It’s a new year and time for a fresh start. I’ve been doing a little re-decorating and updating around here, so I hope you like it! The photo above is the Wyoming Winter as it looks right now!
I have learned so much in the last year, have spent so much time researching, growing within myself, and learning from my work with clients, and now it is time for you to benefit from this. My revelations can be your inspiration! My lessons can be your lessons, too.
One of the predominant questions or concerns I repeatedly receive in my email inbox is this: Will mind-body healing work for me? Closely followed by: How did you do it? These two questions will serve as the basis for my upcoming posts for several months.
The truth is, I can’t guarantee that a mind-body approach will work for you. It would be unfair to you to promise that, because I don’t know you. I don’t know the complexities of your situation, I don’t know what might work best for you, and, here’s the biggie: I don’t have the power to heal you, no matter how much knowledge or experience I have. I also know there are no absolutes. What I can say is this: mind-body healing does work for many people, but there are a variety of approaches, a variety of aspects, and a variety of variables that come into play. Thinking it won’t work for you is just a roadblock to work around, because it’s quite possible it will work. If you’re willing to give it a try and do some experimentation, you really can’t go wrong. There is truly nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
I can also tell you there are some underlying basic mind-body techniques that are incredibly powerful – but you need to understand how to apply them to yourself. The good news about mind-body healing is it’s becoming more and more well-known, more people are writing about it, and the evidence is beginning to pile up to help you believe in the possibility. That’s all you need – just to WANT to believe, or believe just a little bit, for the magic to begin once you implement mind-body techniques. Even if you do have something non-mind-body going on, mind-body techniques will still help, because they reduce fear, stress, anxiety, and therefore, pain. I try to keep my finger on the pulse of mind-body research, approaches, and information so I can stay up-to-date and be a useful resource. Hence the new Resources page I’ve added today.
I want to continue to share with you my own personal journey, my own ups and downs, and my moments of revelation and insight. I think this will be the most powerful teaching tool of all. I don’t see myself as having “the answer” or “the cure” or “the way.” I want to remain humbly in the role of fellow traveler on this mind-body path, as somebody who is maybe just up the road from you. Maybe watching me, seeing what I experience and have experienced, can be a learning tool for you. It’s always so comforting to have fellow travelers.
I also plan to convey more and more about the internal workings of a coaching session. This will help you see the intricate ways in which the psyche prevents healing from taking place – not out of sabotage, but simply because the human mind is an interesting place. We’ll talk about fear, negative thinking, emotional suppression, panic, breathing, and much more in great detail. By sharing some of my self coaching as well, I hope to clarify and expand your understanding of true, in-depth mind-body work. (I’ve added a new Self-Coaching 101 page to help you learn more about coaching yourself.)
And yes, it really is work. But this is the work of a lifetime, because it will be the key to happiness, freedom, and joy, as well as calm, peace, and comfort. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, over and over. It can’t be said enough. What I learned from my mind-body work, and what I continue to learn, has transformed my life and continues to do so every day. What started as a search for pain-relief became the discovery of mental freedom. I never thought I’d be grateful for my experiences with physical pain, but I am. Pain has been my life coach – it just took a while to understand its language. Now that I do, I am able to steer my life due North, a la Martha Beck, always returning to my path, where I belong, and reaping the many unimaginably awesome benefits.
