Level 4: Emotional Healing
A diagnosis of cancer is usually an unexpected and deeply unsettling experience. For most individuals, nothing is, or ever will be, the same again. Historically, the intense emotions arising with a cancer crisis are regarded by the mainstream health care system as being of secondary importance to the disease itself. Emotional pain or distress is seen as a common but unfortunate and inconvenient problem to be “managed,” often with medications, and with the least amount of self-inquiry or introspection possible. Such an approach is profoundly short sighted and can be very damaging. By minimizing the importance of healing on an emotional level, opportunities for profound awakening and transformation are often missed. It can also have a variety of adverse affects on significant aspects of the treatment course and on one’s general health. It may ultimately influence survival as well.
Level 4 marks an important turning point in The Seven Levels of Healing® program. Here, the general focus and attention of patients and family members is gently redirected from the “outer” world of science, medicine, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies into the “inner” world of feelings and personal emotional experience. The focus shifts from drugs, pills, surgery, support groups, diets, exercise, and other external activities to realms of deep inner awareness and the heart. For many people, this transition may not be easy because of the different kinds of emotions that might be encountered along the way, including fear, pain, anger, sadness, grief, and turmoil. Nonetheless, safely working through and releasing these feelings is an essential component of a “whole person” approach to care.
Addressing the myriad emotional issues encountered on the journey through cancer requires understanding, sensitivity, and skill. The fears, doubts, questions, and emotional challenges encountered must be effectively dealt with in order for deep healing to take place. Medications can play an important role in the process, particularly on a short-term basis, under the guidance of a qualified physician. However, the majority of patients and family members who encounter emotional turbulence on their journey through cancer will benefit even more greatly from personal dialogues and one-on-one counseling with an experienced professional.
We all have the opportunity to live in a state of love and forgiveness, allowing the heart to be free, whole, and released from judgment, despair, and resentment. The goal of Level 4 is to address and facilitate this process as consciously, fully, and elegantly as possible.
Take action: see How You Can Accomplish Level 4 Today.
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