“What if the symptoms of my illness are trying to heal me?” Marion Woodman
We have a saying in neuro-linguistic programming that ‘all behaviour is communication.’ I find this in practice to be true. Whether it is conscious or not, I would extend the idea to say that everything we think, say, do and feel is communication about what it is that is being experienced. When you frame it in this way, it is clear that symptoms of any kind are a communication from our unconscious wisdom drawing our attention to what it is that is unspoken. Symptoms let us know that change is needed, and give us some pretty direct hints about what kind of change sometimes.
People spend so much time wanting symptoms to go away, and actively resisting them and pushing them away. Now, to be clear, I’m not encouraging anyone to just give up and wallow in their pain. There is though a third way. Curiosity. When you can notice what is happening and how you are experiencing it, and stay open to wonder about what it might mean, then the energy taken up is so much less. This leaves more energy to compassionately support yourself in finding ways to alleviate what you are experiencing systemically.
Sponsoring your own experience, with the assumption that whatever is coming up is in some way trying to help and heal, is a powerful way to help yourself. It leads to more wholeness, and a broader perspective. We are a connected community of so many cells, both human and non-human. Our very existence is a miracle; perhaps we are at our best when we can let go control and trust in the wisdom of our bodymind to point us at what we now need.
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