Whether you call it Positive Thinking, The Secret, Huna or the many other new age name given to the power of positive thought, I have some fundamental issues with the claims that this philosophy will cure serious illness.
I have always been a spiritual person and when I got sick I started to look for answers on the spiritual side. I studied many different things from tarot and crystal ball reading, crystals, mediumship, lomi lomi massage and Hawaiian traditional shamanism (which teachings I have since found out are not traditional Hawaiian teachings).
The more I learnt the more I came across this teaching that thoughts create your destiny and you are your thoughts. That negative thoughts and experiences become trapped in your body and cause illness.
So I went on a crusade to change the way I thought, examine the things that have happened to me in the past, practise forgiveness to all who have wronged me and to find what was causing my illness.
Several years later, many dollars have been spent investigating therapies to help me uncover these trapped thoughts and experiences and I am no better. In fact I am a lot worse due to the stress that I have put myself through blaming myself for getting sick.
One of my so called spiritual advisers wrote an article that really opened my eyes to the ego trip some of these self proclaimed experts are on and how dangerous there teachings can be. What was even sadder was that she had known me and treated me for a number of years:
20 some years ago when I was doing my psychotherapy post-grad, Chonic Fatigue was becoming the diagnosis of choice in the medical profession. The medical name for CFS is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis – M.E. In psychotherapy and metaphysical realms this was ME- Many Excuses.
I’m simply using this by way of example, so don’t shoot the messenger. My question to anyone with this as with any ‘condition’ is to ask yourself WIIFM. -what’s in it for me? Ie what are the benefits of having this condition. Be honest with yourself.
Some of you recently had the profound honour of hearing someone speak of their 20 plus year journey of Living with HIV. Is she someone who could have had Many Excuses to be a victim and blame, you bet. Does she, absolutely not.
Does she do ho’oponopono every day? Sure does. Does she choose to get out of bed every morning and fuel her kino and mana’o with positive, healthy food and and thoughts, again sure does. Is she still alive today because of these choices- absolutely.
I recently had the honour of having another new client come to me via something that was a very sad and profound event in her life. She is someone who also inspires me with hope for the planet. She hasn’t done any ‘formal’ spiritual training, however each session she has asked me for some techniques she can do herself, to help heal and release the grief and other emotions. She does what I share diligently with her meditation, ho’oponopono and way she views things and the shift in her energy is a joy to witness. She’s doing the hana and making the choices to kala (release) and heal, and not doing M.E.
This woman believes that ME is a choice. Why and how would anyone ever choose to have ME. I hate that I cannot get out and walk for the hours I use to or read more that a page of a book at a time. I use to love my job writing software. Now I struggle to work out basic things like email.
While I do think that you need to stay positive, especially with this horrendous illness, I do not believe I can do anything more that what I am doing to heal myself or that I can choose not to have this illness.
Allie
