This is going to be long and complicated, so try to stay with me. Hopefully I can relate it all and it will make some semblance of sense. If it’s confusing, don’t worry, totally me, not you.
As you well know, in my belief system, everything is a lesson. We are here to do our schoolwork so we can get back Home, ideally with good grades. One of the ways we learn is by examining our past lives. And one of the ways our past lives come up is through physical experiences. Like injuries. (See where I’m going with this now?)
My back mishap was a signal, the pain is here to tell me something. At first I had no clue what that was, I was just fucking miserable by the time Dan came home for lunch last night. I’d taken all the OTC meds I could scrounge up, and done the topical treatments, too. Next was the heating pad. After he left I received the message (via Henry) that this was past life related. Well duh, Jul.
At about that same moment, in the synchronistic way of all things, Corina shared something that showed up on her metaphorical doorstep. It was a recipe for:
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY LEMONADE:
1 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
(4 -6 lemons)
4-6 cups of purified water
1 tsp of ground turmeric1 tsp of cinnamon
Pinch of Himalayan Salt
Optional: Honey (or to taste)
Optional: 1 tsp ground/fresh ginger
As most of you are aware, Empress and her business partner have a small gym and personal training facility downtown, where Dan and J.D. and I all partake of fitness focused events. Well, yesterday Ryon and I were discussing the fact that I simply stop pushing when I become uncomfortable. There is no way I’m ever going to gain the results I want (or ANY results, that’s been made abundantly clear these past 13 months) if I continue to react in this manner. The thing is, I hate pain.
Enter my newest lesson. The reason I had to twist my spine and be shoved out of my comfort zone, literally, was so I could FEEL the difference. Driving my body into this transformative state is not going to happen if I don’t do the work, or I step off and stop short of real accomplishments. Discernment is what I’m aiming for. I have to experience LEVELS of suffering. And know what to do with all of them, how to handle and manipulate the sensations.
The person I was in the life that relates to this situation was, as they all are, fascinating. But also, I have learned, just a person. Not a famous name, nor history-making titled individual. I like that every body I have worn is meaningful, and worthwhile. This guy was a shaman-type of man, a wise healer who knew his people, and his capacity for helping them, in amazing depth.
When he experienced this incident, an injury similar to mine now, he pressed himself into the dirt. Becoming flat and One with the terrain. He focused on the power of Mother Earth and then switched his awareness to the air and sky above, absorbing that energy as well. In becoming One with the Elements, the Universe, the All, and yet staying his own person, he was able to harness all of that potency and draw the healing inside to rest it upon his pain.
The minute I became aware of him doing this, I knew it was possible for me to repeat his actions, now for my own current situation, and also later, when I’m approaching that wall of resistance in my exercising. Instead of seeing the “push through the pain” moment as negative, I need to view it as a blessing. A gift of my own strength, my own health, my own Transformation.
When I got up today, I wasn’t able to take my bike erranding as I had planned (for many reasons (only one of which was the pulled muscle). My over all range of motion and ease of movement were most definitely improved though. Still a bit stiff, but not nearly as horrible feeling as I had been. I’ll continue to rest and heal, and check in with my former Shamanic Self. Our daily draw message says that this is exactly the right way to go.
“Break Free ~
Try different ventures and experiences as a way to grow and learn.
Sometimes we get into ruts and routines because they feel safe and comfortable By drawing this card you are asked to swim outside your comfort zone. It’s time to take risks and explore new ways of thinking, making a living, or being in a relationship.
When you make the commitment to explore and experiment, the world responds by giving you wonderful new experiences. Heaven isn’t necessarily asking you to settle into these new avenues, but to instead test the water and venture out.
Sometimes we will experiment and learn new things, and then when we return to our comfortable old routines, we are changed (for the better). This is definitely a time for you to reach out and enjoy new options. Try something new today.”
Today’s Deck:
Magical Mermaid and Dolphin Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue
LateNight Time Management Announcement:
there are now three library books I HAVE to read right away, including my assignment reading that *A* suggested. I need to step away from the blogs and tweeties for a few days and just get caught up. If I’m absent over at your place, forgive me, I’ll be back soon.
But there will be no change here, every night at 10:55 the new post will still show up. I just have to read paper pages for a bit, and not so many electronic screen ones.
WTF:
no clue why formatting decided to go sideways tonight. I have fiddled with it all I can, doing all that I know how, but it just wants to stay all funky, so we’re letting it.
Glad the back situation has improved somewhat, and that the past life exploration was helpful! Good luck with breaking out of your comfort zone (once your back is healed & ready)!
Very appropriate card!
~
I am totally giving you full credit. The lemon tonic was VITAL to my healing process.
J
11:47 p.m.
10-13-12
I’m glad your back is feeling better, and that the past life exploration helped you.
Very interesting card today… I’ll admit that it’s not a new message for me, but one that I’ve been feeling a lot lately. I guess it’s time to explore it more fully.
No worries about missing my blog, I haven’t been posting. All the writing I do in/for school makes me less inclined to get on the computer and write when I gt home. Hope your homework goes well!
~
The reading is going very well, in my homework book I finally got past this one point that I’ve been stuck on, big improvement. So thank you, and good luck for your studies as well.
J
11:51 p.m.
10-13-12
Great experience, there, meeting your Shaman, and him sharing his experiences with you. Great reframe on the definitions of pain. I have long had conversations with various doctors (usually related to my knees) that have some refrain of “just tell me that the pain that I feel doesn’t mean that I am damaging something. Pain I can deal with; I don’t want to cause damage to the joint”. Very nice affirmation in the card as well.
~
Excellent definition; we DO need to know the difference.
J
11:53 p.m.
10-13-12
I can think outside my comfort zone, but I don’t see how I can make a living in a different way than I’m accustomed to, as a writer and editor. Even tho’ I’m not making a living right now. These are not only the only skills I have in abundance, but they are what I love to do. To do anything else would require more schooling (and money, which I don’t have an abundance of) or making minimum wage, which I’ll allow is more than $0. So I don’t know that that one is the one to focus on but it did jump out at me.
I’m glad you are looking at stages of discomfort versus real pain in doing your exercise. I’ll push to a certain level of discomfort but I won’t do real pain. Real pain, like your back pain, is nature’s way of saying “too much”. Like today I woke up feeling really sore and tired around my back and midsection and decided to take the day off from doing my morning exercises, feeling this was my body’s way of saying “rest just a bit”.
Glad your back is getting better. Hope it heals quickly so you can get back to everything!
~
I know that you are working on rewording your reality, so look at this:
“…but I don’t see how…”
It’s not up to us to see how, we simply need to put forth the effort into being open to whatever comes our way. Be willing to think freely, as the card says, and then just see what drops in.
J
12:09 a.m.
10-14-12
Oh, feel better soon, Julie. I hate back aches. Can someone give you a massage? Remember that the pain in the lower back can actually be caused from a deeper pain elsewhere, like higher up in the back, or the hip, or the knee, because we often throw off our body alignment to protect an injury which then throws everything out of whack. A massage will loosen up other tense muscles. Remember everything is connected.
~
No massages, but yes everything is absolutely connected. I am a huge believer in REST and Self-Care. No worries on that count.
J
1:11 a.m.
10-14-12
I have no assvice to offer. Everyone here beat me to it. So I’m just going to send you more energy and lots of {{{HUGS}}} to help you along.
~
Thank you, I’ll accept that will much grace and gratitude.
J
1:16 a.m.
10-14-12
Sorry about your injury. Be better!
~
I’m pretty much there now, thank you!
J
1:19 a.m.
10-14-12
Very glad your back is feeling better, very sorry it was hinky in the first place. Keep alternating ice and heat for a few days to help the muscles stay happy.
~
Ryon suggested the hot-cold thing too, but I really cannot do ice. I sat with the heating pad and that seemed to keep all my parts very warm and flexible.
Thank you!
J
1:28 a.m.
10-14-12