Most would agree that we are living in an exciting era with an abundance of choices and a feeling of acceleration, as if time is speeding up — so little time and so much to do! With this excitement may come emotional and physical stress, as evidenced by the increase in disease on a global scale. Media reports abound describing new resistant strains of bacteria that conventional drugs cannot touch. Chronic anxiety and depression are so commonplace now that millions of people take mood-altering drugs such as Prozac and Zoloft, with an alarming number of our children on Ritalin for attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. We all know someone who has been “stricken” with cancer or AIDS, and many of us worry about our own health and that of our family. In the face of so many challenges, how can we maintain our sense of balance so as not to get caught up in the web of fear and hopelessness that surrounds us? What purpose does disease serve, and how can we benefit from it?

Perhaps these questions can be answered by the earth herself. If we look at planetary cycles on a larger scale we can see a pattern emerging that is quite remarkable. According the Mayans, earth’s ancient timekeepers, we are nearing the completion of a 200,000 year cycle signaling what was called by the Mayans The Shift of the Ages. The Mayans believed that during the period from 1992 to 2012 we would experience the last subcycle within this grand cycle which would be characterized by great planetary change.

In his book, Awakening to Zero Point, geologist Gregg Braden explains how the earth’s electromagnetic field reflects these changes quite dramatically. He explains that the intensity of earth’s magnetic fields are rapidly declining as demonstrated by the earth’s reduced rate of rotation and longer days and nights. At the same time, the earth’s base resonant frequency or fundamental vibration is increasing. Earth’s frequency is measured in electrical charges or pulsations per second called Hz. This has been referred to as the heartbeat of the earth. For at least the last several decades (when measurement became possible) earth’s frequency has measured at approximately 7.8 Hz. In 1994 earth’s vibration measured at 8.6 Hz, and according to mathematical projections, by the year 2010 it is expected to increase to 13 Hz. Many feel that these measurable changes are responsible for the accelerated global awakening in consciousness we are experiencing at this time, and for the subtle feeling that time is speeding up.

These astounding findings are significant for all of us, in that as the earth’s vibration increases, all of life must attempt to match its vibration to stay in harmonic resonance with the earth. The geological upheavals we are currently experiencing are in fact the earth’s way of releasing denser energies to adjust to this new higher vibration. Our bodies do this too, as every cell constantly shifts its energy patterns to achieve harmonic resonance with our home planet. In order to live in harmony with earth’s higher vibration, we must release old thought patterns of anger and fear that are being held in the lower frequencies.

Our bodies show us where our antiquated beliefs are by manifesting dis-ease in areas where our energy resists this transformational ascension process. Colds, flus, fevers, inflammation and pain are the body’s way of releasing toxic matter that accumulates from these blockages. Viewed from this perspective, physical symptoms can be seen as an integral part of the evolutionary healing process rather than something to be feared. Pain and discomfort are our body’s way of communicating to us that we are out of balance emotionally and spiritually. When we are feeling peaceful, joyous and fulfilled, energy flows freely through our bodies and nourishes us at the cellular level. When we feel good about ourselves and others and love what we do, we have abundant energy and feel powerful. In contrast, when we are angry, depressed or in fear, our energy becomes blocked and our bodies do not receive the energetic nourishment they need to function healthfully. In this state of imbalance we become densified by the lower frequencies of stress, and can literally feel our power draining out of us.

When we become ill it is so easy to become angry with our bodies for not supporting us, when in fact our bodies are acting as emissaries for our spirit in giving us a message we cannot ignore. In this way our bodies are our greatest teachers. We need only to tap into the language of the bodymind to determine what that message is. Illness often requires people to stop doing what they have been doing long enough to rest and reflect on how they might live their lives less stressfully. Personal needs become foremost when ill, and a shift in perspective often results from forced periods of rest.

Ten years ago I had the opportunity of learning this major teaching when I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Looking back on this time, I realize that my illness was my “wake-up call” to finding my life path and fulfilling my soul purpose. While conventional medicine urged me to take a potent medication that would attack the virus “responsible” for my disease, my intuition prompted me to take another path. Resolved that I could heal myself naturally, I first had to become totally honest with myself and recognize how my thoughts and beliefs were depleting my vitality. As a member of the baby boomer generation, I was beginning to embrace the new emergent philosophy that I was responsible for my creations, and that my illness was one of my creations. Up to that point I had the tendency to blame others or even myself when things didn’t go as I wished them to. This thought pattern had the consistent effect of disempowering me into thinking that I had no control over my experiences or my body. As a result, I felt drained of energy.

I realized that in order to regain the higher vibration of health, I needed to journey into my denser emotions of fear and anger to heal them and release them. It was at that time that I learned to honor my body for the wisdom it was teaching me, and indeed it was a turning point in my life. I believe now that the moment I took full responsibility for my healing was the moment that my immune system began to support me. Within two weeks, laboratory tests showed what I instinctively knew—that I no longer had chronic fatigue.

Though I went on to become an herbalist and natural health practitioner, this experience taught me the tremendous power that we have to heal ourselves from within, and “miracles” as they are often called in the old health care paradigm, are actually commonplace from this new perspective. I have since seen many people with so-called terminal dis-eases heal themselves and then teach others how to do this. Some of the greatest teachers and healers, (and I believe the two are synonymous), have courageously journeyed into the darkest places to learn how to light their way.

We don’t often hear of these victories in the media, though they are happening every day. The healing process is empowering, energizing and transformational and is available to everyone in their own way. As the earth evolves, she gives us every opportunity to evolve with her. In fact, as we heal, the earth heals with us. As we move into the twenty-first century, let us activate our innate healing abilities and take our rightful places as an empowered species on planet earth.