Again…Happy New Year!!
Let’s make this the year of living even more consciously, so the steps we take, and the footprints we leave, are in harmony with life, which also brings a lightness of being to our souls.
One way I think we can do a better job of being conscious, is not getting too distracted by surface level stuff, but curiously looking deeper for the actual root causes.
Hands up if you got ‘sick’ in, or around, the Xmas period or New Year?
This article is inspired by the first two clients I spoke to this year, who told me they were crook with the mighty “flu”.
The great thing about discovering the root cause, is we can then utilize the most effective intervention to get the best possible sustainable and long-term result.
So let’s look at potential root causes in relation to us getting crook.
Some possible suspects
I have studied and written about health (physical and mental) for almost 2 decades now, and over the same period I have been practicing this thing where I take greater personal responsibility for the results I get in life.
It was Tony Robbins who first inspired this (way back in 1999!!).
It started with greater personal responsibility in my personal life, my relationships, and what goals I was achieving or not achieving.
Then as I came to understand optimum health much better, it flowed into that.
I became very aware that I did not get sick from purely external things (in the majority of cases) but more so by the choices I was making.
For well over 10 years I have been very aware of what (actually) ‘makes’ me get sick.
I have also come to know that the human form, and its self-healing potential, is ENORMOUSLY impressive!!!
Even more so, when we do certain things to support the process.
Therefore, I know there are certain contributing factors to getting ‘sick’ a lot of the time.
SO…If you got sick at the end of the year or start of the year, would any of these been a contributing factor?
- Running on adrenaline and cortisol for the weeks (or months) leading up to Xmas.
- Being generally stressed out.
- Drinking more alcohol than usual.
- Eating more crappy food – especially with high sugar content.
- Eating more processed or fast food, and eating less fresh fruit and vegetables.
- Getting less sleep or having disrupted sleep (or alcohol induced sleep – disrupting REM patterns).
- Stressful family gatherings.
- Getting less sunshine (for those in the Northern Hemisphere).
I am less interested in blaming a piece of genetic material (i.e. the influenza A or B virus), and more interested in trusting my bodies innate immune potential, while looking at the bigger picture.
This is also something which I am EMPOWERED to influence, as opposed to being at the whim of some external, sneaky and invisible, pathogen.
Our immune systems are also SUPER awesome!!!
They have been tuned up over 1000’s and 1000’s of years.
Unfortunately, our lifestyle choices put extra strain on organs, like our liver, which are trying to manage processing the toxic load we put on our bodies.
Another possible suspect for getting crook at the end of the year – especially in the northern hemisphere – was highlighted to me by Dr Zack Bush. With a lot of deciduous trees losing their leaves over winter, there is less foliage to sequester carbon out of the atmosphere, so there is likely to be greater levels of pollution in the air at that time of the year.
For me, it is emotional STRESS, which is most likely (9/10) the cause of me getting sick.
Our bodies natural detoxification process
As I have already said, our bodies are amazing at self-healing.
One way the body does that is through detoxification.
Which in my simple terms is getting stuff out of the body which is not essential or beneficial for optimum health.
It does this in a number of ways.
- Through pooping stuff out.
- Through sweating stuff out.
- Through raising the body temperature.
- Through break-outs on the skin.
- Through peeing things out.
- Through breathing things out.
- Through coughing up green stuff.
It also may cause us (whether it is intelligent design or a by-product) to feel really tired so we actually rest out bodies, thus creating the perfect environment for self-healing.
What we often think of illness (e.g. the flu), is actually the body detoxifying after having been through a period of poor sleep, crappy food, excess alcohol and excess stress.
THE MAIN POINT
Here is where the magic is in this conversation.
If we BLAME our feeling crap on a piece of genetic material (influenza A or B), we are most likely going to reach for a “Flu” remedy. And most commonly that is a pharmaceutical intervention which does not (at all) deal with the ROOT CAUSE, and often leaves toxins which the liver then has to process. Plus it TURNS OFF the natural detoxification processes of the body (e.g. getting rid of unwanted stuff through a snotty nose .
If we acknowledge that our LIFESTYLE has contributed to us feeling crap, and our amazing body is going through a natural DETOXIFICATION process, then we are more likely to work on the ROOT CAUSES with our bodies (with compassion), rather than reach for a pharma QUICK FIX.
You and I are natural superhumans.
But the level of our superhuman-ness is greatly influenced by the lifestyle choices we make.
We are very powerful.
It is about how and where we direct that power that determines the results we create, within us and around us.
My parting words
Let’s make this a year of eyes wide open and owning our stuff.
One of the downsides of blaming things outside of ourselves is that it disempowers us.
When we take greater levels of personal responsibility, it brings us back into the driver seat for our lives and EMPOWERS us.
Next time you feel like crap, look for root causes, before you unconsciouslytreat symptoms.
As I often say, you are way more powerful than you have been lead to believe.
So let’s make this an awesome year, and ignite our inner greatness!!
Have a super fabulous day and an even more aware week (and year).
Take care,
Carl