Lessons From My Grandmother

My grandmother has been teaching me lessons my entire life. Today, her 98th birthday, she continues to teach me. She is in great health--never sick, on no medications, and except for a declining memory, mentally sharp. She has been one of the most influential people in my life and I continue to learn from her. Here's her latest lesson for me:

If you have been reading my newsletters, listening to my programs, or visiting my talks, you probably know that I firmly believe our thoughts create our reality. I recently read "Love, Medicine, and Miracles" by Dr. Bernie Siegel. In his book, Dr. Siegel describes being called in by a doctor friend of his to view patients who were suffering from multiple personality disorder. Dr. Siegel was amazed to see these patients change their physicality as they went from one personality to another: blue eyes became brown, moles appeared and disappeared, and even one patient was diabetic in one personality and not diabetic in another. Seemingly permanent physical attributes changed effortlessly and within minutes of the patient changing from one personality to another. These patients completely believed they were the personality they were temporarily embodying and their physical body changed easily and effortlessly in order to remain consistent with the new belief.

My grandmother ("Gram" as she is known to countless people of all ages) has been allergic to white lilacs for as long as I can remember. Her eyes get itchy, puffy, and watery, she gets a runny nose, and her sinuses get so clogged she has miserable headaches. She goes through two weeks of misery every spring as the wall of white lilacs that grow next to her deck bloom. The side of the house where the blooming lilacs grow has to be completely sealed--windows are shut, sliding glass doors locked--and keep her inside until the flowers die and disappear.

In preparation for the white lilac season this year, I mentioned to my grandmother that the lilacs were starting to bloom and she would have to go inside the house. She thought for a minute and then replied, "I'm not allergic to lilacs. I never have been." So she remained outside on the deck all lilac season this year without any itchiness, puffiness, or headaches. She didn't have one allergic reaction all season. Gram's lifetime allergy to white lilacs disappeared with her memory that she was allergic to them! Her body chemistry spontaneously changed when her beliefs about herself changed.

Gram's Lesson to You - How to Change A Belief

Find a place where a physical limitation in your life keeps you from doing something you enjoy. (Gram really disliked being sequestered in the house after a long New England winter.) I suggest starting with a small limitation, one that has little emotional attachment connected to it. Now do one of two things with that attachment: 1) Completely believe you are not limited in this way anymore. Take a page out of Gram's "Lesson Notebook" and just completely forget you are limited in this way. Or 2) Journal to discover what beliefs an individual would have to have in order to experience such an outcome. (Journaling hint: write 3 pages non-stop. If you find yourself at a spot where you don’t have anything to write, continue to write anyway. Write something like, "I have nothing to write right now. But I've got a lesson to learn from Gram so I'm just going to keep writing till something pops up." And just keep writing in that manner and some mental logjam will let go and you'll find yourself writing on-subject again quite quickly.) When you have finished journaling a minimum three pages, condense all your writing down to three sentences or less. Then take those sentences and write them in a positive way: For example, instead of "I am no longer allergic to lilies," write "I love nature and nature loves me." Then make this your mantra: say it 100, even 1,000 times a day. Tape the saying to your desk at work, your mirror in the bathroom, your steering wheel, and any place you often look. Then start to notice how things change in your life. Be aware--the miracles may appear small at the beginning!

Need some help with this subject? Want to share some lessons of your own? E-mail me.

Happy Birthday, Gram! And thank you for continuing to teach me lessons and help me grow after all these years!

============================================

About This "Lessons" Essay ============================================

© 2006 Wesley J. Doherty/An Easier Life, Inc, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the "Your Easier Life Newsletter" in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

"By Wesley J. Doherty of An Easier Life, Inc. Please visit Wesley's web site at http://www.AnEasierLife.com for additional articles, programs, and resources on how to have your easier life." (Please make sure the link is live if placed in an eZine or in a web site.)