The Wisdom of Body-Mind
Years ago, while I was still a naturopathic medical student, I came across a book called, Biogeneology: Decoding the Psychic Roots of Illness by Patrick Obissier. It is based on the work of a German physician named Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer. Dr. Hamer made a fascinating connection between traumatic events and illness, and from his correlations, he developed a system of medicine which he called German New Medicine.
Specifically, Dr Hamer was able to make a correlation between “unresolved, unanticipated traumatic conflicts” and disease. He went so far as to say, that aside from poisoning, all illness arises from this sort of traumatic event. He was able to look at a CT scan of a person’s brain and based on certain markings on the scan, could tell very accurately; a) where the body was exhibiting disease and b) what type of conflict created the disease. This was and is profound work, requiring deep inquiry and a willingness to plumb the depths of the images and impacts that the psyche is holding. In doing so, it is possible to unearth the origins of conflict and as the mind acknowledges and resolves the past, the body is released to heal.
What struck me most in reading this book, however, was not the how but the why. The premise that the body absorbs the impact of these traumatic events by diverting the psychic blow and creating micro trauma in certain organs, in order to allow the organism to survive. I have a memory of being a small child and witnessing a cat catching a mouse. I ran after it and made the cat drop the mouse. The free mouse, ran in circles for a moment and then died…not of injuries but of fright. If Dr. Hamer's theory is correct, then the body creates “disease” to absorb the impact of unanticipated trauma and give the organism a greater chance of survival. It's magnificent, to turn what we believe about disease on its head. What if we are living inside a body that is not betraying us but is actually acting on our behalf, doing the best thing it knows to do to survive?
Fast forward through 22 years of experience. With my patients, I have discovered various ways to communicate with the body and to listen; to unearth the messages held and expressed by dis-ease states. Sometimes an a-ha comes and miracles happen. Sometimes the messages are requests for action and the actions feel impossible. Blessed with knowledge, we get to choose.
An invitation to get quiet, be curious and listen to your body wisdom:
As you get quiet, allow your body to show you what wants your attention. Breathe into that place and give it space, be curious about what it is holding, what it is requesting, what story it has to tell. To the best of your ability, listen, watch, write, draw…however you intuit… witness the response as if you were hearing from an orphaned child who wants nothing more than to be recognized and heard. I find it very helpful to see places holding pain or disease as orphaned children. How can we receive them with kindness and hear what they have longed to share? How can we honor them (by allowing them to be and not sending them back to the orphanage)? How can you bring tenderness to these parts? I used to think that we needed another person to hold us in our pain but we actually have a family inside. We each have wise, parental parts that are able to hold the orphaned parts, with appreciation, curiosity and tenderness. As these orphaned/dis-eased parts share their insight and emotions arise, you might try placing a hand gently over your heart or feeling the earth holding you.
What did you discover? What do orphaned parts need from you? Can you make space for them on the couch?
Yours in health and love,
Dr Ajana Miki