Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Dear Universe,

What’s all this talk about Alternative Healing?  I thought you told us we have everything we need!

If that’s true, then what, exactly, are we healing from and why must there be “alternative” ways to do that?  Alternative?  What do you mean by alternative? Alternative to what?  Did we miss something?

You know me; I like to study things… like how the human psyche manifests itself into conscious and sub-conscious behavior, how life experience affects our mind-body-soul, how humans are constantly searching for what Maslow called self-actualization and what trips us up along the way and why.

This leads me to pondering human behavior vis-à-vis the animal kingdom.  Are there really vast differences?  What does it mean when they say humans are the more intelligent life form… how so and what impact does it have on everything? 

Then toss in that I always like to throw a little science into my conundrum-type theory development ‘cause I need proof!  And I realize… it’s all about physics… it’s all about chemistry… it’s all about biology… it’s all about physiology… it’s all about psychology.  It’s all about systems seeking homeostasis. 

As I understand it, the distinguishing factor between humans and the animal kingdom is the human brain and the presumption that we’re the only ones with the ability to think.  The human brain, though, has two hemispheres:  the left brain looking at parts in a logical, sequential, analytical, rational, and objective manner; with the right brain looking at wholes in a random, intuitive, holistic, and subjective manner.  So, in actuality, we have two thinking brains, right? Evidently we’ve become quite adept at applying our intelligence in a left-brain fashion; I mean… someone had to come up with all those “ologies” and everything related; someone had to figure out how all those “ologies” apply to the human mind-body-soul system and what it takes to keep that system in continual optimal homeostasis.

It’s the right brain stuff where we seem to get hung up… the area where we seem to forget how intelligent we really are and how much we really know… and all those ‘ologies’ slowly transform themselves into ‘osis-es’… getting our whole mind-body-soul system out of balance… which then requires some kind of mind-body-soul healing.  It’s been proven, in fact, that physical dis-ease is typically representative of emotional dis-ease… your body actually tells you where the mind-soul dis-ease is.

Well ain’t that a bunch of ______ (insert favorite swear word here!)

So, we’ve been endowed with this phenomenal ability to think and well, it seems we’ve outsmarted our own selves along the way… and all these forms of Alternative Healing are designed to remind us to pay attention to the 90% of our brain that some claim we don’t use. 

Let’s call that 90% the sub-conscious.  Whether you’re tuned in to your sub-conscious or not, it is your sub-conscious that’s actually in total control of everything… where cellular memory is stored – and usually of the negative variety – provoking the animal kingdom behaviors that we’re supposed to be intelligent enough to evaluate first - survival of the fittest, attack based on perceived threat, fight or flight responses.  So even when we’re not conscious of why we do what we do our sub-conscious is and causes us to do things that are ineffectual in being who and attracting that which we really want.

So, let’s get started on that 90% right now… let’s get that left-brain to explain things to the right-brain.   Let’s all put on our “thinking caps” and figure this out once and for all… ‘cause I’m thinking the answer is right there embedded in the phrase ‘alternative healing’ and the other 90% of our brains. I’m also very big on words and the energy attached to them; in particular, words that imply negativity.  I can’t help but get hung up on the words “alternative” “healing”.

Alternative:  something ‘other than’; which means there has to be at least two, which implies options and choices.  Choices.  Choices?  Hold that “thought”…

Healing:  curing, therapeutic, restoring to health; which means something’s wrong, the system is no longer in balance and must be restored; with restored meaning:  reinstated, re-established, returned; which means brought back to, oh, let’s say homeostasis.

And isn’t that what all forms of ‘alternative healing’ are designed to do? Affirmations, chanting, chakra balancing, psychotherapy, religious followings, reiki, readings… and other Eastern and Western rituals… are all aimed at alternative thinking and restoring balance to our mind-body-soul system.

I mean, we already know that our internal state of mind – spiritual or emotional – affects our chemical make-up which affects our physical health.  We already know that there are all sorts of external factors that have an effect on the mind-body-soul system… we’ve been learning this stuff since grade school.

We’ve also already been presented with very powerful meta-philosophical theories, including:

• I think therefore I am
• Attitude changes everything
• Perception is reality
• Laws of Attraction & Manifesting

What’s the common denominator in all healing methods and philosophies?  You guessed ‘er… thinking… more importantly, choosing what to think, when to think it, why to think it, and how to think it. 

OK, wait a minute… is THAT what this is all about?  Choices?  Thinking about and learning from our choices such that balance is achieved and maintained?  Thinking about what we choose to think about? Thinking about how and why we choose to react to situations the way we do?  And isn’t “thinking” our claim to fame… fame we’ve already proven we’re really good at?

Let’s take a leap here and make our first new choice together… let’s choose to redefine Alternative Healing; let’s redefine it to be… Choosing Homeostatic Thinking… ‘cause again, that’s what all those alternative healing methods are designed to do… present us with information to make better choices in the way we think about and do things to achieve and maintain mind-body-soul homeostasis.

Yeah, I like that much better… has a much better “energy” to it… gives us back our own innate power… our thinking power; be it left-brained or right-brained… decision-making, intuition, objectivity, subjectivity… and therein lies the beauty of it all… the beauty that, as adults, at any point in time we have the innate ability to think about the choices we’ve made, why we’ve made those choices, how our experiences have affected our choices, how our choices have affected our experiences, how our choices affect our thinking… and it just keeps going ‘round and ‘round like that.

True, true, much of our perceptions are derived during our formative childhood years.  That’s why I made the ‘as adults’ point above.  It’s the realization that perceptions derived from childhood influences are at odds with our innate intelligence that heightens the need for Choosing Homeostatic Thinking.

And I believe that we all do it… we all, at some point, ask ourselves why we do what we do when we know what we know.  And the Universe knows this.  That’s where synchronicity comes into play… the “everything happens for a reason” theory.  That’s when the Universe will give us a proverbial kick in the butt by presenting us with a result we’re not too happy with… to make us choose something different to restore the balance to get results we are happy with.  And some of us don’t heed the call; we get frustrated because it seems too hard to change; because we don’t trust ourselves to do things differently; because of all those influences; because we don’t believe we know ‘how’.

Aye, there’s the rub… it’s in the HOW… how to review all the above and re-teach ourselves how to make homeostatic-based choices.  THAT’s the answer we’re really seeking. 

Well, I say, let’s get right down to the HOW… right now!!!  We’ve got some choices to make!!!

Let’s review this homeostasis thing as it pertains to thought vis-à-vis influences… see how the influences and experiences affect who YOU are and how all that affects everything around you.

As you look at the diagram consider that at any point in time you can “choose” to change any facet of any one of those aspects and, well, by design, everything else has to change too.  Doesn’t matter where you start, however, if you’ve never done this before, a good place to start is with YOU…

• YOU now choose how you define yourself
• YOU now choose what/how things influence you
• YOU now choose your thoughts
• YOU now choose your feelings
• YOU now choose your perceptions
• YOU now choose your actions/ behaviors

How fun is THAT?!?!?!  And it should be fun!  Everything should be fun!  I mean, really, what other “choice” is there?

So there ya have it… it IS true… we do have everything we need… just like Dorothy and the gang… packaged quite nicely as the power of choice in everything we are, think, and do… 

“Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn’t, didn’t already have”.

Just know that even when your choices yield results other than your desires, it’s just that darn Universe telling you make another selection – rethink your choices and their results:  perhaps you weren’t being totally honest with yourself, perhaps your intentions weren’t honoring your true self… s’okay… it’s just the Universe and your true self looking out for and wanting the best for you!  

Know who YOU are and know how you got where you are today; consider how the influences and experiences have shaped everything around and about you; how you attracted those experiences based on the influences and choices you’ve made, paying particular attention to the words you use when you talk to yourself and how you define and describe yourself.

The time it takes to come up with your own answers to maintain homeostasis through change is open-ended… change is constant… and homeostasis is an iterative process… enjoy it!! 

Even though the time it takes to do this is open-ended, our time spent on this Earth creating the life ‘n’ love we so desire is, indeed, finite!!!

Choose well, choose wisely!