by Laura Sarna, Partner at For The Love Of Healing: Integrative Energy Healing Center
My personal journey to learning to trust my gut
I always considered myself a pretty healthy person. Don’t get me wrong, like most of us, I had my issues along the way. Mine were fairly common – childhood earache, colds, braces on my teeth, and later allergies and occasional sinus issues.
As a young woman I married, adopted a son, relocated my family, and launched a career. It was always with high hopes and expectations to show my family how successful I could be. That developed into a competitive and high-stress life. Probably still fairly normal, yet you know how things get when life gets out of balance.
As physical beings, we typically notice discomforts first in the body, and that can scare us. For me, it was irritation in my gut. My doctor recommended tests and meds, which were clues that the course I’d set was in peril. I didn’t want to go the medical route, even though deep down I felt chaotic. I just wanted to feel peace and for that dull ache below the right ribcage to stop.
Why I started to listen to my body
About this time I began a professional shift from the corporate world to one of healing arts. I began apprenticing within a team of energy healing practitioners, mentored by Deborah Singleton from AHealingPlace.org. Deborah assisted thousands of people through her understanding and teaching about the human energy field and its relationship to healing. As I worked with the team to help clients, I eventually began to connect my own situation to what I was learning.
When my gut ache grew in intensity, my mentor suggested a toxic gallbladder might be the problem (As an aside, she also suggested intermittent sinus issues were really about my gut – that story is for another time). I began to research and gleaned some understanding. I learned that my mom and grandmother both had gallbladder issues previously and opted for its removal – I wanted to keep mine!
The generational passing along of issues fascinated me. What we eat, activity and exercise, lifestyle and degree of happiness, genes, even a metaphysical idea that the gallbladder takes the brunt of unresolved anger and self-judgement. Recalling how my grandmother seldom smiled, moved slowly, and seemed generally morose, I began to see similarities to my mom, and then of course to myself.
I decided I wanted to listen to my body’s voice and better understand my inner workings. I delved into the levels:
The 5 dimensions of healing
Physical
I utilized a gentle cleanse that involved consuming a combination of lemon juice and oil. I also modified my eating plan to reduce red meat, fried and processed foods and increased fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally, I added healthy snacks every few hours. For pain I turned to a castor oil heat pack which is very soothing.
Emotional
Although I would not have described myself as an angry person, I became open to the possibility that the anger was there. Gradually, impressions began to emerge and soon I started to reflect on a lifetime of undealt-with anger and criticism expressed as rebelliousness, defensiveness, or simply stuffed. Although I benefitted in the past from counseling, it was clear I needed more. At this point, I had an idea about my energy system and the interconnectedness of all parts of me. I focused on feeling the sensations of fear… anger… pain… then went into deep breathing and grounding the energy into the earth.
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Mental
Every part of my being was connected as a whole person – this I believed. If my gallbladder was problematic, then it affected everything. I began to catch unhealthy thoughts circulating constantly. I tried the use of positive affirmations I found in a book I purchased and read daily. The words suggested a kind and gentle way of being, and brought me hope. I created a dedicated space for quieting, breathing, grounding, and affirming.
Spiritual
Meditation and a belief in a higher power-source of healing was, and still is, a central theme of my healing work. It was time to elevate my game. Each day I took time to quiet my mind and body. I focused on healing energy and light, visualizing it cleansing and purifying me.
Energy
The area of my energy system that struggled related to beliefs about self-identity and self-worth. As I was also a client of our work, the team acted as witness to quietly hold a space of healing and balanced my energy through the changes I was making.
The result…
It was a process! I will always remember the day the healing completed itself. I was out of town on business in a hotel room deep in my morning meditation. Quite suddenly a bright white light enveloped and filled my body. Brilliant and pure – and so unexpected. I surrendered to it. By the end of that experience I knew my gallbladder was healed. Absolutely no doubt. It has not acted up since, at this writing some 18 years later.
The experience was humbling and gave me greater respect for my body and its complex inner workings. By trusting my gut I took an incredible journey of self-discovery. I felt deep gratitude for my healing mentor and team. They taught me the preciousness and purpose of a disruption in life, and how to use it for my wholeness and healing.
About the author
Laura Sarna
Traveling a road of self-discovery became a conscious choice while making a professional shift from corporate to the healing arts some 26 years ago. I used to think that if I followed certain enlightenment rules, I would finally “arrive”! I have since learned to relax into this big, amazing process of becoming a better human increasingly aligned with my soul’s purpose. Being in or returning to my grounded center no matter what. Isn’t that something we all want? This is the crux of what I have learned from our energy work. It is from this place of curiosity that I am both student and teacher and share with you. Most of my learning has come from Deborah Singleton and has proven invaluable and even more relevant today. In addition to the work I love, I enjoy my time with family, find comfort in the black and white order of a piano keyboard, thrill to walk in forests, and have a big space in my heart for cats large and small.
Certified: Energy balancing, Guided imagery and Spiritual counseling – Learn more about For the Love of Healing
Contact Laura for more information at (972) 400-0807 or laura@fortheloveofhealing.com.
Disclosure: This article includes the opinions and personal story of the author and is not to be construed in any way as medical advice. Consult your physician before starting any new health regimen.
Leslie Farin is the Publisher and Founder of 50PlusToday. She is an experienced communications and marketing professional passionate about working with older adults and their families. She works with a team of writers to provide essential and cutting-edge information related to the 50Plus community.
