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Happy Healthy YOU

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Kelly Spencer - Happy Healthy YOU

(A wellness column by Kelly Spencer: writer, life coach, yoga & meditation teacher, holistic healer and a mindful life enthusiast!)

Over the last couple weeks we have covered detoxification of the body and the mind. This week is about spiritual detox.

Years ago I, like many people, thought that spirituality had something to do with religion. It does not. Not to say that spirituality cannot be practiced in your religion, spirituality is more universal to all.

Christina Puchalski, MD, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, contends that "spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred."

The 7th energy system or chakra (meaning wheel of energy) in the body is called the Crown Chakra or Sahasrara. This energy system is believed to connect us to our identity, our meaning and our connection to the world and universe. While our body and our mind are very individual, this essence of the connection and experiences we each share are celebrated in our oneness.

When we are feeling toxic in our spirituality, we may find we don’t feel like we belong, or experience lack of focus or direction, lack of self-understanding and even lack joy in life. We may suffer from addictions to substance, alcohol, food or other. Physically we may experience migraines, melancholy, and depression, to name a few.

Fear is one of the most common spiritual toxins on Earth. A Course in Miracles, a book written by Helen Schucman, states that fear is a state of mind in which one feels cut off from the universe and is the opposite of love. Fear can paralyze the body, upset digestion and cause physical tension as well as alter one’s perceptions, judgments and decision.

Dr. Lawrence Wilson M.D. writes that perhaps one of the most important spiritual dis-eases is arrogance.

“It is discussed in Oriental textbooks on medicine, but ignored in Western medicine, perhaps because many doctors suffer from this problem,” he states.

In his study of macrobiotics he states that “the hardest disease to cure was arrogance.” The belief that we would know something with an absolute certainty is arrogance and can cause us to think that we need not listen to others, learn anything new or even respect others opinions. It can allow us to inflate our importance and disregard and judge others.

Dr. Wilson also states that ignorance is the most devastating of the spiritual imbalances. He states that “everything we do is based about assumptions, knowledge and principle and if one is ignorant, it will lead them to decisions that are false and faulty and could lead to disease or worse.”

Dr. Wilson gives examples: “Eating in ignorance leads us to cancer, diabetes and obesity. Marrying in ignorance can lead to unhappy and unhealthy relationships. Working in ignorance leads to injury and job dissatisfaction. Voting in ignorance leads to downfall of nations. And so on.”

Disconnection of oneness and our universal connection to each other can cause judgment and fear of others that appear different than us and sometimes even cause bigotry and racism.

Here is a quick and brief list for a starting point, to detox the spirit.

1. Without judging yourself, make a list of where you may be spiritually imbalanced. Witness, without judgment, where this shows up in your life.

2. Make note of how you are the same as the people around you even though there may be differences in age, race, sexual orientation, size, economical status and so on.

3. Is there a root source? Sometimes spiritual toxins may be present from past experience such as abuse and hurt. Seek a Therapist if needed.

4. Write down your dreams and imaginations. Do a dream board. Set goals. Get clear. Release blocks. Seek a Life Coach if needed.

5. Choose love, starting with you. Loving you, exactly who you are in this moment, may be the first step to accepting others for who they are.

6. Help others for the sake of helping others. The rewards are tenfold. Random acts of kindness and volunteering are just a couple ways.

7. Forgiveness. Is there anyone including yourself, you need to forgive?

8. Connect with nature. Get outside. Notice the trees, the animals and how they are similar to you.

9. Meditate. Better yet, meditate in nature!

10. Celebrate your unique gifts you offer the world. Ask several loved ones how they feel you make the world a better place. Take deep breaths as they tell you and believe them!

11. Laughter. Watch a funny movie. Go to a comedy show. Spend time with people that make you laugh. Laughter is medicine.

Holistic Health is often referred to all the aspects of our health: Body, mind and spirit. They are all connected and all affect each other. In the next weeks, we will discuss detoxing our relationships and our environment.

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