People cling to their diagnosis to the point that it blinds them to what actually needs to be healed

If you have suffered with a range of painful symptoms in your body that eventually got diagnosed, you will likely know the relief that a diagnosis can bring. “Ah, that’s why. There’s something specific that’s wrong”.

A diagnosis can clarify treatment options and help the patient get better. Sometimes that happens but often it does not. The majority of mainstream medical treatments provide relief by suppressing the disease symptoms. We have anti-inflammatories, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, antacids, beta-blockers, etc. Those drugs provide relief and keep patients out of imminent danger. They can also mask the symptoms and distract people from searching for the underlying imbalance that gave rise to their condition in the first place.

When I was in my early 20’s I was diagnosed with a chronic disease, after years of suffering in a painful body without explanation. Initially, I was so relieved. I went to support groups and connected with people who understood me. After a few months I realized that the people in the support group were defined by their condition. They were looking for ways to manage but nobody believed they could actually heal. The diagnosis that freed me started to feel like a tight box.

I wanted something more for my life. I had no idea how that was possible but I remember a pivotal moment after reading Bernie Siegel’s “Love, Medicine and Miracles”. It hit me that if people could heal from stage four cancers, anything was possible and I could heal too.

I opened the door to faith in my wholeness, without any reasoning to support it. I started believing I could be well, which began a life-long quest into the healing arts. At 21 I couldn’t have imagined becoming a yoga teacher, climbing a mountain in Nepal or birthing and raising three children. None of those things seemed possible then.

Can you find the courage to believe in your wholeness in spite of whatever diagnosis you have been given? Healing happens outside that box. I’ll meet you there.