Question:
Hello Adam,
This may sound like a silly question. I have read throughout your website and recognise mostly everything you have published. My only quandary is matters of health. If we are in a great deal of pain does this mean we refrain from medical care or GP advice, medicines that are meant to make us feel better? And really just allow nature to take it's course?! (Though a majority of cases these so-called medicines can make us feel even worse).
I ask as I had an operation around 2 years ago and with daily meditation, I have noticed this uncomfortable, tender feeling has arisen in my side, where the operation took place. I have also been aware of anxious story-telling about the niggling discomfort also. One thought that keeps coming up again and again is I should go to the doctor and get it checked out. Another part of me is not thinking it's really anything to worry about as I have been to the doctor about this before, last year in fact and was sent away with reassurance and that there was nothing to worry about and it may be scar tissue.
What would you advise?!
Becky
Response:
Hi Becky. This can be a tricky one. I'll start by saying I am not a medical professional, so this advice is just my view at the moment, and you do not have to follow any advice I give.
My experience is that mainstream medicine is usually flawed in that it tends to see the body is a stupid thing, without an intelligence of its own, that requires constant interference. Often the approach is not holistic, with views that everything in the body is not a unified whole. Instead it seeks to separate and segment different areas, and often ignores the natural healing properties of the body, which may have become disrupted. It seems to often try to remove symptoms rather than the root cause. It also often has a resistive, war-like mentality on to illness or pain, and this mentality just breeds more illness and pain.
Like any discipline, there can be good doctors, and also ones that are not good. If you have not done so already, my advice would be to research your operation and its after-effects as much as you can. Just having access to the internet would be enough for this.
With that said, there is nothing wrong with seeking medical advice, but know that nothing that anyone says is necessarily the truth, and that you do not have to follow any advice you are given, even the advice you are reading now. I am aware that post-operation physical exercises can be beneficial where scar tissue may be concerned, and you could probably get these online, from a physiotherapist or possibly a GP.
To answer your question directly : "If we are in a great deal of pain does this mean we refrain from medical care or GP advice, medicines that are meant to make us feel better? And really just allow nature to take it's course?! (Though a majority of cases these so-called medicines can make us feel even worse)." - no, not necessarily. It depends on your intuition, how you feel. It is good to be able to be in the mainstream medical environment, without blindly believing that everything is truth, or that every drug is good for you. We have so much access to great information that you can thoroughly research any drug before you take it.
Not all mainstream medicine is "bad", but it is always useful to be aware of any potential adverse effects.
What anyone says is usually just an opinion. You can hear it, but you don't have to keep it.
Of course the other thing that we relate to mainstream medicine, is also fear. Often the treatments seem worse than the things that they are trying to heal. What will the doctor say? What will be the diagnoses? What will they prescribe? Do not be a slave to fears such as these. This does not mean "don't see the doctor". It just means "don't be afraid of the doctor's words".
Another thing you could look into could be self-healing. This is a whole topic in itself, which I have some experience in, but am not an expert in. Dr David Hamilton's work on this area is quite good, although I have not read any book of his in-depth (one is called "how your mind can heal your body").
During meditation, fully feel this area you are speaking about. Get in touch with it. Feel it purely and fully, without strain. Do not be afraid of it. Sense it. Allow the healing intelligence of the body which is functioning everywhere else to fully move back into his area. Sense it energetically. Don't assume your body is so solid. When it is felt from within, you will feel it to be a more energetic/spacious field. You can even ask it questions and wait for a response.
If you wish, a popular method of self healing is to actually see the area of the body as a picture within yourself, and allow the picture, in relation to the area, to be changed into a vision of healing and repair. This might sound a bit mad, but it works for some people. A quick example would be an area that feels very inflamed - picturing it as as red and fiery and swollen. Then someone would reduce this redness, fire and swelling however they saw fit , for example imagining a cooling waterfall flowing onto the area, or healing ice-cubes from the body melting over the area, or firemen putting out the fire - or anything that comes to mind. This may be something you wish to play and experiment with, or it may just seem too strange, I'm not sure. The key for healing is an environment of acceptance, relaxation and an absence of strain. If you try to heal yourself, the energy remans in trying. If you allow the current experience as it is, then healing energy can flow more easily. Also don't focus on illness, let yourself carry vibrations of health and wellness, even if the physical symptoms have not caught up yet.
If you feel you wish to see a doctor, just to see what they say, then that is fine. You don't have to take it seriously or see it as a big deal. If you get the same advice again, then it is likely that they either don't know why the pain is there, or they actually don't see it as a big deal. From there you may wish to seek alternative remedies, if you feel something is not quite right.
There is also the area of nutrition that can often be overlooked by the mainstream. If you have not already, research this in relation to your previous condition, operation and symptoms. The body (I would say) is made of the food it eats, water it drinks, and mind that influences it.
So I can not advise you directly, but perhaps this has been some food for thought. On the whole: don't create a rule-set for yourself, follow your intuition, do your own research. Following any advice, be it medical or otherwise, is optional not mandatory. I wish you all the best. If anyone else has any extra advice, please comment below.
Adam