Physician Healer

Issue 50: The Search For Inner Peace: Surrendering To Presence

The Search For Inner Peace: Surrendering To Presence

Everyday we all come across things, events and situations that seemingly disrupt our peace of mind. When we are confronted by these external occurrences that send unpleasant energy in our direction, we can be triggered to reflect that level of negativity, whether it be fear, worry, anger, frustration, hopelessness, depression and even anxiety. We can go even deeper and allow our core identity to be suspended on shaky ground. It begins to feel as if that proverbial rug has been yanked from under our feet. Uncertainty creeps into and fills us and we begin to question who we are. We begin to lose trust in what we thought we knew and came to understand. Suddenly, everything feels unfamiliar and we become overwhelmed with escalating fear.

I always remember what Dr. Srikumar Rao (mindfulness based Columbia University business school instructor) said about the mental chatter reminding us constantly that its language is one of chronic negativity but to remember that although pain is sometimes unavoidable, suffering is optional. Pain tends to originate from an event, yet suffering is the repetitive egoic reminder that never stops. It is that annoying roommate that Michael Singer refers to in The Untethered Soul.

I want to share an example. Some years ago, a patient (I’ll call her “C”) came to me requesting something for anxiety. Her driver’s license was up for renewal and she had failed 2 out of 3 written exams. She had 1 more to go and was deeply afraid she would fail that one, too. I asked her why would she think she would fail the 3rd. She replied that it was because she already failed the first 2 attempts. She was unable to see that the first 2 attempts were separate entities even between themselves. Failing the first did not cause the failing of the 2nd test. These are separate events, yet the egoic mind convinced her that they were somehow connected and that that would predict the outcome of the 3rd.

I asked her a simple question. If she already felt that she knew she would fail the last exam, then why bother going? She looked at me and gave me this knowing smirk. It is because there is some part of us inside that knows that a future outcome cannot be accurately predicted using previous patterns. Each event is a separate and unique occurrence. But, we get drawn into the persuasive argument our egoic mind tells us and suddenly we feel ourselves tossed and stuck in that train that goes nowhere and unable to get off. I also asked her what is the worst that can happen? Is she going to die if she doesn’t pass the test this time? Interestingly enough, she said that dying would literally be preferred than not passing that test.

Every energy input and output consist of frequency. We are electrical and magnetic internally. Our intentions carry directional energy. The outcomes mirror our thoughts. By the same token, what the mind thinks about, the body believes. There is a research study that most people have heard about which consists of football players in a room who are connected to monitors. When they were told to imagine they were out in the field running a touchdown, the sweat glands became active, the heart rate and blood pressure increased; yet, they were not out in the field but sitting quietly in their seats. If we believe we will get sick, we most likely will get sick, and if we believe we are strong and healthy, chances are we will be all that.

So, I suggested that “C” spend a few minutes several times a day or more, closing her eyes and envisioning herself answering all of her questions correctly and how she felt in her body when she found out she got 100 percent. This is bringing the future that hasn’t happened yet into the present time and feeling the outcome as if it has already happened. Firstly, the feelings generated take the mind away from a feeling of loss and lack. Secondly, the feelings of triumph takes the body into a different level of energetic frequency and so the universe matches that and gifts you what you asked for. Of course, the worse case scenario is that what you feared in the beginning is what you end up getting—at least that won’t end up being a surprise.

“C” ended up acing the 3rd exam missing just 1 question.

Over the years, I’ve had many “mind over matter” success stories, some simple and some pretty dramatic, but in each of these cases, in addition to using visualization techniques, the patients also made a sincere effort to remove stress from their lives, ate more cleanly and more whole foods, and incorporated daily meditative practices. The first day patient “S” came to establish, she reported that she had thyroid cancer but it did not go into remission. It just disappeared. An abnormality was found in her blood work first and then a visit to an ENT specialist built the diagnosis which was then confirmed by the pathologist who took the biopsy.

Surgery was scheduled to occur between 3-5 months, so the patient decided to commit to the aforementioned regimen. When she returned 5 months later, the ENT specialist could not locate the lump and the blood work was normal. He decided to retract the diagnosis deciding that it was an error. She went to visit the pathologist who stood by his initial diagnosis 5 months prior maintaining that he had felt the lump, had taken the biopsy himself and had confirmed it on pathology. “S” asked me if it was possible that her efforts to reduce stress, eat differently and meditate daily could have produced this fortuitous outcome? In light of no other logical explanation, it was of course possible. She did carry out regular follow ups but the cancer never came back.

Outcomes exist in the entire spectrum from everything in the average middle to those opposite ends left and right. The important take home is that not only does exercise and diet matter, but also how we manage our thoughts. Perhaps how we manage our thoughts may be the most important aspect of thriving health. There is ever increasing evidence in neuroscientific research that seems to point in this direction. Even back in 2011, a Harvard study indicated that 29 minutes of simple daily meditation produced brain growth in the prefrontal cortex.

Comparison studies were conducted between 2 groups of similar age ranges, one group consisted of meditators and the other was not. The brain size of the former was measurably larger than the latter on imaging. Moreover, a second comparison study was done between 2 groups that did not have any prior meditative experience, but one group was taught meditation while the other was not. The group that was taught and practiced meditation showed larger brain sizes on imaging than the group that did not.

We don’t need to have medical issues to give us reasons to stay present in thought. Everyday living produces enough opportunities for us to recognize that bringing our awareness to “this moment” in time is vital to our ability to thrive in this culturescape. When the egoic mind drifts and pulls us into some past event, that can naturally produce regret, disappointment and even fear for what the future may become, while immersing ourselves in the future smears us with fear, worry, in anticipation of unpleasantness that more often than not, never comes. It is said that statistics indicate that the outcome is favorable the majority of the time.

Whenever we are feeling a bit anxious or uneasy, an easy tool to remember to guide us to the present moment is to close our eyes, take a few slow deep breaths in and out and to ask the following questions,

“Can I take a moment to feel my breath?”

“Can I take a moment to feel my heartbeat?”

“Am I alive?”

“Am I grateful that I’m alive?”

“Am I grateful for everything and nothing at all?”

“Am I grateful just for feeling grateful?”

You can, of course, use these statements as you apply the Meridian technique of using light repetitive finger tip pressure or EFT/tapping, which facilitates the internal electrical energy to flow and opens up the midbrain to positive reprogramming.

An important reminder for beginners in meditation is that you don’t have to sit a certain way or hold your fingers in a specific way. You don’t have to chant. You just have to find a place where you can sit still so you don’t give the mind a job to do. In this way, the mind then opens its doors and begins to spontaneously purge everything that no longer serves you without your help. Also, you may find it helpful to check out Kyle Cease’s (author of The Illusion of Money) guided meditation on YouTube.

I am often asked by patients what to do if they tried to clear the mind or bring the attention back to the present moment and were unsuccessful. I remind them that that is not their job. It is also important to remember that whatever we see or hear from the mind are things that are leaving, not coming in. Remembering this directional flow is vital. We forget that the mind does it on its own and there is a 2-way communication that occurs between the mind and the body. Our job is just to offer stillness and observe quietly without interference. It is as if a room in the house is emptied out and becomes available for new items. The brain sort of operates the same way.

The longer you’ve been meditating, the more you will have a sense of knowing that peace, love and joy are indeed states of being that are within us, have always been within us and will always be. This sense of knowing eventually arrives even before we have had a chance to believe. I can attest to that from personal experience as I continue to work on life’s daily adventures of growth. There is no place to go to. There is nothing to chase. There is nothing to get. There is just a matter of surrendering to what is, to ourselves, to this space of which we are a part and just open ourselves to receive and thrive fully in the grace of simply being.

Relaxation and Meditation

1) Find a comfortable place, sit quietly and close your eyes. Take a slow deep breath through the nose or through partially closed lips (5-7 seconds) while tracking the breath down to the belly and then sigh into the exhale (5-7 seconds). Feel free to repeat 2-5 more times.

2) Access the chest Meridian end points with both sets of fingers and gently tap these areas, alternating between any of the facial end points (brow, corner of eye, below eye at cheek, under the nose, below the lower lip at the dip) and the blade of the hand (taking turns with both hands) while saying the following suggested intentional statements (feel free to refer to previous issues for more ideas) :

—How am I able to relax so easily no matter what is happening?

—How am I able to feel so peaceful no matter what is happening?

—How am I feeling so much joy no matter what is happening?

—How am I feeling so much love no matter what is happening?

—How am I able to honor everything in my life no matter what is happening?

—How am I able to accept everything in my life no matter what is happening?

—How am I able to love all challenges in my life no matter what is happening?

—How am I able to rise above troubles in my life no matter what is happening?

—How am I able to surrender to the present moment no matter what is happening?

3) Follow the breathing exercises in 1) and when finished, you can either open your eyes slowly, pause for about 10 seconds and then get ready to start your day if you are doing this in the morning, or just keep your eyes closed and go to sleep if you are doing this at night.

I hope you found this useful. Thank you for reading and coming along this journey with me. Please remember to LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE and tell everyone you think may benefit from this to SUBSCRIBE to this free subscription. Feel free to leave suggestions or tell us how you’ve added your own personal touches.

Remember to check out my new YouTube channel also called “Physician Healer” where I’ve generated tutorials and recommendations to help you deal with stress and your life journey. Be sure to click LIKE, the BELL for alerts of new episodes, and tell everyone who will find the series meaningful to SUBSCRIBE, so I can continue to keep the videos coming. Use the COMMENT section if you have questions, suggestions, or if you have helpful hints to share. And, of course, do SHARE the videos to help others.

Until next time, I send you all an abundance of love, peace, joy and light! May you all remember that you have much to be grateful for.

With Love and Gratitude,

Celeste Amaya, M.D.