Migraines & Heart Openings

I always write about what is relevant in my life and this last month has been an interesting one for me. You see, in my lifetime I have had maybe ten headaches. However, when I get them, they are migraines. The first time I had one, I was in college trying to get ready for final exams. Between four tests and four papers that were due, I had a lot going on and my migraine stayed with me for the entire last month of school. I had to cover an eye just so that I could focus on what the professor was lecturing about during class. Needless to say, it wasn’t fun.
Over the years, I have discovered that the primary cause for my bouts with migraines is actually because my back, neck and shoulders are in need of attention. This is known as referred pain, where the source of the pain is actually different than where it is felt. Normally, I can get a deep-tissue massage to release the knots that have built up and the headache goes away. In spite of my usual remedy, however, when the migraine returned several weeks ago, a massage or two simply wasn’t enough. This time it was back in full force and I had the nausea and the discomfort to go right along with it.

The good news is that I am a lot older and hopefully a little bit wiser tha
I was in my college days and now when I have pain, I certainly feel it, but I also look at it from an observational standpoint. “OK, here is pain,” I state in my mind rather matter-of-factly and then I add, “Now, what do I need to learn from this experience?” Hence, that is what I set out to do—learn more about myself.

Through this month-long period I have delved into the depths of my Soul in order to break down the blockades I have built up over the years hiding unresolved issues. I have learned many things, but the ones I wish to focus on for the sake of this writing are about my relationship with my physical Being.

I already knew that massages were a must for my healing and I have been getting one or two a week since this journey began. What I didn’t realize is how I had been allowing my finances to dictate how I treated my body. Over the course of the last six years, money had been practically non-existent for me and although I used to get a massage once a month, when I worked in the corporate arena, I have not been afforded that opportunity in recent years. Now, things have shifted in that area of my life, but even so, I am not exactly rich and frankly need to watch my pennies just like everyone else. While keeping an eye on our pocketbooks is one thing, it is more important for me to honor this body that is my temple. I am determined to simply know that the money will be there in order for me to bring healing energy into this cherished temple that I have created.

It also occurred to me that it is important that I practice yoga every day. I don’t have to go to a class and dedicate hours upon hours to exercise. I simply roll out my mat in the living room and practice different positions for about ten minutes a day, which engages the muscles to stretch to their fullest capacity in any given moment. Thankfully, that has made a world of difference too. When I am aligned in my body, it serves a metaphor for being in alignment with the Divine—and that is certainly a good thing!

To add to my pile of information that was showing up, several weeks back a friend of mine told me that she had read how chocolate effects pain. As she said it, I knew she was also serving as a messenger for me, but I ignored it. Then during one of my own bouts with pain, I meditated some more to find the answers I was seeking and it was in this trance state where I was told that I had been replacing love with chocolate. For you see, I had been eating not just one piece of chocolate, but handfuls of chocolate every day for about a year—not to mention all the other cookies and other sugared items thrown in there, as well.

Don’t get me wrong, the “replacing love with chocolate” message was a way for my human side to understand. Our Spirit is already Love, but our egoic minds don’t see it that way. So, I finally took the Universal message to heart and decided to give up having processed sugared items in the house.

The very next day, I was shaking. It was time for my sugar fix and I didn’t have anything in the cupboards to fulfill this desire. I debated in my mind if I should go to the store and start “tomorrow,” but my Spirit took over and said, “No.” I realized I had been ‘jones-ing’ for sugar, analogous to when a person quits drinking alcohol or using drugs. It truly amazed me. It has now been six days since my sugar-free home has been inaugurated into my life and I have to tell you that I feel great. It is as though a boulder has been lifted from my mind, body and Soul!

Additionally, after only a couple of days of going without sugar, I sat in meditation, allowing the Universe to do its thing and I was nicely surprised, when my heart chakra began to receive energetic healing. It wasn’t my focus to send energy to that space, but the Universe had its own ideas. A tear formed in my eye as I was being told that the work I had been doing on healing my body was helping me transform at a much deeper level than simply this physical shell I am borrowing for a time—and it was in this space where I felt my deepest amount of gratitude through this entire situation.

While living with pain for a month may seem like a tough nut to crack, in the span of our Spiritual existence, it is a mere blip on the radar. However, that mere blip has been the catalyst for me to learn a plethora of information about myself. I learned to honor my body in various ways and I am filled with gratitude!

I have seen floating around Facebook a wonderful image of a person sitting in yogic position while meditating and there are cracks all over her body. It is in these cracks that enable the Inner Light to shine through—where once it was blocked from our view, the pain that we endure, whether it is physical, mental or emotional, helps to release the Light that is our True Selves!

It seems to be that we have a choice in all matters. We can look at the so-called chaos that we have manifested as torture, or we can look within and discover the gifts that await us in all of our experiences. Life is a celebration. We simply have to open our eyes to see it.

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Thank you for reading and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)