Health, Hope, and Happiness

 Dun-da-da-da-da---dunnn. :)

(That was my version of a drum roll to introduce an exciting new category of my blog). In addition to writing Simply Thoughts, Simply Stories, and Simply Poetry, I will also be writing under the category Simply Health!! 

What does that mean? It means Esther is on a grand new adventure, trying to soak in, remember, and share as much information about healing as she can. Why? Well, I've been interested in helping people become healthier and happier, but earlier this year, while I was completing my coursework for an Abnormal Psychology class in college (studying mental health disorders from anorexia to anxiety to OCD to schizophrenia), I was struck by the thought that in psychology and therapy, people are treated, but they aren't usually healed. In fact, a successful therapy is not one that heals the issue thereby freeing an individual from their pain and suffering. Therapy is considered a success when symptoms are reduced such that an individual can function mostly normally in society, even if they're still hurting inside. And up until February this year, I'd accepted the common belief that mental illnesses and some diseases are treatable, but incurable.

But something about that just didn't feel right. I believe in hope and change, and I believe in miracles. And if hope and change and miracles are real (and I firmly believe they are) then there has to be a way for people to truly heal. So, I turned to the true source of healing--Jesus Christ (and his words in the scriptures) to discover if healing is possible. I discovered that in the thousands of pages of recorded scripture, Jesus Christ never treated anyone. He healed everyone. And He wasn't a therapist, He was a Healer and a Counselor. 

This simple discovery changed the trajectory of my life forever. 

You see, all my life I've been taught to emulate Jesus Christ in every thought, action, and behavior. I've been taught to search for Him, listen to Him, and follow his guidance. I grew up singing songs like, "I'm trying to be like Jesus, I'm following in His ways," or "If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?" And I cannot count the number of times I have been asked to list attributes of Jesus Christ on a whiteboard and then pick one to strive to emulate for a week. So I guess it was only natural for me to read about Jesus Christ being a healer and decide that I was going to be like Jesus and become a Healer (or at least a conduit of His healing) too.

My friends, healing is possible. It really is! I believe that with all my heart. But I have realized that the first step to healing anything is to have the belief that healing is possible. So I've put together a short list of nine things that I believe are true about healing. Nine things that people need to know before they can begin their journey to true health and happiness. Nine things that might give you hope if you're struggling with something that you're not sure can be cured. 

1. The path to health is relatively simple, relatively accessible, and relatively inexpensive. 

How do I know that? Because...

2. The Lord would not give you a righteous desire (a desire to heal) unless he provided a way to fulfill that desire. (See 1 Nephi 3:7).

3. Healing will take effort, dedication, and faith, but with the Lord's grace, wisdom, love, and the tools He has provided, it is absolutely possible.

4. Your body was designed to live for eternity, which means it is 100% capable of healing the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental damage of this life. (See Genesis 1: 27; Romans 6:23; Moses 1:39).

5. To follow every piece of advice, take every supplement, or follow every diet perfectly is impossible. Each individual is unique, each trial is different. The goal of healing work is to identify the specific supplements, foods, routines, or emotional health techniques that will heal the individual's body, mind, and soul most perfectly in this moment.

6. Remember that the body, mind, and soul are eternally connected. This means that nothing works in isolation. If you take a supplement to aid your digestion, it will affect your liver and mind. If you do emotional work, it will assist your physical and mental healing. 

7. Life is change! Just as we will never step into the same river twice, we will also never be the same person we were in the past. Every moment, every experience, every choice changes who we are forever. So, instead of getting stuck in one place or fixated on one solution, ideology, belief, or routine, we must flow, change, and adapt just like the river. Thus, what may be right at one time may not be right as the body changes and heals. 

8. Eternal life is eternal change! Do not go into healing work with the expectation that you will find and "end" point where you never have to heal again. I don't believe any of us will ever be cured of all our ailments. If we were, we would cease to change, grow, learn, and experience, which would be the opposite of eternal life. So far as I know, Jesus Christ never completely healed people such that they never struggled again. In recorded scripture, He did completely heal specific struggles, illnesses, and deformities, but that didn't stop people from getting hurt or falling ill again. I think that's because His goal wasn't to fix everything for everyone (that's the definition of Lucifer's plan). Jesus Christ's goal is to enable us to be able to take responsibility for our own lives and health, and with His help, make the changes necessary to be more whole and more healed than we were before. (See "The Lookout Point" where I discuss this theory in greater depth). 

9. Healing can occur in a moment the moment we are ready to heal. Healing work, in essence, is clearing up all the physical and emotional blockages that we pick up through life. All the false beliefs that stop us from getting to where we want to be; all the grief and anger that hold us back from realizing our true light and potential. Once we clear whatever is keeping us from being whole, our bodies will return to their natural state of health, hope, and happiness.