How is that perfect?

Your health challenge is "perfect?" Let's cut through the bullshit and figure this out

In the healthy condition of man, the spiritual vital force (autocracy), the dynamis that animates the material body (organism), rules with unbounded sway, and retains all the parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation, as regards both sensations and functions, so that our indwelling, reason-gifted mind can freely employ this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence.

— Samuel Hahnemann, Organon of the Medical Art

Photo by Isabella Fischer on Unsplash

The other day, I posted a little note about what we refer to as “vital force” — aka qi, or prana. What does it mean, that the vital force “rules with unbounded sway, and retains all the parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation?”

In homeopathy, we emphasize that whatever the body is doing, is perfect — its best attempt to bring you back into balance. But what if you get migraines twice a week that make you want to crawl into a dark room and sleep for the next 24 hours? How is that perfect?

I get it. This sounds a little wack-a-doodle. But hear me out.

The body does not make mistakes.

There’s always a gift or a message, and we can often see it if we tune in.

Case in point — when my homeopath friend realized her migraines forced her to REST, and she was OVERWORKED — it occurred to her that those headaches were the body’s way of solving a problem that she was unwilling to acknowledge. After she gave herself permission to slow down at work — the headaches disappeared.

Sometimes seeing and/or fixing the pattern is not that straightforward, but the principle is the same.

What is bothering you right now? What is the gift? What is the message? What about it is “perfect”?

Before I go further, what is your gut response? Do you feel aligned, or resistant to the idea that the body does not make mistakes? Are you curious how that might work for you, or maybe you feel a little despair — if that is true, now what? Or irritation — that’s a little too easy?

One commenter made this point:

“Your body is perfect” is cute. Mine has four scrambled genes with downstream effects on neurology, endocrinology, musculoskeletal, metabolism, autoimmune, cardiac, reproductive, gastroenterology, vision, hearing , honestly pretty much everything.

Can you see yourself in that comment?

I’m not personally dealing with the same level of challenge that this person is. Yet even with my relatively smooth functioning system, I often struggle to see the gift, or the message, as I lie awake at 3 am wrestling with anxious thoughts, or find myself wiped out with nausea at the exact moment I am supposed be giving a webinar and picking my kids up from school.

But the “perfection” of the vital force isn’t about being comfortable, it’s actually about protection. And the question is, what is the most important aspect of our organism to protect? Here’s my response to this comment:

Yes, I totally understand this sentiment. Of course from some absolute, philosophical perspective, everything is “perfect” but it sure as heck doesn’t feel that way when we’re in bodies. What I mean, is that the body is doing the best it can. Sometimes, however, the best choice may be running into the metaphorical guard rail, or even a brick wall, in order to avoid crashing head on into oncoming traffic. That can be the “perfection” of the vital force, but it’s still pretty ugly.

Homeopathy is amazing — and it won’t solve everything. But the highest form of health, according to George Vithoulkas, is the capacity to see the truth of things, to be in reality. To me, that means acknowledging the heavy reality of pain and suffering, without forgetting the vastness, wonder and mystery of life. That was the intention of this little note.

So what is the real purpose of the vital force? How does it decide what to do?

You see, Samuel Hahnemann has the same idea as George Vithoulkas: the vital force works in our organism “so that our indwelling, reason-gifted mind can freely employ this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence.”

As I said, this is about protection.

And your life force is protecting your capacity for rational thought, your sanity, and your humanity, so you can live your life to your greatest potential — in truth, and with love.

So…we ask, what could be the gift, or the message? How is this protecting me?

If you have arthritis, or diabetes, or even cancer — maybe that is in order to preserve your mind.

And when we work to support healing in the body, let’s be careful not only to make a symptom go away. Because when we simply take a symptom away, for instance with suppressive medication, we are taking away the body’s first choice for dealing with a problem.

When we take away arthritic pains, where will the body put the inflammation now?

So first we need to understand — what is that symptom protecting?

Asking these questions is more than just a philosophical exercise — pragmatically, we need to know going on so that we can safely and accurately address the whole issue.

Once we understand the big picture, and the higher purpose, we have a shot at facilitating true healing — in which the mind is more free, and the heart is more open.

Symptoms are not merely an inconvenience, or a malfunction.

They are communications of an intelligent, and protective force.

Let’s approach our symptoms with kindness, compassion, and curiosity for the communication they are offering.

Make it a practice. And also, hold the practice lightly.

Healing is messy, and painful. Life is messy and painful.

But in my book, as long as we can stay curious and open, and hold the intention to develop more freedom in our minds, and openness in our hearts, we are succeeding at this strange experience of being human.

xoxo