How To Speed Your Physical Recovery

“A lot of people say they want to get out of pain, and I'm sure that's true, but they aren't willing to make healing a high priority. They aren't willing to look inside to see the source of their pain in order to deal with it.” ~Lindsay Wagner

A little while ago a friend of mine was about to go into the hospital to get her tonsils removed. She e-mailed me to ask for my suggestions on how she could heal better. She wanted to have a speedy and pleasant healing experience. I think my response to her could be useful to others, so I am sharing my e-mail.

“Dear [Friend],

I'm sending lots of positive thoughts your way and am holding the awareness that you are already healthy, whole, and complete. Illness is the beginning of healing, so congratulations for creating this situation to bring you higher.

[My friend had decided that she was going to write a recovery blog, but wanted other suggestions for how to promote healing.] You are of course brilliant for writing the recovery blog -- the script of a blessed and easy recovery. That's already an excellent step to take for healing. Since you've asked for my suggestions on other ways to take yourself higher, here you go:

1. Ask you body what lesson she is trying to send you. The tonsils are around the area of the fifth chakra -- the throat chakra/seat of communication. Is there perhaps an issue about speaking your truth out into the world that your body is sending you? Tune into that area of pain and ask if Anything else come up when you ask your body? Pain is your body's cry for help. It sends messages subtly, but when those messages are ignored they end up getting stronger and stronger. Listening to the message will help you heal.
2. Organize yourself around your pleasure ... really indulge in whatever makes you feel good. Revel in sensual pleasures... flowers for the eyes, wonderful scents (lavender is relaxing; peppermint or citrus are energizing), tastes (whatever tastes good to you -- whatever that will be when you have your tonsils out); tactile (love from your honey, but also wonderful fabrics... silks, velvets, etc.)
3. Allow others to serve you. Their service is a gift to you. Your accepting it is a gift to them.
4. Laugh as much as possible. Laughter really is one of nature's best medicines. I recently spent the weekend with some friends in Canberra and the husband is a doctor. He was telling me how studies have shown that laughter literally repairs DNA and sadness destroys it. Laugh, laugh, laugh. Call the laughter yoga line. Watch funny movies or tv shows. Read funny books. Hang out with people who make you laugh, etc
5. Use positive mantras for your healing. "Every atom in my body is healthy, whole, and complete." "Everything in my life is healing right now." "I am willing to change the mental conditions that have created this situation." "I am willing to heal." I know you know how to create and use mantras, so pick or create whatever resonates most for you.
6. Create a vision board. It can be for your entire life or it can be limited to this period of recovery. What do you want to create during this time?
7. Receive Reiki. Reiki promotes your natural healing energy. It’s a relaxing and wonderful way to complement other healing modalities.”

Those were my suggestions for promoting healing. If you have others, I would love to hear about them. Please comment!

What would you do if you only had one year left to live?

"A man should not leave this earth with unfinished business. He should live each day as if it was a pre-flight check. He should ask each morning, am I prepared to lift-off?” ~Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, All is Vanity, 1991

A few years ago (four years ago to be exact) I took a self-development course and was given an exercise to work on:

if you had only 365 days to live, you didn't have to worry about money or your health during the year, and on the 365th day you would die easily and painlessly, what would you do with your year?

I considered this exercise and wrote an earnest answer. I wrote it all down in a journal and then put that journal in a briefcase I barely touched for the next 4 years. Recently I used that briefcase as I flew on a trip to New York and discovered my answer to this exercise. I was rather pleasantly surprised to see that pretty much every goals for my imaginary final year I managed to accomplish over the past 4 years. Those included quitting my law job, finding the love of my life, having a baby girl, writing a book, and traveling around the world.

I was rather pleasantly surprised by how all these goals that seemed rather far away when I wrote them had all come to pass. It made me think, what if I spent the next 365 days as if they were my last? What if every day I considered really seriously how I want to live my “final year”? What kind of adventures would I go on then? How would my life be different? And thus my Last Year Project was born. I challenged myself to live fully from this space for 365 days. If you want to follow my adventures, you can do so here.

I would like to challenge you to answer the question I answered four years ago: if you had only 365 days to live, you didn't have to worry about money or your health during the year, and on the 365th day you would die easily and painlessly, what would you do with your year? Feel free to share your response to this question in the comments.

What's In Your Backpack?

"Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough." ~Charles Dudley Warner

A couple nights ago I watched Up in the Air with George Clooney. In the movie George Clooney’s character is an inspirational speaker who gives a talk called “What’s In Your Backpack?” In this talk he uses the metaphor of a backpack that contains all of our possessions and commitments. He argues that all our relationships and stuff is too much extra baggage to carry around. It is so heavy that it’s nearly impossible to move. He counsels that we should walk around life with an empty backpack - free of these things that weigh us down.

It’s true that some stuff and people in our lives can be onerous, but do you really want an empty backpack? As I went for my run today I started to think about that. I see his point that certain possessions can really weigh you down - it may feel like they end up owning you instead of vice versa. While I have been focusing on simplifying my life and getting rid of things that I no longer need, I decided I definitely wouldn’t want to get rid of all possessions. In addition to a few prized possessions, I’m happy to fill my backpack with assets (in the Rich Dad, Poor Dad meaning of the word.) Income-producing property (whether real property, investments, or intellectual property) is the type of property that won’t weigh you down... rather it lifts you up. I wouldn’t mind having much less of the other stuff, but I’m happy to fill my backpack with real assets.

With regards to people... it’s true that there are some people that are real downers. They come with too much baggage and they drain your energy. It’s ok to take those types of people out of your backpack. However, there are people with whom you have very meaningful relationships. These are the people who lift you up, help carry your burdens, and sometimes help carry you. Those are definitely keepers. Not only do they make the journey easier, they also make it fun.

So do I want to have an empty backpack? Not a chance!