversations. I miss the blog days, but back then I had to manage my own connections to these bloggers. That just feels like too much work right now. I'm glad to have found Bloglovin! I can collect the feeds of all my favorite blogs now, and the conversations have once again become manageable! YAY!
I'm finally settling in to my methods of communication with the people that are interested in living more fully in our bodies, embracing what it means to be human, to be a woman, and who are committed to a path of growth and a practice of devotion. I invite you to leave blog comments when a post is interesting to you, and to follow me on Bloglovin if that's a method that you use to keep in touch.
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So, I've been thinking a lot lately about bodies, illness, and healing. I've been thinking about western medicine, alternative healing, and energy work. Even though this is what I do, I still sometimes wonder when something happens to my body, which realm it falls in. It's funny, that I've come full circle with my own healing this year. I began the year knowing that I had some emotional healing that was coming. I knew it was big... I knew it would be intense... and I was ready. What I didn't expect was the physical stuff that blew all that perceived control of the emotional wide open. I cried more this year than in a long time. I feared more this year than I have in a long time. And I went to the doctor about the physical. I was finally referred to the fifth doctor... who I liked and trusted. But whatever is going on is mysterious. She told me Friday that if this next thing we're trying doesn't address my issues, then she doesn't know what will.  I came home and cried again. I really want it to be "fixed". But the ball is back in my court. Yes, I'm doing what she suggested. And I'll follow up with her in a month. But I already know. Nothing will change.
Unless. Unless I give my body the chance to tell the truth... to call a spade a spade. Unless I hear this body... let her say the things that no one wants to hear... that honestly, I'm not sure I want to hear. I don't want to revisit old crap... my life feels good right now... I just celebrated (truly) my fifteenth anniversary, my kids are healthy and wonderful, and things are just good. But, my body says it's time to deal with the things that need stability and love and wellness so that they can even begin to express what they've been holding. I heard my body say that it's OK. That I'm OK. I got clear that this physical stuff is only a mirror for me right now. And I have to address the core of what's being reflected. It will take time, and things will be fine. And I want to be clear. I believe that illness (or discomfort or disease) sometimes originates in the body and needs to be addressed in the medical system. And sometimes it originates in the subtle realms of emotions, beliefs, and agreements. Sometimes those things are conscious, and sometimes not. For me, right now, this thing... it's about healing the shames, the darknesses, the shadows. It's about reclaiming something of me that is rightfully mine. And when I do, I believe my physical body will stop reacting. I've done it before. I see it with clients all the time. I live in this intersection of physical and subtle bodies... I love this intersection of physical and subtle realms... I am at home here. It should come as no surprise that this is where my own healing is right now. This is a powerful moment in time... this liminal space. In the Chinese 5 Element System this is the season of metal, whose primary emotion is grief. So, we have a melding of tradition that suggests a powerful moment to be in touch with our ancestors, as well as the seasonal emotion of grief, which brings them even closer.  I celebrate Dia de los Muertos with full reverence for my personal ancestry, as well as that of my community. Everything we have now was built on the legacy that was left us. This leaves us in a particularly potent healing moment. Sometimes this legacy has been left to us in our beliefs, perspectives, family stories... and sometimes it has literally been given to us in our DNA*. Our ability to heal, especially those weird symptoms we have that are persistent, recurrent, and have no discernible cause to doctors... those are often ancestral in origin. We do have the power to release these ancestral traumas, dis-eases, and tensions. The key, I think, is externalizing the ancestral patterns, and then choosing how to engage with them. That is, it is important to move the patterns from inside our bodies (physical + subtle) into the external environment. These are not your personal patterns. They do not necessarily belong to you. And yet, it may be extremely important to interact with these patterns... as they are part of the familial legacy. I encourage people to externalize and interact with these patterns in several ways. One way to externalize the pattern is to build some kind of altar or shrine to their ancestors. This is a central part of Dia de los Muertos, that I love so much. Not only is it honoring of the ancestors to give them their own space, but it honors us too. It means that ancestral patterns are a context for our lives, but do not necessarily need to be repeated within our lives. Second, is relating directly to the wholeness of who your ancestors are... that is, consider not just the one story you have about how your great-grandmother was admitted to a mental institution... but to consider (imagine, receive) what ELSE might have been true about her that you might want to interact with. Thus, we relate to our ancestors as whole beings. Not simply a single story, event, or trait. This is the single biggest healing perspective shift that exists. Wholeness. If you want to play with this more... I have attached my Legacy Homework that I sometimes give to clients. Blessings as you pursue this deep journey of healing. There is no end to the possibility that exists when you are willing to heal not only yourself but those who came before you. You are brave, you are strong, you are a healer.  Click on the image above to access the 7-page pdf file. You will find that this work clears so much that you weren't even aware was connected to your ancestry. It is powerful and worthy work. May you also enjoy this work, as it connects you in positive ways with the legacy that was left to you. *There are several articles about how memory can be handed down in your DNA. If you're interested, you can read:
Parental olfactory experience influences behavior and neural structure in subsequent generations.” December 1, 2013, Nature Neuroscience: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v17/n1/full/nn.3594.html Also, see Grandma's Experiences Leave A Mark On Your Genes May 2013 Discover Magazine: http://discovermagazine.com/2013/may/13-grandmas-experiences-leave-epigenetic-mark-on-your-genes |
Jill CliftonI'm an explorer of inner realms, a pattern observer, and an invitation maker. I believe that healing the world starts within. If you organize your blog conversations through Bloglovin' you can follow me there...
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