Overcoming Inertia
21/09/08 09:57 Filed in: Self
Healing
One of the biggest challenges that we face when
undertaking a path of self healing is the daunting
power of inertia, which influences every facet of
our lives from eating and drinking, exercise and
sociability to relationships with work, family,
friends, lovers, and to our own selves. It is a
power that can work for, or against, our better
selves and, in the process of self healing we have
the opportunity to turn it into a tool for
achieving our healing goals.
Inertia is the tendency to continue doing exactly what we are doing, whether that is sitting around doing nothing, or running marathons (metaphorically or literally). In physics inertia is defined as a property of matter whereby it continues along its existing state or motion in a straight line, unless changed by an external force. For example, imagine a meteor hurtling through space in a straight line. Left to its own devices scientists tell us that it will continue hurtling along in that straight line…forever.
There are two forces, however, that will alter the meteors trajectory. The first is if it hurtles into something a lot bigger than itself. Something like a meteor the size of a pineapple hitting the sun. That would clearly be the ‘end’ of the meteor, as we know it. The second is if something bumps into it and throws it off course, onto a new trajectory, a new path of inertia as it hurtles through space.
With self healing we have the opportunity to shape for ourselves a new path of inertia, one that will take us where we want to go, rather than, using the metaphor of the meteor, directly into the sun. Although the initial ‘energy’ that it takes to bump ourselves onto a new path can seem immense, within a short time the power of inertia will come to our aid and our new path will have found its first stable ground.
It is for this reason that I give students and patients manageable steps to undertake one by one. The beauty is that as you undertake changes it doesn’t take very long before you get used to them. These changes become the new habits. If you quit sugar within a month sugar doesn’t taste very appealing any more. If you make a liver cleanse drink it seems complicated and difficult but after you have done it a few times it is no different then pouring a bowl of cereal for breakfast like you used to do. Making a salad may seem like a chore but once you get used to it, salad preparation becomes a joyful exercise in creativity. Once new healthy habits are established, one can build upon this foundation with further and deeper self healing. Gradually all facets of our lives must be looked at. As we grow and learn and evolve we are ever more inspired and alive to new levels of wellness. And changes do come easier.
In the case of chronic disease it is necessary to work quickly and powerfully. The energy required to change the trajectory of the body’s path can seem much like reeling in a herd of wild horses, but it can be done, as had been shown in many clinical settings, such as the Gerson Institute, Ann Wigmore’s work with cancer and chronic diseases, healing programmes by Farida Sharan and Dr. Bernard Jensen, and so many others, and by the many individuals who have successfully undertaken the process of deep healing of chronic disease on their own.
Change is possible, and we can count on inertia to ensure that healthy habits stay with us, if we want them to. And we can count on it to move the body forwards on the path towards health if we take the right steps in that direction.
Inertia is the tendency to continue doing exactly what we are doing, whether that is sitting around doing nothing, or running marathons (metaphorically or literally). In physics inertia is defined as a property of matter whereby it continues along its existing state or motion in a straight line, unless changed by an external force. For example, imagine a meteor hurtling through space in a straight line. Left to its own devices scientists tell us that it will continue hurtling along in that straight line…forever.
There are two forces, however, that will alter the meteors trajectory. The first is if it hurtles into something a lot bigger than itself. Something like a meteor the size of a pineapple hitting the sun. That would clearly be the ‘end’ of the meteor, as we know it. The second is if something bumps into it and throws it off course, onto a new trajectory, a new path of inertia as it hurtles through space.
With self healing we have the opportunity to shape for ourselves a new path of inertia, one that will take us where we want to go, rather than, using the metaphor of the meteor, directly into the sun. Although the initial ‘energy’ that it takes to bump ourselves onto a new path can seem immense, within a short time the power of inertia will come to our aid and our new path will have found its first stable ground.
It is for this reason that I give students and patients manageable steps to undertake one by one. The beauty is that as you undertake changes it doesn’t take very long before you get used to them. These changes become the new habits. If you quit sugar within a month sugar doesn’t taste very appealing any more. If you make a liver cleanse drink it seems complicated and difficult but after you have done it a few times it is no different then pouring a bowl of cereal for breakfast like you used to do. Making a salad may seem like a chore but once you get used to it, salad preparation becomes a joyful exercise in creativity. Once new healthy habits are established, one can build upon this foundation with further and deeper self healing. Gradually all facets of our lives must be looked at. As we grow and learn and evolve we are ever more inspired and alive to new levels of wellness. And changes do come easier.
In the case of chronic disease it is necessary to work quickly and powerfully. The energy required to change the trajectory of the body’s path can seem much like reeling in a herd of wild horses, but it can be done, as had been shown in many clinical settings, such as the Gerson Institute, Ann Wigmore’s work with cancer and chronic diseases, healing programmes by Farida Sharan and Dr. Bernard Jensen, and so many others, and by the many individuals who have successfully undertaken the process of deep healing of chronic disease on their own.
Change is possible, and we can count on inertia to ensure that healthy habits stay with us, if we want them to. And we can count on it to move the body forwards on the path towards health if we take the right steps in that direction.