David Lawson - Self-Healing - The only introduction you’ll ever need

‘Healing’ is not something that can be ‘done’ to us, it requires our active participation in changing our thoughts, changing our old emotional patterns and ultimately changing our circumstances so that we can engender a healthier state of being.

This is an exceptional book in the field of ‘self-healing’ in that it doesn’t eschew tried and tested medical techniques. We are, however, asked to learn how to balance the advice and knowledge of medical and complementary practitioners with our own innate healing skills. In doing so we can change the patterns in our lives that have helped to create our problems and ailments in the first place.

Reading this book will furnish you with all the tools that you need to start changing the ingrained mental and emotional patterns that you have learned from early childhood. Applying these techniques will help you emerge as a healthier and more empowered person.

‘Healing’ is also about quality of life. Not everyone will get well again, but we can all learn to live with honour, dignity and courage, whatever the future holds. While self-healing is primarily concerned with extending and celebrating life, for some, the process of dying can produce the greatest healing of all.

David Lawson is a warm and skilful healer; everyone who comes into contact with him departs recharged and invigorated by his kindness, skill and words of wisdom.

I trust that you will enjoy this book as much as I have and that it will benefit you in countless, and as yet unimaginable, ways.

JUSTIN CARSON

HEALER AND COURSE LEADER

Self-healing is an ongoing adventure, a voyage of self-discovery where each of us has the opportunity to explore a multitude of choices and solutions to our ever-changing needs. Whether we begin our journey completely healthy or in the midst of dealing with a physical illness, mental problem or emotional need, there is much to discover and to put into practice that will enhance our lives in ways that go beyond our wildest dreams. Our ticket as we embark upon this adventure is a desire to learn and grow, our passport a willingness to change our lives for the better.

Your desire may already be clear to you. Perhaps you wish to stay healthy and prevent the onset of illness, disease or disharmony. Perhaps you are looking for support in dealing with an existing health problem and making the most of the medical or complementary therapies that you are encountering along the way.

For some of you reading this book, your need or desire may be less specific. Perhaps you wish to exorcise some ghosts from your past or create a greater sense of wholeness, inner peace, confidence, self-esteem and forward direction. In some cases you may wish to build on the foundation of well-being and happiness that you already have in your life, to discover more joy, more freedom and greater opportunities for fulfilment.

This book explores the principles of self-healing; these principles can be adapted to help you with any aspect of life-enhancement or personal development. The principles that underpin any exercise that focuses on physical healing can equally be directed to helping with emotional, mental or spiritual needs. Please use the ideas and techniques that are appropriate for you and be creative in adapting them for your own special requirements.

Self-healing is a continual process of taking charge of your health, well-being and personal potential. It comes from actively seeking solutions to the many challenges that we face in our lives rather than seeing ourselves as victims of fate. Instead of doing our best to negotiate a route through the ups and downs of our existence we can make a decision to create the life that we desire and to live it to the best of our ability.

• Self-healing is using the powers of your mind positively and constructively. To heal and develop your life, you need to be willing to discard the old thoughts, beliefs and attitudes that no longer support you in health and harmony, and exchange them for new ones that do.

• Self-healing is listening to the intelligence and wisdom of your body. You need to be aware of your physical needs and you need to take action to exercise, feed and think about your body in ways that are loving and healthy.

• Self-healing is harnessing the creative, positive energy of your emotions. You need to be willing to listen to your heart, acknowledge your feelings and express them safely and effectively.

• Self-healing is also about finding your place in the greater scheme of things and developing a philosophy or a spiritual awareness that gives your life a sense of meaning. You need to be willing to expand your view of the world and entertain the joyful mysteries of the universe, regardless of your background, culture or the beliefs that you were brought up with.

This book is a guide to the powers of your mind and your ability to make new choices that will allow mental, emotional, physical and spiritual changes to occur in your life. It is for you to decide to act upon those choices, but each little step forward, no matter how small, can be a giant leap towards self-healing and personal development.

Very simply, we stay healthy when we remain in balance. It helps to be in balance with other people and with our environment, but the most important place to start is with ourselves. To be in harmony with the world around us it is often best to begin by creating harmony within and then work outwards. To have our lives in balance we need to balance ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Finding balance is not about sticking to a rigid formula. It is not a case of learning how to do all the right things and holding it there. For example, if you were shown how to place your body in perfect physical alignment so that your posture was 100 per cent correct, you would have been done a great service. If, however, you were encouraged to hold yourself rigidly in one correct position so that you would never lose that perfect alignment, you would have been done a great disservice. Life is about constant change and movement; being balanced is never going to look quite the same twice.

As we progress through the ideas and techniques that I am sharing here with you I will be encouraging you to remember and use the four key principles of self-healing: to listen, to notice, to choose and to adapt.

Some of us are born with good listening skills; some of us learn them from our parents or parent figures; some of us learn by necessity later on in life. Are you a good listener? However good you are there is always something new that you can learn about listening.

Listening is not dependent on our ability to hear. People with impaired hearing can sometimes be better at listening than people whose hearing is clear and perfect.

To heal ourselves we need to listen to our feelings, listen to our bodies, listen to the words that we use, listen to the sound of or feel the vibration of our voices, listen to the information that is coming to us from other people and from our environment. When we listen, we are blessed with all the information that we need to make wonderful healing changes in our lives.

When we notice something it often takes on a power or a significance that it did not previously have. When we notice a beautiful flower, a wonderful fragrance or a captivating sound our mood may change; thoughts, memories or associations may come to mind that were not present before. Similarly, if we notice something unpleasant then it may also take on a significance for us and affect our mood – but by noticing it we can make a choice to change it or, alternatively, to change our response to it.