blog post
Authenticity heals the body.
I was recently listening to a presentation by an unconventional medical doctor from the United States of America: O.T. Bonnett, M.D, author of Why Healing Happens and What I Learned After Medical School (1925-2011). He was presenting a talk about metaphysics and other spiritual and health related topics based his personal and professional experiences. Amidst the topics he discussed was the concurrent thread of authenticity and the intricate link with optimal health and quality of life.Â
He affirmed emphatically: “Injury and illnesses are all the result of not fulfilling our greatest spiritual potential.” Followed with: “…illnesses and injuries are wake-up calls to examine your position in life…”
Injury and illnesses are all the result of not fulfilling our greatest spiritual potential. ~ O.T. Bonnett, MD
Many of us have known or read about those who heal completely after end stage cancer.  Upon given a dismal prognosis, the person decides to surrender to their fate and go on an live the remainder of their lives as fully as they can, fulfilling their greatest desires. Whether that’s travel, quitting a job, embarking on a totally new path, place or vocation; opening fully to love, or simply making time for joy in the simple things in life. Consequently, living for many more years, healthfully till very old age!Â
What happened? They (re)discovered their authentic selves. They stopped being their non-selves, and allowed their true selves to come forth.Â
The well known author, speaker and near-death-experiencer Anita Moorjani, attributes her miraculous healing from end stage cancer to exactly what O.T. describes: being authentic. When she understood her purpose is to live her life authentically and “fearlessly”, at that poignant moment, she opened her eyes from the coma. The tumours that ravished her body healed completely within 5 weeks much to the bewilderment and disbelief of the doctors.Â
She now travels the world and writes books about not only her NDE, but the profound yet simple wisdom gained: to be yourself, unapologetically and fully, do what feels right for you, to love yourself first, and health and joy will follow – not just for oneself, but for the entire cosmos, because we are all connected.
Could being your true, unapologetic self really be the key to health?
My thoughts then fast-forwarded to the recent 3-6 years. If stress is a key trigger for illness (I believe so), I should have been bed ridden already. Losing both parents in just 2 years, followed by family estrangement, and isolation, one could understandably expect a physical or emotional manifestation of ill-health. But I never got sick. Not once. Not even a sniffle. My usual twice or thrice yearly colds of varying intensities disappeared in the last years.Â
As I reflected on this bitter-sweet period I wondered why I was so resilient to falling ill regardless of long period of stress, prolonged grief, and other hardships. I thought about the uncertain, restricted me, who suddenly had a blank canvas to paint on…Â Â
With little to no anchors for support and/or to define my identity (who I thought I was), perhaps this was when authenticity had room to breathe and shine. Perhaps the words of O.T. Bonnett actually mean that to be authentic, who you really are – only then can you fulfil your higher or soul’s potential.
Could being your true, unapologetic, authentic self really be the key to health? Anita Moorjani has spent 20 years sharing this exquisitely simple God-given wisdom.
There’s nothing to lose in being yourself, except letting go of what isn’t you, or aligned with you any more. Much like Michaelangelo chipping away for the angel to come out. It was always there.
Only when you're stripped naked, emotionally raw, do you realise you've been wearing someone else's clothes all along.
I’m not immune to every malady or discomfort–which are essentially healing responses to imbalances. But, comparatively are negligible and forgettable. Writing this has helped to remind me and reinforce how important and life-giving it is to be yourself and follow the beat of your own drum. It takes effort, strain and valuable energy to be someone else. In my experience, only when you’re stripped naked, emotionally raw, do you realise you’ve been wearing someone else’s clothes all along..
