COMPOSITE CASE EXAMPLE:
George, a Viet Nam veteran, suffered from chronic debilitating backaches that began several decades after his war experiences. None of the usual medical or chiropractic treatments provided more than temporary relief. He found deeper relief in his first two Reiki treatments, and in the third treatment he suddenly recalled his anguish over the death of Don, his buddy in Viet Nam. When Don was severely injured by a booby trap, George had carried him on his back for many hours through the jungle, finally reaching a place from which a helicopter could evacuate him. George was devastated to learn a few hours later that Don had died of his wounds. George had no time to grieve because he was immediately sent back into action with his platoon.
During this Reiki treatment, he connected with the ache in his back from the hours of carrying Don through the jungles, and with the ache in his heart over Don’s death. After more than an hour of deep sobbing, his back pain abated, never to return.
Body memories of this sort are very common. It is rare for conventional medical assessments to focus on this cause of physical problems. It is common for CAM therapies to do so, and CAM therapies are often successful in treating these.
Healing is not a matter of mechanism but a work of the spirit.
Rachel Naomi Remen
Reading body language
Since you program your body through life experiences and metaphors, it is possible to "read" body symptoms and interpret the metaphors and psychological meanings behind these. Sometimes the messages your body is sending are obvious, and other times they are not.
I believe that you are the best one to interpret your own body’s messages, as you are with unconscious behaviors, slips of the tongue and dreams.
The first step is to ask, "What might your body be saying through these symptoms?" In my personal experience, far more often than not, people are able to answer this question quite readily. They are usually surprised and bemused at how clear the message is – once they ask this question. They are then surprised and dismayed that they may have suffered with their symptoms for months and years without anyone having asked this question.
If no answer comes to mind, imagery techniques may be helpful. I might suggest, "Let your mind be a blank screen. Invite an image to appear on the screen in answer to the question of what your body is saying." Here, too, people are surprised at the ready answers that the mind can provide.
Interpreting what your body is saying can sometimes be a challenge. It is helpful to know that various organs may be associated with particular feelings. Several therapists are helpful in suggesting what a given organ illness or symptom might be saying. Louise Hay (1984) is well known for her lists of symptoms, their underlying meanings, and affirmations you might consider for countering the messages imbedded in organs and tissues – thereby releasing the physical symptoms from the tensions that bind them in maladaptive patterns of function and illness. These lists are not to be taken as gospel. They are simply observations of common psychological associations with particular experiences.
Hay, Louise L., You Can Heal Your Life, Santa Monica, CA: Hay House 1984.