When I left my company, Synergy Unlimited, in 2006, I had no idea it would be such a long hiatus. My health was failing and I planned a trip to my homeland, Ghana.

Well, I never made it. I was simply too ill. Instead, I went to Ghana in my imagination. I’m writing a book about my relationship to my homeland. I’ve been on a journey but nothing like the one I planned.

For the past two years, I’ve been on a “health journey.” In the six months before I was forced to stop working, I was exhausted physically but continued to push myself. My partner, Deborah, was a race horse and I was a lumbering workhorse beside her.

I tried to keep up but it became harder and harder. I developed ulcers all over my body and scabs formed over them in thick layers. Every orifice I had was filled with ulcers. I bled from my mouth, my eyes, my lips…. you get the idea! I looked awful and felt worse. I went to doctor after doctor who had no idea what was wrong with me. I was a speaker and my mouth was covered in bleeding ulcers.

My subject was health and well-being and my face and body was covered in sores. I could hardly walk and had no energy. Clearly, this medium was not the message. I finally had to quit and focus on my health or lack of it.

At last, I received a diagnosis: a rare auto-immune disease called Behcets Syndrome. It was incurable, they said, but it could go into remission. I promised myself that it would. I knew my body had the power to heal itself. I needed to create the conditions to support it to do so.

At first, I tried to hang on to semblances of my former life. I struggled against the restrictions my illness was imposing on me.  Hadn’t I been through enough? I became allergic to most foods. It was hard to walk, I had no energy.The illness seemed to be taking everything away from me – my career, my looks, my health, my youth, my beauty, my energy, my vitality, my sex life and ultimately my voice. I was a professional speaker, yet I lost my voice for almost five months.

Eventually after much resistance, I surrendered as Eckhart Tolle recommends to “what is.” I accepted the situation rather than struggling against it. I connected with a wonderful chiropractor, Lorri Beaver, who taught me to listen to and trust the messages my body was giving me.

Instead of complaining about each new affliction or condition, I began to ask myself, “What are the thoughts and beliefs that are behind my illness?” “What is the spiritual condition that it is masking?”

As I got more involved in this inquiry, my relationship with my body began to change. I discovered that I was disconnected from my body much of the time. As a child I daydreamed constantly. Often, reality was a place to escape from. I had a hard time staying connected to my body. If someone asked me how I felt about an experience, I’d talk about what I thought not what I felt.

The truth was I often didn’t know how I felt. It was a long time before my feelings became apparent. Often, I’d be in pain but wasn’t aware of it. Even if I was, I would suffer for months before going to the doctor.  Now I discovered my body is a finely calibrated instrument.

As soon as I put a piece of food in my body that isn’t healthy, it “tells” me. If I’m around someone who has negative energy, it reacts by closing down. When I allow a negative thought to dominate my mind, my body weakens. I literally feel it losing energy. I ’ve learned to listen to my body and understand its communications even when I don’t want to listen. My body tells me when I ‘m out of touch with myself. It tells me when I’m not connected to Source, to Spirit or God.

My Body is a Compass that Trues Me to Myself.

As I’ve learned to listen to my body’s rhythms and messages, I’ve reclaimed large parts of myself. I’ve re-ordered my priorities. I’m kinder now, more attentive and gentler to myself and my body. I thought my illness was an affliction, taking me “off track” and bringing all kinds of misery into my life. It was certainly uncomfortable and frightening but I’ve discovered that what I thought was my sickness was actually my cure.

My body told me that I was seriously disconnected from myself. I now realize what an amazing instrument and guide my body is. It is an infallible compass that trues me to myself. It’s always talking to me – and now, gratefully, I’m finally listening.

In our modern life, many of us are disconnected from our bodies. I have clients who constantly deprive themselves of sleep. They refuse to stop working round the clock.They race from place to place – all of the behaviors of adrenaline addiction – and refuse to listen to the signals their bodies are sending.

When I counsel weight loss clients, I notice what negative relationships many of them have with their body.  They see their body as ugly and unwieldy, an alien thing that they hate. They are just as disconnected from their body as I was.  It isn’t until they accept their body as it is, that they can listen to the messages it is sending. As they focus on creating a healthy body, rather than losing weight, they make life changes that bring them the sense of well-being they’ve been seeking. Then they lose weight.

Recently, Stacy, a client of mine who was approaching her 30th birthday acknowledged to her surprise that she felt a profound sense of well-being and confidence. “I came to lose 30 pounds and get in the best shape ever.” She said. “Well, I haven’t gotten there yet, but I’m the best version of myself so far. I think that’s a much bigger accomplishment.”

What is Your Body Trying to Tell You? Are you willing to listen to it? Do you ignore your body when it tells you it needs sleep and power through your fatigue by drinking cups of coffee? Do you feel your body tensing up or aching after you’ve spent time with certain people?  How often do you have headaches and body pains after spending time in certain environments? Do you find yourself sighing a lot? Sighing is called “air hunger.” It’s a communication from your soul of profound dissatisfaction, telling you that your deepest needs aren’t being heard or acknowledged. All these are communications from your body telling you something important. Your body is speaking to you constantly.  Are you listening? What beliefs and thoughts do you have that are holding you back? Do you stay in negative environments and relationships despite what your body is telling you? How willing are you to listen to the signals your body is sending and to make the necessary changes?

For too many of us, it is only when our bodies breakdown that we are forced to listen.  Don’t Wait Until You Get Sick!

Learning to understand my body has been a gift. I can truly thank God for my sickness.  It truly was my cure. It has led me on a journey of discovery; a journey back to myself. But you don’t need to wait until you get sick. You can begin this journey today by taking three simple steps to listen to your body on a daily basis.

1. Listen to the signals your body is sending you.

2. Act upon them.

3. Seek medical advice or talk to knowledgeable friends and healers

4. Don’t cover up the problem with short term solutions.

5. Listen to your body’s wisdom.  It is speaking to you.