Yesterday I talked about how I was experiencing the benefits of tapping and how much of the pain I was feeling had disappeared. What I was really discussing is the mind-body connection. I got an even deeper understanding of it this morning when I woke up with neck and shoulder pain and muscle tenderness in my back. I had been feeling so good, but not as good today. As I sat tapping and meditating, my mind was running wild. I was thinking about work, the release of a podcast that I did, what I ate last night and whether that had anything to do with my pain being that I ate tomatoes (which I was told by my naturopath I could reintroduce into my diet) and cucumbers (said to be full of lectins), and a bunch of other random things.
It wasn’t that I was just having these thoughts, I was running with them and creating stories. I remembered that I had already began the tomato and cucumber story last night when I was making my salad thinking all the while, “I wonder how my body is going to react to this.” In essence I already had some level of stress about it before I went to bed. I was also talking about the release of the podcast last night and silently thinking about how it might be received. I was sort of cringing inside because I know that I didn’t sound that great in the earlier episodes but had improved in later episodes, but people would hear a non-perfect version of me and maybe notice that it wasn’t great too. I felt some angst about that. And of course, there is work and thinking about my to-do list, but mostly my “didn’t do yet” list. There’s a difference between the two that brings about slightly different energy.
So, all this thinking was at work before I ever laid my head down to sleep last night. I wonder if I really got quality sleep. I woke up feeling relatively rested, but I felt discomfort in my body, and I couldn’t get a handle on my thinking. What’s clear to me is that my thinking—which undoubtedly caused some stress—directly impacted how I felt physically this morning. The proof? The thoughts I had during my morning practices are the same ones I had last night before bed, and suddenly the pain returned.
Today was a great lesson and a transformative experience. I now know, because I have experienced. More power has been unlocked within my because I can eliminate the tomatoes and cucumbers again if needed, but also offer myself the needed care of getting present, calm, and clear before bed. I can examine the root of those thoughts, recognize the judgments driving the story I’m telling myself, heal, and correct my thinking to support my mind-body wellness.