MIND, BODY, SPIRIT - SYSTEM CHECK by Deborah Clemente, MA

A problem cannot be solved on the problem's level.  
To achieve clarity, we often must see it from higher ground.  
Meditation lifts us there - out of the maze of circular logic to a place of vistas"  
--Judith Orloff, M.D. Author of Positive EnergyMIND, BODY, SPIRIT SYSTEM CHECK
Many years ago I began my career in New York City as a book publicist. It was the early '90s and new age books were everwhere.  Dynamic authors like Marianne Williamson and Melodie Beatie were teaching us to  "awaken our consciousness".  And I found myself stretching beyond my upbringing and opening to the possibility that life was more beautiful than I was led to believe.  My small world opened to another perspective... that we are part of somethng greater than we ever imagined, that our lives are no accident and that we hold the key to our own happines. Thus I began a sacred journey of self-knowledge, learning to connect with my true essence so I could see myself, situations and other people more clearly.   And my greatest tools became self-observation and acceptance.  

Today, nearly twenty years later, I can say with confidence that I remain committed to the greatest journey... the journey within. I've learned from countless masters how to live my life on purpose.  And more imporantly, what to do when I feel out of sorts or iimbalanced. I've created what I call the  "Mind, Body, Spirit System Check".  And it's as easy as 1, 2, 3!  

To begin the "Mind Body Spirit System Check" it is important to understand the following premises:
- The natural state of the human body is vibrant health.  We were not designed to get ill.  We were designed to self heal.  If you have discomfort, illness, disease or sickness or upset you are out of balance.  Our Symptoms point to an imbalance.  It is important not to suppress the symptom but to treat the imbalance so there are no more sysmptoms. 
 - You are the ultimate source of information regarding your health and well being. You are mind, body and spirit. What your mind doesn't handle, your body will try to resolve, draining spiritual energy in the process.
 - All Illness comes from a combination of four things that throw us out of balance: 1. trapped mental and emotional stress, 2. too many toxins in the body (this includes thoughts and what you say), 3. nutritional deficiencies and biochemical imbalance and 4. exposure to electromagnetic chaos.
 - The pain that you create now is always some form of non-acceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is.  On the level of thought, the resistance is some form of judgement.  On the emotional level, it is some form of negativity.  The intensity of the pain depends on the degree of resistance to the present moment, and this in turn depends on how strongly you are identified in your mind. (Ekhart Tolle "The Power of Now")
 - When a problem becomes overwhelmingly complex, seek simple solutions.
 - Helplessness sets the stage for anxiety, depression, pessimism and guilty thinking. The way out of helplessness is taking 100% responsibility for our choices and our life. (For example: When trauma happens we have three choices: Attribute the problem (1) to ourselves, (2) to some person or (3) to a force outside ourselves/ to chance.  If we look at ourselves as the cause of our troubles we can either take responsibility for our actions in a way that leads to insight and growth or we can engage in self blame which leads to pessimism and victim thinking.  If we attribute problems to others, a force outside ourselves, or chance we foregoe learnings and insights and disown responsibility - which makes us feel helpless.
 - When your courage and power are stuffed into your small "ego self", and you are living in an angry hole, you are choosing to be a victim.  Unable to handle difficult situations by honest and straightforward expression of needs and feelings, victims hope for salvation by engaging the pity of an oppressor.  Victims need aggressors to oppress them. They then can feel enraged at their ill treatment, which is how they compensate for helplessness and fear, experiencing a temporary surge of power and an adrenalin rush. Are you in an angry hole?  Do you perceive others as oppressors?  Are you repressing needs and feelings? Are you perpetuating victim patterns? 

                                                                                            --more to come