When we have pain, we go to the doctor to figure out where it is coming from and why it is there. There may be acute pain in the form of a cut, a wound or a broken bone or it may be related to an infection, a virus or an underlying disease. Once the doctor finds the source of our pain and treats it, either with stitches, a cast or medicine, we are satisfied that the source of our pain is being treated and eliminated.
However, is the source really the source? How do we end up with a broken bone? How do we get an infection, a virus or a disease? Why are some people accident-prone and others prone to infection, inflammation or diseases such as cancer, hypertension and stroke, or diabetes, to name a few, while others remain healthy? Why is it that some people who smoke their whole lives never develop lung cancer and others who never smoked a day in their lives do?
Doctors or scientists could say it is traceable to our DNA and genes, environment and lifestyle, but these factors are not always consistent with the outcome.
Why one person develops illnesses and another doesn’t, is a mystery. However, at some point or another, for illness to happen, there had be a breakdown in our system. But what causes this breakdown and why do illnesses show up in certain parts of the body, like the breasts in breast cancer or migraines in the cranium or hernias in the spine? Because the weakest part of the body is where the healing life force energy is blocked, stagnated or absent.
Since I became a craniosacral therapist, my slogan has been that the body is designed to be healthy and I absolutely believe this to be true. It contains within itself the intelligence and the tools to fend off anything that does not belong there as well as to heal any damage that is inflicted upon it. It really is a super hero. However, its biggest enemy is us, our mind, our thoughts, our emotions.
Dr. Candace Pert, an internationally recognized pharmacologist who has published over 250 scientific articles and is known for her appearance in the feature film “What the Bleep Do We Know!??”, pioneered the study of neuropeptides, which are molecules produced by the nervous system that turn out to affect all the cells of the body. Her work implies that all of your cells experience emotions, all together, all at once — not just your nervous system. So for instance, an emotion like anger produces a characteristic cocktail of neuropeptides that circulate throughout the body, binding to every type of cell and changing their behavior in a characteristically “angry” way. So, when you are angry, your toe cells and nose cells, gastric glands and hair follicles are angry right along with you.
This is not new information. The expression “mind over matter” was not invented last year, but has been around since the early 1900s. Our mind dictates how we see the world, how we interact with others and how we experience life. Memory of traumas, intense grief, fear, anger and emotional pain are stored in the cells of our tissue.
So, the popular phrase “we are what we think” should be taken literally. Our habitual thinking can create restrictions in the body and prevent our nervous system from functioning optimally. A discovery and understanding of our negative tendencies, behaviors and thought processes is therefore crucial, if we want to uncover the source of what the symptom or pain is masking. We must go deep within ourselves and often go back to childhood experiences to find the pain and trauma behind our entrenched belief systems and ingrained behavioral patterns. Only then can true healing begin.
Sunanda Jordon launched the Wellness section of Parvati Magazine. She is a practitioner of craniosacral therapy in Vaughan, Canada.