telling his story, Rob asks the participants to join him in a short visualization in which they ‘set an intention’ for themselves during the retreat. In the same way, you can set an intention for yourself as you begin reading this book.
To set an intention, you first need to drop into a peaceful and receptive state of mind. As you let go of worrying about the future by grounding yourself in the present moment, you are opening to a power much bigger than yourself. From here, you give rise to an aspiration for yourself, to see yourself working towards exactly what is right for you.
You can set an intention in more than one way. You can aspire for a change in your physical health. For example, your intention might be “May I recover from this cancer” or “May I be strong, healthy and flexible.” Alternatively, you might set an intention for psychological or spiritual well-being, such as “May I be peaceful, wise and loving in my interactions with others.”
The power of setting an intention is that it focuses your energy on a desired state of being. Instead of being pulled this way and that by all the distractions in your world, you focus and draw on the conscious and even more powerful subconscious forces in your psyche. As you drop more and more into the space of intention and align yourself with your deepest purpose, you become more receptive to the opportunities for healing the universe will provide.
However, setting an intention for the future is not just wishful or magical thinking. It changes your perception and physiology in the present. You empower yourself ‘in the now’. And then, after you set your intention, you let go of grasping for a particular outcome in the future.
Please join in setting an intention for yourself as you read the following visualization. This is best done if you sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor and you hands resting in your lap or on your thighs. You might want to have someone read this out for you while you sit.
Setting Your Intention – A Visualization
Start by connecting with the sensations in your body.
Bring your attention to your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Feel the sense of gravity and the weight of your body on the chair –
allow yourself to take up this space just as you are.
You can straighten your spine so there’s a sense of strength and solidity
at the back, and yet feel a soft openness at the front of your chest.
Feel as though the crown of your head is being drawn towards the sky.
And relax.
Take a few moments to focus on your breathing. You can ask yourself
“How do I know I’m breathing?” ..... watch with curiosity.
Watch your abdomen rise and fall. Or feel the sensations of the air going in and out of your mouth/nose and upper airway. Slow down and be curious.
Now begin to generate a feeling of compassion and peace in the middle of your chest. You might think of a loved one or of a little child or of a time when you felt great love and caring for someone special in your life.
Continue to generate the deep feeling of loving-kindness in your heart. You may think of your heart beginning to warm up, like the element on the stove – beginning to radiate an orange or golden energy of deep love that begins to fill up your whole chest.
Take a few moments to generate these deep feelings of compassion and caring.
Now imagine that you could direct this loving energy towards yourself.
You could direct it towards some physical ailment, or a part of your body that needs healing. Pause and feel it.
You could direct this loving energy towards an emotional or psychological problem. You could say “May I find healing to this issue.” Pause again.
You could direct this loving energy to a relationship in your life that needs healing.
Extend this sense of peace and love out to a family member or loved one or someone in your life that needs healing – at the level of body, mind or spirit. Pause and wish this for them with all your heart.
Then direct this golden heart energy to everyone else in the world who has been affected by cancer – both those with the diagnosis and their loved ones.
Now, with this limitless source of compassion, set an intention for yourself and release it into the universe.
Chapter 3
What is Healing?
We have what we seek.
It is there all the time, and if we give it time,
it will make itself known to us.
Thomas Merton
Friday evening. Fifty people sitting in a giant circle are listening attentively at the beginning of the weekend retreat. Most have been given a cancer diagnosis; others are their loved ones. They have traveled from near and far to spend this weekend together. Most have left behind busy lives, others long days spent on a couch. Some arrived early, happy to break the routine of retirement; others rushed in at the last moment from work or family responsibilities.
Some have been recently diagnosed, fresh out of surgery, their dressings hidden under brightly coloured blouses and sweaters. Others have traveled many arduous miles along the cancer journey. Some are bald or wear wigs and scarves that attest to ongoing chemotherapy. Others look perfectly well. Women and men, young and old, well-attired and casually dressed, all are waiting, a little nervous but excited to begin.
The people sitting in the circle on Friday evening are looking to us as the “experts”– the ones who will teach them how to heal their lives. In fact, the power lies with them. With lifetimes of experience, everyone in this circle has vast resources of wisdom and the potential to transform within themselves. Through their openness, their resolve to empower themselves, and their courage to walk into the unknown, they can discover their own path. They really are the experts in their own lives.
Tim, a therapist and spiritual teacher, honours the group and begins by explaining the meaning of healing:
The word healing comes from the same root word for ‘wholeness’, ‘health’ and ‘Holiness’. Healing means to move towards wholeness. To heal doesn’t necessarily mean to be cured of cancer – although that is always possible. As you heal your life, your physical health can improve dramatically and you can increase your chances of recovery.
Wholeness has to do with reclaiming all aspects of yourself – your body, mind and spirit - and bringing all these parts back together. When you heal you can connect more deeply with everyday life and something bigger than that - something that we might call spirituality. As you move towards wholeness, you begin to experience the depth of who you really are.
We each have tremendous wisdom for healing and transformation but sometimes we don’t have time to access it because life is so filled with details. We get caught up in stress and distraction and forget about wholeness and our capacity to heal.
