© 2002 Dr. Paul Mach, DN

So what have you done? Have you looked in the mirror as was discussed in last week’s article? Are you true to this “soul / spirit” you see staring back at you? What is happening in your life? What is happening to your health? These are all questions we refuse to ask ourselves because of the guilt, shame or remorse that occurs when we have to be true to ourselves. What about our having to confront the fear of the truth? We would become outraged if someone lied to us our treated us as shabbily or abused our body the way we do. What if somebody talked to us as vulgar and mean as we frequently do to ourselves?

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking,
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
(Marianne Williamson)

With this quote in mind please take a few minutes out of your busy schedule do the following exercise. It will require brutal honesty on your part, also a pen and paper. We often are caught in the survival mode and become so preoccupied with existence that we forget that the gift of life is for living, loving and learning. This is an opportunity to actually become centered and be (as in human being) with yourself. Take the time for you. We both know you are worth it. You cannot be truly healthy until you are not just physically sound, but emotionally, spiritually and mentally happy and at peace with your spirit.

Pen and paper ready? Please write your response.
1. What is going on in your life? What “demons” are you battling? Is there a health problem or is the reality in the mirror not matching up with the healthy person you know you were meant to be? Are you at optimum health? List these health concerns. How is your mental and spiritual well being? Are you being true to yourself or is there a boiling pot in your gut of unresolved conflict and dissonance? Do you constantly have to repress these little demons when that inner voice and chatter in your head gets too loud? Write down these issues. This is what your life is about. These issues must be confronted to experience comprehensive health.

 

2. Now that you have an honest inventory of this accumulated stuff in your life, what are you going to do about it? What are these issues costing you right now? Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. What about in your relationships, business affairs and sense of pride with family friends and loved ones. Are you not looking as hot as you want or are you just unable to walk, run and play? Does your life lack love, energy and happiness? How is your health progressing? Do you see what is occurring negatively in your life due to these issues? Can you feel what is going on inside your body? Please write down these sensations and images that are occurring NOW. Be with this data a minute and realize this is you.

3. Now you are being visited by one of Charles Dickens ghosts from Scrooge’s A Christmas Carol. He is taking you into the future where you will get to look at your life in 1 year. What do you see 1 year from today if you keep doing the same things you have always done? What does your life look like? How is your physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health? Are you the person you want to be? What do you look and feel like? Is there remorse or fear? What will all the life issues that you are dealing with on every level now look like growing over 1 year? Write this down.

4. This friendly ghost now takes you 5 years into the future. Your concerns have compounded over this time. Are you even still here? What do you see yourself looking, acting and being like? How are you holding up physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally? Are you living vibrantly in love with your life and body, or barely holding it together? Are you healthy and happy? As you stand there with this ghost are you proud of this person you created? In retrospect, you see that each and every little decision you had made led you to this place. Describe on paper what you see and feel during June of 2005. Make your descriptions vivid and honest.

This was a test; this was only a test. This future is not real. Or is it? If you make changes what will your new future look like? Write down all the changes that you need to make. This may mean reading a book, eating healthy, exercising, loving more, trusting in yourself and others, forgiving and letting go of resentments, going back to school, or altering your personality. The possibilities are endless. The work will be great, but it is your future. What do you want to create? Your life situation: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and health state are predominantly of your own creation. Is it radiant or resembling Frankenstein? The future is yours, go forth, and create your life. Make it a Masterpiece. Be vibrant, strong and healthy in every aspect of your being. Peace!

You seem to be the same person, and you are the same person that you always have been: in fact you are more yourself than you have ever been before.
You have only just begun to exist.You feel as if you were at last fully born.
All that went before was a fumbling preparation for birth.
Now you have come into your element…you have felt the doors fly open into infinite freedom.
(Thomas Merton)