Are you aware of your own level of well-being to a point where you can identify when you’re in a state of emergency?
I’m not talking about an external life-threatening emergency here, I’m referring to the heightened physiological and psychological nature of your mind and body when you are in a default state of stress.
If you read my last blog about “what to do when your chalice spills” you will begin to see a pattern forming around the need to be Self-Full. “I AM Self-Full” is the 6th Principle of The Grail Path and asks that you take responsibility for your own health and well-being and put yourself at the top of your own priority list. Between that post and this one, there is a gap… I was preparing for my Sacred Chalice to spill. And spill it did, just a few short days after I published the post, when my mum passed to spirit after a long battle with ill health.
Because of the pre-work I did, I have been handling bereavement pretty well but I have noticed something that I was completely unaware of before: I have been living in a constant state of stress and low-level anxiety for the last 2 years that my mum was unwell and my body is still fixed in that state of emergency.
This is how it is showing up for me:
- increased mind chatter
- poor concentration
- inability to relax or switch off
- disturbed sleep and waking with anxious expectation
- a feeling of imminent deadline or imagined disciplinary force
- exhaustion and overwhelm and now
- debilitating migraines and dizziness!
Just try to understand for a moment that I am a spiritual teacher, a holistic energy therapist and I published a book on recovering from stress and burnout… If I can experience this type of stress as a result of unconsciously slipping into my sympathetic nervous system (fight, flight or freeze response to stress), then how can you identify when you’re in a state of emergency? Well, are any of the above symptoms feeling familiar to you?
The reason I am aware of it now is that the reason for my stress is no longer valid. I don’t need to keep my phone on at night in case of an emergency call, there is no risk of mum being whisked off to hospital at a moment’s notice, I’m no longer responsible for the well-being of another who cannot care for themselves and there is no deadline (that I haven’t imposed on myself). My need for high alert has ended… and now it has, the symptoms are being exposed for what they are.
In my conversations with my angels this week and in some of my own personal oracle readings, I have been receiving a repetitive message: “Reconnect your mind to your body.” This is a signal for me to refocus on my holistic well-being and give some love and attention to my sacred physical vessel, which is ultimately the temple and vehicle for my soul. You cannot walk the Grail Path without embracing this holy trinity of mind, body and spirit and that’s why I am returning to the practices laid out in the Self-Full Living Workbook, based on my recovery from the debilitating effects of stress over 15 years ago.
You can grab a copy from Amazon if you recognise any of my symptoms in yourself or you just want to live a life where your own well-being is honoured as sacred too.
Love, Jo xxx
NB: Please consult your GP/Physician if you believe your are suffering from stress or stress related illness.
