Sometimes our bodies simply say NO! Enough is enough.  If we don’t listen to what our higher self is trying to tell us then it will act and ensure we have to listen!  So we’ve two choices.  We can bemoan the fact that we are laid up incapable and worry and beat ourselves up for what we may see as our own inadequacies. We can gnash our teeth and wail about the things we are not getting done. We can wallow in self pity and become angry and frustrated but what would all these emotions  achieve exactly?  Would they make ourselves feel better, or simply produce a further dip in our spirits?

We could, on the other hand, surmise that whilst there may not be an apparent reason for our circumstances, nonetheless there is a reason and we can choose to go with the flow instead of fighting against it.

I’d like to share this little story with you, though not I hasten to add for a sympathy vote! Two days ago I was lamenting how little time I had to accomplish everything that needed doing.  My work is at its busiest (not that I’m complaining), the kids need running around here, there and everywhere, paperwork is piling up, household chores have had to be put on a back burner, my studies aren’t getting the attention I feel they need and my weekends are filled with ‘duties’ when surely my time I felt, could be better spent elsewhere. I did start to wonder who was actually in control here,  if it’s not me, then who is?

Yesterday, we travelled twenty miles in one direction for an appointment, turned around and travelled sixty miles in the opposite direction for another commitment  and inbetween all this had various stops to make to fit in other tasks. That morning my lower back started to niggle away at me but guess what? There’s simply no time for that nonsense, I thought, so I ignored it and carried on. Gradually the pain worsened, yet still I smiled and shrugged it off. I laughed at the way I was beginning to walk, cracked ‘old age’ jokes and ignored what my body was trying to tell me.  That was until 4.30am Sunday morning when my back went into spasm and seized up completely!   I couldn’t even writhe around in agony.  I wish I could end my tale by saying I channelled Reiki and lo and behold my back was cured.  The pain, however, was all encompassing and even though I made a squeak for help, I knew deep down there was a lesson here I needed to learn.  Would that lesson be learned if I instantaneously got the pain relief I needed?  Sadly, I think not.

So yesterday I was literally helpless but I still had a choice.  I could watch the dross on the television or I could connect with my higher self, pin back my ears and listen.  I could give my mind and body the attention it has been demanding.  I could work with the beautiful healing energies of Reiki, I could meditate on self healing, I could practise mindfulness and I could use the five Reiki Precepts as they should be used.  And so I did.  Whatever life throws at you, the precepts are a comforting guideline that we can adapt to our present circumstances.  For me,  in the here and now,  just for today…

I will not anger… I will accept that I need to rest and recuperate.

I will not worry….  about all the things that were planned for today, the places I needed to be, the things that simply had to be done because that will not alter my position.

I will be humble… I will accept that there are things I cannot do for myself today; that I have to rely on my family to do things for me.  So just for today I release the control freak as she cannot do anything better than anyone else 😉

Today I will be honest in my work. I will admit my current capabilities and not take on too much, or actually anything at all, I will accept I can do no other.

Today I will be compassionate to myself, as well as others. I will listen to my body and I will allow it to heal.   I will not beat myself up that I chose to ignore the warning signs, I have learned by my mistake!

In future I will not ignore my own needs and understand that if I do, I do so at my own peril.  Can you say the same?   It may be said that hindsight is a wonderful thing, I think a little foresight would serve us better ! 🙂

Reiki Blessings to you all,

Ann xx

Ann Halstead is one of the Reiki Evolution team of teachers offering Reiki training near the beautiful Summer Wine country in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.  Ann and her husband Jonathan also offer psychic development workshops and spiritual counselling.

Ann’s website can be found here:  www.holistic-wellbeing.co.uk