By Julie Matson, UK

I feel blessed every day for the good health I have in my life right now. I have more energy, am up at 4 am to read and write, I am on no medication for illnesses or pain (except the occasional headache), no longer overweight and am eating healthily, working and studying, and enjoying a full life which continues to expand.

This has not always been the case as I, like many women (and men) of my age, was in pain and discomfort from something or other every day, with things like;

• IBS – bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, lethargy, headaches, stomach aches
• Sinusitis – headaches that could last for months, painful swollen cheeks, blocked nose
• Sciatica – sharp pain running down the leg (sometimes both legs) making it difficult to stand or walk
• Chronic lower back pain – started at the age of 30 and became something I lived with and managed
• Asthma – shortness of breath on exercise or hill walking and using an inhaler to control it
• Over weight – three and a half stones over my natural weight for my height, comfort eating with all the wrong foods, legs chafing and obsessive yo-yo dieting
• Chronic fatigue – tiredness on the slightest exertion, painful joints – this lasted for eight years off and on and I was taking high doses of painkillers everyday
• Depression – when the fatigue became too much – people who have experienced the black hole of depression will know all too well what that feels like
• Lock jaw – could not yawn as my jaw would lock, another very painful condition
• Frozen shoulders – right shoulder froze for 24months, left for 10 months and any sudden jolt was excruciating
• Ovarian cyst – burst ovarian cyst which ended up with me in the ER overnight receiving shots of morphine for pain relief
• Neck injury – unable to work for six months and on anti-depressants as pain management
• Mastalgia – years of extremely painful breasts
• Complications giving birth – haemorrhaged during labour
• Knee pain in both knees – three years of pain when I injured both knees whilst doing yoga
• Giving up and resigned to a life of suffering.

These conditions did not just all start at once, they manifest over many years from the age of four, starting with constipation and slowly building one on top of the other.

Could it be that my body was trying to tell me something? 

If so, what, and why was I not listening?

The funny thing is or maybe not so funny, I considered myself quite fortunate because I did not have anything that I considered serious compared to other people in my family, as in:

• Diabetes (three of my family members have this illness – one being insulin dependent)
• Breast cancer (my mother had breast cancer and her sister died after having had a double mastectomy)
• Leukaemia (father died of this)
• Lung cancer (mother and grandfather died of this)
• Heart disease (both of my parents suffered with this)
• Thyroid dysfunction (my sister has had her thyroid removed and is on medication)
• Brain tumour (a close relative)
• Obesity (many of my family members are or have been obese)

As I consider myself typical of many men and women out there in the world, how can it be that we can have all these conditions and still think we are doing ok?

I went into finding a solution in the attempt to manage and control my conditions and I felt at the time that I had exhausted the usefulness of the medical profession and that the answers could be found within alternative therapies or diet. So I tried them all, from Yoga, Reiki, spiritual healing, vortex healing, crystal healing, acupuncture, wheat grass and blue algae, colonics, raw food diet, eating clay, vegetarian, every fad diet available, to mention but a few.

How does a person go from using inhalers, anti-depressants and strong painkillers to no medication (except the occasional headache tablet from the chemist and multi-vitamins)?

Answer = Choices

I chose to:

• Attend courses and presentations run by Serge Benhayon and the Universal Medicine team.
• Have treatments with Esoteric Practitioners, who never judge but lovingly support me along the way.
• Attend Esoteric Women’s Development Groups in London.
• Do the Gentle Breath Meditation as taught to me during Universal Medicine courses.
• Look at and feel how my body reacted with gluten and dairy. IBS and sinus symptoms subsided and disappeared very quickly.
• Go to bed when I am tired and not override the need for sleep. Naturally, I am at my best when I go to bed at 8.30 pm and find it very beneficial to do so, waking refreshed and rested the next day rather than feeling chronically fatigued.
• Practise being with me during my day and breathing my own breath, which helps me to stay with myself and not react if a situation arises which I may feel pulled to get involved in.
• Introduce gentleness and tenderness into my life. This has changed the way I am with my body and I recognise sooner than later when I have gone into protection now.
• Look at things I avoid dealing with i.e speaking up instead of holding back.
• Question any negative thoughts I may have about myself or others, and to change these into thoughts of appreciation which helps enormously.

Plus, much more……

Living this way helps me to recognise the signals from my body when something does not feel right and to pay attention well before I have to get sciatica or achy knees. I am starting to realise that the body has its own intelligence if I take the time and pay attention to listen to it – the benefits are a thousand-fold.

Serge Benhayon has restored my trust when it comes to seeking Western Medicine and I now have a new appreciation for the medical profession who have helped me out with tests and treatments over the years, and now I am willing to listen to the doctors and not just dismiss what they have to say, as I would have done in the past. I would say I have a whole new level of appreciation for the medical staff and have renewed my original love of medicine and the workings of the human body.

I may not have a medicine cupboard full of pills and lotions any more but I do have at my disposal a healthier lifestyle, Esoteric Practitioners and the whole of the NHS, for the times when I do need to go to the doctors. Looking after myself is my way of doing my part and not just expecting others to fix me when things have gotten out of control, or my body is giving me another message.

For me, the improvements to my health have changed my life but I know there is more to come as my commitment and deepening relationship to myself is part of an ongoing process that is forever unfolding. And that as I change from the inside and am willing to let things go, allowing myself to show more of who I truly am, that quality will reflect to other people that they can also live a different life, a more true and healthy way of living. How great is that 🙂

Read more:

1. Healthy Habits and healthy lifestyle tips
2. Lifestyle diseases (the way we live)
3. Why don’t I feel well? Is illness and disease just a random event?