I have been using the word "unstuck" to describe what I want to give people in my medical practice. It is not a very medical term and I think I am confusing people more than clarifying my vision. I became enthralled with the term from a recent surf movie by Taylor Steele called "Castles in the Sky". He used the line "There once was a man who became unstuck in the world..." repeatedly throughout the movie. The movie depicted surfers going to the 4 corners of the world and finding freedom both in the waves but also more spiritually(at least in my interpretation). Ever since I saw this movie that line has stayed in my head.
In my opinion, this is a primary goal of life--to become free. To be able to go beyond our limited view of reality and this life and transcend to a place where we are our own masters and free to be who we are. We are so often held back by our "programming" that came from our parents or society. To become "unstuck" to me, means to become authentic. With this shift to our authentic selves, we break through into a world of possibility and promise.
While I am talking here about gaining a freedom and authenticity(more existential goals), I am also referring to a return to body health that becomes possible with getting "unstuck". Examples of stuck places are: chronic pain, chronic diagnoses(congestive heart failure and coronary heart disease, COPD and other chronic lung diseases, depression, colitis) and chronic relapsing conditions(migraines, multiple sclerosis, and chronic fatigue, inflammatory skin conditions, as well as many cancers). These are all examples of common conditions that the standard medical world treats as CHRONIC conditions. These conditions are "managed" with medicines, periodic procedures, and supported with healthy lifestyle approaches. The very real question is: can someone break free of these medical boxes. Is there any way to exit the medical world once one has entered? Can we return to health, wholeness, and freedom? Is cure possible?
I would argue and do truly believe that people can return to health. There are remissions and they can last. Surgeons see and participate in this scenario much more often than medical doctors. They remove the appendix and their patient is again whole--no follow-up necessary. Replace a degenerated hip or knee and the patient starts fresh. The key is to develop a routine that supports a new, healthier life. This often requires a shift or shifts to become whole again. We must learn from our experience and modify or radically change our way of being in the world. For some a small adjustment is all that is necessary. For others a profound transformation is more in order. For example, a man who has smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day, eaten unhealthfully and lived his life with rage and irritation needs a radical new way to be in order to be healed. He may get temporary healing with an angioplasty or bypass procedure but if he desires a full return to wholeness, he will need to clean up his life. This is possible and does happen especially when motivated by the drama and intensity of a heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery. The change required is significantly more than might be needed from a person who gets back surgery from a ruptured disc. That person may need to make some changes also to come back to full health but the shift(s) are not nearly so all-encompassing.
The main point I am trying to make is that healing and transformation are quite possible. Some transformations are large and difficult while others simply require developing a trust in the world and letting the world help them(rather than them fixing themselves). Curative intent is a great goal for patient and healer. We often do not realize just how accessible healing is. We live in a very amazing time where there are technologies available to help us when we are ready to get unstuck. Sometimes it is just a matter of having faith in others enough to let ourselves be healed. Sometimes we have to dig deep and make radical changes. In either case, transformation is possible and healing can happen.
In my opinion, this is a primary goal of life--to become free. To be able to go beyond our limited view of reality and this life and transcend to a place where we are our own masters and free to be who we are. We are so often held back by our "programming" that came from our parents or society. To become "unstuck" to me, means to become authentic. With this shift to our authentic selves, we break through into a world of possibility and promise.
While I am talking here about gaining a freedom and authenticity(more existential goals), I am also referring to a return to body health that becomes possible with getting "unstuck". Examples of stuck places are: chronic pain, chronic diagnoses(congestive heart failure and coronary heart disease, COPD and other chronic lung diseases, depression, colitis) and chronic relapsing conditions(migraines, multiple sclerosis, and chronic fatigue, inflammatory skin conditions, as well as many cancers). These are all examples of common conditions that the standard medical world treats as CHRONIC conditions. These conditions are "managed" with medicines, periodic procedures, and supported with healthy lifestyle approaches. The very real question is: can someone break free of these medical boxes. Is there any way to exit the medical world once one has entered? Can we return to health, wholeness, and freedom? Is cure possible?
I would argue and do truly believe that people can return to health. There are remissions and they can last. Surgeons see and participate in this scenario much more often than medical doctors. They remove the appendix and their patient is again whole--no follow-up necessary. Replace a degenerated hip or knee and the patient starts fresh. The key is to develop a routine that supports a new, healthier life. This often requires a shift or shifts to become whole again. We must learn from our experience and modify or radically change our way of being in the world. For some a small adjustment is all that is necessary. For others a profound transformation is more in order. For example, a man who has smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day, eaten unhealthfully and lived his life with rage and irritation needs a radical new way to be in order to be healed. He may get temporary healing with an angioplasty or bypass procedure but if he desires a full return to wholeness, he will need to clean up his life. This is possible and does happen especially when motivated by the drama and intensity of a heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery. The change required is significantly more than might be needed from a person who gets back surgery from a ruptured disc. That person may need to make some changes also to come back to full health but the shift(s) are not nearly so all-encompassing.
The main point I am trying to make is that healing and transformation are quite possible. Some transformations are large and difficult while others simply require developing a trust in the world and letting the world help them(rather than them fixing themselves). Curative intent is a great goal for patient and healer. We often do not realize just how accessible healing is. We live in a very amazing time where there are technologies available to help us when we are ready to get unstuck. Sometimes it is just a matter of having faith in others enough to let ourselves be healed. Sometimes we have to dig deep and make radical changes. In either case, transformation is possible and healing can happen.
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