By Carmel Reid, Somerset, UK
I am an engineer, and I have come to realise our bodies are amazing pieces of engineering, with extraordinary delicacy in the way our various systems keep our bodily functions in balance, and I have come to truly appreciate the exquisite instrument we live inside every single day!
In 2002 I was noticeably breathless at the smallest exertion, like climbing a flight of stairs, and my major muscles were weak – with my arms I could not lift my own body weight on parallel bars at a children’s playground and with my legs I could not stand up from a squatting position and my hands were very shaky. My GP checked me for asthma by inviting me to blow into a tube, but I had been attending singing workshops and my lung capacity was pretty good, so he suggested I might have a thyroid problem and gave me a blood test, thinking, as I was overweight at the time, that my thyroid was underactive.
As it turned out, my thyroid was hyperactive; I had a swelling on the right side of my neck and a radioactive iodine test showed a ‘hot nodule’ in the thyroid gland. Then in 2003 on a visit to the gym, my heart rate showed up at 166 on the cycle machine, and a further visit to the doctor gave me a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. He explained that hyperthyroidism can cause weakening of the major muscles (which explained my weak arms and legs) and can also cause atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm). This can lead to clots forming in the heart, which can then cause a stroke, and he recommended I take aspirin to thin my blood.
At the time I was into alternative medicine and didn’t take the aspirin he recommended, but looked at my lifestyle, i.e. what had caused the thyroid to be hyperactive in the first place. When the doctor agreed that it could be caused by stress, I decided then and there to de-stress my life. I stopped doing committee work and generally tried to get less stressed about everything. It took a while because living with stress had become my whole way of being.
Unfortunately it wasn’t enough – I was still living in a stressful way and in 2004 I ended up in hospital with a cold right leg, due to an arterial clot that meant no blood was getting to my leg. Fortunately I didn’t lose my leg – but if I hadn’t sought medical help, I could have done. At that point I surrendered to whatever medication was recommended to me and after leaving the hospital feeling somewhat shaken and subdued, I obediently took both Warfarin to thin my blood and Carbimazole to suppress the thyroid. The other options were surgical intervention to remove the overactive nodule, or radioactive iodine to reduce the thyroid function and it would then mean I would be on Thyroxine for the rest of my life. Neither felt right and the doctor agreed for me to take the Carbimazole for two years, with various warnings about possible side effects, none of which I had.
In 2005 I was introduced to Serge Benhayon, founder of Universal Medicine, and inspired by his way of living, I have made several significant changes in my own life. These have included refining my diet and adopting a much more gentle approach to work, relationships and life in general. I used to do everything in a rush, I was very hard on myself and very critical of others – not a very pleasant way of being I can tell you – and it would seem, my body agreed!
By now eating predominantly what supports me to feel truly well and vital, I have developed far more awareness of how the things I choose to eat or drink affect me and my body – either supporting me to stay feeling clear and light, or making me feel heavier and unfocused.
Interestingly enough, as time goes by and I keep refining my diet, the more my ability to feel clearly and be aware increases – thereby showing me that my body is a fine instrument and that clearing it of junk food and food that numbs or dulls me has enabled it to work more effectively.
I have attended numerous courses and presentations with Universal Medicine over the last ten years and have had many individual Esoteric Healing sessions, many of which have helped me to observe how much my way of living affects my body. I can also feel how I am affected by my thoughts, and the tension and discomfort they can sometimes create.
When I look at what the body does – even just the glands and the way they monitor the blood, responding by releasing more or less hormones that are able to keep the body working in perfect condition – it is truly amazing! The body has an incredible, intelligent monitoring system and we can marvel at how delicately it adjusts its internal production of hormones in order to maintain balance and harmony where possible.
What I have come to learn by my own experience is these internal systems are so delicate that it seems they cannot work well if we treat our bodies roughly by living hard and ingesting food and drink which cause an imbalance.
I am finding the more I refine my diet and let go of my previously constant busy and stressed way of getting through life, the more I am able to feel just how much I have, in effect, been abusing my own body. I can feel the way I am affected by emotions and to some extent even by the actions of other people – or the way I feel drained at the end of a busy day at work if I get lost trying to ‘get it right’, as has been my tendency.
Through all this I am gradually learning to be more still (calm), to be more respectful of my body, to walk through life gently, moving my arms and legs with a greater degree of tenderness, and am finding myself naturally speaking more gently. I don’t get so anxious about getting things done and funnily enough, I’m getting more done because I am so steady. As a result I am far less exhausted at the end of my day and my body feels more relaxed and at ease with the world.
The vitality I now experience is far greater than it was twelve years ago. I stayed on the Warfarin and was allowed to continue beyond two years taking Carbimazole. Usually it is stopped at two years because of the risk of side effects, but I didn’t have any. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism gradually decreased, until in 2010 the endocrinologist agreed that I could come off the thyroid medication (I stayed on the Warfarin as the heart condition had not resolved). My muscle strength has returned and my hands no longer shake. My body regained its natural weight, shedding 41Kgs on the way.
My thyroid is now virtually back to normal, two out of the three measurements are within normal range (T3 and T4) but the TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is still suppressed, so I am defined as ‘borderline hyperactive’. I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis in my spine, which can be caused by hyperthyroidism, so the consultant is still concerned and recommends radioactive iodine, but accepts that I still want to work on lifestyle changes before going down that route. At the moment I still feel there is more that I can do to improve my health, but will follow his advice if I am unable to get the thyroid function completely back to normal.
I am in effect my own medical experiment, with regular blood tests to support monitoring the changes I feel occurring: I will be continuing to take even more tender loving care of this amazing body as time goes on. Regular exercise to increase bone strength will help the osteoporosis, as well as looking at the deeper issues underlying these conditions as revealed by esoteric medicine, such as deep disregard.
The deep disregard rings a bell – I have not taken great care of me or my body – doing everything for others first. So I am working on more self-love, really taking care of my body first – rest, gentle exercise and nutritious food.
Many thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine for providing the inspiration for me to make these changes and as a result, turn around my health and vitality in the way that I have. It is astounding how much my body and life have benefitted by making simple lifestyle changes and caring for myself in a true way, and this shows me that there is much we can do to help ourselves, if we so choose.
Medicine and Serge Benhayon 
Just because we can make it from A to B in a rush and survive we take that as an indication of success. If only we tuned more into how our body feels and we would finally get that any ounce of drive and hardness is an ounce too much. We’re incredibly delicate with regards to the way we live – much more than we let ourselves sense.
What an amazing health miracle you have experienced Carmel- returning to a state of wellbeing, and shedding 41kg naturally with help of both Western medicine and Esoteric medicine- listening to your body and caring for it more deeply and lovingly.
Once I understand and feel the energetic reasons behind a lifestyle behaviour it then is easy to change them. Try and change it by force or ‘willpower’ without understanding and it’s only a matter of time (sometimes seconds) that I’m back in the unloving pattern. Make loving movements and the body is more than willing to help out and heal.
What a huge testament to the changes you made in your life and to Universal Medicine whose simple approach to life that we are love first before anything else so we should treat ourselves with tender care has made a huge difference to people’s lives. There is a way to live that is more harmonious with ourselves and all others and this will be the way to live as more and more people get to see and feel the effects of living in love with themselves is very fulfilling.
‘Interestingly enough, as time goes by and I keep refining my diet, the more my ability to feel clearly and be aware increases – thereby showing me that my body is a fine instrument and that clearing it of junk food and food that numbs or dulls me has enabled it to work more effectively.’ When we can start to relate to our bodies as vehicles of expression with energy that passes through every moment, rather than just an object that we carry ourselves around in, we start to honour it more, knowing it is the conduit to deepening awareness.
Doug, I couldn’t agree with you more, the body is a remarkable thing. It does some amazing healing that we take for granted or abuse. All we need to do is partner up and work alongside it, instead of against it. Love it and it will respond.
Carmel this is truly inspirational to read, how your health has changed by you taking responsibility and making choices to support you and your body. It would have taken years of disregarding/ignoring the signals, for this to come up, and to top, it the weight your body had to carry around. No wonder it was stressed.
Reading this makes one realise that it is as simple as ‘simple lifestyle changes,’ that can turn a life around. It is inspiring that our body loves it when we make these changes, and it talks further wisdom to us – there’s always more.
Small consistent and persistent steps leads to true health.
This is key Doug, as it reveals that when we take responsibility of our lifestyle by taking care of ourselves, we are consequently taking care of everyone reducing the impact we have in the all we are part of.
So true – when we think of ‘less stress’ we automatically think to do less. And what I have been discovering over the past few years is that may be actually not necessarily about how much, but a lot to do with in what quality.
I like how you have become your own medical experiment – taking responsibility for our own lives and seeing what works and what does not is a great thing to do.
The only way we can truly eliminate stress from our lives is to deeply embody the love that we are and allow ourselves to express this through all facets of our being. Only then can we unblock the dam we otherwise construct that has us bottling the flow of what is designed to naturally express and not be held back.
Medicine knows that simple lifestyle changes make a big difference to our health and well-being, though perhaps not why they make such a difference. Medicine is also at a loss on how to help people adopt a more supportive lifestyle on a large scale.
We can never underestimate the power of anecdotal evidence.
I am always amazed at how my body responds to the littlest of changes I make in my life. Even taking one food, dairy, out of my diet produced wonderful results; my nose stopped running, my sinuses stopped aching and my throat was clear of mucous for the first time, probably in my life. But it was when I realised that I had stopped buying so many boxes of tissues was when I accepted that dairy definitely did not have a place in my diet something which my body had been telling me for years – I simply hadn’t listened.
I agree Doug, your comment had me reflecting on high school and how stressful exam periods and assignment deadlines were, and how this was accepted as normal. I have to wonder if the stress lived in the education system becomes a foundation for how we approach life as adults. In the teenage years alone such stress would have a tremendously detrimental effect on our health and wellbeing, let alone how it might set up patterns of behaviour in later life.
“I don’t get so anxious about getting things done and funnily enough, I’m getting more done because I am so steady. As a result I am far less exhausted at the end of my day and my body feels more relaxed and at ease with the world.” The steadiness makes so much sense in supporting you to get more done. I feel the anxiousness to achieve our long list of daily tasks is very pervasive, and in that we have lost the joy of life, the joy of being ourselves as we move through the day, and appreciating all we are and have in our lives. There is so much seriousness around getting things done and achieving.
Carmel – these changes in your Thyroid readings reflect the new choices you are making in your life are definitely a great marker of the body response when we treat it with a change in our movements attitudes and different food choices.
Very much so. It is quite incredible how little changes can make it easier to make more changes which make it easier to make even more changes and so on and in the end the difference can be drastic.
It’s amazing how our bodies respond when we deeply care and look after them. I have been loving swimming and exercise routine, getting a good rhythm going and feeling how that naturally is supporting a more vital me. What I have clocked is the way I am going about it, I am doing it to support and nurture myself, that’s the focus. As opposed to the past when it was all about being fit and to look good. The out comes completely different and I know which one is medicine for my body and being.
I love how the recognition of the delicacy of your body inspired you to be more gentle and delicate with yourself.
What an inspiring blog to read as we can so often be led by the world of “fix it pharmacy’ to put a stop to the symptoms yet this examples show the marriage of western medicine and esoteric medicine where one is willing to get to the root cause to heal for good what has harmed for so long.
It seems that most of humanity are regulars at the “fix it pharmacy”, simply looking for that quick fix to make them better so they can go back to the way they were living before they became unwell and as quickly as possible. The problem as I see it, is when we give our healing over to everyone else to fix we are not taking responsibility for our part in the appearance of the illness or disease, and we definitely always have a part; a very a big part.
I have found that there is a direct correlation between how we live and our health, mainly down to the choices that we make, the more loving our choices are the more supportive they are to our body.
And the more the body responds to this support we are offered increasing levels of vitality to enjoy!
I am finding it is very, very supportive embracing conventional medicine alongside the esoteric. I have just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) and been prescribed a low amount of carbimazole each day for a month which I am taking to reduce the amount of thyroxine my thyroid is producing. While blood tests and waiting for a scan to be carried out and being placed on a list to see an endocrinologist are taking place I am learning to work with the doctor and nurses but at the same time support the connection to myself by asking what supports Me in this moment.
There is no question that our health and well being is our responsibility and when we do take charge we know that what is regarded as impossible by the medical profession is possible because of the truth lived as presented by The Way of the Livingness.
The way that we live has an affect on our health. This is a very well established fact so why do we resist it so much. It can only be that we do not want to take responsibility for our actions. Having said that we cannot make it about “others” don’t want to but “we” do because there may be many areas in our own life that we may not want to be responsible for and it might look different or appear different than others.
I don’t have a thyroid condition but so much of what is shared here is gold as I can see and feel how my ways of being (getting it right), living with stress impact on my body and reading this today brings a greater understanding to how in fact we have the most awesome fine tuned instrument, our body, a feat of engineering and how we treat it is key, and it’s a feedback loop constantly showing us the impact of our choices.
This is indeed a great ‘medical experiment’ and case study which is real evidence of the power of taking responsibility for one’s own health and choosing to make the necessary lifestyle changes that were needed.
The changes in your health are so significant Carmel. When living a life of disconnection and disregard, we can bring our bodies to a state of crisis, but how easy is it to turn it around once we realise the root cause and actually want to change it.
The harder we are on ourselves, the harder we become with others. What a great blog to share that it all begins by making a simple step to choose a more loving approach and the same applies to others.
It has been hugely supportive to learn from Serge Benhayon how my body is far more than the physical function taught in A&P and biology classes & offers far more than the ability to keep up with the demands of day to day life. The fact that though our body we can connect to an inner wisdom and awareness that far surpasses anything our mind can come up with in itself is huge.
It is well worth our while observing the ways in which this exquisitely fine instrument can be compromised or supported and refining our choices so that we truly look after it.
When we heal the energy underpinning our life then the diet, weight, lifestyle choices and the subsequent illnesses and diseases and our relationship with them change, greater than if the energy was not addressed.
There is no doubt that when I eat food to support my body I feel so much more committed to myself and to life but could it be that when I commit to life and what is being asked of me that the food and quantity of food naturally becomes a means of support for my body? Becoming more aware in my life brings about a greater, more loving relationship with food.
Great to read how you took responsibility for the stress levels in your life, by looking at where the stress was and why that was occurring. The way most of us relate to stress is that just ‘happens to us’, instead of feeling that it’s actually a choice, to get stressed or not. It might not feel like a choice to start with, if it’s been our go-to way of responding for so long that it feels automatic, but when we start to give ourselves a bit more space, and just observe the ways that we react to things, our choices and reactions become more obvious – and so does the moment to choose differently.
I love the way that it is always possible to come back to the simple fact that we can take care of ourselves, and when there is illness or disease, this is a place of great holding, of great solace, where we have power and transformation.
It’s phenomenal what can happen with the body when we start to look after it instead of running it into the ground. This blog is an excellent example of how things can be changed around.
We may not like to admit it but the way we live can create illness, heal illness, or prevent illness by supporting our body to be in harmony, to be vital and to work well.