When you’ve moved past the defence of the status quo and open yourself up to be willing to heal ~ then opportunities for transformation begin to be revealed.
This is where it gets important to be discerning!
I hear different schools of thought…
- The root cause to all illness is inflammation
- The root cause to all illness is in the imbalance of gut health
- The root cause to all illness is emotional and belief-driven
- Once you find the corresponding thought, then the illness will go away
The real problem with this is not in the suggestion, but the assumption that everyone is exactly the same and every situation is exactly the same. It makes me shake my head.
People, when they move past resisting the willingness to heal, then jump into trying all this & that – every or any possible method. Which means that things could go either way:
- Jump in and land exactly where they need to be and get the result desired
- Start to burn up time, money and hope – after they don’t see immediate results.
Most people don’t have the stamina or will to keep going failure after failure. It’s harder with health, because there’s often no gauge-line to determine your progress and no clear process that works for everyone. It’s intangible, the process can be invisible. It really does require a leap of faith (and a development of your own intuitive knowing helps a lot!).
So… it’s really important to give yourself the best chances for healing. This doesn’t mean that you will get instant results (beware the myth of the miracle cure… and also the myth of perfect health). It also doesn’t mean that it’ll be easy – steady commitment and refocusing is imperative.
That being said, it also doesn’t have to be hard.
But it does mean that you are no longer wasting your time. There’s nothing worse than that.
The key elements
A rehash on what I consider the key elements to healing:
- A willingness to heal
- To determine the root cause/s and take functional action
- Follow through to a state of being healthy.
Not as simple as that!
Part 2 – Determine root cause/s and take functional action
There are many roads that lead to Rome. I’ll add, though, that you do actually need to be heading towards Rome in some shape or form to get there.
And it’s not much different with healing. You want to return to a level of homeostasis. But… what pulled you out of homeostasis in the first place?
People refer to it as the root cause.
Myth #1 – there’s only ONE root cause
Actually, not everyone has only one root cause. And that root cause or those root causes can be different depending on each person and their individual cases.
I have determined 7 categories of root causes. I’ve added on the mysterious ‘other’ category as they showed up over time (note that this type of root cause is rare, rather than the norm, in my experience).
My root cause categories are:
- Chemical/elemental imbalances – nutritional deficient/toxicity, water deficiency/overdose, heavy metals, etc
- Cellular malfunction – genetic issues, missing cellular parts/organs (either naturally or through surgical intervention), misarrangements, mutations
- Miscommunication/timing issues – between cells, systems, organs, etc. Also interference from other systems – immune/hormonal/nerves are the most common
- Energetic imbalances – over energy, under energy, poor constitutional energy, reactive energetic patterns, influence from outside energies
- Mental/emotional factors – suppressed/unexpressed emotions, mental stress or inner/outer conflict, reactive behaviours
- External influences – accidents, microorganisms, venom/stings, self-harm (incl drugs/alcohol, excessiveness), extreme environment, traumatic events, pharmaceuticals/herbs, toxins/radiation
- Other – spiritual attack, soul purpose, near-death trauma, past life carryover, incomplete spiritual touch-down (birth)
People can have one or more (usually not all of them), but also have some as sub-roots. This means they weren’t the original root cause, but through a chain reaction of imbalances and compensation, developed sub-roots that led to the symptoms experienced.
Myth #2 – the root cause always matches the symptom
Ah, this is an interesting one. I don’t think many people think this consciously, but it’s good to point out.
A common misconception is that people think if their symptom is emotional, then the root cause is emotionally or mind-based. Likewise, if they had a physical symptom like back pain or joint pain, then the root cause is physical.
But this is not always true.
We are multi-faceted creatures, a mixture of physical, energetic, emotional, mental aspects, and more. And those aspects are not clearly or easily delineated to never affect each other. What’s happening to one part of you, is happening to the whole.
An example - I had a client who had mysterious shoulder pain. As we did some bodywork and kinesiology to realign the torso and neck – something else came up… about the ex-boyfriend who chose to leave and travel rather than stay in the relationship. She burst into tears, tears that have been held up for weeks as she compensated as best as she could in her life. After a bunch of tissues and the expression was released, she said her shoulder pain was gone. It was gone for good.
All parts are interconnected:
- They are interconnected on a physical level – your kidneys, liver, glands (hormones) – which affects your general well-being and energy levels
- They are interconnected on a trans-body level – one example is your emotions with your physical body… your emotional or mental stress can affect your muscles, such as jaw tightening or your upper trapezius (muscles that help raise your shoulders when shrugging) are common ones. Muscles affecting your hips & pelvis are another common one.
- Your hormonal imbalances can affect your emotions too.
Your symptoms are only a by-product and not necessarily at the same level of the root. Likewise, symptoms can have multiple root causes compounding the issue.
Myth #3 – if we have the same symptoms, we have the same root cause
Not necessarily.
In the case of catching a cold/infectious disease, yes – the main root cause is the microorganism. On top of that, though, there are other possible factors such as insufficient nutrient stores (or insufficient ability to tap into those stores), suppressed or lacking immune system, life stress, environment of constant exposure, poor health habits, etc.
Likewise, someone with Scurvy would have the same root cause. Because the disease is founded on the discovery of a lack of vitamin C.
Other disease names are founded on symptoms, and those symptoms could be the outcome of many factors. Headaches are a great example. Root causes could be jaw misalignment, muscle tension in the neck, dehydration, fever, emotional stress, self-pressure and expectation, and more.
Myth #4 – once you fix the root cause (kill it, make it disappear, whatever) everything will go back to normal again
Again, not necessarily.
In some cases, yes -this may work - for example in germ theory, if you kill the germ/virus causing an infection, you usually get better. But it also depends greatly on your own healing capacity and ability to deal with hard knocks (health-wise).
But, other things cannot be killed/fixed so easily. For example, we discussed previously about sub-roots. These can be thought of as compensatory patterns that form as your body tries it’s best to maintain some sort of homeostasis again after the original knock on effects.
The thing I’ve found is that although the root cause needs to be dealt with as best as possible, the compensatory imbalances (sub-roots) often need to, as well. My dad used to be spending endless days killing lantana which was strangling other trees – he would have to get down to the root so that it can’t keep regrowing, but also have to find any new sprouts that have formed as well from the original.
And I’ve found that the longer someone has had the symptoms, the more likely there will be compensatory imbalances and sub-roots. Life happens, and the body tries its best to compensate and survive. This becomes the ‘new’ homeostasis.
Ways to Uncover Root Causes
Now that you understand a bit deeper about root causes – then, what next?
First is to determine what might be your possible root cause and any associated factors. Identifying the root and its sub-roots helps you to determine the functional action to take.
There are several methods to do this:
- Intuitive knowing or tapping into that in some shape or form
- Trial and error (but with discernment!)
- A combination of the two
I have spent my whole life working out ways to determine how to get to the root cause in order to heal.
I’ve researched & read, learnt several healing modalities, tried out healers myself - over the past 20+ years. Not to mention the previous 15 years where my parents tried their hardest.
When I discovered the next modality to try/learn, I thought that THIS ONE would be the one for me. Of course, it wasn’t. I’ve tried elimination diets, creams, acupuncture, kinesiology, lymphatic drainage, Bowen, hypnosis, homeopathy, detox foot baths and more, with varying results – the real problem was I thought all the answers lay in the modality, when they actually lie inside myself.
So, my unresolved quest has led me (so far) to creating a form of medical intuition – and my categories of root causes came from those readings and past experiences as a healer.
And while my trust lies in my medical intuition to guide me, it isn’t guaranteed. Nothing is – not even your specialist doctor. Anyone who has gone through a mysterious illness or range of symptoms and navigated through weeks to years of medical tests can attest to that.
Life has aspects to it that are mysterious – if the answer was so easy, we’d all be healed, successful and never have a care in the world.
However, when using the medical intuition on myself – it has helped me to make peace with root causes that I refused to accept (dehydration and mental stress through excessive thinking, for example), as well as match up actions that suit my body and deal with the root causes. More information here.
If you have your own ability of intuitive knowing, then you’re one of the lucky ones (natural talent) or have put in dedicated focus to develop that aspect of yourself (well-done!). Follow that!
If you don’t have any of this, or no access to this – then the other method often used is trial and error. This is mostly unsuccessful for 2 reasons – no discernment (just haphazard trial & error) and no follow-through (next blog – see part 3).
So, in order to make this successful – and you will have to be discerning about your choices and continue following through until you get the result you want.
Trial and Error Steps to Determining Root Causes
The starting point is your symptoms. All the energy that you’ve been putting in to make it go away, is actually hindering you. In your symptoms and previous experiences (including failures!) lie the very starting point you need to take the next steps forward.
But you do need to ask it (metaphorically-speaking) and in order to listen, you need to be open to allowing it to be there to hear what it has to say. Developing your own intuitive knowing comes more into play than realised!
STEP ONE
So… consider your symptoms. List them out if you must. Also list out your past experiences, things & modalities you’ve tried – things that have worked or failed. Even those that left you confused. Get clear with where you are at.
STEP TWO
Then, review the following list of root causes (I’ve listed them again):
- Chemical/elemental imbalances – nutritional deficient/toxicity, water deficiency/overdose, heavy metals, etc
- Cellular malfunction – genetic issues, missing cellular parts/organs (either naturally or through surgical intervention), misarrangements, mutations
- Miscommunication/timing issues – between cells, systems, organs, etc. Also interference from other systems – immune/hormonal/nerves are the most common
- Energetic imbalances – over energy, under energy, poor constitutional energy, reactive energetic patterns, influence from outside energies
- Mental/emotional factors – suppressed/unexpressed emotions, mental stress or inner/outer conflict, reactive behaviours
- External influences – accidents, microorganisms, venom/stings, self-harm (incl drugs/alcohol, excessiveness), extreme environment, traumatic events, pharmaceuticals/herbs, toxins/radiation
- Other – spiritual attack, soul purpose, near-death trauma, past life carryover, incomplete spiritual touch-down (birth)
Ask yourself the following questions with each category:
- Is this a root cause (or sub-root) for me?
- If yes/no – what proof do I have of this?
- If unsure, what can I do to get clear?
STEP THREE
If you’ve determined any “yes’s” to the root cause category, and determined any sub-roots – then ask yourself:
- What’s a health action or modality that will support me in dealing with this root cause?
And that’s it. Reiterate until you get clear. Sound simple… yes, it is. Sound easy… well, no.
This is why follow-through is so important - not only in determining root causes, but also attaining health and healing. Your limitations are only so great as the amount you allow them to be.
Continue on with Part 3 - Follow Through