Do you have any contradictory beliefs that you hold? You know, where OBVIOUSLY both can’t be true, and you believe them both anyway?
I have a couple, and the one I am going to share today is about healing. I was in a major car accident when I was eight years old. I live with chronic pain because of it. I believe that I can fully heal from my injuries, and live a pain-free life. I believe that I will have to live with pain from the injuries for the rest of my life.
Which is it? It’s one or the other, isn’t it?
The practical side of me knows that I have to plan for the pain. Trying to live as if I had not pain is only going to hurt me more in the long run. I’ll overdo something, or many somethings, and end up worse than I started. So I stretch every morning, and I don’t lift super heavy objects, and I take it easy if I’m having a high pain day.
The hopeful, spiritual side of me knows that people heal from worse injuries all the time. The scientific side knows that the human body is constantly regenerating, and every seven years your body is 100% different cells than it was seven years earlier. Miracles can happen, and if I don’t believe that, I will never experience them. I just need to find the right combination of tools for my own body.
I know I feel better when I don’t eat certain foods. Every once in a while, I break down and eat them, because my mind overcomes my willpower, and it would be easier if they didn’t taste so damn good.
I know I feel better when I exercise regularly. I have not prioritized exercise in my daily routine, and it would be easier if the classes I wanted to go to didn’t conflict with other responsibilities.
I know I feel better when I get regular massage and chiropractic treatments. Sometimes my budget requires other expenses come first, and it would be easier if I didn’t have to make the appointments more than a month in advance.
I know there are other healing modalities that would be beneficial for me. Many of them are cost prohibitive for treatments and/or training. And it would be easier if I were independently wealthy!
There are any number of things I can tell myself about my abilities, lack of willpower, and excuses I can make. The truth is that all of them are stories. I control the stories I tell, and I control which ones I believe. Sometimes it suits me to acknowledge the pain, to feel it and talk about it. And sometimes it suits me to overcome it, to block it out and push through it.
Ultimately, though, the belief that I can heal is what gets me through the worst days. And hey, truth is relative, right? Quantum physics tells us that particles can be waves and waves can be particles. And magic tells me that when the question is either/or, the answer is both. So I both can be true for me.
What contradictory beliefs do you hold?
Blessings,
Mary