Healing Comes from Within

 

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

Lao Tzu

 Every day is an invitation to make choices that help us grow; every day is an opportunity to be kind to ourselves and to others.

 Today’s post is about healing.

 Among other medical conditions, Isabelle Adolfsson had malignant melanoma for which she required two surgeries. She received excellent medical care to treat her condition, but healing is not limited to the effects of a medical treatment.

  Healing comes from within. It comes from us being in a good place, doing what we feel is right for us. It comes from us leading a life that feels in tune with our heart and soul.

  Her book Healing Comes from Within reveals the details of her spiritual journey as she navigated various life challenges.

  Due to a condition called alopecia universalis, Isabelle lost all her hair over time. Her grace and wisdom through the situations she had to encounter make the read engrossing. Her own story becomes a spiritual sanctuary to ponder upon one’s own life story.

  Her spiritual memoir is written in the form of a journal, and it can be compared to a precious delicate quilt whose patches assemble to form a beautiful composite. I believe the gems of her wisdom stem from her love for life, Nature and people. 

 From her experiences she built physical, mental and spiritual resilience, the core themes of her memoir. Isabelle has a lot to be thankful for; celebrating the bright side of her journey inspires her to move forward with hope.

Isabelle has a rich spiritual life, but what is spirituality?

Spirituality is love,

Spirituality is knowing that we all come from the same source,

Spirituality comes from within,

It comes from your soul,

It comes from the heart,

Spirituality comes from knowing that

We are all one.

 The aura of her spiritual memoir swathes the soul of the reader. It is the warmth that the concept of love offers. Love means respecting boundaries and understanding others. Love is being genuinely happy for others’ happiness. The concept of “mudita” comes to my mind as I type these words. “Mudita” in Sanskrit means finding joy in the happiness of others… I wrote about this word when I published my post on loving-kindness, a few years ago. Strangely enough, there is no word in the English language for the word "mudita"… why? 

 “When you feel true happiness for others, your own happiness increases. When that happens, your own personal growth accelerates.” Richard Belton

 

Here's a reflection from Healing Comes from Within:

 By accepting people for who they are you are setting them free to lead their life. You give them a chance to walk their path. This is the most beautiful thing we can do for another human being. This is the gift of love.

   Her reflection brought to my mind some situations from my past that taught me a lot about self-respect and the importance of standing my ground. If somebody who calls himself or herself your “friend” does not respect your boundaries by  humiliating you in various ways for your life choices, you can conclude  that that person is not your genuine friend, even when you have tried to focus on the goodness in that person. It is an act of kindness toward yourself to let go of that relationship. In doing so, you are not only supporting your emotional and physical health, but also the health of your loved ones.

Setting boundaries is an act of kindness.

 I was intrigued to learn that Isabelle has a twin sister--I’ve always found twins fascinating—and I thought she was going to share more about their relationship.

 Isabelle’s spiritual memoir empowers you to follow your inner wisdom; it encourages you to align your purpose with something greater than yourself.

 There are some gentle meditation exercises to find comfort and peace within yourself.

 Everybody needs to cultivate inner peace to face life challenges. Amid the chaos of the world, balance and inner peace are essential to maintain the focus on our intention.

 Do I agree with everything Isabelle expresses? No, I don’t, but I don’t need to agree on every statement to enjoy a book.

  We will always have disagreements in life, but I think it is crucial to disagree from a place of love, tolerance and cooperation; this book will inspire you to do that.

 

 Courage is to walk your path,

Courage is to do what you feel is right in your heart and soul.

Courage is to stand up for yourself

Even when questioned.

 

I thank the author for sharing her spiritual memoir with me for My Writing Life blog. Isabelle lives in Gothenburg, Sweden.

   I am honored to receive emails by authors from all over the world. I cannot answer every single email or read every book I am offered, but I do feel thankful for each and very reader who cares to reach out.

 Books connect people in meaningful ways.

 I will conclude this post with Isabelle’s words:

 This is what life is about: to love, to live, to understand that all of us are part of everything together. We all play our part in this beautiful dance. We all have our choices to make in order to participate in creating a better world.

 Today I received a devastating report from Amnesty International explaining that Russian forces are separating Ukrainian children from their families:

Amnesty investigations have uncovered devastating tactics by Russian forces that likely amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. In occupied areas of Ukraine, Russian forces have been forcibly transporting civilians to Russia or Russian-occupied territories using torture and other ill-treatment: ·  Civilians are forced through an invasive screening process called ‘filtration,’ meaning they’re subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, and other ill-treatment, including being beaten, electroshocked and threatened with execution: That constitutes war crimes of unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment. ·  Children are being separated from their families after forcible transfer: That’s a violation of international humanitarian law. ·  Older people and people with disabilities appear to have been placed in institutions in Russia or Russian-occupied areas, making it difficult for them to leave Russia or to reunite with family members: That’s a violation of their human rights. We’re hearing devastating stories from children as young as 11, including one boy who told us:

“They took my mom to another tent. She was being questioned… They told me I was going to be taken away from my mom… I was shocked... They didn’t say anything about where my mom was going. A lady from Novoazovsk [child protection] service said maybe my mom would be let go… I didn’t get to see my mom... I have not heard from her since.”

How can anybody support a dictator like Vladimir Putin? Shame on his “friends” and supporters across the world. They have a lot of soul searching to do.

 My heart is with these children and their families. My heart is with the people suffering the horrendous consequences of Putin's cruel, inexcusable invasion of Ukraine. I also think of the courage and kindness of those who volunteered to fight for the freedom of Ukraine. 

 I hope these Ukrainian children and their families will get all the help they can get, and I hope the world stops empowering toxic men like Vladimir Putin.