Threat to Our Thinking

I had an experience with a woman yesterday that has me wondering, why do people react like that?

I asked if she was planning to attend a social function with a group a friends we had in common when she all but demanded I sit down to hear why she would not. I agreed with some reservations that it turns out were justified. She spent the next ten minutes verbally attacking and demeaning a very accomplished person in this group and then turned her attack to me.

In the conversation, I attempted to be respectful and curious about her experiences. I suggested there may be other ways of looking at the situation she was describing. She had heard something said by this woman that was violently contrary to her own thinking. Instead of considering it as an alternative point of view, this woman attacked it as heresy then attacked the messenger and anyone associated with the messenger.

I am beginning to have an idea of what was going on during the Crusades.

This idea that came to her was contrary to her own understanding of "the way things work." It was so contrary that it put her in a state of survival and protection. There was no possibility, in her mind, that there could be any other way of thinking. The topic was how doing emotional and spiritual clean-up can result in our bodies healing themselves and the possibility of getting off certain medications. This suggestions was followed by "now don't go home and go off your meds cold turkey. Work with your doctor."

This thought was so scary that my friend heard the other woman say "go off your meds." She never heard the "work with your doctor." Her mindset is that her brain works in a certain way and that's just how it is. Now, if that is your belief than do not hear me say you are wrong. There a millions of people who will support your view with medical and scientific reports and charts and graphs. Got it. I don't doubt any of that.

But what if there is ANOTHER way to look at it? What if we COULD heal our bodies? What if we COULD shift our body chemistry?

Here's my own story about that. About five or six years ago, I went to my eye doctor who said I had cataracts growing in my eyes. At 40 I was dismayed since I saw this as an "old person's" problem. He explained that because of the high correction factor in my eyes, it sometimes happens sooner. Not a problem, he said. I had gone to him to find out if I was eligible for laser surgery on my eyes (I am not) so this cataract thing was actually good news. When the cataracts were "ready," he could replace my eyes' lenses and I would be as good as if I had had laser surgery. Ok, fine.

Years go on, different doctors agree that I have cataracts. No, they aren't ready to operate on yet. See you next year.

Then I began doing some very deep emotional and spiritual work on myself. I began shifting my thinking, or rather deepening my belief of my own influence over my physical experience of the world. You have been reading about the Oneness Project, the Peacemakers class, and the Vision seminars. I started this journey many, many years ago so it has been wonderous to have the depth of growth I have experienced. In August, I went to a new eye doctor. During my exam he said everything looked good, no glaucoma, no cataracts, I'll see you next year... Wait. What? Back up there, cowboy. No cataracts? He looked again. Well, maybe a tiny one on this one eye but no. Who told you you have cataracts? Three different doctors. Well, he said, they don't just heal themselves. There are no cataracts here.

Really? They don't just heal themselves, eh?

Well, mine did.

Did my willingness to look deeply into my life and my assumptions about life create conditions in my body to get rid of something that was impeding my vision? If you have a metaphysical view of things, if you believe that I can heal my life (as Louise Hay teaches), then yes. I am grateful to my eyes for figuring out how to heal the lenses they see through. I have no explanation. AND I am grateful. I like the story of having no cataracts better than having them. I don't really need them for my experience of life right now, so it's fine that they have healed. I like seeing clearly.

The Spiritual Peacemakers book calls it's readers to help other awaken from their deep sleep. Maybe helping open the POSSIBILITY of another way of seeing our physical bodies, of our power over our experience is the challenge of this process for me. I wonder if I will be able to help awaken my friend to even the CHANCE that there would be another way of looking at this. I am open.

Pam