The Healing Place

Vicki Williams

Until My friends and I were in our early 70's I was the healthiest one of the bunch. This is so even though Brenda worked out and relentlessly maintained her weight.....even though LeAnn was a speed walker.....even though Blythe walked, swam and biked. LeAnn and Blythe have never smoked; Brenda quit 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, there is me – a plump, mostly sedentary, self-indulgent smoker. I took fewer medicines than them. I had fewer aches and pains than them. I went to the doctor less often than them. (Not to say, I couldn’t keel over tomorrow....)

About 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with lung cancer and congestive heart failure and chose to have no treatment but actually I am still healthier than them and all of the above still applies. I'm not on oxygen, I'm not short of breath, I don't cough. I'm not in any pain. 

I’ve always had a Healing Place and I assumed everyone did until I came to realize that most people appear to be unaware of the vital link between mind and body and the ways they cooperate for good health. It seems most people suffer through an ailment or turn themselves over to a doctor. Either/or.

When I go to bed at night, I count backwards from 21 (which is simply a relaxation technique). At one, I ask to go to the Healing Place. (It doesn’t matter whom you ask, it could be your God or simply the Life Force within all of us).

The Healing Place isn’t always the same. I don’t control the scene with my conscious mind. Instead I have an attitude of curiosity about where I will find myself. The visual starts with something small, like the single blossom of a flower. As I focus on its colors and the shape of its petals, the view expands. I see the flower is blooming on a sand dune. Off to one side is a palmetto. I feel the warmth of the sand on my feet. I hear the soft rush of waves. As I mentally turn, the ocean is before me. A pelican is flying across the horizon. There is a sea-salt tang in the air.

Another night might begin with a cardinal in a tree growing in what becomes a green alpine valley, its floor starred with wildflowers, geese landing on a crystal clear lake, the fragrance of pines. I rest my hand against the bark of a towering tree.

Wherever the Healing Place turns out to be, it is surrounded by a clear gold light...the healing light. It bathes me. I can feel it penetrating my body to wash bones and organs and blood with its curative properties. I call on it to especially concentrate on any particular area of pain or disease.

I think all the senses must be engaged at the Healing Place. You must see, feel, smell, hear and touch to ensure you have brought your total being there. I think the Healing Place is a way of freeing your subconscious to assist in your own health.

The Healing Place doesn’t replace traditional medicine. I would never advocate not going to a doctor for a serious situation, rather it supplements your treatment by giving it an additional boost. I truly believe it can help you find wellness more quickly. I thought the Salmonella I recently had was going to kill me. I assume the 6 days in the hospital hooked up to an i.v. was probably the determining factor but I also believe the healing place played its part in my recovery. 

When it comes your time to die, the Healing Place won't save you. I think that is predetermined but it can help you cope more easily  with less pain and less anxiety. 

Perhaps it is New Age nonsense. Or maybe it is something you’d like to try if you have a throbbing shoulder or aching knee. It certainly can do no harm and it relieves stress if nothing else. I always fall asleep to the smell of roses or the sounds of birds singing. It’s fun to find out where you are as the scene unfolds. My Healing Place is always nature-oriented but wherever it is, it must be safe, serene and beautiful. For you, that might be a cathedral or it might be a sailboat.

Do I think rhe Healing Place is the sole reason I seem to be healthier than my friends? No, I’m sure genes play a large part. But do I think it is a contributing factor? Absolutely.

If you set your subconscious free, do you wonder where would it take you?

Lizards, Frogs, Turtles and Snakes!

I think I am finally completely over my Salmonella. It is rather ironic that for all the worrying (not that I worry all that much) about lung cancer and congestive heart failure, it was Salmonella that almost killed me off. I honestly thought I was dying when I came home from the hospital. I didn't call any of my friends because I assumed they'd over-react and want to call an ambulance. I figured I'd rather just die at home.

I got well oh-so-gradually. One day, there was the tiniest bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Day by day, it got larger until I'm back to normal (whatever "normal" is!)

The Health Department takes Salmonella very seriously and I had to do a lengthy interview about where I might have got mine. It turned out I hadn't done any of the things that usually cause it - no restaurant food, no handling raw chicken, no salad fixings in a sack, no pre-cut-up melon (and wash melons first even when you buy them whole as if there is Salmonella on the outside, the knife can carry it inside) So maybe it could have been eggs or perhaps leftovers kept too long.

In the end, she simply told me to keep my fridge between 3.5 and 4. And not to eat at buffets. And to not let foods touch each other. And  not to refill plastic water bottles more than once. She told me to always use a mask and gloves when changing the cat's litter boxes or touching bird feeders. And finally, she said not to handle turtles, frogs, snakes and lizards.

I told her I thought I could promise that last one pretty easily!

As for the rest, I started out being extremely cautious and following all her advice but gradually, I have gotten more lax. I don't eat cut up fruit or lettuce or handle raw chicken but I don't worry with masks and gloves. I'd eat at a buffet. I do look at the sell-by date on eggs but you never really know how long they may have set out in a store or warehouse. I only keep leftovers two days.

If you're a healthy adult, you probably don't have to worry. If you do get Salmonella, you'll probably just get well with time. But it can be deadly for the elderly and children. In my case, by the time I went to the Emergency Room my kidneys were in urgent crisis and I was completely dehydrated.

So if your elderly parent or child gets what seems like the flu and it goes on longer than a couple days, make sure to have it checked. I am here to tell you, Salmonella is wicked stuff!

On the other hand, you can't go through life being anal about protecting yourself from every possibility. Like most things, it's mostly a matter of commonsense.