Empower Your Self to Heal Beyond Chronic Illness, Part 1: Just Who is the "self" in Self Healing?

When struggling with the daily experiences of chronic illness, we rarely engage a most powerful (and empowering) healing force at our disposal. Many of us with chronic illness are so busy coping with symptoms each day, we may never even be aware this healing force exists. Instead, it remains buried beneath the everyday busyness of what I think, feel, need, and desire--distracting attention away from, and depleting the raw energy necessary, for self healing chronic illness.

This potent healing power is rooted in how it is you attend to, and relate with, who-it-is-I-am-at-core (i.e., your self at depth). This deep experience of self is rooted beyond the superficial sense of "myself" often associated with characterizations such as "tall", "short", "thin". Moreover, this powerful core-self is buried beneath the roles we play (e.g., child, parent, friend, lover). In fact, roles merely serve to further conceal self at core!

Yet, when you do focus on your genuine relation-with-self-within, compelling and quite familiar feelings suddenly arise, as described in the three exercises below.

1. The "Mirroring Authentic Self" exercise.

Take time to look at yourself in the mirror. Initially, you may identify features of your face you judge as "acceptable". . . or not. For this exercise, however, imagine your face as the newborn infant you were in your very first minutes: Reflect on this fresh and lovely you! Know your newborn face could then (as now) bring smiles to complete strangers. It was you long before the weight (of comparisons and competition) was thrust onto your emerging identity.

So look beyond your facial features--eye color, nose, lips. Indeed, arrive at your true-face with which you were born by looking BEHIND your face, as if it is a mask; permitting your true-face to emerge without descriptors, without judgments.

As you do begin to recognize your birth-face (regardless of your age now), you at-once sense an ever-present "sameness" about who "I" am. As self-awareness reawakens, you sense the aging face reflecting back is somehow "not me"--at least not me-at-core!

This incongruity occurs in response to the labels and roles we each take on as our own throughout life--costumes to act out our living play. As we do, we lose our wholeness. We become fragmented into polarities and judgments defining both who-I-am and (too often ) who-I-am-not, whether I-am-acceptable. . . or that I-am-not.

Now, however, you can realize the superficial roles and labels do NOT reflect who-I-am-at-core. You recognize deep within, the core-self-of-me-now feels the same, and indeed IS the same, as "I" have been since birth--long before my first awareness of self-I-am. Indeed, this authentic-core-self-within never ages!

2. "Would I still exist" exercise.

To more fully access and amplify mirroring-your-authentic-self, you may also engage a truly powerful, transforming technique best described by Arjuna Ardagh in "The Translucent Revolution" (2005); and appropriately called "Would you still exist?" (pp. 70-71)

Ardagh suggests making an exhaustive list of all the qualities with which you identify (e.g., teacher, Italian, a patient, sick). Then, one-by-one move through your list asking yourself the question, "If I no longer identified myself as. . ." (a quality you listed), "would I still exist?" Qualities fall away as you begin to realize your self-identifiers could just as easily have been dreams--often lasting for years!

Fact: This core-self-I-am undeniably exists . . . beyond all qualifiers and judgments!

3. Access you Authentic Self multiple times each day!

It is this undefined, unchanging and unlimited, core Self (capital "S" Self) I invite you to acknowledge repeatedly throughout your day. This is your Self-beyond. . . beyond labels, roles, judgments and desires. This is your Self-beyond the unceasing self-talk, beyond your well-worn story, behind the masks long-mistaken for authentic Self. Your Self is even beyond illness, as Self is forever whole!

These simple exercises have proven powerful in initiating healing energy along my own wellness journey, as well as for those chronically ill clients with whom I have worked. As you begin accessing your authentic Self (and acknowledge it throughout your day), you will soon rediscover new and vibrant energy available to you! This new experience of Self becomes your foundation on which to reawaken the power within--power you can begin to access for healing at any level (and at every level) including physical healing.

To become truly response-able to Self heal, the crucial first step you must take is to become intimately reacquainted with your Self. Please, give your Self time to reawaken, to reemerge naturally. As you do, you will rediscover a wonderful friend with whom you can once again be playful, enjoy and just peaceably BE!

With this most powerful and joyful beginning to your healing journey, you have set out on a true adventure beyond limitations (particularly those attached to chronic illness)! Then, to further enhance your healing journey, watch for follow-up posts and articles in this powerful healing series; highlighting even more wonders and Self nurturing tools on your quest to "Empower Your Self To Heal Chronic Illness".

I look forward to serving You WELL!

Caringly,

Malcolm

©2009byMFDayton,LPC