HAVE YOU EVER:
• Walked into a room and felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up
and you immediately want to leave again?
• Met someone for the first time, looked in their eyes and just trusted them
right away?
• Suddenly thought of a friend you haven’t seen in a long time only to have
that person get in contact with you?
These are perfect examples of your intuition trying to communicate with you,
but are you listening to it?
Intuition is a natural-born instinct and we were once very connected to this sense – our survival depended on it! If we felt that a storm was brewing our intuition would urge us to seek shelter as soon as possible. It is the ability to just know something with no apparent analytical reasoning and it helps us to bridge the gap between the conscious and unconscious parts of our brains.
Today we are overloaded with outside data, and the deep, intuitive sense at the back of our brains that guide us away from danger is often ignored. We’ve also learnt to disregard our intuitive impulses because society has deemed it ‘crazy’ to follow an intuitive impulse that is difficult to explain or defies rational logic. Expressing that you have a strong gut feeling about something is not always received positively in this day and age, but this is slowly changing.
Justine Laidlaw acted on her intuition when she was diagnosed with stage three aggressive colon cancer in 2013. Three aspects of intuition that she believes were a major key to her recovery are:
• Our bodies innately know how to heal themselves.
• There are many ways to access your intuition.
• Everyone has positive changes they need to make – physically, mentally and spiritually.
Often we ignore the messages that our bodies are desperately sending us. They are longing to be treated well and let us know with all those niggles, sensitive stomachs or other health issues.
Justine decided to be happy and fully present in her life. She was resolved to spend whatever time she had left living as naturally as possible and for as long as she could. Part of this was embracing the ten key healing factors that everyone should adopt for optimal wellbeing in this world of chronic illnesses.
10 KEY HEALING FACTORS:
Body:
• Eat nutrient-dense wholefoods • Empower yourself with your decisions
• Exercise regularly
• Take herbs and supplements to correct any nutritional deficiencies, support your immune system and optimise digestion
Mind and Emotions:
• Release suppressed emotions
• Increase positive emotions
• Embrace social support
• Have a strong reason to live and exciting plans for your future
Spirit:
• Listen to and follow your intuition much more closely
• Deepen your spiritual connection in your individual belief system or find something that stimulates your ‘soul’.
These ten healing factors are from the research of Dr Kelly Turner, who is a New York author of Radical Remission (recently updated to Radical HOPE). Dr Turner’s work is based on exceptional survivors of cancer and chronic illness where a decade of research went into what the medical field terms ‘spontaneous remissions’. Dr Turner was examining how someone could be sent home to finish their days in peace only to walk back into their doctor’s office a year later alive and well. Sometimes the people in remission were even healthier than they were long before their initial diagnosis. It became crystal clear to Dr Turner as she interviewed these survivors that there was nothing spontaneous about it. They spoke of making significant lifestyle and emotional changes in order to heal themselves and their so-called miracle healings occurred because they made radical shifts in their body, mind and spirit.
These are the areas of our lives that form the foundation for our healing according to Justine. Gut feelings are usually physical manifestations of our intuition. With patience and practice you’ll start to understand when you’re receiving a gut feeling that should be trusted. Over time these feelings will get stronger, clearer and you’ll feel better equipped to act on them.
So remember, you may not be dealing with any illness or injury at present but every positive change you make to your life right now will help you to a healthier and happier future.
JUSTINE LAIDLAW works alongside other integrative practitioners at the Godfrey Medical Clinic in Tauranga. She is qualified as a functional medicine cancer coach, in breast screening and ozone therapy. She also facilitates group coaching and healing workshops online for people with chronic illnesses.
At the two-year post-diagnosis mark she was declared NED (no evidence of disease) and her latest CT scan in May 2020 is still clear. Justine acknowledges her decision was not for everyone and would never try to influence your individual health journey choices. However she is available to provide you with support and complement your other healthcare professionals’ treatments with her experience, training and cheerful positive attitude. Feel free to get in touch with her.
The Natural Bird
0211124359 • justine@thenaturalbird.co.nz thenaturalbird.co.nz