My 3rd wind …. To be or not to be

”The part can never be well unless the whole is well.” ~Plato

 

Just as my 4 grown sons think that I should be hanging up my stethoscope (after 5 years of gentle persuasion), their mum has taken flight (yet again they say) on another wave of inspiration. This “third wave” came about after a near death experience in a wild river rafting excursion down the mighty Zambezi, Victoria Falls last year. Both exhilarating and life defining, that I do have a message to share and that retirement is not for me! Not yet anyway.

 

In so many ways I’ve been blessed with an insatiable thirst for growth, knowledge and wisdom, seeking all ways of better, more complete healing path for the ills of my patients. I feel like I’ve been a hunter gatherer for my tribe, obsessed with unraveling what makes people suffer; bringing home excitedly to my people the gems of new learning and the powerful physical, mental and spiritual methods of healing; excited that there are “real”, “true” and effective ways that actually heal.

 

What has been most humbling for me that has put me in my place (from a doctor that always “knows” to one that serves better by not) is awareness of the innate intelligence of my patient’s body that would defy all “fixing”. Unlike the story of the King who wears no clothes, my sojourn thru my medical career has taught me to abandon my clothes – my façade of knowing and swimming in my own wisdom, to stand in the nakedness of humility and not knowing so that the wisdom of my patient’s body hidden in the myriad of symptoms could be heard and followed.

 

I stand on the shoulders of many giants and one of the wisest teachers in my early days in training was a great surgeon at the Alfred Hospital Melbourne who admonished his students with “ You can be forgiven for not knowing but you can’t be forgiven for not asking!” I’d have to add not listening to that list.

 

One of the most privileged experiences we can have as physicians, carers, helpers is to witness the unraveling of life’s mysteries whether in the awesome birth of a newborn child; the ah-ha moments of meaning and significance of body symptoms and illness that brings people to wholeness and peace; or the bliss of a peaceful death.

 

What sustains me as I “treat” sick or unhappy people is the awareness that whatever state they are in is their bodies’ intelligent process of righting itself. What they really want from me is firstly to stay out of their way of their self healing by imposing my own suppositions and try to fix what I think is “wrong” with them. I have noticed the hole gets deeper by looking at what is wrong and that people actually heal faster by looking at what is right about themselves and the situation they find themselves in. However most of us look at the mirror and seem to be conditioned to see what’s wrong, including doctors.

 

What has inspired me in my work as a doctor has been the unraveling with my patient to see what is right about what appears to have gone wrong in their health so as to make sense of their dilemma. Whilst it is crucial to attend to physical healing ( and they go beyond drugs and surgery), it would be neglectful to forgo advising patients of the deeper call for personal growth and transformation often demanded by the anxiety demonstrated by their bodies. When you become familiar with the territory of decoding body symptoms, it becomes a joy and privilege to assist people in their process and journey of transformation. Can we as doctors dismiss this because we are so busy doing and fixing? At the same time however, to remain respectful of the individual’s choice to be or not to be.

 

Have you had such ah-ha moments as well? Have you got a story to share?

 

This is my 3rd wave …. Most people suffering are unaware. I asked myself “Where can I be of the most service? How can I be most effective? How can I participate in the development of a new world, a sustainable community?”

 

Whilst I have health and time available, I play my part in a wellness and transformation program, to co-creatively participate and assist in the development of a much needed functional and stabilized sustainable civilization. More on that soon… and I love to hear your comments and ideas as well.

 

“To resist your opportunities for growth is,
in reality, to resist becoming the person who can
create the life you long for in your heart”
…………………………………….Spotted Eagle

 

Dr Jiin Ngu website: www.transformationalmedicine.com
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