Dealing with Chronic Pain and Immune Disorders
with Your Body's Communication Systems
I often tell my patients that the immune system can be compared to your National Guard - it serves and protects the community. That's all your body cells, tissues, and organs. Treat it like your best friend. It defends you from attack from outside (microbes) or from within (cancer) and works 24 hours a day automatically.
The skin and mucous linings (nose to bronchi, mouth to gut, urinary/reproductive organs) are the first barriers of defense against foreign invasion. This system is always answering the question – is this cell/microbe self or not-self? Safe or not safe? You have both an inborn innate immune system and one that develops over time called the acquired immune system. Besides protecting the body, they both work together in harmony to clean up debris and generate appropriate inflammation when you get hurt or infected. The surveillance goes on all day long as part of normal housekeeping and maintenance.
As you know, your immune system works very well most of the time. Did you know that non-human microbes (such as bacteria, yeast/fungi, viruses, parasites) outnumber us in the body (especially the mucous linings) and on our skin by a factor of 10 to 1? That's 10 times more non-human cells! Amazing but true! And yes, viruses do not have cells but co-exist. Most of these microbes do beneficial jobs for us and research is beginning to understand this huge community of critters, this “microbiome”.
Your long and flat bones are filled with bone marrow that generate your white blood cells. Along with billions of immune system cells throughout your body, you have a huge network of lymph glands, lymph vessels, and lymphoid organs (tonsils, adenoids, appendix, spleen), which, along with the thymus gland, are major centers of immune activity.
When problems do arise, mind-body medicine can help the immune system bring in the clarity and strength needed. Who am I as a physical entity? How clear is my awareness of what's going on in my own body? Do I feel safe and protected in here? Do I feel safe out in the unpredictable world? Do I have enough strength and support to take care of myself and thrive? If we look at these questions and answers and connect them to the story of your life we will usually see where your immune system went out of order.
Let’s look at some simple issues that can cause too much or not enough immune activity. Too much energy or errors in sensitivity can result in allergies or auto-immune activity (immune cells attacking your own cells). Two examples of autoimmunity are rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease and often these are generated by runaway inflammation and poor food choices. On the other hand, too little energy may result in infections or cancer. More importantly, just as in a large company spread over many cities, poor communication can create confusion in either direction.
Let’s take this to the personal level and have you see how this relates to you. By using Traditional Chinese Medicine's understanding of the 3 energy "batteries" (dantians) in the head, heart and belly, and the yoga science of energy centers (chakras), we can use mind-body techniques to explore if there was too much or too little energy throwing your balance off. For instance, we can scan these possibilities to shed light on immune system imbalances:
1. The relevant timeline: How far back in time do you remember having immune system stress? Did you go through a lot of infections as a child? If you went through a serious infection or hospitalization, what was happening in your life in the weeks before you became ill? Was there a trauma, injury, or change in job or relationship that occurred? We can look at events from birth to current age and find what’s relevant.
2. Adverse entanglement: Give yourself permission to check for stress you may have picked up from another person. It could be someone we care about or someone we are around daily. Perhaps a close friend going through a crisis or a boss who may be upset or critical? You may be unconsciously absorbing some of their emotional energy (mad, sad, afraid, guilty, ashamed, etc.).
We call this adverse entanglement to differentiate it from the positive entanglement we have when we are around people who appreciate us, and help us feel good about ourselves. Adverse entanglement can drain your vitality and confuse the immune system. To protect yourself, it’s important to have a clear sense of self – your needs and feelings, to inhabit your WHOLE body, and to maintain good boundaries with people even those in your immediate family.
3. Faults in the optimal health awareness coming from your family/tribe: Sometimes your subconscious holds a deep memory that is perpetuated in the tissue or organ field that is holding limitation or negativity. Is there a genetic inheritance at play from your mother or father’s side in regard to blood sugar problems, poor circulation, defects in liver detoxification function, or predisposition to dysplasia and cancer? In addition, the beliefs, superstitions, and emotional stressors you grew up with (such as divorce of the parents or abuse) can affect you into adulthood.
4. Faults in healing after injuries, surgeries, medical or dental interventions, or major allergic reactions: If the repair of the area was not completed and optimized, ongoing weaknesses can contribute to problems later.
With these and other questions, we can scan for the possible ways your immune system lost its AWARENESS, HARMONY and POWER. It’s similar to using a search engine like Google to look for information on the internet. In this case, we’re scanning the mind-body for the relevant information and “programs and applications” to delete or update. We can scan from the top of the head to the feet by placing awareness, breath, or even color there or by having you hold the area with your hand or tapping it gently.
We each learn to trust that there is a part of us that knows what’s going on, what’s not right, and what can be done. Sometimes it’s as simple as some immediate choices we can make today that take us in the healing direction. It’s vital to connect to that "Knower" inside, that wise part of us that is the voice of innate intelligence, each day. Often it’s a quiet voice that takes practice paying attention to, so I encourage my patients to practice getting quiet and listening to the body each day.
The playing out of all these causes and effects in your body will be evident in the energy field around your body and in the 3 dantian and the 7 primary energy centers (chakras). I’m trained to see and feel the body’s response to these questions in real time. It shows up as a lack of flow, blockage, energy leak, or a reversal of proper spin over a section of the body. It can feel like an orchestra playing music that hurts your ears! The "harmonizing” strategies I use include acupressure, visualization, mindfulness, breathing, tapping on acupoints on the back or head, acupuncture, color awareness, microcurrent and sound exercises. I may ask you to remember events from a certain age and identify the emotions present for you. We may have a conversation with your body or a person from the past.
I also have each person bring in his/her medicines, herbs, and supplements and make sure all the organs are compatible to and getting benefit from these substances. In addition, energy signature vials of 100's of foods, toxins, chemicals, and microbes can be assessed. I tune the whole body to the positive attitude of ideal receptivity (“I’m easily receiving and using all nutrients for my highest good.”) and ideal release (“I’m easily letting go of what my body doesn’t need.”).
If you are willing to do your part you will continue to improve. If you are a patient, you may get other short articles like this about mind-body medicine with suggestions so you'll be more aware of being in charge of your healing. Learn the simple tapping treatment called EFT (see www.eftuniverse.com and see it on www.youtube.com). Keep asking questions and connecting to your inner healer and your intuition and health will keep improving!
*Please note that none of the above information relates to the diagnosis or treatment of disease but rather to the energetic nature that underlies the physical level of reality. – T. Lumiere
The skin and mucous linings (nose to bronchi, mouth to gut, urinary/reproductive organs) are the first barriers of defense against foreign invasion. This system is always answering the question – is this cell/microbe self or not-self? Safe or not safe? You have both an inborn innate immune system and one that develops over time called the acquired immune system. Besides protecting the body, they both work together in harmony to clean up debris and generate appropriate inflammation when you get hurt or infected. The surveillance goes on all day long as part of normal housekeeping and maintenance.
As you know, your immune system works very well most of the time. Did you know that non-human microbes (such as bacteria, yeast/fungi, viruses, parasites) outnumber us in the body (especially the mucous linings) and on our skin by a factor of 10 to 1? That's 10 times more non-human cells! Amazing but true! And yes, viruses do not have cells but co-exist. Most of these microbes do beneficial jobs for us and research is beginning to understand this huge community of critters, this “microbiome”.
Your long and flat bones are filled with bone marrow that generate your white blood cells. Along with billions of immune system cells throughout your body, you have a huge network of lymph glands, lymph vessels, and lymphoid organs (tonsils, adenoids, appendix, spleen), which, along with the thymus gland, are major centers of immune activity.
When problems do arise, mind-body medicine can help the immune system bring in the clarity and strength needed. Who am I as a physical entity? How clear is my awareness of what's going on in my own body? Do I feel safe and protected in here? Do I feel safe out in the unpredictable world? Do I have enough strength and support to take care of myself and thrive? If we look at these questions and answers and connect them to the story of your life we will usually see where your immune system went out of order.
Let’s look at some simple issues that can cause too much or not enough immune activity. Too much energy or errors in sensitivity can result in allergies or auto-immune activity (immune cells attacking your own cells). Two examples of autoimmunity are rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease and often these are generated by runaway inflammation and poor food choices. On the other hand, too little energy may result in infections or cancer. More importantly, just as in a large company spread over many cities, poor communication can create confusion in either direction.
Let’s take this to the personal level and have you see how this relates to you. By using Traditional Chinese Medicine's understanding of the 3 energy "batteries" (dantians) in the head, heart and belly, and the yoga science of energy centers (chakras), we can use mind-body techniques to explore if there was too much or too little energy throwing your balance off. For instance, we can scan these possibilities to shed light on immune system imbalances:
1. The relevant timeline: How far back in time do you remember having immune system stress? Did you go through a lot of infections as a child? If you went through a serious infection or hospitalization, what was happening in your life in the weeks before you became ill? Was there a trauma, injury, or change in job or relationship that occurred? We can look at events from birth to current age and find what’s relevant.
2. Adverse entanglement: Give yourself permission to check for stress you may have picked up from another person. It could be someone we care about or someone we are around daily. Perhaps a close friend going through a crisis or a boss who may be upset or critical? You may be unconsciously absorbing some of their emotional energy (mad, sad, afraid, guilty, ashamed, etc.).
We call this adverse entanglement to differentiate it from the positive entanglement we have when we are around people who appreciate us, and help us feel good about ourselves. Adverse entanglement can drain your vitality and confuse the immune system. To protect yourself, it’s important to have a clear sense of self – your needs and feelings, to inhabit your WHOLE body, and to maintain good boundaries with people even those in your immediate family.
3. Faults in the optimal health awareness coming from your family/tribe: Sometimes your subconscious holds a deep memory that is perpetuated in the tissue or organ field that is holding limitation or negativity. Is there a genetic inheritance at play from your mother or father’s side in regard to blood sugar problems, poor circulation, defects in liver detoxification function, or predisposition to dysplasia and cancer? In addition, the beliefs, superstitions, and emotional stressors you grew up with (such as divorce of the parents or abuse) can affect you into adulthood.
4. Faults in healing after injuries, surgeries, medical or dental interventions, or major allergic reactions: If the repair of the area was not completed and optimized, ongoing weaknesses can contribute to problems later.
With these and other questions, we can scan for the possible ways your immune system lost its AWARENESS, HARMONY and POWER. It’s similar to using a search engine like Google to look for information on the internet. In this case, we’re scanning the mind-body for the relevant information and “programs and applications” to delete or update. We can scan from the top of the head to the feet by placing awareness, breath, or even color there or by having you hold the area with your hand or tapping it gently.
We each learn to trust that there is a part of us that knows what’s going on, what’s not right, and what can be done. Sometimes it’s as simple as some immediate choices we can make today that take us in the healing direction. It’s vital to connect to that "Knower" inside, that wise part of us that is the voice of innate intelligence, each day. Often it’s a quiet voice that takes practice paying attention to, so I encourage my patients to practice getting quiet and listening to the body each day.
The playing out of all these causes and effects in your body will be evident in the energy field around your body and in the 3 dantian and the 7 primary energy centers (chakras). I’m trained to see and feel the body’s response to these questions in real time. It shows up as a lack of flow, blockage, energy leak, or a reversal of proper spin over a section of the body. It can feel like an orchestra playing music that hurts your ears! The "harmonizing” strategies I use include acupressure, visualization, mindfulness, breathing, tapping on acupoints on the back or head, acupuncture, color awareness, microcurrent and sound exercises. I may ask you to remember events from a certain age and identify the emotions present for you. We may have a conversation with your body or a person from the past.
I also have each person bring in his/her medicines, herbs, and supplements and make sure all the organs are compatible to and getting benefit from these substances. In addition, energy signature vials of 100's of foods, toxins, chemicals, and microbes can be assessed. I tune the whole body to the positive attitude of ideal receptivity (“I’m easily receiving and using all nutrients for my highest good.”) and ideal release (“I’m easily letting go of what my body doesn’t need.”).
If you are willing to do your part you will continue to improve. If you are a patient, you may get other short articles like this about mind-body medicine with suggestions so you'll be more aware of being in charge of your healing. Learn the simple tapping treatment called EFT (see www.eftuniverse.com and see it on www.youtube.com). Keep asking questions and connecting to your inner healer and your intuition and health will keep improving!
*Please note that none of the above information relates to the diagnosis or treatment of disease but rather to the energetic nature that underlies the physical level of reality. – T. Lumiere
