After more than 20 years, I am once again reading the book, Mutant Message Down Under – A Woman’s Journey to Dreamtime Australia by Marlo Morgan. This is the story of a 50-year-old woman who goes on a 4-month walk with an aboriginal tribe. The first time I read this book, I was inspired to look at my life from a new perspective. I was more grateful for everything I had, I thought more about giving thanks before I received and I wondered if I could identify with a single gift / talent like the tribesmen were. Imagine being the Storyteller who doesn’t have to be a Cook or the Midwife who doesn’t have to be the Peacemaker and at the same time knowing that you are being honored for your role in the family / tribe.
Today, I was reading about the beginning of the woman’s journey with the tribe when she was walking barefoot, stepping on spikes and in considerable pain and Ooota, her translator, said:
“Focus your attention elsewhere.”
This was my challenge for 20 years and the lesson I learned is one that I share with my clients who are suffering – physically, mentally, emotionally and / or spiritually. My story is this:
I have always been passionate about everything I do! I was 18 years old and studying at the University of Maine to become a speech therapist. I wanted to work with blind and deaf people. I already had experience reading braille and teaching it to a blind and deaf patient during an internship that I had during my senior year of high school. My future was planned … so I thought. I scheduled my college classes around the three hours a day that I spent in the gym as a competitive gymnast. I loved everything about gymnastics and was my coach’s “guinea pig”, trying anything new without fear or reservation. On April 13, 1973, I was practicing on the balance beam with my coach and accidentally fell, landing on my head. I woke up in the ambulance with a severe head injury. It was two years after the accident before I saw the best neurosurgeon in Boston, who immediately admitted me to the hospital and performed barbaric medical tests that left me in excruciating pain. Your prognosis: “You will always have a headache and you will be high for the rest of your life.” The first part of that forecast was true for a long time. I still managed to finish nursing school, yes, the original plan changed, I got married, I worked, I had a child. There were days when the headache was so bad that it couldn’t function. What I forgot to do in those days was FOCUS ON SOMETHING ELSE. He had no pain from the neck down. Of course, we can usually see the past with the vision of 2020. Eventually, I traveled to California to become a kinesiologist and holistic nurse and finally healed the headache, learned healing techniques and pain reduction tools for myself and myself. clients and I live a full life with the ability to keep up with my 4 years. old grandson!
Focusing your attention elsewhere when you experience pain is not about ignoring or minimizing what is happening. Physical pain is often your body telling you that something is not right. In my case, I could have sent my thoughts and focused on an area that didn’t hurt. When your head hurts, often massaging your feet will lessen the pain and could have. When you are depressed or sad, helping another person focuses your attention on what you can do to help them. It’s important to get away from tunnel vision or one-size-fits-all and get out of the box, focus on something else that might work.
A simple technique to use if you are mentally going around in circles and cannot find answers is to block your RIGHT Nostril and breathe only through your Left Nostril. This will allow you to access your right brain where you can see options and alternatives, perceive a larger picture without emotions clouding your thinking, and find creative ways to solve a dilemma without the left brain editing and judging the thoughts. Give it a try. It’s a great way to brainstorm with yourself!