Why Is Inner Transformation The Key To Healing Chronic Illness and Pain?
What if I told you the best thing to improve your pain, chronic illness, and well-being is to align your body and life with your soul?
You might be nodding your head because you “just know that to be true”.
Or you might be shaking your head and thinking, “What’s my inner soul?”.
Or wondering why this doctor is talking like a rabbi.
They are both good questions.
When I say “aligning with your inner soul,” I mean connecting with your inner self. You have an inner dimension that is a potential source of healing, wisdom, and strength. Whether you use the language of “soul” or not, it can help you heal and grow.
And over time as you learn to live in integrity with your own being, you're less bothered by the world around you. You are less worried about what other people will think and more interested in living your purpose. You live in a greater sense of ease and well-being. And that has huge biological effects.
And going beyond that, there is a process of inner work where you learn to build the connection between your spirit and your more earthly self. When you learn the “anatomy and physiology” of your body-mind-spirit connection. And you learn to draw the inner light and wisdom into your emotions and body. Not only does that support physical and emotional healing. It connects you to your unique purpose and capabilities. So you can live the most meaningful and satisfying life possible.
I’ve spent the last 30 years working as an MD, practicing Integrative Rehabilitation Medicine, and guiding people through the process of recovering from catastrophic illness and injury. Meanwhile, I’ve been dancing between the hospital and exploration of inner development and research about mind-body-spirit medicine medicine. My patients have shattered my preconceptions and humbled me over and over again with their courage and capacity to heal. And the research increasingly illuminates how you can mobilize healing mechanisms. I’d like to share some insights in this and future posts. I hope it’s entertaining and inspiring for you.
Inner Soul?
If you're not clear on the answer to “What’s my inner soul?”, a little reflection might help.
Perhaps you’ve had an experience that shifted your perception and reality. Maybe something stunning in nature, at a concert, or in a time of crisis. An experience of love or connection. Maybe something evoked a crystal clear sense of purpose, awe, beauty, or even holiness. A time when you became absorbed in what was happening, and other things melted away. Maybe you lost track of time or what was happening around you. In experiences like that, our worries often lose importance. Sometimes pain dissipates. And one feels a sense of clarity and meaning that is deep real and joyful.
Have you ever had an experience like that?
Those are “soul moments”. Moments when you touch another dimension of who you are. And those moments shift your perception and reality, usually in positive ways.
You could counter and say that those experiences are biological. They happen because of a burst of dopamine, endorphins, or vagal tone. There is truth to that. There are biological aspects to peak experiences. But we have no evidence that they are only biological. And the biological variables that we can measure don't explain the fullness of the experience. Biology is important, and I'm a big fan of knowing the science behind everything I can. But science is limited in its ability to explain our inner experiences.
It is scientific to recognize the limitations of science. And logical to live beyond logic. Science and logic are tools to help us live life.
And it's essential to go beyond measurable phenomena if you're serious about healing or maximizing your potential in life. Not everything that counts can be counted. And our limited understanding can't reason through everything. When you keep your mind open to knowing "beyond reason", you open yourself to a deeper power. Curiosity, wonder, and awe are powerful transformational states of mind. "Knowing everything" might make you feel confident or powerful, but it limits your capacity to know more.
A Powerful Choice To Touch The Inside Of Life
You can learn to touch that inner dimension on purpose. You can create the conditions whereby you connect more consistently. When you do that, you’re touching a well of wisdom, clarity, and energy. You start to meet your inner superpowers. And that can help you transform difficult circumstances. It can enhance your well-being, your clarity of purpose, and your ability to actualize your potential.
I started to think about these issues decades ago based on my own personal and professional experiences.
I’m a medical doctor who worked in rehabilitation and pain management. I was open and curious about my patients’ inner and spiritual experiences. They have shared their richness during 30-40,000 patient encounters over 25 years. They shared their wisdom of how they have coped with overwhelming and often terrifying situations.
I’ve had the honor of accompanying hundreds of heroes who had “hit the wall” of catastrophic illness or injury. These heroes met the end of their lives as they knew it. Some of them woke up in the hospital unable to move their legs with burning pain all the time. Or others who experienced massive trauma and surgery. Others were profoundly debilitated after illness. They couldn't dress themselves or use the toilet.
And somehow they picked themselves up, connected to life again. And regained their dignity, their vitality, and their purpose in life.
Likewise, I’ve witnessed the journeys of thousands of people whose decline was more insidious and chronic. Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, neurodegenerative disease, inflammatory illness, depression, and anxiety. They lost or feared losing major aspects of their body, mind, and life. But continued to live fully. To express astonishing levels of love, generosity, determination, purpose, productivity, and yes, faith.
In contrast, I’ve also worked with innumerable people in similar external situations. But they were not successful in healing and regaining forward movement in life. And who unfortunately spiraled downward into depression, worsening illness, and other difficult suffering.
So I’ve been looking to understand why some people heal and some don’t.
Who makes a successful recovery from tragedy? What enables them to move through the obstacles and grow despite the adversity?
Tragedy is not the only stage where we can manifest human greatness. Some people have risen to extraordinary levels of generosity, compassion, and creativity. Their achievements are driven by inner processes that enable greatness.
The same inner processes that enable human greatness also enable remarkable recovery from illness or injury.
Biology Beyond The Box
Recovery from catastrophe or tragedy is complicated beyond our understanding. There are biological variables at play: genetics, baseline fitness, overall immune and nutrient balance. There are interventions like medications, rehabilitation therapies, high-tech interventions, and so on. But at this point, the best technology and science don’t have all the answers.
Biological variables are influenced by thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and other energetic qualities. The "mind-body-spirit" connection isn't given much airtime in conventional medicine, but growing research shows that is hugely important. And most thinking/feeling/sensing human beings know it intuitively. Thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and energetic principles affect neurological activity, inflammation, behavior, and so on.
Sparking A Search For Understanding
Successful healing and recovery is an “inside game” and it's often beyond what science can explain.
The heroic patients I mentioned above taught me the truth of that. They won the game. They did things that I thought were impossible, based on all my academic medical knowledge. They broke my egg-head and my mouth hung open as my brain flowed out on the floor. So what could I do besides go and learn to see things differently?
They spoke about their intentional connection and interaction with their inner world. And their stories have helped guide my learning. (The power of narrative histories is so important that I'm going to be doing a series of interviews with people who have healed beyond their doctors' expectations. If you or someone you know has a story, please reach out to me.)
My heroic patients faced a shift in reality. It happened when they "hit the wall and everything changed." They felt and processed their difficult emotions. They used the power of visualization. They journaled, sang, and prayed. They screamed. They did all kinds of breathing exercises. They sat quietly in nature. They drew, they painted. They meditated.
They made progress. They had setbacks and crises. They cried. They lost hope. They dug deep and found the strength to recover and progress after the crisis.
The common theme is that they found potent sparks of motivation, energy, and inner wisdom. They met the inner and outer challenges with the "juice" of that inner connection. They had a growth mindset which enabled them to listen, understand, evolve, and heal.
They learned how to live fully, despite adversity and tragedy.
And often it appeared that they learned to live even more fully because of the adversity.
These amazing heroes drove my questions for dozens of years...
How do I help a person mobilize the inner strengths that help them heal and overcome adversity?
What is the inner structure of human soul-mind-emotion-body connection?
Where do motivation and desire come from?
What are the processes that either support or harm healing and growth?
What enables some people to do things that seem to be “above nature”--beyond our expectations of what a person can do?
What are the techniques and tools that can help a person mobilize their inner power?
I’ve spent four decades studying everything that seemed real and relevant. It includes integrative systems biology. It includes meditation, energy medicine, and osteopathy. And, it includes spiritual psychology and the wisdom of the Torah sages. Asking the questions about how it all fits together. And bringing that knowledge to rich clinical experiences. To understand and support real people facing real problems. Real heroes who have fought for their lives in the trenches of illness and pain.
The more I learn, the more I know I don’t know anything.
But we don’t need to know all the answers.
We already know enough to activate the process of inner-outer connection and healing.
You can turn on the transformational potential of the inner soul, inner wisdom, and inner light. You can get cues from the science of mind-body medicine and affective neuroscience. And you can get cues from the language of the soul. And the rich spiritual and healing traditions have guided human beings for millennia.
And most of all, you can get cues from your own inner experience.
But you have to be willing to learn, to grow, to open your mind beyond your expectations.
Are you willing?
It’s Not About “Religiosity”
Let's be clear about one thing. I’m not only talking about religious experience or practice. We can continue to have this conversation even if you don’t believe in “the soul”.
I’m talking about alignment with your higher inner knowing and energy. It’s not dependent on religion. (Though for some people their religious practice helps them).
I’ve worked with people who are open to inner healing and who are religious. For some of them, the metaphors and practices of their religion have been transformative. Some are Jewish, some are Christian, some are Muslim.
But others are non-religious but spiritual. Some grew up with no religious training. Others bounced out of religious structures that didn't work for them. Others are secular-humanist.
The identity, definitions, and belief systems are not the main thing.
The key focus is on the soul-mind-emotion-energy-body unity.
Regardless of your belief systems and previous experiences, you can start (or continue) cultivating a conscious relationship with your inner world.
The Anatomy and Physiology of Soul-Mind-Emotion-Body
The process of Soul-Mind-Body healing can seem like a confusing jungle. It can be hard to see the patterns in vaguely connected moments or experiences. Many students and patients have approached me, distressed from the disorienting "mind-body rollercoaster".
But there is a clear structure and function of the soul-mind-emotion-body system. There are parts of the system that are consistent. And they interact with one another according to consistent principles.
It's almost like there is an "anatomy and physiology" of the spirit-mind-emotion-body system.
It can be helpful to have an overall framework. It's like having a map when you're navigating through a forest or across a desert. You need to know where to find the sweet water, where to get inspired by the view, where to rest, and where to work hard crossing difficult territory.
In future posts, I intend to unpack that in more detail.
To talk about how some of these principles show up in medical and basic science research. To discuss practical ways to make these principles real and effective in life.
I want to know whether these ideas “land” with you. If you have comments or questions about them.
Feel free to hit comment or reply or whatever makes sense for you.
Wishing you well.
Andrew David Shiller, MD