17 “ ”


4. MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT If we are to make progress on the healing path we must be careful to monitor the effectiveness of our ‘treatment’. Keeping a healing journal could be a way forward. Here we record our progress, however subtle, in order to give us encouragement for the journey ahead. In the normal course of events we explore any research or ideas that can lead us to new insights or techniques that can improve our position and this is to be commended. Working out personal strategies for dealing with our plight lies at the very heart of the healing process. We acknowledge that ultimately we are our own physicians and therefore must act in a responsible manner avoiding denial, repression or resistance – which can be more harmful than the very pain itself. We must drop below the surface of our everyday distractions and preoccupations to discover a much deeper sense of experience – a rich seam of knowing which we need to give voice to and record in a journal. Whatever recovery path we follow: whether traditional medicine, complementary


a quick, wholesale cure for our suffering we may be disappointed. Certainly this could happen, and we should never dismiss it completely as a possibility but with a maturity of understanding we start to recognise more the fact that healing is not necessarily the same as curing. Healing can, on one level, be considered


Despite how diffi cult our situation is we do need to rid ourselves of fear and anxiety, anger and despondency, which holds us back and prevents us from taking the fi rst few steps forward in the knowledge that a healing power can improve our lives.


medicine, body movement techniques, meditation, prayers or positive affirmations, whether individually or collectively, all will give us information feedback. Problems are an inevitable part of the


journey – if we encounter no problems on our travels through life then that, in itself, is a problem. A fully lived, attentive, meaningful life is one that confronts the inevitable difficulties that we face and treats them as a learning or growth process to get us back on track. When we write about our experiences, both positive and negative, we go deeper, we search for the most appropriate words and phrases to describe them and, as a consequence, understand them more – the fine details, the subtle nuances that could go largely undetected unless we engage the writing and focusing process. This pragmatic approach of recording can also help us avoid later false recollections, biased or prejudiced recall by documenting accurately, at the point of encounter, our experiences and feelings. A healing journal gives both our pain


and path a dignity and recognition it deserves and from this we can learn so much. Suffering in silence isn’t an option.


5. ASSIMILATION AND RECONCILIATION Eventually, after much exploration, we are in a position to make some informed choices on what works for us and what doesn’t. Research and experimentation is still an ongoing practice – this is vital – but


more attitudinal than physical – a process of accommodating and reconciling to the reality of what has entered our lives and become a part of them, an inner process of acceptance in order to manage them better, more effectively. The words of the Serenity Prayer have


much relevance here: “Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.” – simple yet profound words to live by, to guide us on the path. However, it does raise the question:


What can we change and what can’t we change? In this territory there are no universal, conclusive answers; no words that I can offer up to differentiate between the two. We are all unique, and as such we all need to reflect deeply on this issue, but providing we give to it our full concentration, something will eventually emerge from our inner depths to support us. This we must believe.


CONCLUSION The struggle with our pain can, at times, be very problematic but if we believe and trust in the higher power of healing then there is always hope of improvement and recovery. I’ve always looked upon healing, in


essence, as a way of life – something that I’m constantly involved in, reading about and studying. For me healing goes far beyond the notion of a physical remedy,


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at this stage we are refining our thoughts more, giving clarity to what we have discovered so far through systematic trial and error. Our concerns and worries should now, as far as possible, be translated into action that is visible in every corner of our lives. That’s the commitment. That’s what we are signed up to do – the wholesale improvement of our lives. A barometer for our well-being is not solely expressed in the elimination or reduction of our pain. Nourishing sleep, calmness, relaxed awareness, alertness, renewed energy and vigour are all indicators of our health. Our healing journey now gives us greater confidence and optimism, it shows greater definition, more substance to encourage us to seek out even more improvements. A word of caution – if we are looking for


a correction to some bodily ailment. It’s much more than this, much more complex. In my experience it involves many dimensions that constitute the wholeness of us, what we are – the physical, emotional and spiritual. When we are ill we lose confidence


in ourselves, a self-erosion that can undermine so much. Healing is about regaining and restoring this loss, regaining our self-belief in order to assist recovery. It is also about making a commitment, a vow to stay alert, explore and observe – without judgement – all that is happening in our minds and bodies. Abraham Maslow once said: “The ability


to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.” I cannot help but fully accept this. Looking back into the past, or projecting forward into the future, makes us miss the opportunity to attend to the preciousness of the current moment with all its rich diversity and complexity. What is of real value is this living, cherished moment, in the here and now – not some mindscape that takes us away from this reality. Our body is the vehicle that carries and


supports our life – so treat it well. Never allow it to become a ‘foreign country’, a remote, strange territory that we feel disconnected from, a place we rarely visit in any mindful, attentive way. We must always acknowledge to our body that we are listening to what it’s saying, that we are accepting its invitation to open up and share its inner, deep cell wisdom/ truth. Then we can rest in the knowledge and conviction that we have given our best efforts which will undoubtedly be acknowledged in return…...


“Here in this body are sacred rivers, here are the sun and moon, as well as the pilgrimage places. I have not encountered another temple as blissful as my own body.” Saraha


Michael has been engaged in simplifying his life further so that his writing practice can continue its journey to guide, support, teach, nourish and heal him. He’s currently


finishing off a book project and writing a number of articles for publication.


www.terrenegems.com.au www.terrenegems.com.au


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