The Importance of Self Care

I am scheduled to receive massage #6 of 20 at 4:00 pm today. I’ll be working with Richard Oliver, one of the founders of the Center for Well-Being. We’ve scheduled a longer session (1-1/2 hours instead of the usual 60 minutes) and will be focusing on the neck area using both massage and cranial-sacral techniques. Massage #6 will be featured beginning in tomorrow’s post.

In the meantime, I wanted to talk about importance of self-care.

If this were a television show featuring extreme healing there would be a message flashing on and off at the bottom of the screen:

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!  CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL!

This caution is not meant to discourage anyone from pursuing the healing work they want.  It is meant to draw attention to the very real possibility that intensive work - like doing 20 massage in 2 months - will bring emotions, thoughts, energy and physical issues that are both healing and challenging to handle without proper support.

One of things I find most rewarding about the spiritual process is moving into new territory, both within myself and with others. I like the sense of adventure – of wading into the uncharted aspects of self and life – of finding solutions and discovering gifts that surprise and delight.

By its nature, the growth process also brings challenges which are meant to carry us forward. As I mentioned in the first post on this blog, if I were my client I would have a serious talk with me about the pros and cons of intensive body and energy work on deep issues within a short period of time. 

The truth is that the reason that I am willing to do 20 massages in 2 months is because I am committed to self-care. I also have 15 years of professional and personal experience studying and undergoing spiritual initiations, working with intense emotion and caring for the body and psyche. Likewise, my body is able to accommodate high volumes of energy, something that allows me to facilitate healing for myself and others. In other words, it is because of my personal and professional experience, as well as my energetic makeup, that I feel I can care properly for myself in this process. (And even within this, the massages have brought a level of emotional intensity that I have had to attend to through taking breaks, eating living foods, walking in nature, doing yoga and meditating).

If it were not for this professional and personal experience, I would likely spread the work out over a longer period of time so as not to tax my support systems or bring surprises I am not prepared to handle. (For instance, it is not unheard of for healing work to bring small or large traumas to the surface. Often the person accesses a new level of personal power as a result. As a rule of thumb, the faster healing, the bigger the issues and the deeper they are buried, the more intense the emotions and other possible challenges).

Everyone has a different path. Lean toward something that feels beautiful for you.   

If your idea of beauty is slow, contemplative and filled with miraculous colors, like a sunset, then set this tone for your personal work, allowing once in a while for a thunderstorm or overcast sky. 

If your idea of beauty is the full-bodied sensory experience of crashing in a one person canoe down the rapids of a river swollen with spring thaw, then by all means create this type of experience for yourself - and while you’re doing it keep in mind to purchase paddles that help you balance. Wear a high-quality helmet and a life-jacket that will hold your head above water in the event that the river of energy you have called forth flips your boat and knocks your head against a rock on its way to submerging you in its healing current, causing you slip into your unconscious self. 

All experiences serve a purpose.  Use the experiences of others as a source of information and inspiration. Apply discernment and loyalty toward self in determining what is right for you. One of the best gifts you can give yourself is the intention to live happily and passionately within a learning curve that is not negatively destructive to yourself or your loved ones.