Blog 166 Happy New Year!
Do things seem to cycle around again and again? Do people make the same mistakes with their health and relationships year after year? Do nations make the same mistakes and engage in the same hostilities decade after decade, generation after generation, even century after century? Sometimes the identities of people or nations change, but the behavior remains disturbingly the same. Change begins with the individual, call it resolution, revolution, evolution or blessing.
Whatever you choose to call it, here is one positive change I will claim for myself this year. I will release any remnants of fear held in mind or body. Fear binds us up, makes us less effective in response to challenging situations and also prevents us from thinking and feeling clearly and compassionately.
Being bound up physically also has negative ramifications for health. Reduced vital capacity results in less oxygenation of cells and consequent slower rate of detoxification, physical repair and healing. Tight muscles, including the diaphragm and heart, diminishes blood and lymph circulation and results in less optimal function in all the body’s organ systems, including digestive, eliminative and reproductive.
Fear interferes with clear thinking and will slow mind-body reflexes. By fear, I do not mean being in a state of cautious awareness – that is constructive. I mean fear that slows or prevents rational thinking and response. For example, if someone is lost in the wilderness without phone reception, do you think they will be likely to find their way out if they are panicking and shaking in terror while their mind is flooded by all the terrible things that might happen? Or do you think they might have a better chance of survival if they slow down, observe the sun’s position, work to recall landmarks they had previously passed, remember if they have either a physical or cell phone compass, and even think about what materials (leaves, newspaper, bark, branches, mud) would be needed to keep them warm if they have to remain in the wilderness overnight? Watching and listening for approaching people and animals, becoming aware of animal tracks and scat, searching for possible sources of food, fluid and shade can all be vital to survival. Some people are able to dowse with a makeshift Y-shaped branch or just a straight stick and find water or even find their way out of wilderness that way. Traditionally, dowsing was used to find water, but used by a person with that ability, it can be of help in other situations. This skill may sound far-fetched, but people, including myself, have used it to find their way out of wilderness and also have located others who were lost.
And which emotion do you think would be more helpful in a situation when a dangerous, potentially violent person were approaching? Trembling, screaming terror, violent reaction, mental and emotional paralysis or a clear, perceptive mind capable of assessing the situation and also feeling compassion for this sick person? Animals and people (and probably also plants) can feel other’s fear and also can feel other’s kindness and compassion. To end this discussion, I will quote Peace Pilgrim about one incident on her almost thirty years of walking on foot throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico for peace.
“On another occasion, I was called upon to defend a frail eight year old girl against a large man who was about to beat her. The girl was terrified. It was my most difficult test. I was staying at a ranch and the family went into town. The little girl did not want to go with them, and they asked, since I was there, would I take care of the child? I was writing a letter by the window when I saw a car arrive. A man got out of the car. The girl saw him and ran and he followed, chasing her into a barn. I went immediately into the barn. The girl was cowering in terror in the corner. He was coming at her slowly and deliberately.”
“You know the power of thought. You’re constantly creating through thought. And you attract to you whatever you fear. So I knew her danger because of her fear. (I fear nothing and expect good – so good comes!)”
“I put my body immediately between the man and the girl. I just stood and looked at this poor, psychologically sick man with loving compassion. He came close. He stopped! He looked at me for quite a while. He then turned and walked away and the girl was safe. There was not a word spoken.”
“Now, what was the alternative? Suppose I had been so foolish as to forget the law of love by hitting back and relying upon the jungle law of tooth and claw? Undoubtedly I would have been beaten – perhaps even to death and possibly the little girl as well! Never underestimate the power of God’s love – it transforms! It reaches the spark of good in the other person and the person is disarmed.”
This blog’s offer: Wishing you a very happy New Year and positive influence from whichever resolutions, revolutions, evolutions or blessings you choose.
Dr. Elaine Wagner Holistic Health 