For if I don’t get the lesson (which is always a higher way of seeing myself & others and implementing the lesson with gratitude) the lesson repeats in my life with more frequency and or intensity.  The difficulty is that the lesson doesn’t always appear the same way every time.  One time it’s a broken water heater, next it’s a business deal gone awry, next it’s an ache or pain, next it’s a relationship not going as expected, and the story goes on and on.  Life keeps giving us an opportunity to learn the lesson until we get it and move on with gratitude.  If we don’t learn the lesson we get more of what we don’t want and less of what we do want!

Here’s a short list to increase your awareness of what’s in your sub-conscious brain/memory:

1.  Bouts of repeated thoughts & emotions that seem to come out of nowhere or are just not appropriate in intensity for life now i.e. criticism, scorn, anger, obsessions, cravings, fears, anxieties, regrets, hopelessness, self-blame… etc.

2.  Repetitive ailments: Any musculo-skeletal complaint, immune related (colds & viruses), inflammatory disorders and female menstrual/hormonal disorders are all a subtle wake-up call.  Are you answering the door? Or shutting it closed with denial, judgment, drugs, addictions?

3.  Insomnia, Indigestion,Fatigue,Poor memory/Concentration:  If this sound like you or any one you know, here’s what you can do today to feel better tomorrow.  Make a list of any person, place, event, circumstance, situation (yourself included) of anytime you felt let down, disappointed, life/others/self didn’t go as expected, betrayed, violated etc..  Take the one that is the most emotionally charged and journal on the 5 step healing process of forgiveness-learning the lesson – gratitude, as described by Dr. MT Morter in his book “Soul Purpose”.

I am intentionally leaving this process out of the blog, to inspire you to call our office and order this great book, to begin to “stress less” today! (480)899-3683

In Health & Service,

Dr. Roland F. Phillips BA, BS, D.C.

There is a part of our being that is very narcissistic.  This primordial self-centeredness is passed on from generation to generation and invariably shows up when life, people, places, things or events go differently than I expect.  It’s at this point I could choose to accept the experience, situation, event, person, sensation, body awareness – AS IT IS -without judging it according to old/outdated “shoulds”.  Resisting WHAT IS creates negative emotional states and imbalances the Autonomic Nervous System.

William James, the father of Applied Psychology, stated “Be willing to have it so!”  What he had learned in practice and personally is that the beginning of healing starts with willing acceptance of the what is. If not, I’ve got one foot on the gas (flight) and one foot on the brake (fight) and I go nowhere, all the while burning my car out!

Sound familiar?  This is how we get ill.  You can put any name you want on it and discover lots of diagnostic findings physically, yet it is all resistance to learning the lesson.

Here’s a short list of positive to-do’s that you could willingly choose to embrace and move on into healing.

1.  Acknowledge every negative thought, emotion, word, action or unpleasant sensation as a welcomed message of change.

2.  Breathe in deeply into the abdomen, lower your shoulders and recall a life experience where you were deeply grateful.  Continue to breathe deeply, focusing on pictures and emotions of gratitude until you feel different in some way (mentally, physically, emotionally).

3.  There are only 3 decisions now that you are more present to the present moment of growth and decision.

A.  In this present moment- What am I in charge of? Do it and be at peace, without expectation of outcome.

B.  In this present moment- What am I not in charge of? and never was. Let it go; whether it is a shoulda

coulda, wish, person place, circumstance or event, “Let it go”, and be at peace, having healthy borders &

boundaries.

C.  Leverage: Send people or circumstances that come to mind, pictures and emotions of peace, love

and gratitude, whether I see eye to eye or not, for I truly reap what  I sow.

In Health & Service,

Dr. Roland Phillips

Between 0 to 7 years old data is input into our brains, some truth based, others inappropriate and outright falsehood.  All programmed into our brains, as how to perceive and respond in an appropriate, healthy and life generating response.  When trauma occurs in forms of physical, chemical, emotional and mental stimuli, the development of the brain gets stuck in a defense loop and the computer (brain) learns that’s what out there and in here (me) is not safe.  So I’m perpetually fighting tigers (perceived illusion of threat) within and without.  Here is a short list of how our perceptions effect our bodies.

Brain

-Glucocorticoids during stress reaction damage the hippo-campus interfering with long-term and spatial navigation (posture!)

-Alters nerve cell structure; behavioral consequences, depression.

Breasts

-Feelings/perceptions of social isolation (I feel all alone) can contribute to being 3 times more susceptible to developing breast cancer.

Liver

- Glucocorticoids of stress reaction; lead to inflammation, cancer, blood sugar imbalance.

Bones

-Inflammation creates calcium absorption imbalances and a decrease in osteoblasts (cells that make bone).

Heart

-Post Hurricane Katrina there was a 3 fold increase in heart attacks.  Bottled up anger for any reason or justification (it makes no difference)  increases risk of heart attack.

Abdomen

-High stress related hormone cortisol increases belly fat, blocked arteries and Type II Diabetes.  Various studies at Wake Forest University and U.S. Navy indicate high demand jobs are associated with diarrhea, IBS and other GI disorders.

Sexual Reproductive Health

-As Glucocorticoids go up growth hormone goes down. This creates problems with ovulation, sperm count and sexual activity.

Skin

-Acne, fever-blisters and rosacea (sub-clinical undiagnosed lupus) are all indicators of chronic hypersensitive individuals, creating immune imbalances and skin problems.

So take a deep breath in through your nose and out your mouth, lower your shoulders, remember not to take anything personally and realize that anything outside of your own skin is out of your control, so why stress over it?

In Health & Service,

Dr. Roland F Phillips BA,BS, D.C.

For each incident there is a five step process: write it out!

1. Forgive the other person for what they did or didn’t do.
2. Give the other person permission to forgive me for what I did or didn’t do or would like to do in retaliation, or fix them, or prove to them, or change them.
3. Forgive myself for what I’ve been doing and not doing to myself: the false beliefs, the endless story of victimhood, the sabotaging, self-betrayal, self-deception and justification that keeps me stuck in a never ending rut of suffering and symptoms.
4. See the good and learn the lesson. As I write out these steps a theme will become clear, a virtue will show up, to be practiced and grateful for. All virtues like love, joy, patience, forgiveness, peace, start with an internal picture and feeling that manifests to an action.
5. Wish them well. Be grateful for the struggles, challenges, traumas and dramas, for it is in these experiences, these great teachers, that I begin to look inward for the grace and strength, returning to discover who I really am and manifest this externally.

In Health & Service,

Dr. Roland Phillips BA, BS, D.C.