Most of us don’t realise we need healing until things start to go wrong with our bodies. By then, patterns of thought and behaviour are wired into us and relatively difficult to change. Working to change them does not immediately relieve our symptoms. Childhood traumas starts to show up as cracks when we are under stress, and the medication we are prescribed puts added stress on the liver along with other stress-related activities such as drinking and eating too much.
One of the energies which presents in almost every case of physical or mental breakdown is that of despair. Despair is that feeling when we have exhausted ourselves trying and trying with a situation and nothing we do makes any difference. We reach the end of our tether, and despair, frustration and hopelessness can set in causing real problems manifesting in the body. So how do we get rid of these damaging emotions which get trapped in our bodies and cause us problems?The good news is that the body is designed to heal itself. And it does heal itself when what we put in each day in terms of stressful emotions and toxins remains less than what we are able to process, clean up and clean out with plenty water, the right nutrition and a good nights sleep. But so often we cannot avoid the stressful situations going on around us, and we cannot change them, so how do we consciously “let go” of frustrations and despair and other stressful emotions and stop them affecting our health?
Stressful events can be in the past. If we have been badly wronged, let down, hurt or abused then the key to letting it go is in forgiving. I often feel this word should be written the other way around as “give-for” rather than “for-give” as this makes so much sense in understanding what it involves. When we choose to give love for a hurtful situation or to a person rather than withholding love, then love overwrites the negative emotions we hold onto, and they can no longer harm us or cause blockages in our body or energy field. The Lord’s prayer describes this process accurately in saying “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”. As we give love for our negative experiences and emotions, then that allows for God’s love to flood in to change and heal the negative energies we have been holding onto such as anger, jealousy, blame, bitterness, pride, resentment or worry; all of which are sins. A sin is any energy which blocks God’s love. If we hold on to these negative energies then we block God’s love to the part of us that is holding them, which often means enough light does not reach cells in particular parts of our bodies, allowing the possibility of disease .
We all contain these energies because we are humans, and over the generations we have harnessed them in various ways and they are a part of our DNA. These energies have harmed our ancestors and we all carry such mistakes and mutations in our DNA which have resulted from their stressful situations or deliberate behaviour. Sometimes this is referred to as “original sin” as we all carry parts of it because we are human.
Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a choice. It is an act of the will and may or not be accompanied by any relief. Sometimes this takes time, and if unforgiveness has been present for an extended period it may take a long time for the emotions and the body to catch up with the change in spirit, for the will is part of the spirit. However change will happen once the decision to forgive has been taken and is lived by. It may be necessary to forgive the same thing each day until it begins to feel like a reality. A change in our will is all that is required for God’s healing to begin in us.
If a stressful situation is ongoing and there is nothing we can do to change it, then letting go is more difficult. Forgiveness may be involved, but perhaps the only way to stop such situations harming us is to give them to God entirely. This means asking God to take charge of the situation and for his will to be done in it. It means stopping worrying about it, stopping thinking about it and allowing for a solution to come that is out of our hands. Then we must step back and trust God with it, not take it back and not meddle, truly living “Thy will be done”. When we let go of difficult situations then worry, anxiety, despair, frustration, anger and other damaging energies are gradually overwritten in our DNA with hope and love. God’s solutions for our problems are often a wonderful surprise, and completely beyond our imagination!
Our bodies are the place that these changes in spirit manifest, and healing gradually happens as we begin to practise forgiveness and trust God for each and every problem and situation we face. This takes time and it can be helpful to say out loud “I am healed” each time we hand something over to God, in the understanding that sometimes the body can take a while to catch up with the healing that takes place in our spirit when we practise living this way. Living with pain and illness can bring it’s own despair, so it is vital to remember that the body takes time to catch up with the changes we make through our will.
Perhaps we do not know what lies at the roots of our various physical pains or emotional troubles. By the time we are noticing symptoms, there are many layers and many memories and events which need healing and forgiveness. Asking God to bring to our conscious mind things which need our attention or a change in spirit is the way to begin this journey of change and healing. Layer by layer we can work on what comes up with forgiveness and trust, and begin to experience God’s healing love in our lives and in our bodies. It is a journey to wholeness.
