Your aching joints predict rain better than the weatherman,
yet are relieved by a desert vacation. Ignoring the correlation,
you retire to tropical Florida, cursing the frequent pain. Unable
to eat because you suspect that your lover is unfaithful, your
body takes the brunt of the emotions. You suffer nervous
exhaustion from chasing money and power, the fear of poverty
and powerlessness in hot pursuit. Although weary from
the third shag in one night, you consider another burst of
excitement to ward off the drudgery of unsatisfied living. A
childhood bereft of love and security still haunts; the mind and
body hold onto emotions never fully experienced and released.
Your immunity is weakened by any number of similar factors,
inviting pathogens or parasites to latch on, your body unable
to fend them off. Poisoned not by an unlikely dose of anthrax
but by daily doses of toxic beauty products and off-gassing
paint in your bedroom, you endure more needless suffering.
Ignoring your doctor’s advice about regular rest, exercise and
a balanced diet, you find yourself diagnosed with adult-onset
diabetes. Bad luck, bad doctor or bad intuition, you wake up
missing a kidney—the wrong one. Unable to get out of bed
because your back hurts again, you neglected to stretch and do
your prescribed exercises.
yet are relieved by a desert vacation. Ignoring the correlation,
you retire to tropical Florida, cursing the frequent pain. Unable
to eat because you suspect that your lover is unfaithful, your
body takes the brunt of the emotions. You suffer nervous
exhaustion from chasing money and power, the fear of poverty
and powerlessness in hot pursuit. Although weary from
the third shag in one night, you consider another burst of
excitement to ward off the drudgery of unsatisfied living. A
childhood bereft of love and security still haunts; the mind and
body hold onto emotions never fully experienced and released.
Your immunity is weakened by any number of similar factors,
inviting pathogens or parasites to latch on, your body unable
to fend them off. Poisoned not by an unlikely dose of anthrax
but by daily doses of toxic beauty products and off-gassing
paint in your bedroom, you endure more needless suffering.
Ignoring your doctor’s advice about regular rest, exercise and
a balanced diet, you find yourself diagnosed with adult-onset
diabetes. Bad luck, bad doctor or bad intuition, you wake up
missing a kidney—the wrong one. Unable to get out of bed
because your back hurts again, you neglected to stretch and do
your prescribed exercises.
Why do we do such unkind things to ourselves? The process
looks a lot like this: Rick (that’s me) is writing a book. He is
constantly thinking about it, about the process of writing it,
about finding an agent and getting it published. When he isn’t
actually working on it, he is thinking or worrying (fearing
failure) about the future, or reliving unpleasant events that
he can easily call up from the past. He is not listening to his
body. He is not, as they say, in the present moment. He is
not relaxed. An overly active mind saps his energy. Although
looks a lot like this: Rick (that’s me) is writing a book. He is
constantly thinking about it, about the process of writing it,
about finding an agent and getting it published. When he isn’t
actually working on it, he is thinking or worrying (fearing
failure) about the future, or reliving unpleasant events that
he can easily call up from the past. He is not listening to his
body. He is not, as they say, in the present moment. He is
not relaxed. An overly active mind saps his energy. Although
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