The Nature of Illness
The Illness Conundrum - Almost Every Illness has a Teaching Purpose!
Most illnesses have an emotional component to them. It is probably in the order of roughly 85%. The rest is due to environmental issues. One needs to be careful when making a statement like this and the use of common sense is also applicable. Let’s say if someone is exposed to dangerous chemicals and becomes infected, then of course there is no emotional component, but the opposite is also true where one is constantly exposed to an abusive or stressful environment all the time. It will reflect as an illness in some way, depending on the manner in which you process this environment.
Illness from an emotional component (stress, abuse, anxiety, etc.) accumulates in the emotional and mental energy fields of the body and gradually works its way into the physical body and becomes manifest there as an illness. Dealing with the emotional and mental issues diffuses the energy and so illness will not develop in the physical body. Put another way: when illness has developed, then a way of healing the illness is to first diffuse the emotional and mental bodies and then the physical body is able to heal itself or with a little help, be healed rather rapidly.
Illness has many fascinating aspects to it. Read on!!
Illness is very distracting. It blots out all other issues and it firmly centres our focus onto ourselves. On the one hand this can be very beneficial as it gives us a chance to let go of those things that are really trivial and unnecessary. The surplus issues blows away like the chaff in the wind and we are left with the essentials of our mortality and ourselves. No longer do we take everything for granted. Life becomes very precious because it is fragile and impermanent.
When we fully enter into this state of being, then illness will open our hearts and connect us with what is really important and with our true priorities. Should we however focus on the “poor me” aspect of the illness, we will then stifle our potential to get well and so recovery may take much longer than if we had opened our hearts to what is actually going on and resolve those issues. When we do get better and over time we have not addressed the true underlying issues, we will find that we get sick again. Almost like a recurring illness - something like a recurring chest cold or recurring sinus infection or a recurring flu infection.
Perhaps another way to look at the situation of illness may be this: what comes first when becoming ill? Is it the sick person in bed or the person who feels helpless, useless and unimportant, unacknowledged, dismissed or incompetent, etc.? The answer is obvious isn’t it? The norm is when we feel the latter for a while, only then is it that we get sick.
Illness can also give you permission to avoid a difficult situation and to offload your responsibilities. Does your condition distract you from dealing with other situations? What activities are the symptoms preventing you from undertaking? A migraine headache for example, can take us out of having to read aloud in class, visit in-laws, having to make a decision or choice. A broken leg can postpone a wedding or holiday and having flu means a whole week in bed (just to rest). Having herpes means keeping intimacy at a distance, and so the list goes on and on!
Some interesting questions:
Of course being ill can be of benefit to you as well. It can make you feel very special, different and even important, giving you a special status. The illness may result in you receiving special attention, love and care or nurturing from someone, or is it an unconscious cry for help, love, a longing to be looked after and/or to be nourished. Is it perhaps an avoidance of looking after you, avoiding being personally responsible or being independent? Are you struggling on your own trying to cope so as not to be a nuisance to, or dependent on someone? Are you using the illness in a way to get someone to know what it is that you need, without having to tell them?
When we have an illness it gives us something to occupy our days with and we are in constant communication with it. This is often revealed by the fact that when asked how they are, a long list of items tend to flow such as all the problems, the visits to the doctor, medication and a prognosis is bound to follow.
There generally is a love of speaking about how it is when we are sick and there are generally two things that flow from this:
It is almost like something has to be wrong for us to feel important or even more lovable, likeable, accepted, etc. If we did not have this illness how could we get the underlying need we needed satisfied. Would our friends, relatives still notice us unless we had this illness? Do we fear the changes we may be faced with should we get better and how would it affect our relationships? Are we perhaps holding on to our loved ones through illness, or are you stopping others from getting too close?
Relationships of real honesty are not easy to maintain. They are demanding and can make one feel unsafe and/or exposed. When this happens there may be an underlying feeling of competition, clash of wills, superiority, criticism, not good enough, etc. playing out. Was there a threat in the relationship when the illness arrived or slightly before? Was it breaking up or was there a threat of losing it? Children and the elderly are prone to this and often use it to get attention. Conflict in a relationship can be reflected in our children such as: just when we leave for the theatre they get sick. If there is a feeling of satisfaction when this happens, then it is a warning sign that all is not well in the relationship. Maybe an illness gives you both a chance to get closer and be more loving to each other.
Illness can arise out of dislike of self or shame. Some of the questions that fill this category can be:
Life can be very stressful and can manifest in several ways in the body.
When illness is due to stress, here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
When we get ill we surrender control of the future – it has to look after itself for a while. There is a pause, a time to breathe and to reconnect and a time to remember who we are. Illness allows us to do things we would otherwise have denied ourselves, such as doing something creative like perhaps painting, writing, gardening and/or making something, etc. It provides space to reflect and to care for us, to learn, to reassess in a way that may not have been possible previously. It gives us the chance to get to know ourselves. This is the blessing of illness.
The healing process
For the healing process to take place, the number one attitude that is absolutely essential to understand, is that you have caused this in some way. It is often as a result of some emotional issue that has not been addressed. In many instances it is understandable that the person has no idea how that was or what lead to it. That is fine, but there must be a willingness to say: I am willing to take full responsibility in finding my part in it, resolve it and heal it. Full healing can then take place and normality flows quite naturally. When we are able to get to this point by ourselves we can heal ourselves easily. This is commonly called taking full responsibility for our own illness. Those who develop a fighting spirit, mental resilience and vigour and who do not reject themselves, appear to have a greater healing potential.
The second major component is that one must accept the principle that our emotions have the same priority in our acceptance of ourselves, as does say a leg for instance. If we had to break a leg and have it treated, we would have to go to extraordinary lengths to accommodate it, such as going to hospital to have it set and the allow for a waiting period for it to get better before anything else happens. Next come the questions: how do we function, get around or bathe. The same must go for our feelings. Our feelings are the ones that drive us to do many things that we may not otherwise do. When we do these things, is it because we are trying to protect ourselves or we are just trying to survive and/or what is it that we are doing? Therefore, it is essential to give our feelings the same consideration and space as any other part of us.
Of course it is essential to strengthen the functioning of the immune system, which also means strengthening the will or the desire to get better. It also means finding what is meaningful, looking deeper to discover the real purpose of life, what it is that would make us happier and what needs to happen to make the world a better place for us.
The healing process therefore means going back and finding what happened that killed off one’s sense of enjoying life, of being here, of fulfilling ones purpose in life – which is to grow and experiment and develop ourselves fully, in doing what it is that we really enjoy doing. Once we have achieved that for ourselves, then we can share it with a partner and the world in a joyous and self-feeding way.
There is a journey in healing a serious illness. This is the same for any dis-ease. The journey always has ups and downs along the way. These dips in the journey are to facilitate a learning process to take place within oneself; to gain deeper insights; to discover what it is that we have missed; how we have put ourselves down; how we have isolated ourselves and most importantly, what it is that we have cost ourselves in terms of life, love, joy, fun, being here, laughter, independence, interdependence, growth, self-discovery, etc., etc. If we make our journey conscious within ourselves, the journey is always rewarding and enlightening and a new perspective on life is then always the final outcome.
In our experience, the discovery of the cost for the illness sufferer has always been huge and never worth it. Once their purpose in life is discovered, their role in the dynamics discovered and a way out is found and then suddenly it dawns on the sufferer how to heal themselves. Once this is discovery is made, the illness sufferer normally just wants to move on from it and sort matters out. This is when magic can happen both emotionally and physically.
Please note: All of the above does not fit 100% to each and every illness sufferer. There are large parts of the above that fit most illness sufferers. It is also to note that the above is certainly not a complete list of potential problems - these are merely guidelines to stimulate your thinking and feeling.
Each of us is unique. It is up to you to find yours and then work with it. In that, you will find your own healing.
Most illnesses have an emotional component to them. It is probably in the order of roughly 85%. The rest is due to environmental issues. One needs to be careful when making a statement like this and the use of common sense is also applicable. Let’s say if someone is exposed to dangerous chemicals and becomes infected, then of course there is no emotional component, but the opposite is also true where one is constantly exposed to an abusive or stressful environment all the time. It will reflect as an illness in some way, depending on the manner in which you process this environment.
Illness from an emotional component (stress, abuse, anxiety, etc.) accumulates in the emotional and mental energy fields of the body and gradually works its way into the physical body and becomes manifest there as an illness. Dealing with the emotional and mental issues diffuses the energy and so illness will not develop in the physical body. Put another way: when illness has developed, then a way of healing the illness is to first diffuse the emotional and mental bodies and then the physical body is able to heal itself or with a little help, be healed rather rapidly.
Illness has many fascinating aspects to it. Read on!!
Illness is very distracting. It blots out all other issues and it firmly centres our focus onto ourselves. On the one hand this can be very beneficial as it gives us a chance to let go of those things that are really trivial and unnecessary. The surplus issues blows away like the chaff in the wind and we are left with the essentials of our mortality and ourselves. No longer do we take everything for granted. Life becomes very precious because it is fragile and impermanent.
When we fully enter into this state of being, then illness will open our hearts and connect us with what is really important and with our true priorities. Should we however focus on the “poor me” aspect of the illness, we will then stifle our potential to get well and so recovery may take much longer than if we had opened our hearts to what is actually going on and resolve those issues. When we do get better and over time we have not addressed the true underlying issues, we will find that we get sick again. Almost like a recurring illness - something like a recurring chest cold or recurring sinus infection or a recurring flu infection.
Perhaps another way to look at the situation of illness may be this: what comes first when becoming ill? Is it the sick person in bed or the person who feels helpless, useless and unimportant, unacknowledged, dismissed or incompetent, etc.? The answer is obvious isn’t it? The norm is when we feel the latter for a while, only then is it that we get sick.
Illness can also give you permission to avoid a difficult situation and to offload your responsibilities. Does your condition distract you from dealing with other situations? What activities are the symptoms preventing you from undertaking? A migraine headache for example, can take us out of having to read aloud in class, visit in-laws, having to make a decision or choice. A broken leg can postpone a wedding or holiday and having flu means a whole week in bed (just to rest). Having herpes means keeping intimacy at a distance, and so the list goes on and on!
Some interesting questions:
- What is it that you gain by having the illness? In other words, what are the benefits to you?
- What is the secret contract you made with yourself about this, in order to manifest the illness?
- What is it that you need to confront within yourself and have not yet done so?
Of course being ill can be of benefit to you as well. It can make you feel very special, different and even important, giving you a special status. The illness may result in you receiving special attention, love and care or nurturing from someone, or is it an unconscious cry for help, love, a longing to be looked after and/or to be nourished. Is it perhaps an avoidance of looking after you, avoiding being personally responsible or being independent? Are you struggling on your own trying to cope so as not to be a nuisance to, or dependent on someone? Are you using the illness in a way to get someone to know what it is that you need, without having to tell them?
When we have an illness it gives us something to occupy our days with and we are in constant communication with it. This is often revealed by the fact that when asked how they are, a long list of items tend to flow such as all the problems, the visits to the doctor, medication and a prognosis is bound to follow.
There generally is a love of speaking about how it is when we are sick and there are generally two things that flow from this:
- It is a very natural and acceptable way of finding comfort, or
- It is a way for us (if there is an underlying need) to use the illness in order to get some kind of attention, support or notice that we need.
It is almost like something has to be wrong for us to feel important or even more lovable, likeable, accepted, etc. If we did not have this illness how could we get the underlying need we needed satisfied. Would our friends, relatives still notice us unless we had this illness? Do we fear the changes we may be faced with should we get better and how would it affect our relationships? Are we perhaps holding on to our loved ones through illness, or are you stopping others from getting too close?
Relationships of real honesty are not easy to maintain. They are demanding and can make one feel unsafe and/or exposed. When this happens there may be an underlying feeling of competition, clash of wills, superiority, criticism, not good enough, etc. playing out. Was there a threat in the relationship when the illness arrived or slightly before? Was it breaking up or was there a threat of losing it? Children and the elderly are prone to this and often use it to get attention. Conflict in a relationship can be reflected in our children such as: just when we leave for the theatre they get sick. If there is a feeling of satisfaction when this happens, then it is a warning sign that all is not well in the relationship. Maybe an illness gives you both a chance to get closer and be more loving to each other.
Illness can arise out of dislike of self or shame. Some of the questions that fill this category can be:
- Do you have feelings of guilt that are eating away at you?
- Have you done something that feels overwhelming, bad or shameful?
- Are you holding it inside where you believe that no one can see it? Be careful of this one. Because you think no one can see it, does not mean they can’t. Often you are dead wrong and everyone can see it. The only thing they can’t see is the detail.
- Does being ill feel like some kind of retribution for a bad deed done to you?
- Does it feel impossible for you to be well, because you feel you are somehow too dirty or too bad and that illness is all that you are worthy of?
Life can be very stressful and can manifest in several ways in the body.
When illness is due to stress, here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
- Are you pushing yourself too hard?
- Are you trying to prove something to someone?
- Are you trying to prove something to your parent/s?
- Is success worth it if you are not well enough to enjoy it?
- Do you actually want to get away to avoid something?
- Is illness hiding a fear of failure?
- Have you lost your self-worth or self-esteem?
When we get ill we surrender control of the future – it has to look after itself for a while. There is a pause, a time to breathe and to reconnect and a time to remember who we are. Illness allows us to do things we would otherwise have denied ourselves, such as doing something creative like perhaps painting, writing, gardening and/or making something, etc. It provides space to reflect and to care for us, to learn, to reassess in a way that may not have been possible previously. It gives us the chance to get to know ourselves. This is the blessing of illness.
The healing process
For the healing process to take place, the number one attitude that is absolutely essential to understand, is that you have caused this in some way. It is often as a result of some emotional issue that has not been addressed. In many instances it is understandable that the person has no idea how that was or what lead to it. That is fine, but there must be a willingness to say: I am willing to take full responsibility in finding my part in it, resolve it and heal it. Full healing can then take place and normality flows quite naturally. When we are able to get to this point by ourselves we can heal ourselves easily. This is commonly called taking full responsibility for our own illness. Those who develop a fighting spirit, mental resilience and vigour and who do not reject themselves, appear to have a greater healing potential.
The second major component is that one must accept the principle that our emotions have the same priority in our acceptance of ourselves, as does say a leg for instance. If we had to break a leg and have it treated, we would have to go to extraordinary lengths to accommodate it, such as going to hospital to have it set and the allow for a waiting period for it to get better before anything else happens. Next come the questions: how do we function, get around or bathe. The same must go for our feelings. Our feelings are the ones that drive us to do many things that we may not otherwise do. When we do these things, is it because we are trying to protect ourselves or we are just trying to survive and/or what is it that we are doing? Therefore, it is essential to give our feelings the same consideration and space as any other part of us.
Of course it is essential to strengthen the functioning of the immune system, which also means strengthening the will or the desire to get better. It also means finding what is meaningful, looking deeper to discover the real purpose of life, what it is that would make us happier and what needs to happen to make the world a better place for us.
The healing process therefore means going back and finding what happened that killed off one’s sense of enjoying life, of being here, of fulfilling ones purpose in life – which is to grow and experiment and develop ourselves fully, in doing what it is that we really enjoy doing. Once we have achieved that for ourselves, then we can share it with a partner and the world in a joyous and self-feeding way.
There is a journey in healing a serious illness. This is the same for any dis-ease. The journey always has ups and downs along the way. These dips in the journey are to facilitate a learning process to take place within oneself; to gain deeper insights; to discover what it is that we have missed; how we have put ourselves down; how we have isolated ourselves and most importantly, what it is that we have cost ourselves in terms of life, love, joy, fun, being here, laughter, independence, interdependence, growth, self-discovery, etc., etc. If we make our journey conscious within ourselves, the journey is always rewarding and enlightening and a new perspective on life is then always the final outcome.
In our experience, the discovery of the cost for the illness sufferer has always been huge and never worth it. Once their purpose in life is discovered, their role in the dynamics discovered and a way out is found and then suddenly it dawns on the sufferer how to heal themselves. Once this is discovery is made, the illness sufferer normally just wants to move on from it and sort matters out. This is when magic can happen both emotionally and physically.
Please note: All of the above does not fit 100% to each and every illness sufferer. There are large parts of the above that fit most illness sufferers. It is also to note that the above is certainly not a complete list of potential problems - these are merely guidelines to stimulate your thinking and feeling.
Each of us is unique. It is up to you to find yours and then work with it. In that, you will find your own healing.
What is healthy and how do I do it?
To be healthy means many things that you have to be conscious of and do each day.
These are:
When any of the above is out of balance it is reflected in our lives in some way. Often it will show up as an illness.
To be healthy means many things that you have to be conscious of and do each day.
These are:
- To feed oneself properly every day. Apply common sense in your diet. Eat a wide variety of freshly made cooked meals and add fresh foods such as salads. Also eat fruit. Roughage has to be included as part of your diet.
- To hydrate your body with clean fresh water every day. There are many theories as to how many glasses of water to have. You can read about these. The point is that you should have sufficient water that meets the needs of your body to flush itself clean. A good barometer is to ensure that your urine is slightly yellow. Dark yellow means that there is insufficient hydration taking place. Drink more water – not tea, coffee, fruit juice, cold drinks, etc. - just plain water!
- Your emotional diet is also important. This website is all about your emotional world. Please read whatever interests you on it.
- Your mental and spiritual diets are as important as any of the above factors.
- An even balanced emotional, mental and spiritual person will experience a much healthier body and lifestyle. Combine this with healthy eating and drinking habits that will result in health, happiness, abundance and general well-being. Everyone deserves this!
When any of the above is out of balance it is reflected in our lives in some way. Often it will show up as an illness.