Where There Is Smoke
By: Cyndi Wilkins
(4 min read)
Being human does not come with an instruction manual, but if we are good students of the game, it does have a way of tapping into the infinite wisdom that is at the very core of our existence. Tapping our emotional body brings us in touch with the state of our inner beingness. It is the heart and soul of who we are.
Expanding our vision and developing an understanding that there is a non-physical element to every human expression is an evolved way of thinking. It evokes a curious exploration of life beyond the physical, resulting in a heightened awareness of our thoughts and intentions. Both of which are unseen, and have a defining effect on our experience. Anger hurts, and love heals. It’s as simple as that.
I recently made a long overdue visit to my acupuncture therapist after struggling for several months with a nagging pain in my back and neck that had not responded very well to any other treatment I had been trying. As a matter of fact, instead of improving, it was getting worse, becoming chronic and literally affecting me from one end to the other. I was at my wit’s end and in constant excruciating pain. My body felt like it was coming apart at the seams.
The moment I walked into my therapist’s office, she immediately began her assessment of my situation. To a well-trained therapist, the conditions of the energetic system, or chakras, is easily revealed via careful observation of one’s body language. Her eyes scanned me with an intensity that, to some, might have been a bit unsettling. But to me, this woman is a modern-day shaman with abilities unmatched by anyone I have ever encountered in the natural healing realms. To me, she embodies the mystical gifts of an ancient sage.
Once I was on the table, she immediately began working her magic, moving swiftly but silently around my body as if she were fine-tuning an instrument. From the placement of the first needle, I felt an intense pulsating surge that reverberated throughout my body. From the nape of my neck to the base of my spine, my energy burst through the top of my head.
Much like uncorking a bottle of champagne on New Year’s, the energy bounced around the walls a bit before settling down. I felt an instant release but knew there were consequences to all that I bottled up in my head. It had expressed itself through the pain I was in.
Her hands hovered over my stomach and lower abdomen. “It is here,” she said as she slowly but firmly began to massage my entire mid-section. I was a bit surprised by how much pain I was feeling there. “It is your heart,” she whispers. “You have shut it down and are now being called to open it.” I am writhing around now beneath her strong hands, but I trust her knowledge of the body and her innate ability to evoke and release the ancient patterns of inner conflict from the organs and tissues.
It is interesting to note here that in Chinese folk medicine, there is a direct correlation between the heart and intestines. It is where all our intuitive powers reside. It is the seat of the soul, and mine was on fire. I had not even realized how overwhelmed I was by a situation that was jolting to my nerves, calling into question everyone and everything I had ever trusted.
I began to cry. I have struggled with this issue for many a lifetime and was being called to let it go. “You need to send whatever you are holding here away with love,” she continues. “Have compassion for the pain you are in.”
I have heard it said that experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward. (Popular inspirational quote.) The experience of pain was my test, and my lesson was learning to love despite it all.
This is a natural ongoing process of coming into one’s own empowerment. It is all a function of being human. Those annoying old demons have a way of continually bubbling to the surface to challenge our awareness. Painful situations create great lessons of trust, and our anger at them creates a wall of separation, cutting us off from the love and compassion required to heal them.
When we demonstrate a willingness to work on these inner levels, we shift the state of our being in favor of wellness. What we feed our minds is just as important as what we feed our bodies. Illness and pain are just a lack of that awareness. Believe you have that kind of power and so you shall. I am reminded yet again, anger hurts and love heals. It is as simple as that.
I had lost sight of my own needs while being so focused on caring for others. The smoke signals my body was sending me broke out into a raging wildfire that seared a path right to the heart of the matter in a most undeniable way. It is the very thing I teach others to remain conscious of whenever they are in pain, and yet I had been ignoring my own.
It is life’s way of keeping us humble and reminding us that we are only human. I am slowly feeling better now, but I know there is still much to learn about the mysteries of the mind and body. Perhaps if we were not so quick to medicate it every time we are in pain, we might just learn something.
