What universal truths have we learned from him? Timeless truth, such as equality, the authentic power derived from within, and the importance of nonviolence and nonjudgmental attitudes.

How can we apply this wisdom to our own health and wellness? For aren’t we a microcosm of the whole? How can we enable our authentic power, practice nonviolence and stop judging others and ourselves?

A quote from my book, Savvy Secrets, Eat, Think & Thrive,
“We learn from each other’s pain and struggles as we learn from our own. May we stop judging each other and ourselves; we are neither good nor bad, we are both. We must heal all of ourselves if we are to heal, grow, thrive and arrive.”

(Join me Saturday @ Salud Market for their healthy wellness event to discuss further the book which is now also on Amazon.)

The first step towards obtaining optimal health and healing is to take an honest personal assessment. To do so, we must be open to forgiving ourselves for our humanness. We must learn how to respond out of love rather than to react out of fear. You must love and accept all of yourself.

Our primitive brain is hardwired to look for the “snake in the grass”, to look for and find the negative. Our western culture and western medicine is designed around the premise that you are broken and “need to fix “what’s wrong with you. The underlying assumption is that we are not enough, that we are dependent on whatever the cure of the day is. We are fearful that we don’t have enough, money, enough education, or enough health, youth or beauty to be worthy of love. We can easily fall prey to comparing ourselves to others and believing in unrealistic ideals of perfection. When we love and accept what is, non judgmentally and with compassion, we can then begin to find solutions and ultimately the peace, love and joy that we are seeking.

How do we stop fighting with our problems and ourselves? How do we let go of the struggle? How do we find peace?

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I believe this is a secret to success. Love and cherish your most important relationship, which is you. How many women hate the way they look? One source cited that 97% of 300 young women surveyed had multiple negative thoughts throughout the day! What kinds of messages are you habitually sending your self?

How do we use the power of the mind to assist in healing everything from holding onto unwanted weight to cancer and autoimmune diseases? First, recognize when you react out of fear, and instead, choose to respond out of love.

You can announce war on yourself and suffer through diets, deprivation and possible death or you can recognize that everything from disordered eating; to even cancers and autoimmune disease are all symptoms. Ask, not what’s wrong with you, but listen to what your loving body is trying to tell you. Something, whether it is toxic chemicals, food, and/or thoughts are creating inflammation and dis-ease. It may simply be a chronic lack of nutrients caused by our standard American diet (SAD) combined with toxic chemicals that are ever increasing in our water, food, skin-care and cleaning supplies. It may be further aggravated by stress and these chronic fears of not being or having enough. No one has all the answers, but a good holistic health coach can provide space and tools for self-discovery, stress reduction and to support self-love and prioritize self-care.

What I do know for sure…(to quote Oprah) is that waging war on your self is not the answer. Now is the time for a kinder, gentler approach. Today is the day to choose love. Stop beating yourself up, and let go of the “no pain, no gain” myth.

If you’ve battled the bulge, or have one of over 14,000 dis-eases that western medicine has officially labeled in the International Classification of Disease (ICD), you may want to consider the following:

Instead of asking yourself, “What’s wrong with me?” Know and trust that the body has the innate ability to heal from within. Discover how to turn fear into curiosity.

Do what the longest stage 4, lung cancer survivor, Dr. Carl Helvie did. He was a nurse practitioner and had his PhD from Johns Hopkins and asked himself, “Now why would I have lung cancer? What is my body trying to tell me?” What changes in my life do I need to make? He then, without fear was able and open to exploring healing modalities. This was thirty-eight years ago. No matter what the diagnosis, there is hope and there are options.

I use this as an example, because having been through a cancer diagnosis with my oldest daughter and others that I love and have loved; I intimately understand this fear. I understand how incapacitating fear can be. Fear is disempowering and self-defeating. Fear is what drives hatred and war and prejudice. Fear is the antithesis of where we want to be if we want to heal our self and our planet.

So how do we transcend this? We respond out of love. We become conscious of the power we have in each moment to cultivate a different thought and a different action. For every action there is an equal reaction. Our actions start with our thoughts. We can choose to cultivate a sense of gratitude and loving thoughts or we can stay stuck (and consumed with what’s wrong with me.)

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

How do I know this to be true? I have been stuck and I have been consumed by fear and I have learned the only way to deal with fear is to… deal with it! Look fear straight in the eye. Ask yourself, what are you most afraid of? What will happen if this happens? Keep asking yourself these questions until the fear fades.

With each choice you make today, whether it is about what you are putting in your mouth or what message you are giving yourself or what actions you will take, simply ask yourself, “Is this choice out of love or fear? Self-love is the path to healing from within.

Carpe Diem! With Love & Gratitude, Lisa