New Consciousness Review Spring 2016 | Page 10

HEALTH Eventually, over days, weeks, months and years of this process guiding our lives and behavior, the blood and fluid in our bodies begin to coagulate to such a large degree that nodules, masses, growths and tumors begin to form. This then leads to toxins building up in the blood stream and organs, resulting in chronic pain and disease. In simple terms our body becomes at war with itself on a cellular level (like in auto-immune conditions) because we are at war with ourselves mentally and emotionally, living with a constant tear between what we really feel, want and need, and the fears that stop us from speaking and acting completely honestly. From this viewpoint it’s easy to see how living a stressful life compounded by work that is unfulfilling, or staying in relationships where one is not true to their deeper emotions, needs and desires, can create significant inner pressure on our major organs and central nervous system. If we are constantly fighting ourselves in this way, the inevitable result is our self-destruction. This does not even account for excessive consumption of alcohol, food, recreational drugs, and pharmaceutical drugs, which are merely unhealthy habits motivated by an unconscious desire to numb our deeper mental and emotional pain in a misguided quest for  short-term superficial relief that only  makes health concerns worse in the long run. Depression and disease is our body’s practical and logical way of alerting us to the life or death importance of giving ourselves permission to be fully who we are now, because it’s the only path to lasting happiness and vitality. 10 | NEW CONSCIOUSNESS REVIEW Most people understand that eating natural whole foods and adopting a healthy lifestyle will support health and prevent illness. What most don’t know though is that complete honesty and vulnerability in every situation is just as vital to our long term mental and physical health. We are so used to hiding our true feelings in order to survive and keep the peace, protecting ourselves from judgment, criticism, rejection, abandonment and aggression, that we remain unaware we’re relating to ourselves in such a harmful way - until of course we are forced to figure out why we’ve become so depressed or ill. Deep down we all know we were not born to suffer. But no one can save, heal or free us beside ourselves. This is precisely why the purpose of mental, emotional and physical symptoms is to show us where and how we are not caring for ourselves well enough to thrive and flourish fully before we die. When we can understand the simple but profound truth that all suffering is the result of a constant rejection of the true self - a self that we never learned how to love, accept or value fully- we can begin transforming whatever struggles we’re faced with and find deeper peace and health immediately. There will never be a better time than today to begin practicing this. Depression and disease is our body’s practical and logical way of alerting us to the life or death importance of giving ourselves permission to be fully who we are now,  because it’s the only path to lasting happiness and vitality. I have found we are given a choice in life between feeling sorry for ourselves and respecting ourselves, but we cannot have both. I have witnessed countless people stop being victims to their fearful and insecure thoughts and move beyond suffering into enjoying life daily. Once they wholeheartedly committed to speaking and acting in a way that values their thoughts and feelings in every situation as the priority, even when scared, they were able to heal and forgive their past, and finally stop hurting and betraying themselves in the present.