Meditating through Illness to Health

Let me give you the greatest gift I can ever gift you. Here it is … a reminder to enter into daily mediation. That’s it.

Meditation is one of the most powerful practices on this planet, without exception.

Saturday I attended a manifesting workshop at a local bookstore facilitated by a long time friend of mine whom I adore. She  ordered lunch for all of us, which included a beautiful Caesar salad made of crisp, green, Romaine lettuce. Within 24 hours I was writhing on my living room floor screaming as I held my stomach in pain. Shortly following was a fever of 104 degrees. Whammo. Fine one minute and delirious the next. My friend who was at the house tucked me into bed with five comforters as I shook in intense cold. Teeth shattering I made my way to the toilet to vomit for hours. Okay … I’ll spare you all of the following details; but suffice it to say, I’m guessing I had e. Coli. That nasty little whatever-it-is that was most likely on the lettuce took me into an altered state of consciousness quickly.  Next to the stomach pain, the worst part of the ordeal was a headache that lasted 36 hours which Tylenol couldn’t touch.

But meditation could.

I found myself fully and completely present with my experience through my breath. I had two practices. The first was to breathe my body without going into my head so I became fully present to my physical self less the head. This provided some relief. I alternated that with energetically going into the deep pain and gently imaging it leaving my head through the pores of my skin. As the pain became too intense, I then returned to the body only. Occasionally a thought would rise and I would become scared. I’d call in my angels and chat with them. I began to wonder if I was having a brain aneurysm and ran worst case scenarios through my mind. Back to the angels. As soon as the thoughts began swimming again, I would check in with my body and back into my head meditation. It was a beautiful orchestra of the physical, invisible, temporal and Eternal, all in one moment.

I breathed through my fever breaking. I breathed through drinking in electrolytes, taking hot salt baths, consuming tea … all of the self care regime. All spiritual bibles speak of the breath as the Holy Spirit or some form of The Divine. As I hung out with my breath during this experience, I was aware that I was experiencing The Holy.

Twenty plus years ago I entered into a daily meditation practice. My primary form of meditation is silent breath meditation. It requires no financial investment, I can do it anytime and anywhere, and my body immediately responds to the Gentle Presence that It exposes. This week was no exception. I can’t say for sure I had e. Coli as I didn’t have tests run. It could have been a flu, dehydration, or something that mimics the same symptoms. And the “what” doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t need to know. If it returns, I will go into be checked. If not, then I celebrate being awake to the body throughout its reparation process.

What a thing to be thankful for; being on the other side of the discomfort AND being a consistent meditator.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,