LISTENING TO OUR BODY

LISTENING TO OUR BODY

LISTENING TO OUR BODY

by Frances Mezei

"O Son of Man!The temple of being is My throne; cleanse it of all things, that there I may be established and there I may abide." (Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words, Arabic #59)

The body is the temple of the human soul. It is important to have knowledge and understanding about our body, feel it, take care of it, like it and allow it to be healthy. Today the condition of our body is influenced by the perceptions and attitudes of our society's view of illness. Most of us grew up with little training on how to honour and nurture our body. Our bodily signs are often ignored mostly because we do not understand the deeper implications of them. We often resort to a quick fix and think that the problem will resolve on its own. There is a lot of pressure to believethe advertisements that tell us to pop a pill and continue with life's many duties; that popping pills is the only cure.Our illnesses or chronic diseases such as headaches, allergies, high blood pressure, asthmas, etc are among the greatest trials and sacrifices. We often think it is impossible to find a cure and to eradicate the disease. In the Baha'i Writings, there is much guidance from Baha'u'llah to take care and cleanse the body of its wastes as exhorted in this

quote:"...You should not neglect your health, but consider it the means which enables you to serve. It - the body - is like a horse which carries the personality and spirit, and as such should be well cared for so it can do its work! You should certainly safeguard your nerves, and force yourself to take time, and not only for prayer and meditation, but for real rest and relaxation."( From a letter dated 23 November 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, Health and Healing, p. 40)

When our body senses tiredness, heaviness, pain or discomfort, it is asking for our loving and kind attention. It demands that we listen to these bodily signs. We can rest, relax and pray, allowing the body to stop and do nothing. Some days we can have complete rest by staying in bed. This will assist the system to heal itself, adjusting severe imbalances which require a great amount of focus and energy. By putting our trust in God, this total relaxation will strengthen the healing power to perform its divinely ordained function. The stress is caused by trying to do something beyond the normal capability at that time. This is simply the natural God-given healing process; some of us call it a healing or spiritual crisis. This story tells of a woman who is learning to take care of herself: Mary has been suffering from headaches and migraines for about 20 years. Each time a headache would surface, she would immediately take a pill. The painwould lessen and then she would carry on with her duties. However, the headache would return, and Mary would continue to increase her intake of pills. She was very concerned about her dependency on pills which at times affected her stomach. She tried all kinds of alternative treatments and her headaches still persisted. Then she consulted with a doctor who educated her about the benefits of a healing crisis and that all true healing comes from God.She is trying an experiment. Whenever she feels a headache, she will increase her intake of water, rest and take no pills. One month ago, Mary had a migraine and she was determined not to take one pill. She was pain-ridden for two days, wore a woolen hat and faced her internal battles of fears which were manifested through her headaches. It was a critical time which demanded bravery and reliance on Baha'u'llah. She faced it fair and square and emerged victorious, clear-eyed and triumphant. She discovered hidden and evident insights, thus liberating her. Mary alsonoticed afterwards that her energy level increased and she was able to complete her tasks with a greater sense of simplicity and focus. She wants to continue to strive to practice these spiritual healing habits. She feels this is the key to beat this chronic disease and achieve detachment from pills.Mary's consciousness has increased. She learned from her physician that when the headaches are suppressed by drugs the healing stops and the underlying imbalance remains, only to emerge at a later time. The headachescontinued to grow worse, and compounded over the years. This encouraged her to search for new solutions such as rest, drinking lots of water and saying prayers. She has learned how to welcome, abide and accept the healing process and thus safeguard her body which is the temple of the soul.