Most of the time, in holistic alternative medicine, when a problem is at hand we think of natural healing remedies to try to fix it.
Cold=Need for chicken soup, echinacea, nasal rinses, zinc, salt water gargle.
Adrenal burnout=Ashwaganda, need for therapeutic rest, Vitamin C, possibly licorice, possibly amino acids, need to abstain from intense exercise, preferably take up yoga, tai chi or qi gong.
This sort of thinking is very practical and helpful and usually works.
But there is another kind of thinking that goes even bigger picture.
What feeds your soul?
When you take the time to A) understand what feeds your soul and B) actually follow through and take the necessary actions, what you will discover is that you are so naturally uplifted and energized that all the little problems that you thought you had will magically go away.
If you were fatigued, when you are actually feeding your soul you will discover a new fountain of endless energy.
If you were feeling depressed, then whatever or whoeverr you thought was bothering you will slip your mind.
If you were experiencing pain, you will often be shocked to discover how even your physical pain is diminished or even vanishes when you take the time to feed your soul.
The reason this is a true fact is that your soul rules your mind, your mind determines your emotions, your emotions govern your energy and your energy calibrates the vitality of your physical body.
Ergo, feeding your soul is one of the most powerful natural healing remedies there is.
This Saturday afternoon, my partner Ken Holmes and my long-time friend Lee Townsend and I went to get foot massages.
Ahh! Nobody has any complaints when receiving foot reflexology!
Ken stayed behind for a full-body massage.
Lee and I left to visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where I renewed my annual membership, purchased five more orchids for my studio (I have never regretted buying any orchids – it’s only the ones I left behind that I ever really felt badly about) and took a tour of the orchid house and vegetable garden.
Here’s a short list of what feeds my soul, not necessarily in any order:
- Walking with my dog Belle. She makes me laugh! Belle is not much of a dog-thlete and usually spends the first 30 minutes about three feet behind me, as if she is taking ME for the walk. On the way home, she makes a sudden recovery and trots along by my side. Nearing the house, she makes a break for it out in front.
- Beading in the sunshine on my back porch. I bring out boxes of gemstone beads and make gifts for my friends. I think about each person and imagine what will look best or the healing properties that each person needs from the gemstones.
- Knitting. One year I knitted scarves for all 17 of my new best friends in my yoga class in Asheville. I have a huge laundry basket overflowing with shawls that I made for myself – not counting the ones I have given away to others. It feels very soothing to hold something warm and fuzzy, knitting away like a quiet meditation.
- Writing. Can you feel it as you are reading these words, how my heart and soul are being expressed in this small quiet way?
- Taking pictures with my iPhone. The iPhone is a great invention for 100 reasons, one of which is that you always have a camera ready whenever you need it. I think the world is a beautiful place. I think that is why my pictures end up looking so lovely!
- Lying in my hammock looking up at the sky.
- Orchids. Whether they are my orchids or other people’s orchids, I am continuously amazed, delighted and curious. There is nothing like growing my own orchids. I rush down to my studio every morning just to inspect how each one has shifted since the day before.
- Watching the birds at my two bird feeders. When I see a bluebird, I feel my day is already complete. Anything else that gets accomplished is just a bonus! My bird feeders hang by beading wire from a tree just outside my studio. I can watch them all day long. The long tube-like feeder twirls like a merry-go-round when the birds land on it to pluck the seeds. Nobody seems to mind, however, and a host of birds hover in the nearby bushes and trees waiting their turn.
- Teaching yoga. I feel like the conductor of a symphony leading each person deeper into their true self.
- Sitting by the fire late at night after all my chores are done, the dishwasher is humming and there is nothing left to do but enjoy the quiet.
So what feeds your soul?
The more you understand the answer to this question, the greater opportunity you have to fill yourself at such great depths that illness, dis-ease or poor health has no room to find you.
What is healing?
Healing happens when you feed your soul.
