When Healing Becomes Less About Doing and More About Being

by Justine Laidlaw - The Natural bird, Radical Remission Coach

For a long time, healing for me looked like doing more. After my Stage 3 colon cancer

diagnosis, I threw myself into supporting my body in every way I could — nutrition,

supplements, complementary therapies, research and lifestyle changes. At the time, taking action helped me feel empowered. It gave me something practical to focus on when so much felt uncertain and out of my control.

Over the years, though, something has shifted.

I personally do far less physically now than I once did. I have let go of many of the things

that used to fill my days, and I find myself much more interested in what is happening

underneath the physical — our beliefs, our emotional state, our nervous system, our

connection to ourselves, our sense of purpose and the way we are actually living while we are trying to heal.

I’ve now been clear of cancer for 13 years, and when I look back over that time, some of

the biggest influences on the way I think about healing have been people like Dr Joe

Dispenza, Dr Bruce Lipton and Anita Moorjani. Their work and stories opened me up to

thinking more deeply about belief, consciousness, stress, emotion, perception and the

extraordinary relationship between mind and body. I don’t see that as replacing the

physical side of healing, but as another layer that, for me personally, has become more

and more important over time.

That does not mean I think the physical side is unimportant. Supporting the body, making informed treatment decisions, nourishing ourselves and taking care of our physical health all matter. But healing can become very busy. There is always another supplement, another practitioner, another protocol, another diet, another podcast or another piece of research to explore. Before we realize it, healing can start to feel like a full-time job.

And that is where I think it can be helpful to pause and ask whether everything we are

doing is genuinely supporting us, or whether some of it is being driven by fear.

The Radical Remission factors remind us that healing is a whole-person experience.

Alongside taking control of our health, they include following our intuition, releasing

suppressed emotions, increasing positive emotions, embracing social support, deepening spiritual connection and having strong reasons for living. In other words, healing is not only about what we do to the body. It is also about how we live, what we believe, how we feel and what gives our life meaning.

One of the first things I often encourage people to do is simply take stock of everything

they are currently doing. If you wrote down every supplement, treatment, appointment,

dietary rule, exercise routine, therapy and daily healing practice, how long would that list

be?

There is nothing wrong with having a long list. The more important question is whether

everything on it still feels right for you. Something that felt incredibly supportive six months or two years ago may no longer feel necessary now. Taking control of your health does not always mean adding more. Sometimes it means becoming more discerning and trusting yourself enough to recognize what still belongs and what no longer does.

It can also be helpful to notice the energy behind your choices. Two people can do exactly the same thing but come from completely different internal places. You might take a supplement because it feels supportive and aligned, or you might take it because you are terrified that something bad will happen if you stop. You might exercise because

movement makes you feel alive and strong, or because you feel guilty if you miss a day.

The action can look identical from the outside, but the experience on the inside can be

very different.

A useful question to ask is: If I wasn’t afraid, would I still choose this?

Sometimes the answer will absolutely be yes. Other times, you may realize that something which once felt empowering has quietly become another source of pressure.

Another important part of healing is making room for emotions and experiences that

remind us we are alive. When you are dealing with cancer, it can almost feel irresponsible to stop thinking about healing. Yet increasing positive emotions is one of the Radical Remission factors, and that does not mean pretending everything is wonderful or forcing yourself to be positive.

It can simply mean intentionally making space for the things that bring you back to yourself— laughter, music, nature, creativity, gratitude, time with people you love, gardening, animals, travel or anything else that helps you feel connected to life.

Healing does not have to occupy every corner of your world. Sometimes one of the most nourishing things we can do is spend an afternoon not thinking about cancer at all.

The same is true when it comes to having strong reasons for living. This is one of my

favorite Radical Remission factors because it shifts the focus away from simply trying to avoid illness and towards what we are moving toward.

What are you looking forward to? Who do you want more time with? What experiences do you still want to have? Maybe it is seeing your children grow up, attending a wedding,

travelling somewhere you have always wanted to go, growing old with your partner,

starting a business, creating something meaningful or simply having more ordinary,

beautiful days.

When healing becomes entirely focused on what we are trying to escape, life can become very small. Having something to look forward to gives our attention somewhere else to go and reminds us that our future can hold more than appointments, scans and treatments.

Looking back, I do not regret everything I did in the early years of my own healing journey. At the time, that was what I needed. But today I am far more interested in how we feel while we are healing. Do we feel safe? Do we trust ourselves? Are we allowing moments where our body is not being treated like a problem that needs fixing? Are we still connected to joy, meaning, possibility and life?

Sometimes doing less is not giving up. It can be a sign that we are becoming more

conscious about where we place our energy and what genuinely supports us.

So perhaps instead of always asking, What else should I be doing?, a more useful

question might be: What is genuinely supporting me right now — and what could I let go of so I have more space to live?

Because sometimes healing is less about doing more, and more about making space for

life.

Justine Laidlaw - The Natural bird, Functional Medicine Cancer Coach, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Life Coach, Truly Heal Coach and trained Radical Remission Teacher/Facilitator

Her main focus today is group support, co-facilitating Radical Remission programs, healing sessions, workshops and events, while also working one-to-one with a small number of clients. Contact Justine:

justine@thenaturalbird.co.nz

www.thenaturalbird.co.nz

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or opinions of the Radical Remission Project. Any content provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice.