Alchemy & Dis-Ease
by Anne McCormack
Knowledge and practice of Meditation and Metaphysics within personal programmes of healing, not only alleviate some of the emotional and physical discomfort. Acquiring a greater understanding of who we are, and how we operate on a metaphysical level, may also enable us to rectify many of the negative self-beliefs and energetic blockages which help to physically manifest disease.
Whilst many "alternative" health practitioners profess to be healers, ultimately doctors and complementary therapists alike facilitate the healing process within individuals. If diagnosed and treated in good time, it is the individual's strength of self that wills the body to heal.
Two years ago, whilst practising as an Aromatherapist and Remedial Massage practitioner in Sydney, I conducted some short workshops with the NSW YWCA-funded group, Encore, a support group for women with Breast Cancer.
Whilst many of the women attending the weekly support programme treated the recovery time as an opportunity to turn their lives around on an emotional/mental/spiritual level, there were women still firmly ensconced in a world of despondency, fear and anger. Positivity was meant by negativity. Love and caring met by suspicion, jealousy and a general feeling of hopelessness.
The women who were able to rise phoenix-like from their cancer experiences seemed to develop less complications, and cancerous growths in other areas of their bodies than their counterparts consumed with the notion that their existence on the earth plane was an unhappy, hopeless endeavour.
During the group discussions, the women revealed themselves as nurturers, mothers and carers who, in looking after others, neglected to look after themselves. Many felt their self-worth was connected to their role of caring for others and when they experienced a lack of positive validation from those they cared for, the women felt unworthy of love and life.
In one of the clinics where I practised healing in Sydney, there was one such lady who struggled with self-nurturance. During the time I spent with her she was constantly taking the needs of her child, of her ex-partner, friends and family into her own hands but in the process she neglected herself. She sought approval and acceptance from others, believing that if she declined for the sake of her own health, these people would end their friendships with her. This particular person also expected that if she took care of others, those very same people would give her back exactly what she had given them, which resulted in a lot of unresolved anger and resentment being bottled up. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
The same scenario was observed and discussed amongst the Encore gatherings. Tales of feeling redundant now that the children had left home, feeling anger and abandonment, but feeling resentful when the children requested assistance as these women felt that their generosity and love was one-sided as nobody seemed to be taking care of them.
How can such thoughts, feelings and actions manifest in such dis-ease?
Our physical and energetic bodies are like computer network systems. We take energy from the outside environment into our inner environment to assimilate and process that which is going on around us.
Thoughts, feelings and past experiences are stored in our personal energy fields. When these vibrations reach and enter the chakras, the stimuli may cause them to become constricted, or malformed, thereby stemming and limiting the flow of energy into the body's nervine system, thus affecting the vital organs.
With Breast Cancer, the heart chakra is the vortice primarily affected, although others may also be affected (depending on the issues being dealt with). The stemming or inhibition of vital energy is caused via constriction of energy to the breast/heart area, brought about by us not allowing love to flow freely - not only the love of others, but also love of self.
The following simple meditative exercise demonstrates through experience how constricted heart energy feels in comparison to open, flowing, loving heart energy.
Take a deep breath pushing your stomach out. Hold for a count of three then release. Repeat until you allow yourself to quieten your mind. Think of someone or something that has upset you recently. Take your attention to your body. How does it feel? Move your attention to your chest area. How does it feel in this part of your body when you think about that situation/person?
Now I want you to imagine the person/situation upsetting you being showered and surrounded with loving light coming from your heart. Breath in deeply and release your breathe fully. Focus. See that person/situation being revitalised and evolving into a non-threat. How does your chest feel now? That burning sensation is perfectly natural. It is your heart being restored and renewed.
During one short Encore workshop on Guided Meditation, I led the group through a similar exercise designed to experience beautiful heart energy. Needless to say they did not want to leave that space and even the most skeptical relished the love they felt. One lady described it as "being wrapped in a big hug".
We all deserve to experience this and it comes from within us, not from other people. Meditation allows us to not only turn negative thoughts into positive nurturing ones, and a means to provide ourselves with the validation, support and assistance we crave. Meditative exercise can also allow us to capture the source of discontentment so that we may deactivate it before it depletes us physically.
The following meditative exercise may help us to listen to the emotional/physical pains so we may see what they are trying to tell us.
Take a deep breath, pushing your stomach out. Hold for a count of three, then release. Repeat until you allow yourself to quieten your mind. Envisage a column of white light coming down from the Universe, down through the top of your head, down your spine. Feel or see this white light touching your crown chakra, your brow, your throat, your heart, your solar plexus, navel and the base of your spine . See or feel the light opening these areas up and being cleansed. Now take this white light down your legs, and down into the earth (a grounding and aligning technique). Ask to be connected with your Higher Self and your Spirit Guides of Love and Light. Ask that any entities that are around you not from a place of love and light go back to where they came from or karmic wrath will be invoked. Ask that any negative energy be taken up to the Universe and be converted to positive energy to be sent back down to the earth plane as healing light.
Envisage yourself sitting on a cloud of pink light, delving deep into its softness. See the cloud taking you higher and higher into the Universe until you are feeling light and love.
Now envisage (or feel is you are more sentient than visual) the physical area of pain which has been bothering you. Take some of this cloud of pink light and put it directly on the area whilst asking to be shown the issue behind the pain. It may come to you straight away or it may take a while longer - just sit and focus on the area, and keep placing the pink light on the area. Some of the responses may be symbolic, some might be simple and straightforward. Feelings and emotions cannot be discounted as guidance. Now, add pale blue healing light to the area of pain. See or feel any dark areas being cleansed away with the blue light.
When you are ready. thank your Guides, Angels and Higher Self. Begin the descent of your pink cloud slowly and gently. Become aware of your breathing again. To complete this exercise, imagine earth energy moving up through your feet, up your legs, up your spine, to the top of your head. This ensures you leave the meditative state in a grounded frame of mind.
What we are often shown by our guidance structures during meditative exercises of this nature are feelings, actions and thoughts we deny ourselves, and indeed, that the actions of those people perceivably "hurting" us actually have nothing to do with us directly, although sometimes they mirror what we unknowingly do to others. Therefore, an awareness and understanding of ourselves is facilitated, enabling us to further develop our capacity for unconditional love.
Of course, here we have just mentioned Breast Cancer. Although with other ailments different chakras may be affected, the concepts and meditation techniques may also be effectively applied. Try them, and see how your pain feels afterwards.
Remember, everything outside of us - our dealing with others especially - reflects that which is going on within us. This situation/other person may directly mirror that which we are doing, or the experience may just be a "cause/effect", or karmic scenario whereby we can break old patterns of behaviour and move on within our life. Perceivably ""negative" situations thus become learning opportunities, hence they transform themselves into "positive" scenarios.
Anne McCormack is a Metaphysical Healing Facilitator, Remedial Massage practitioner and Aromatherapist practising in Brisbane. She may be contacted on 0415 456 509 or email: [email protected]. Anyone interested in further information about the YWCA-funded Encore support programmes for women with Breast Cancer may contact Claire Treadgold (the national co-ordinator) on (02) 9285 6225.
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