<h2>Story Time</h2>
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When I was in college, I did a "study abroad" in Madrid, Spain. I met a guy there with dark, longish curly hair, bronze Mediterranean skin, chocolatey eyes, an accent to pierce the heart, and a kiss to melt it. I enjoyed him...very much. And the places he took me to, and the romantic ideas he talked about, and the music. Oh, that music! It made the soul dance. He was spontaneous, romantic, and luscious. Ahhhhh......

But I didn't have a great feeling about him, when it got down to it. Something just felt...well...off. Unsafe, I think? He ended up being a REAL creep, and I found out more later on. But I always kind of knew it, and I ignored that feeling because I didn't WANT it to be true. 

As I spent more time with him, I started getting stomach aches. Which turned into an ulcer. At first it seemed uncorrelated, but I noticed that whenever I hung out with him, this ulcer would kick in worse. And when I didn't, I felt better. 

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It was not long before I realized the ulcer seemed to be working as a gauge for me, since I wasn't listening to my own. Or rather, I was listening to it, but I wasn't heeding what it said. Eventually, though, I learned some unsavory things about him, and also the stomach was screaming at me, so I dropped the guy. Once he was out of the picture, the feeling went away, and so did the stomach issues. 

After that experience, I trained myself to start heeding my own truths and listening to my intuition before it had to get to the point of physical and emotional affliction. And I have gotten better at it over the years. 
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<h2>5 things our physical pain actually does to help us.</h2>
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<h3>1) Serves as a "guide" or "compass" when our regular one isn't working</h3><div class="pull-left"><img src="https://steemitimages.com/457x221/https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/10/19/18/32/compass-1753659_1280.jpg"/></div>

The above scenario, with the Spaniard and the ulcer, is a perfect example of this. I wasn't looking at my own compass, so my body spoke up and forced me to. 
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<h3>2) Tells us when we are neglecting a part of ourselves</h3><div class="pull-left"><img src="https://steemitimages.com/407x271/https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/03/12/07/28/abandoned-1251614_1280.jpg"/></div>

I'm not suggesting all disease and injuries are because a person was neglecting themselves. I am saying, however, the body remembers what the mind forgets. All that stress doesn't just get rid of itself, now does it? It's got to go somewhere. And that somewhere can often be little nooks and crannies of the body. And that's OK. That's part of the magic of having a tool like a human body. Sometimes it helps us to manage emotional stress we may not be quite ready to deal with on an emotional level. But remember to be kind to your magnificent tool, and pay attention to what it is telling you. There may be some encoded messages in that stubbed toe!
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<h3>3) Gives a place to store our grief until we are ready to deal with it</h3><div class="pull-left"><img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/03/03/16/20/key-2114361_1280.jpg"/></div>

You might store your fears and sorrows in your neck, your gut, your stomach, your feet, your skin. It doesn't matter where or how. But our bodies serve as little storage vaults that convert into speakers, amplifying the sound of misalignment back to us, so we can hear it better. Once we are at a place where processing old hurts is safe and doable, then we can convert those pains into peace within ourselves. 
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<h3>4) Wakes us up to who we are and what we are capable of</h3><div class="pull-left"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54de3f45e4b0ef0a3e350338/t/5b3bb243aa4a99245db28bd7/1530638917883/mirror.jpg?format=1000w"/></div>

I don't know about you, but the ailments and physical struggles I have experienced in this life have almost always brought me back to a point of self discovery. Sometimes our ailments can really push us to find more creative solutions in an effort to relieve the suffering, and in the process, we may stumble upon deeper truths along the way. Your illness may be sending you a message about your self or your thinking that is not working for you. It might be worth it to find what it is, if so. 
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<h2>5) Reminds us to avoid making emotional decisions</h2><div class="pull-left"><img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/03/26/19/09/decision-4083469_1280.jpg"/></div>

If you're experiencing any kind of ailment, injury, sickness, or disease, guess what. You are officially a 3D human being, living in an extremely physical sphere. Frailty is simply an aspect of the human condition.

Remember, though, when you are in a state of relaxation and knowing, and you are making decisions out of that space, your issues are less likely to bother you. Our goal is to achieve that state of relaxation and peace more often:

* so the body can have time to heal itself more properly and experience optimal function
* so we can avoid getting injured in the first place
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<h2>Remember to thank your body for doing such a masterful job of taking care of you! You deserve a big self hug.</h2><div class="pull-left"><img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BvlvtgAIUAA9pH7.jpg"/></div>
 
If you are gaining weight, it could be your body is simply protecting you from harmful toxins and byproducts of extreme or prolonged stress that is accumulating faster than the body can eliminate. The fatty tissue surrounds the free radicals and toxins in order to protect you. Thank it for doing so. 

If you injured your thumb, thank your body for taking on the burden of your emotional distress. Perhaps, right before you hit that thumb with the hammer, you were thinking of something emotionally costly to you. 

Try to think of all your ailments and imperfections with the perspective that your body is doing what it can to keep you safe and protect you from something. The sooner we are able to deal with the "something," the sooner our body and mind can enter into a higher state of relaxation and peace. And when our mind and body are relaxed, they heal. 

<h2>Having trouble relaxing?</h2>Start with night time meditative sessions while you sleep. Do it every night. You will be amazed at the transformation. I prefer "Rising Higher Meditation" videos on youtube. You can find almost every subject worth meditating about: love, abundance, wealth, health, healing, empowerment, twin flame, astral projection, peace, etc. 

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