The Five Universal Truths of Creative Healing

Good morning from my L-shaped couch in Taos, New Mexico! I was just reflecting this morning on my journey through adrenal fatigue, and what helped me the most as I began to heal. All of the lessons I learned can be applied to a whole host of other areas, because there are some universal truths about healing that I've discovered through my process. Here are the ones I've discovered; please feel free to comment with some of your own!

(1) Learn to listen to your body.

Our bodies don't lie. We can convince ourselves of so much with our minds, but deep down, our bodies know. Take some time each day to sit down with yourself and really tune into what your body wants to say. You may be surprised to hear that it has its own rhythms, its own truths, its own timing ... all beyond your mind's control.

2) Trust those creative impulses.

Perhaps something inside of you really wants to clean your entire room today, and sage it, and put on some classical music. Perhaps something in you wants to draw, or play piano, or paint. Once you learn how to listen to your body, surprising impulses will start to come in. See if you can trust them--sometimes they will lead you in directions that really turn on that creative spark.

3) Trust those cravings, too.

Once you start really listening, your body will tell you what it wants to eat. I remember one day after I gave birth, my body desperately asked me to eat avocados. I ate THREE avocados in a row. THREE! It was exactly what I needed. Our bodies know--and once we apply this lesson to food, we can get out of the "calorie counting/diet/keep track" mentality and start trusting ourselves. This frees up a lot of energy to put towards things that really matter!

4) Say NO.

This is a big lesson for so many of us. Many of us wound up sick in the first place because we were overextended--spreading ourselves thin in too many directions. If we learn to say NO to the things our hearts truly don't want, we are implicitly creating a larger room for the YES that we want. Again, listen to the body--it knows immediately whether or not we are feeling a yes or a no.

5) Find community to support you on this journey.

Healing is hard. It can often leave us longing for different friendships (perhaps the ones we had before were based more on alcohol, on complaining, or on other negative habitual patterning). See if you can find folks who support you in all of your creative endeavors. Friends who support you in cancelling because you need to lay down or to write. Friends who are on similar paths of healing. Once you set the intention to have them in your life, keep your eyes open--they are out there!