Living In Wholeness
By Dr. Rita Louise


A warm breeze blows across an open field.  The tall blades of green 
grass and brightly colored wildflowers that fill this open space bow 
their heads gingerly, allowing the heated air to rush by.  Then as if 
orchestrated, these precious gems one by one return to their original 
position, standing proudly, basking in the afternoon sun.  They have 
returned to their center and are maintaining the delicate balance 
between their internal needs and the environment.  They are living in 
their wholeness.

We as humans also must bend and flow to the demands placed upon us by 
our environment.  On a physical level, this is referred to as 
homeostasis.  Homeostasis is defined as the body's ability to
maintain an inner balance in the face of changing conditions of our 
environment.  This is a very important concept to understand if we
are to understand the true nature of our being.  We are constantly 
responding to external stimuli.  The temperature of our bodies, for 
example, must be held within a narrow temperature band.  If our 
environment is significantly heated, the body automatically responds, 
and we begin to perspire.  

When we don't treat our bodies as we should, when we ignore its 
tell-tail signs of aches and pains, our body tries to compensate.  
Internally, we are like a teeter-totter, where the many systems of
our bodies are players in a perpetual dance, moving intact with a 
mutual goal, to maintain balance.  When we continually ignore the 
warnings our bodies give us and we push our delicate systems to their 
outer limits, the body breaks down and we experience disease.  Our 
bodies have now become compromised and it will require much work to 
assist it in getting back into balance.  That is, if it is not too 
late.

It is as if that very same wind, as it blows across the open field, 
the tall green grass and wildflowers that once moved and swayed in
the warm breeze now lay down on their sides, then struggle to raise 
their heads to the sun.  

But we are more than just a body.  We are Spirit that 
has chosen to exist within the physical, filled with thoughts, feelings 
and emotions.  How are we as unique individual affected by our
environment on these levels?

When we are in balance, we are able to have, feel and experience emotions.    
To want, to need, to laugh, to cry, to hope, to desire, to despair, to 
pity, the ability to know love or joy from the depths of our hearts and 
souls.  These feelings are a direct response to external stimuli.  When 
we see a awe-inspiring vista, hear a good joke, or receive a tender kiss 
from someone we love.  How do we respond?  For many of us, we own these 
feelings.  We feel breathless as we look at the stunning view, we laugh 
deeply and whole-heartily at the joke or we feel the warmth, love and 
caring of our partner.

But what about the other emotions that we experience, emotions such
as fear, anger, loneliness, jealousy or pain.  What do we do with 
these feelings?   As a society, we have been taught what feelings are 
good or appropriate to express.  We have been trained from an early 
age to repress, suppress and deny feelings of anger, sadness or pain 
as if they are bad.   While it is ok to express emotions of
happiness, joy and love, there is no permission for us to express 
emotions that are perceived as being negative.  But aren't these 
"negative" feelings your feelings also?

Instead, what do we choose to do with these feelings?  We stuff them. 
 
We invalidate them.  We get busy.  We try to take our mind off our problems.  
We fight ourselves so that we don't have to experience these feelings.  We 
shove them deep into our being, pushing them deeper and deeper into ourselves, 
until after a while we can nolonger see them.  We think "Well, I'm over that	
one".  But are we really?  Did we actually release the emotions or did we 
just hide them from ourselves?

When we suppress vs. experiencing and releasing our emotions, we go into 
resistance.  Resistance puts unnecessary stress and strain on the body. 
It takes enormous amounts of physical energy to maintain the damn that 
we have created in order to hold back our emotions.  Then we don't have 
to look at them, feel them or experience them.  We add bricks to an energetic 
wall that surrounds us until we have no feelings, good or bad, negative or 
positive at all.  It is not that we have stopped the flow of our "negative" 
emotions, it is because we have stopped the flow of our emotional energy 
altogether.  

When we give ourselves permission to express all our feelings (both positive 
and negative ones), when we allow them to run their course, we always feel 
lighter, fresher and more centered.  When our emotions are balanced, we can 
experience all of them to their fullest.  It is easier for us to own them and 
then process them quickly and effortlessly.  They are allowed to flow through 
us.  We breath them in, we experience them and we let them go.  It is the beauty 
of our existence.

In the words of Oscar Wilde,  "Find expression for a sorrow, and it will become 
dear to you.  Find expression of joy, and you will intensify its ecstasy".  My 
friends, this is emotional homeostasis.



(c) Copyright 2001 Body, Mind & Soul Healer, All Rights Reserved.

Rita Louise, ND, of Body, Mind & Soul Healer, helps people rediscover 
their wholeness on physical, emotional and spiritual levels.  Dr. 
Louise is a Naturopath, Medical Intuitive, lecturer and teacher and 
the author of the newly released book entitled "The Power Within". 
To have Dr. Louise speak to your organization or to schedule a
session with Dr. Louise contact her directly at (972) 475-3393 or 
visit her web page at http://www.soulhealer.com.