If guilt or lack of self esteem makes you you believe that you don't deserve to be happy, how can you be? You will instinctively gravitate toward circumstances that fulfill your belief system or unconsciously find ways to punish or sabotage yourself. What's worse, you will not even realize what is happening or why.

Consequently, many of us end up victims of ourselves and victims of life. We resign ourselves to whatever life deals us, working in dead-end jobs we hate, married to someone who makes us miserable, with responsibilities that hold us back, and no real joy in life. Like some kind of pinball we are catapulted from one crisis to another, reacting on gut instinct to what is going on around us.

But life can be so different. Life can be SO different. All it takes is the humble willingness to hold out your hand and say "I need help. Will you help me?"

It does't really matter what method you choose to employ for your healing. All roads will eventually lead to the same place. The most important part is making the initial decision to do something about your internal state of affairs.

But some roads are easier than others, and the people you choose to help you can make all the difference to the experience and the ease of your journey, and to the healing of your soul. Perhaps that is why alternative health is becoming so popular.

Natural health practitioners understand the critical role emotions play in developing illness and in promoting recovery. Caring and compassionate, they are natural nurturers, willing and able to support their clients through all aspects of the healing process.

In fact, they often develop considerable expertise in this regard. Many times what appears to be a physical problem results in an emotional release during the treatment process. Massage therapists, Aromatherapists and Reflexologists all experience this with their clients. Some techniques such as Myofascial Release, Craniosacral Therapy, Polarity Therapy, Shiatsu and Acupressure can also release buried emotions as they relax the individual.

Is this because many of the treatments are hands-on, involving some component of comforting, nurturing touch? Is this, perhaps, what is lacking for many people? Is this why these techniques work so effectively for stress?

Certainly natural practitioners approach healing with a more caring philosophy. Treatment areas are deliberately made to be serene, private and comfortable. Soft, relaxing music and scents waft through the air. Appointments are relaxed and unhurried, without stressful waiting beforehand. Results from the treatment are often immediate, leaving the individual with a deep sense of well-being and psychological balance.

Now that the study of quantum physics has radically expanded our knowledge of just what occurs to us on the most minute levels, we understand that virtually everything that occurs within us begins energetically. It is the electrical charges contained within our atoms that give us life. Every atom, every system, every aspect of the body is intricately inter-connected, each tiny part sustaining, supporting and expanding on the other.

Every valance electron orbiting within every atom holds information, the sum of our intelligence, including universal consciousness. This information is accumulated through heredity, experience, and the never-ending exchange of atoms.

The entire emotional and psychological aspects of ourselves are also contained within these minute invisible sparks, like miniscule memory banks. They create the sum total of who we are, as individuals and as part of collective humanity. Fear, anger, emotional pain and resentment are stored indelibly within us. So it makes sense that when we want to heal the emotional part of ourselves, we can choose to facilitate it from the energy level as easily as from the conscious intellect.

Some natural therapies actually work by correcting the body's electromagnetic energy, rather than physically manipulating tissue. Although these techniques are very subtle, they are sometimes even more effective and profound, because they also help to restore imbalances created by man-made electro-pollution.

Electromagnetic fields within our homes, cars and businesses create such chaos and stress to our bodies at the atomic level, that they significantly reduce our ability to handle daily emotional and psychological stress. Sleeping within man-made electrical fields re-orientates the orbit of our electrons, resulting in insomnia, disrupted or shallow sleep, drained energy levels, depression, and even illness.

Energy and Vibrational Therapies such as Reiki, Seichim, Qi Gong, Therapeutic Touch, Polarity Therapy, Acupuncture, and Sound Energy Dynamics restore the body's normal electrical charge and release cellular toxins produced as a buffer against EMF's. These therapies will also eliminate energy blockages created by shock and trauma. They work simultaneously on all aspects of the body-emotional, physical and etheric-creating complete balance and a wonderful sense of serenity and well-being.

Bach Flower Essences and Homeopathic Remedies also work effectively on the energy properties of the body. Through their vibrational properties, they set up a sympathetic resonance which releases any blockages and harmonizes the body's natural vibration. Although entirely subtle, their effect can be extremely profound. This effect can be illustrated by hitting a tuning fork. The same note on a piano clear across the room will begin to vibrate.

Many people feel they must be able to recognize or pinpoint their emotional debris in order to be able to heal it. For them, counselling may be the best course. Or, they may elect to explore some of the more self-empowering methods available.

Avatar is a system that was developed to make you aware of your unconscious habit patterns and emotional blockages. It provides you with the tools to eliminate these patterns and teaches you how to live more consciously and deliberately, responding rather than reacting to situations.

The Inner Journey, Time-Line Therapy and Body Memory Positioning uniquely take you back to the moment in time the trauma first occured, even if you are unable to remember it. The trauma is then gently released and emotional healing begins.

Something as simple as a mineral deficiency can also cause depression. By triggering a dysfunction in one of the glands, hormone and neuropeptide production is disrupted, resulting in a chemical imbalance. Homeopathic minerals in particular, will address not only the deficiency, but the energy properties of the body, as well.

Breath Therapy is a powerful tool for releasing repressed emotions. When under trauma, we tend to breath very shallow into only the upper part of the lungs. Breath Therapy uses precise breathing techniques to stimulate and energize the organs and major systems of the body, thereby releasing any blockages present.

In a world where people are too busy to commit themselves to long-term treatment or counselling, many of the holistic therapies can provide the answer. People want tangible results in a relatively short period of time. Holistic therapies work rapidly, multi-dimentionally, and simultaneously restore physical and emotional balance.

What happens to worry and tension after a good belly laugh or an inspired evening of music and dance? Why does music sooth, or a poem stir such heart-felt emotion? Why is meditation so effective? These things allows us to separate from the concerns or fears that distract us and cause disconnection from our natural state. When we rise above our problems, we gain a new perspective and are then able to deal with the problem in a more objective way.

Take off your shoes and walk barefoot through grass or along the beach or go for a walk in the woods. Connecting with the earth helps to ground and stabilize your energy field. Physical exercise, strenuous labour or sports activities can also help. These activities initiate the release of endorphins as well as keep energy flowing along the meridians and stimulate the lymphatic system. In this way, metabollic toxins are expelled, keeping the body free to maintain its systems properly.

We need to remember that our physical body is often a mirror of our psychological state. The body tries to communicate to us by mirroring a problem when we are not paying attention or are unable to perceive intellectually what is going on at an emotional level.

By watching for signs of physical imbalance, you can attempt to adjust your mental state accordingly. For instance, problems with constipation or food digestion can indicate that you are having trouble mentally digesting what is going on in your environment. Conversely, problems with diarrhea indicate you are over-analyzing a situation.

Regardless of your choice of modality to assist you, the best way to heal is to give yourself permission to feel, regardless of the strength or comfort level of the emotion. Accept what you feel as valid, and always do your best to express how you feel honestly, but as tactfully as possible. When you communicate openly with a high level of integrity it teaches your body energies to remain flowing. It also gives permission to others to be open and honest with you. This can be the greatest healing gift you give yourself, and others.~