Reframing Health Conditions

I believe our thoughts become things and where we focus our energy is what we create in our physical lives. So I truly believe it has been my pattern of thoughts and beliefs throughout my life that has created any and all health conditions present in my life right now. And I also know if I created a health condition, I can dis-create it.

To do this, however, takes great focus and faith. It means I have to learn to look beyond what I perceive as my physical reality to the subtle energies that underlie everything. And when I'm struggling with symptoms from a health condition, this isn't always easy to do. After all, if something hurts, that feels pretty darn real.

The other thing I need to do in order to dis-create a health condition is to actually stop believing the condition is irreversible. And since I am a physical being living in a physical "reality" where I've learned certain conditions are, indeed, permanent (just ask WebMD), I also have to battle against beliefs I've held since I was very young about the nature of reality and the physical realm.

It's a pretty tall order - especially given that I am as firmly rooted in my physical presence as anyone else. As an intuitive energy healer, I have a lot of tools at my disposal to help with this, but I am still a product of a lifetime of beliefs.

Likewise, it doesn't help that in my thoughts and words, I take ownership of my condition and in doing so, I reinforce the belief the condition is something that is a permanent part of me.

For example, I've been pretty open that I am living with celiac disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. These are conditions I've written about a lot (including writing books about them), so they are a powerful part of my self-image. I think and say frequently, "I have celiac disease." "I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis." And every time I say or think those things, I strengthen their energy in my life, and I reinforce the energy that these things are a part of me and always will be.

With celiac disease, I also continue to give power to the belief system by studiously avoiding gluten, and that's not something I'm going to stop doing for the foreseeable future. However, it creates a unique energetic challenge for me. Every time I eat in a restaurant, dine with someone else, or shop for food, I scour ingredients to ensure there's not even a trace of gluten in them. And every time I search for gluten ingredients, I'm reinforcing the belief, "I have celiac disease."

I was teaching a Reiki class this weekend with a group of women. During the course of the class as I talked about various aspects of energy healing, I noticed myself a few times using my celiac disease and Hashimoto's as examples saying, "I have celiac disease." "I have Hashimoto's." Then, one of the women mentioned to me a condition she has, and something clicked into place.

Every time we say, "I have _________ condition," we are owning that condition. We are saying, "this condition is part of me and always will be," and in doing so, we are reinforcing its energy. I realized I needed to change the way I think and communicate about any health condition I might have, whether it's temporary or "permanent" in order to change the energy surrounding it. Because if I own it over and over again, I strengthen it.

So if the language, "I have...." or "I am...." is creative and brings about conditions in our lives, is there a way to change how we think and speak about a condition or disease so we don't create energetic ownership and set it more deeply in our psyches? In the class, I struggled to come up with new wording that resonated with me. I offered things like, "I am living with...." and ".... is my partner in life right now," but even those felt too ownershippy. 

Then, on the way home, I realized there was a way of thinking and speaking about illness that worked for me. And since so many people struggle with chronic health issues, I thought I'd share it with you, as well. The phrase I came up with is this: "Celiac disease is my teacher right now." "Hashimoto's thyroiditis is my path to awareness right now." "A migraine is challenging my pre-conceptions right now." 

With these statements, I've acknowledged a condition or a symptom exists, but I'm not owning it. Instead, I'm recognizing it for what it's presence really is in my life: a path to my higher self and ultimately a path to my healing. 

This feels right to me. It's new. I'm working with it. But I wanted to share it with you. If it resonates, if it feels right, I recommend you try it. Find a non-ownership phrase that helps reframe a condition, symptom, or illness and try to bring that into your consciousness whenever you feel yourself taking ownership of the illness. It could just create a new pathway to healing. 

Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay ​