Interested in Self-Care? Try Self-Forgiveness
Let me start this article this way: Self-forgiveness is never easy.
I’ve written about self-forgiveness before. It’s a theme for me – even though I didn’t realize it when I began writing. It’s definitely a part of my books and essays on wellness and hunger.
I have forgiveness chapters in all of my books. My two favorite chapters are in “The Ketchup Sandwiches Chronicles” beginning on page 103 and 145.
These two chapters focus on two real people and the voyages they traveled while seeking self-forgiveness.
Begin self-care with a few questions:
Who am I in this community? In this country? On this planet?
Remember: My community, my country, and my planet have value. I believe the value is greater than the sum of all of us combined.
Self-care means joining the community of the planet. Everyone, without exception, has value and a role to play.
No one, not even the least of us, is irrelevant. No one, not even the greatest of us, is above it all. Being rich or poor simply isn’t part of the equation.
Self-forgiveness in the context of self-care is a journey where we become a part of something greater. We don’t write off people and situations. We challenge, encourage, love.
Self-forgiveness allows us to not always be at our best.
Self-forgiveness includes renewal and support.
Self-forgiveness can be a calling.
When you sign onto the journey of self-forgiveness, you’ll travel to places you’ve never been before. You may find yourself involved in activities and events for which you may not be quite prepared.
You can’t complete a self-forgiveness journey with an isolated incident like you would complete a puzzle or word game. It is a part of a process.
Forgiveness is always a challenge. Everyone seeks forgiveness and self-forgiveness is the hardest part.
How does it work? Well, do what you can with what you have. Work where you are. A good starting point is to sketch your community.
Really, what you’re doing is muddling through. Frankly, I think that’s how self-forgiveness works. This journey is not going to be perfect. At times, it may seem overwhelming. Other times, it may seem simply like a blank page. Self-forgiveness comes with very few maps. Certainly, there is no GPS.
Forgiveness is a journey with its own timetable. There may be surprise stops along the way. That’s because forgiveness has its own messages and meaning.
A bottom line is this: Forgiveness is for you and you alone. When you forgive someone, you are not forgiving them for them. You are forgiving them for you.
And, that’s what self-care is all about: YOU.
Self-forgiveness happens when you move beyond your thoughts and memories to a new place. At that moment, you see things differently. Sometimes this new place can be a sort of miracle.
This happens when you see your open heart and embrace new hopes and blessings. After a few moments, you may also hear things in a new way.
This is true change. True change, and self-forgiveness, happens when you face the same condition that caused you to behave in a way unacceptable to yourself and now you see things differently.
You break out of your past.
You’ve changed. You are a different person.
You wake up and claim your self-forgiven reality.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and family.
To hear stories of healing and of hunger, tune into YouTube. There are several segments where I read the stories. It is one thing to read the stories and another thing entirely to hear them. ENJOY
When traveling on your self-forgiveness journey, I recommend you include regular reflexology and Reiki sessions. Spiritual journeys include physical, mental, and emotional changes as well. Your feet are a command center of your body. They need consideration and attention during this time.
If you have questions, contact me at thurmangreco@gmail.com
THANKS AGAIN!
Thanks for Asking!
One important thing to know about reactions we experience in a reflexology session: a client will not always experience the same reaction at every session.
After all, our bodies are different every day. The most common reaction I experience during a reflexology session is sleep. I slip off into a sleeplike state during most sessions.
Reactions vary with each session. They are based on what your body needs on a cellular level at that particular time.
One thing consistent in a reflexology session is this: reflexology encourages homeostasis: the balance of all body systems.
Reflexology students ask questions about reactions to reflexology treatments.
The reactions your client experiences during a reflexology session are homeostasis in action.
It’s amazing what reflexology can do!
Because many healers read this blog, I don’t give nearly enough blog time and energy to these inquiries. People ask, I answer, and then my focus moves on to other things.
Well, at last, I’m focusing some time and energy into sharing information. After all, for every person who asks, others remain silent.
And, for those of us who practice reflexology either as a career or as a hobby, how often do we think about these important pieces of information?
My training is that there are more than a dozen different reactions to reflexology sessions. Reactions listed in this article mostly happen during or soon after a session.
Other reactions happen several hours later. They are all important.
A reaction is a sign to me that the reflexology session is working.
As a reflexologist, you and the session you give are a vital wellness link between a person experiencing a challenge and appropriate professional support.
INCREASED URINATION – Focus on urination becomes part of the session when it becomes obvious. I have a client who simply cannot make it through a session without a trip to the ladies room. For me, this is a good sign. The session stimulates her urinary system!
FLATULANCE and INCREASED BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Marge d’Urso taught us that fully 50% of our clients have digestive issues. Unless a client brings up the subject, I don’t really ask. I prefer to hear about constipation or other irritable bowel solutions when my client initiates the conversation. I love it when a client reveals she no longer has issues.
Marge d’Urso taught, and I believe, that health begins and ends in the digestive system.
AGGRAVATED SKIN CONDITIONS SUCH AS PERSPIRATION and
PIMPLES
IMPROVED SKIN TONE and TEXTURE
Skin changes are pretty common for my clients. I love to ask my client to look in the mirror on her way out of the healing space after a session. There is nothing like looking 10 years younger after a reflexology treatment.
INCREASED MUCUS SECRETIONS IN NOSE, MOUTH and BRONCHIALS
DISRUPTED SLEEP PATTERNS – EITHER DEEPER or LESS RBED
Disrupted sleep patterns are personal with me. I always sleep so much better after a reflexology session! Occasionally, rarely this can be extreme.
One December, after receiving a reflexology session, I felt a strong need to rest about an hour after my appointment ended. I returned home, got comfortable, dozed off, and woke up the next day.
When I recall this event, I’m not really surprised. I was working too hard and my body, after its reflexology session, demanded a time-out.
DIZZINESS – NAUSEA
Reflexology sessions can modify and minimize dizziness, nausea, and pain experienced by cancer patients.
The first time I offered a reflexology session to a client cancer patient, I wasn’t prepared for how how dramatically she felt better after her appointment.
After seeing the changes she experienced, I studied more about reflexology and the cancer patient. I took continuing education classes and even attended one at the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.
It wasn’t too many more sessions that I began to use words such as pain reduction, improved quality of life, reduced fear of the future, better sleep, and reduced fatigue.
TEMPORARY OUTBREAK of a SUPPRESSED DISEASE
INCREASED VAGINAL DISCHARGE
FATIGUE – HEADACHE
These symptoms often disappear during a session if not long after. They can also be a reaction to a session.
FEVERISH – TEARING
Some feverishness and tearing can happen during a session. A lot of this happens when the client feels safe in the healing space. I keep boxes of tissues handy for tears.
Everyone needs to cry tears at one point or another. Reflexology sessions can be a safe place for this.
Sometimes, reactions to a session can be subtle, even silent, for a short period of time after the end of the session.
Just because you don’t see any behavior or skin changes immediately, don’t assume that there aren’t any reactions. Chat with your client for a few minutes after the session to be sure that everything is okay.
After all, you don’t want your client to leave your healing space and wander out into the parking lot, still a little vague about the session.
One time I received a scheduled session from a practitioner in New Paltz, New York, just a few miles away from my home in Woodstock.
It was a wonderful session. I left her office a few minutes too soon, though. It took me over an hour to get out of her area and on my way home.
Thanks for reading this article! Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and relatives.
The YOUTUBE channel has an ever-enlarging selection of videos focused on reflexology and healing.
ENJOY!
Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
P.S. Much of the info in this article was shared from “Healer’s Handbook – Wellness for All” by Thurman Greco
Reflexology, Homeostasis, and Your Diet. 9 Ways They Help
Your body continually changes throughout your daily activities. Sleeping, dancing, or taking out the trash, your body tries to maintain a healthy balance – homeostasis.
When you visit a reflexologist, other bodyworker, or healthcare professional, you may be trying to address one or more ongoing, persistent, health problems in addition to your diet. You seek solutions while saying to yourself “I may have to learn to live with fatigue ( insomnia, constipation, headaches)”. A reflexology session does much for you.
Sleep comes easier as patterns change.
More regular bowel movements emerge.
Your body begins a mild detox.
Your tensions relax.
Your overactive or underactive glands and organs begin to normalize.
Your nerve and blood supply improve.
You begin to feel refreshed, relaxed, and energetic.
Pain and discomfort disappear.
The truth is, we don’t know how a person’s body will respond to or react to a particular reflexology session. Whatever the reaction, it is a sign that the therapy is working.
Things happen after a reflexology session because they need to happen – whether it’s sleep, relaxation, tension reduction, or pain loss.
These reactions and responses are important when you diet because of changes brought about by your weight loss as you change the foods you eat and you move more.
These reactions are also important because they tell you that you are self-healing.
One thing people don’t really mention is that both reflexology and your diet encourages you to tune in to your own feelings and your body to see what feels best for you.
This is a major change. I hope this sensitivity will stay with you long after the diet and extra pounds have moved on.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
www.thurmangreco.com
Beginning with the next post, I will be blogging about self-care during a diet. I feel that a diet is the ultimate self-care experience. It is your opportunity to care for yourself spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
Go for it!
