Superhealing: Engaging Your Mind, Body, and Spirit to Create Optimal Health and Well-Being (ARC) (30 page)

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Authors: Elaine R. Ferguson

Tags: #Nutrition, #Diet & Nutrition, #General, #Healing, #Health & Fitness, #Healthy Living

BOOK: Superhealing: Engaging Your Mind, Body, and Spirit to Create Optimal Health and Well-Being (ARC)
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make the decision to do so. This is not an easy thing to do for most of us, because we are usual y entangled by the energy of painful memories, which makes it difficult to let go.

Superhealing Forgiveness Engagement Suggestion

Focus only briefly on past hurts in order to identify something

you did or someone you need to forgive. After you have made the

decision to forgive, and you feel comfortable with moving forward, you can do one, a few, or all of these techniques.

Expressing Forgiveness Through Meditation

As you follow the meditation steps outlined in Chapter 3, engage

your breathing and focus on the concept of forgiveness from your

208

PART THREE:
Your Superhealing Spirit

heart. For a few moments, center your thoughts and feelings on

the left side of your sternum, where your heart resides. Once your awareness is ful y established in your heart’s space, ask your heart to dwell in the presence of forgiveness as you call forth, in your mind’s eye, the person you want to forgive.

From your heart’s view point, look upon the person with compas-

sion, if you can, and when you’re ready, speak your piece, whatever that may be. Allow the person to speak back to you, and listen to or feel whatever his or her presence is bringing forth at that moment.

Then when the time is appropriate for you, forgive and release the person to his or her highest good, and release yourself to your highest good as wel .

Spend a few moments in silence, allowing your being to feel the

freedom and lightness that this process has given to you.

Then take a deep breath and open your eyes.

Expressing Forgiveness by Writing

Write a letter to the person you wish to forgive. You don’t have to mail it. Or if you prefer, you can create a forgiveness journal.

Expressing Forgiveness with Visualization

Visualize your act of forgiveness. Talk to the person, then release him or her in love, letting go of the past.

***

The bottom line is this: Ultimately, engaging your spirit allows

you to be who you are. Superhealing is the journey and adventure

of allowing yourself to express your divine capacity and infinite

potential.

CHAPTER NINE:
Engaging Your Superhealing Spirit
209

SUPERHEALING WORK SHEET:

ENGAGING YOUR SUPERHEALING SPIRIT

• How do you currently engage your spirit?

• Which approaches do you find appealing?

• What are the particular benefits you would like to receive?

• How often are you prepared to consciously engage your

spirit throughout your day?

Part Four

YOUR

LIFESTYLE

211

CHAPTER 10

Your Forty-Day Superhealing

Action Plan

Health is a state of complete harmony

of the body, mind, and spirit.

When one is free from physical disabilities and

mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.

—B. K. S. Iyengar

Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the basics, it is

time to begin your superhealing adventure.

I created this book to give you the tools and motivation to en-

gage your body, mind, and spirit in order to enhance your health and well-being. With the accumulated information I have shared with

you in the preceding chapters, you now have a springboard to help

you to create optimal health and well-being,

For some of you, this book may be your first attempt at a more

holistic approach to health. For others, this is one of many attempts.

In either case, I believe that what is unique about my approach is the continuous engagement of body, mind, and spirit and the recognition of the role that all three play in your health and well-being.

I know for sure that you can superheal your life, and this action

plan will help you to do so. I will share with you the foundation and give you examples, but the rest is up to you. You have the freedom to choose how to do it and create your own specific plan of action to make very real lifestyle shifts so you can experience superhealing 213

214

PART FOUR:
Your Superhealing Lifestyle

within forty days, which is the amount of time it takes to set a new habit in place.

Your forty-day plan includes a complementary interactive mul-

timedia support component. I have constructed supplemental pod-

casts, e-mails, text messages, and a membership site with a social media component, bulletin boards, and chat rooms for peer support.

There is participation and goal reassessment at the completion of

each twelve-day cycle, and it includes a section on how to manage resistance and several sample action plans. To access these things you will have to go my website, http://www.drelaine.com/superhealing,

where you can register to gain access [code t/k]. Please note that this material is only supplemental; the program is completely outlined in this book. The additional information on my website is there if you feel the need for extra support and encouragement.

The steps you will take during the implementation of the forty-

day superhealing action plan are as follows:


Step 1
(days 1–3): Start with the self-love exercises. Commit to doing only these for the first three days, then continue

them throughout the program.


Step 2
(day 4): Decide, intend, focus, and act. Fill out the superhealing health review questionnaire and

outline your goals.


Step 3
(day 4): Review your superhealing work sheets.

Decide on your preferences.


Step 4
(day 4): Create your superhealing plan.


Step 5
(days 5–40): Execute your superhealing plan.


Step 6
(on completion of the forty days): Review and refine your superhealing plan.

CHAPTER TEN:
Your Forty-Day Superhealing Action Plan
215

STEP 1: ENGAGING IN THE MOMENT

THROUGH SELF-LOVE

Even before you create your individualized plan, we’re going to

begin with love. I would like to help you establish your framework for designing your plan: expressing self-love. Self-love is the foundation of superhealing. If you don’t love yourself, you will not have emotional and psychological well-being because you cannot believe

that you deserve it.

Ultimately, self-love means to be: to be who you are, your true

spirit self. You will truly be yourself only when your personality and your soul align. So I want to invite you to spend three days loving yourself. That will set the tone and increase your likelihood of success.

The keys to self-love are as follows:

1. Attention

2. Awareness

3. Acceptance

How do you currently treat yourself? Do you have an inner voice

that is very critical and judgmental? That’s okay. Most of us do. Shifting your attention is a key ingredient of silencing the voice and replacing negative thoughts with kinder, more loving ones. Change

your judgment of yourself and let the inner critic go.

Here are a few suggestions for self-love in action:

1. Take a quiet relaxing bath, and make it special. Use

candlelight, soothing music, and fragrant incense.

2. Spend an evening or a weekend filled with doing the things

you like to do.

3. Treat yourself to a massage, a manicure, a pedicure, or

something similar.

216

PART FOUR:
Your Superhealing Lifestyle

STEP 2: DECIDE, INTEND, FOCUS, AND ACT

It is important to make a commitment and to honor that choice.

This is part of a process I call DIFA: decide, intend, focus, and act.

These actions lay the groundwork for your successful participation and are critical to every portion and aspect of this program. Start by designing your program by filling out the superhealing health review.

CHAPTER TEN:
Your Forty-Day Superhealing Action Plan
217

SUPERHEALING WORK SHEET: HEALTH REVIEW

1. How is your current state of health?

__________________________________________________

Mind: _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: My health is okay, I don’t have any major health

problems, but I am concerned about developing Alzheimer’s be-

cause my mother had it.]

Body: ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I’m pretty tired by the end of every day.]

Spirit: ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: TK]

2. How would you like to improve your current state of health?

Mind: _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I want to use affirmations and practice visualization.]

Body: ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I would like to have more energy.]

Spirit: ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I want to spend more time walking, biking in nature,

and gardening, and I’d like to try volunteering with kids.]

218

PART FOUR:
Your Superhealing Lifestyle

3. What does optimal health and well-being look like?

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I think for me, optimal health is when I get up in

the morning feeling great, having had a good night’s sleep, look-

ing forward to the day, and knowing that my body is prepared to

handle anything that comes my way.]

4. How do you want to change your diet and exercise regimen? List your answers here.

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I want to get rid of all processed foods and to eat

more vegetables. I already exercise, so maybe I’ll do it three times a week instead of once or twice.]

5. How much time each day are you willing to invest in this

program, and at what time of day? I recommend at least thirty to

ninety minutes in the morning, in the evening,

or at night, whatever works best for you.

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I will commit to spending at least thirty to forty-five

minutes every day on the program. I will spend fifteen minutes in

the morning and fifteen to thirty minutes in the evening.]

6. Are you willing to commit to making this the beginning of a

long-term lifestyle shift?

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

7. Are there any issues that you recognize are currently interfering

CHAPTER TEN:
Your Forty-Day Superhealing Action Plan
219

with your desire to improve your health?

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

8. What are you willing to do to make this happen?

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I can achieve it by paying a lot more attention to

my diet; spending more time in nature; changing my negative

thoughts to more positive ones so I won’t stress as much as I often do; and spending more time enjoying my crafts, especial y making scrapbooks.]

SUPERHEALING WORK SHEET: GOALS

What you would like to experience at the end of your forty-day

superhealing action plan?

Mind: _____________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: My mind is free of all the chatter. I have peace of

mind and a healthier response to life’s challenges.]

Body: ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________

[Example: I want my body to have more energy and vitality. I

want to feel and look younger. My body will be healthier because

I plan to lose fifteen pounds.]

Spirit: ______________________________________________

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