Taking Time for the Self

"What, do something for me?"
"But I don't have time!"

Gone are the days when we can run ourselves into the ground doing for others. Because of work, family, or friends we as a society are running on "E". I am not asking, I am telling all of you that's all in the past. Starting now we all must invest in ourselves if we wish to invest in our future.

It is evident that as a nation we are getting sicker by the hour. I often sit and think about how a country that has more technology, more industry, who frankly has a culture based on more, more, more, can have ever rising rates of chronic illness and disability. This is a complex issue and I do not pretend to have the solution. But I have a solution; when I take an hour, or even 10 minutes and turn off my phone, put down the to do list, stop moving 100 miles an hour and just breathe, something miraculous happens.

I had the great privilege to spend 10 long days in that state, last month, on a retreat in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Slowing down that completely brought me frighteningly in touch with myself. No longer distracted by classes, exams, patients, my husband, money, grocery shopping, or even cooking I found a deafening silence left in the wake of the chaos I called daily life. And, I was scared. What would I find in that silence? Would there be anything there at all?

First, I slept. A lot. It was clear I had been burning the candle at both ends for too long and I needed to rest and repair. I was at a formal retreat, and as such, had some schedule to adhere. The intention of the retreat (aptly named "Portals to the Self") was about tuning inward into the deep, possibly dark, place inside where only You are left. There I was able to do all the repair I needed. By the third day, I finally felt I was fully present. The inertia of my previous pace of life had finally left my body. Finally, I was standing still, in the present moment.

What I found in that moment was a person I had not spoken with in a long time. She was funny, and interesting, and had dreams and goals I had forgotten. She loved to dance, and swim, and write, and laugh. When I finally slowed down, when the world around me stopped moving, when I turned off the technology and listened, I met myself, again.

I know a few of you are reading this and asking what has this got to do with medicine.

EVERYTHING!

If you are sick, if you are exhausted, if you are fighting a disease, you are fighting with your self. It is only by going within, slowing down and listening that we may experince the true nature of healing. The yogis know this. The Chinese know this. Our ancestors know this. It is time we remember.

This is the meaning of Vis Medicatrix Naturea, the healing power of nature, our first tenet of Naturopathic Medicine. Find that still and quite place inside of you and you have found your own power to heal.

I want you to close your eyes and imagine a world without chronic illness, a world without diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. Look around you at all the people full of energy, life, and vitality. Imagine what we could do. Imagine the community, the sharing, the peace our world could have.

Imagine it and it can be so.

It starts with you.

Begin the healing today.

All recommendations suggested here are purely for your own information and education. The information is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Sarah Marshall is a candidate to graduate as a Naturopathic Doctor in June 2009. She is currently practicing as a medical intern at the Natural Health Center Portland, OR. If you would like to schedule and appointment for a personalized health consultation with her call (503) 552-1551.