Integrative Health and Healing

My goodness! I can’t believe it’s been since January that I made an entry. What’s more unbelievable is that it’s been just over a year since the last time I mentioned my masters program. On May 12, 2010 and June 6, 2010, I talked about what I was learning in “Experiential Health and Healing.” The program has since been renamed “Integrative Health and Healing,” and that’s exactly what it is. It’s an experiential program where we learn about complementary and alternative (CAM) healing modalities such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy, Naturopathic Medicine, Energy Medicine, Art & Music Therapies, Bodywork, Kinesthetics, Nutrition, Sound Therapy, Aromatherapy, and more, and also how these healing modalities can be integrated with allopathic medicine. It’s been fantastic fun!

In my May 12, 2010 entry I wrote:

“I see myself right now as divided into three parts: writer, healer, teacher. By the end of this program, I hope and believe that I will be able to call myself just one thing. I don’t know what the word for that one thing will be, so for now I will call it writer-healer-teacher.”

Well, I have a name now. It’s Life Coach. In addition to that, though, I’m also a hypnotist. I’ve completed my formal hypnosis training and am currently working on my clinical hours for certification (all while working on the culminating project for my masters degree requirements—Yikes! Very busy these days!) I’m in the process now of setting up a hypnosis/life coaching practice and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve finally found “that thing” that makes me want to jump out of bed early in the morning and keep working until late into the night. That thing that keeps a smile on my face (in addition to my most supportive Sweety, of course). That thing that makes me even more me.

I get to help people one-on-one and in groups, on the phone and in person. I get to write about my favorite topics. I get to listen to people talk about their hopes and dreams and goals. And, best of all, I get to be a part of their process of discovery and growth just as so many people have been a part of my process of discovery and growth.

What does coaching and hypnosis have to do with integrative health? That’s a question I’ve been exploring. When I began this program, I expected that I would end up doing something more directly linked to the healthcare system. Yet, when considering my strengths, experiences, and interests, working with hypnosis and coaching makes the most sense. I’m learning that discontent and unhappiness can be a much bigger detriment to people’s long term health than we are usually ready to admit. I see my work as preventative. I also see it as supportive.

Will helping people reach their goals or overcome obstacles protect them from illness and disease? Perhaps not in an immediate and direct way. However, good health is far more than simply the absence of illness and disease. It’s a state of balance and harmony between the body, mind, and spirit. My role is to help people find and maintain that balance as they create the lives of their dreams. This is what I sought for myself, and I found it. Now I want to help others live their dreams. I can’t imagine enjoying anything else as much.

"Our Deepest Fear" by Marianne Williamson

Joy vs. Jealousy

Joy and jealousy cannot co-exist. When I hear “I’m happy for you, but I’m so jealous” I wonder which of these two emotions is going to dominate and ultimately crush the other. Too often, it seems, jealousy wins.

I’ve never had difficulty accepting a compliment—except when it’s accompanied by jealousy. If I earn an A on a test or win a contest or am assigned a lucrative project and people start acting jealously, I try figuring out what they’re thinking. Sure, sometimes the statement “I’m so jealous” is nothing more than a harmless figure of speech. Other times, though, it seems to be a thinly disguised case of contempt. What seems to run through many minds is, You don’t deserve that. How dare you achieve a higher status than I think you’re worthy of? You make me feel uncomfortable, and I no longer like you but am too ashamed to admit that aloud or even to myself.

Some people take jealousy as a compliment. I’ve seen people go out of their way to instill jealousy in others. There are those who go out and buy things they don’t really need or want or can’t even afford simply to impress—the same people who feel compelled to talk about how much money they make or how much they’ve invested or how much of a tax return they’re expecting (as long as the people they’re telling have less than they do). These people often confuse jealousy with admiration. There’s no relationship between the two emotions. As with joy, admiration cannot co-exist with jealousy.

Jealousy is that feeling of discontent that is triggered by someone else’s success or gain. If left unchecked, that discontent can fester into anger. Even though an individual’s good fortune has no effect on another’s status, those with a jealous spirit will feel diminished. This is no one’s fault but the one suffering the jealousy. Jealousy comes from within.

The good news is that joy also comes from within. Abraham Lincoln once said, “We are about as happy as we make up our minds to be.” It’s really as simple as that. If our worth is measured by comparing ourselves to others, our self-esteem will fluctuate based on where we are and who we are with. Why would anyone want outside forces determining who they are or how they feel about themselves?

If jealousy has progressed into anger, and we’re angry toward someone who has achieved what we ourselves desire, it becomes difficult for us to achieve the same things. Why is this? Because it is human nature to do those things, either consciously or subconsciously, that will make us feel good about ourselves. If we associate anger with the achievement of some goal—even the achievement of that goal by someone else—we self-sabotage, again—either consciously or subconsciously, all efforts to reach that same goal. Anger or jealousy turns achievement into an uphill battle, and there’s no logical reason to choose this route.

We should choose to be as joyful as we can possibly be. If we are happy for someone else’s good fortune, there is no reason to believe that we are draining resources from ourselves. We can have joy for someone else and not reduce any amount of hope that we have for ourselves.

It may sound trite, but we should be thankful for what we have even if it seems as though we have little. When we’re grateful for what we have, we are surrounded with positive, happy energy even if we struggle to achieve our goals. So, let’s not be jealous. Let’s celebrate with joy!

"Joy vs. Jealousy" was previously published in Alumni Reflections, Charter Oak State College's literary journal. Copyright 2008-2010, Michèle P. Rousseau