The Colloid Base

“You have a herniated disc. You are going to have to live with this pain. I don’t recommend surgery.”

That’s what my doctor said to me after looking at the results of an MRI that I agreed to have due to excruciating back pain. He offered me nothing, not even hope. As soon as I heard this man coldly inform me that I would live a life filled with chronic pain, I silently refused to accept his words as my truth.

I Must Heal!

I set a strong intention to become pain free and my journey toward healing began. Weekly chiropractic adjustments and therapeutic massages became the norm for me. While working, I often found a flat surface to lie on during my lunch hour. This was the only way I could manage to sit behind a desk all day. (so much for packing errands and eating into that short time frame!) During the evenings, I often soaked in a hot bath and used heating pads to relieve my pain. Even though my chiropractor suggested ice, I loved the way heat soothed the muscles spasms I frequently endured. Meditation, yoga and deep breathing also helped me manage the pain and the stress it added into my already stressful life.

Pain encouraged me to slow down so I did. Along with changing my lifestyle, I also entered into an intimate relationship with my back, neck and shoulders. These parts of my body that had been taken for granted now guided me in almost every move and choice I made.

A Blessing?

My herniated disc is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It set me on a path toward learning about the mind, body, spirit connection before I reached my thirties. I began to realize that my choices greatly impacted my health. Now I have learned to listen to my body through my experience with back pain. If my back pain flares up, I know it is time to examine my choices, get a massage, sit in hot water, stretch or simply rest.

Tuning into the Body

It is easy to take the body for granted and forget that it is truly a miraculous container for the mind and spirit. Try getting mindful about your body. Tune into it and listen to what it is saying to you. It’s likely that your body can serve you in more ways than you may realize.

Tips for Tuning In:

Check in to see how your body feels when you are making a decision. A tight feeling in your stomach might tell you which options are not in your best interest. Pay attention! Your body is trying to point you toward the best choice for you.

Honor pain. Often, we curse pain. What good does this do? Try viewing pain as your ally and look for ways it might guide you toward healing.

Notice when you feel good in your body. What are you doing? What feels right about the moment? How can you bring more moments like this into your life?

Practice love and gratitude for your body. Instead of focusing on the body’s imperfections, focus on all that it does for you. Send your body love and connect with it more fully in a positive way.

Suggested Reading to learn more about the mind, body, spirit connection:

Heal Your Body by Louise Hay

Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing by Christiane Northrup, MD.

Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power by Caroline Myss, Ph.D.

(“Listening to the Body” is about the mind, body, spirit connection. This article is based on my personal experience and opinions. It is not intended to be medical advice. ~Beverly Keaton Smith)

(c)2006 Beverly Keaton Smith

Beverly Keaton Smith, CPCC owns and operates Embrace Your Gifts and Soar! She is a certified life coach who offers individual life coaching, group coaching, workshops and retreats to women who are ready to discover and embrace their unique gifts so they can live more athentically and joyfully. She is also co-author of The Book of Druthers. To learn more about Beverly, visit http://www.embraceyourgifts.com.

Copyright 2005 Writer’s Eye Advisory Service

Percolating over a creative process isn’t procrastination,
though it may look like it from the outside. Percolating over a
chosen creative project, happens at any point along the
creativity continuum, from choosing an idea, developing plans,
creating the product to displaying the project. Sometimes you
will need to take a break from your project, life events
interrupts. If you’ve set up a break schedule, then you don’t
have to worry about taking a permanent break. Taking breaks will
allow you to concentrate on other parts of your life, while your
brain processes what you’ve just completed in your creative
session. If you are prone to procrastination following
percolation time, then set and share your goals with another
artist. This will help you return to your creative work at the
consistently. Percolation time can be short or long. An example
of a short percolation time is when you write a portion of a
chapter during your creative session. Take a walk. Start working
on a new chapter at your next session. Here are some fears that
you may encounter as you experience your percolation time:

–You may doubt your ability to return to your original creative
pace. –You may not be comfortable experiencing a strong
positive reaction when you complete a portion of your project.
–You may run out of ideas. –You may not have completed any
part of the project perfectly. –Others might reject your work,
which means that they may be rejecting you. –You may be afraid
that once you stop, you won’t be able to start again.–You may
feel too powerless to finish this project, so you decide to give
up on the project completely. What can you do when you feel too
powerless?

Remember to:

–Listen to all of your reactions. –Schedule a working personal
break. –Talk, write, act (exercise or dance, etc.) or pray out
your feelings. –Put away your feeling work for 24 hours.
–Reread your feeling work. –Choose one new idea. –Write or
pray about this idea for five minutes. –Identify your feelings
now. –Create one new short-term goal for your project. –Take
the first action listed to complete your goal. –Check in with
yourself. (feelings, thoughts and physical responses)

If you experience a strong positive reaction, then resume your
previous creative process.

If you experience an ambivalent reaction, you may be
experiencing the natural discomfort of learning a new set of
skills. This is a temporary situation. Resume your previous
creative process as soon as you can.

Finally, if you experience a strong negative reaction, repeat
the exercise until your experience a positive reaction or decide
to work on a different project. Percolation time can be both
exhilarating and frustrating. Discipline yourself to keep on
creating your unique product, while putting your strong
reactions to work for you as you put them in their proper place.