Spirituality Archives

Meditation for Healing Type 1 Diabetes

Activating The Parasympathetic Nervous System

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: Meditation, a practice of inner peace and focus, remains a mixed journey for the author — balancing love and frustration. Despite inconclusive scientific backing, it personally enhances calmness and decision-making. Research highlights meditation’s potential to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, crucial for rest and healing, influencing her preference for calming techniques like Apan Mudra.

Meditation. Hmmmm. I have a love/hate relationship with this practice, which is kind of ironic! Isn’t meditation just supposed to be about inner peace, love and tranquility?! If only!!

What Is Meditation?

As is the case with most things that have a spiritual angle, meditation is difficult to define. It is often called a practice or a skill, one in which you can become more centred, more calm, more balanced. What exactly that practice or skill entails depends on the discipline you use. It is often about focussing the attention, whether on a particular word or phrase, your internal landscape, breathing or even just the present moment that you are in (becoming aware of the sounds around you or feeling the surface under your body as you sit, for example).

Is Meditation Healing?

The results from the scientific literature are conflicting about the benefits of meditation. Proponents of meditation state that meditation can improve stress, anxiety and mood, decrease blood pressure, relieve pain, improve your immune system and improve your cardiovascular system. However, I have been unable to find any clear studies, let alone meta-analyses, that support this view. Research in the field definitely seems to be in its infancy.

Nevertheless, that does not necessarily mean that meditation isn’t worthwhile. For me, I know that I feel calmer and more grounded after sitting in meditation. I know that my life flows more smoothly and my decisions are better. I know that I am working on my energy field when I sit in meditation and that, after all, bodies are purely energy when magnified to their most intricate level. For all these reasons, it improves the quality of my life and increases the positive emotions that Dr Kelly Turner states are key to healing.

When looking at the scientific literature on meditation, something caught my eye. The scientific literature hints at a link between activation of the parasympathetic nervous system when meditation is performed. The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that is more active when the body goes into a state of rest, repair and digestion. It is this branch of the nervous system that is switched off when your body goes into a fight-flight response (the state that I believe is in action when Type 1 Diabetes develops and the state in which I believe a person with Type 1 Diabetes is stuck).

For the reasons I stated above, any practices, including meditation, that promote activity in the parasympathetic nervous system are enticing to me. One robust piece of research that demonstrates this link is by Amihai and Kozhevnikov (2015). What is particularly interesting about this piece of research is that they found certain types of meditation activate the parasympathetic branch, whereas others activate the sympathetic branch. I definitely want to focus on meditation practices that increase parasympathetic system because activation of the parasympathetic nervous system counters the fight/flight response and increases the ability for the body to rest, repair and digest… The three things my body needs to be doing if it’s going to heal.

For those that are interested, meditation from the Theravada and Mahayana traditions were particularly found to heighten parasympathetic activity. However, I honestly believe that your own mind-body system are best for guiding you… Do what feels good! Try one kind of meditation. If you don’t like it, try something else.

My Meditation Practice In The Past

I first encountered meditation in my twenties, when I had raging anxiety and depression (yes, and probably rage!!). Getting through my days was more than hard work. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through those times. I had done all of the doctors visits and been prescribed the good ol’ antidepressants but nothing was really helping. In desperation, I signed up to a yoga course specifically designed to aid those with anxiety and depression. My then yoga teacher was fantastic. She had a wealth of knowledge and a truly compassionate understanding of where I was. She got, right from the outset, that in my highly frazzled and anxious state, getting me to sit in peace and stillness for any length of time just wasn’t going to happen. So my meditation practice started with a simple walking meditation. And, boy, it helped! Just focusing, even for short amounts of time, on raising and lowering my legs with each step gave me a soothing that was in short supply at that time.

I have also done guided meditations in the past and sampled Transcendental Meditation (which the amazing Candace Pert placed great faith in). I think I might have continued my exploration and practice of Transcendental Meditation if I had not also read, at that time, the book “Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson“. In that book, Herbert Benson argues that transcendental meditation, and other meditative practices like it, do not have any particular magic quality, it’s just that they use a specific set of steps that trigger a relaxation response in the body. I will cover these steps, and my thoughts on that book, in a forthcoming blog post.

My Meditation Practice Today

I have more of an on/off relationship with meditation today. I have managed to heal my anxiety and depression so the desperation I had then is no longer powering me to the mat. Instead, as my ADHD becomes more pronounced in my life (or maybe just more visible as I have stripped away the noisier and more consuming layers of anxiety and depression), I am finding it more of a struggle to do things, like meditation, that don’t have an immediate pay-off. I get distracted and frustrated. But those two emotions are ones that definitely benefit from meditation so back I swing to it again!

At the moment, I am meditating most days. I do it in the morning for 15 minutes as part of my morning routine. I have used guided meditations in the past but find that I don’t feel so recharged and relaxed after those. So, these days, I simply sit, close my eyes and watch my thoughts come and go. I may at times pay attention to how my body is in the present moment or observe the coming and going of my breath. It feels playful. I let my focus be with what it needs to be with.

I also use a mudra (a hand gesture) whilst I meditate. My body naturally found this mudra itself some ten years ago. A meditation teacher I had at that time encouraged us to touch our index finger to our thumb on each hand whilst meditating. This is known as the Gyan Mudra and is a very popular mudra during meditation. It is thought to promote control in the mind, releasing negative thoughts and promoting positive emotions. However, I naturally gravitated to instead placing my middle and ring fingers on my thumb instead. I have now discovered that that mudra is known as the Apan Mudra and is used to promote healthy diabetes control! My body knew!!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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May 1, 2023

Read more about the article Meditation for Healing Type 1 Diabetes

Emotional Wellbeing / Increasing Positive Emotions / Physical Wellbeing / Relaxation / Spirituality / Taking Control of My Health

Reflection and Gratitude

Having Come So Far

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: Reflecting on her journey, the author embraces a moment of peace and gratitude for her progress. From struggling with mental health and physical ailments to finding healing through therapy and personal growth, she celebrates being free from depression, anxiety, and other conditions. She now lives optimistically, cherishing life’s blessings and feeling at peace with herself.

I’m taking a moment just now to be reflective, be still and at peace. I am pausing to take notice of where I am now. To notice just how far I’ve come. I think it becomes really easy on a healing journey to spend so much time looking at the end goal – that panacea of health, whatever that may be for you or me – that we forget to be thankful for everything that has already happened and that we have already achieved. I guess this post is one of gratitude for all the ways that I have served my own higher good and my own blossoming health.

Looking Back To Where I Was

I am thinking back to the teenager I was. I was angry. I got dressed in black everyday. I didn’t want to mix with the majority of people in the world. I didn’t care about my diabetes. I didn’t care about my health. From here, things only got worse. By my twenties, my mental health had descended into a very deep, dark pit. I was so depressed that I couldn’t get out of bed for weeks at a time. I was so anxious that just walking down to the corner of my street, about 50 metres, was too much for me. I was trapped both in my mind and in my house.

As well as Type 1 Diabetes, clinical depression and clinical anxiety, I had polycystic ovarian syndrome, temporomandibular jaw dysfunction and recurrent infections. I spent a lot of my time seeing doctors. None of them seemed to be able to offer me anything more than temporary relief from symptoms.

I carried my victim status in all my interactions. I felt the world was out to get me. I felt the medical profession was my enemy. I felt God had abandoned me.

I wasn’t really aware at that time just how much I had come undone. I carried on until I couldn’t carry on anymore. I then got help. I started with psychotherapy. I saw multiple therapists over a ten-year period. Some helped some. Some didn’t help at all. One changed my life. Actually, he enabled me to change my life. That was the start of a thousand steps on my road of healing.

Gratitude For The Now

I am sitting here today, free of mental health issues. I have safely weaned myself off antidepressants. No anxiety, no depression remain. I no longer have temporomandibular jaw dysfunction. I rarely see any doctors or need to (apart from my usual diabetes check-ups). I eat well. I move well. I am optimistic about life.

I suspect that my inability to just sit down is rooted in my nervous system too. My twitchiness, my desire to always move and ‘do’ seems indicative of a fight-or-flight reaction. If you’re being stalked through the trees by a predator (or your body thinks that’s the case), you’re not just going to kick back and stargaze, are you?!

I have put down my victim mentality and picked up grace instead. I am grateful for all that life has given me. I am grateful for the woman it has enabled me to become. I am grateful for all the opportunities that life presents. I am grateful for the peace in my heart and the love that surrounds me. I’ve gone from continually reassuring myself, pleading with myself, that I’m ‘not a bad egg’ to telling myself that life is good. And really feeling that in my heart. I am healing. I am well. Life is good.

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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September 11, 2022

Read more about the article Reflection and Gratitude

Fight-or-Flight Response / Meditation / Physical Wellbeing / Relaxation / Spirituality / Yoga

The Beauty of Rest

Fight-Flight To Rest-Repair

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: In her reflection on relaxation, the author admits to neglecting it after her blood pressure normalised. Recognising the historical significance of rest in healing, she aims to reintroduce relaxation into her daily routine. Despite feeling guilty, she acknowledges the necessity of rest for transitioning her body from fight-flight to rest-repair for her healing journey.

I’m calling myself out! You see, when I wrote my post on ‘High Blood Pressure’, I said that I was going to start resting properly. I promise I did start doing that. I was doing my good solid 30 minutes of re-lax-ation. But I then found out my blood pressure was back to normal so the rest stopped too. But shouldn’t I still be doing this? Don’t my mind and body deserve this? Don’t we all deserve this, sick or not?!

Relaxation In Ancient Times

In Ancient Greece, an important part of a healing journey was the act of leaving your normal environment in order to seek out a sanctuary for rest and recuperation. Similarly, in Victorian times, it was considered standard practice to spend time by the sea or in a spa or bath house to restore oneself. What has happened to this today? Life today is too focused on being rushed and hurried, being productive and conquering to-do lists.

I am choosing to take a quarter-turn (perhaps more!) away from my to-do list. I’m starting to choose to sit in the sun (topping up my Vitamin D as I do so) or read a few more pages of that novel.

The Need For Rest

In today’s particularly hurried and harried world, rest needs more prioritisation. Adequate rest enables your body to switch from a state of fight-and-flight to rest and repair. It signals to your body that it is safe and satiated, that nothing externally needs to be done so work on maintaining and healing your internal systems can take place. Thus, for healing any kind of illness, including Type 1 Diabetes, rest is compulsory. It’s a non-negotiable.

When you rest, your parasympathetic nervous system is activated. The parasympathetic nervous system is the branch of the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for the rest and repair of your body. We want this one in action as much of the time as possible. Our resting facilitates this branch.

The Discomfort Of Rest

The thing is… I feel guilty every time I rest. As a wife, mother, homemaker, blogger, friend… I always feel like there is more I need to be doing. I can’t seem to give myself permission to rest until everything else is done. Sitting down on the sofa surrounded by the mess of an unfinished tidy-up is just not something I can do with ease.

I suspect that my inability to just sit down is rooted in my nervous system too. My twitchiness, my desire to always move and ‘do’ seems indicative of a fight-or-flight reaction. If you’re being stalked through the trees by a predator (or your body thinks that’s the case), you’re not just going to kick back and stargaze, are you?!

For a long time, my self-esteem and my self-worth, even feeling that I existed at all, came from what I did in my day. I guess you could say my raison d’être was ‘I do therefore I am’. If I had ticked jobs off my to-do list, accomplished a lot, I felt I had earned the rest. This old trauma response is ingrained. I need to learn to honour my need for rest. I need to learn to sit with myself in that moment, just as I am. I think trauma takes you away from an ability to sit with yourself in any form – mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Sitting down and just being, rather than doing, is necessary for my healing now.

This may sound counterproductive but, for now at least, I’ve put relaxation on my to-do list! It’s now one of my daily tasks. I’m going to have to condition my body back into the idea of relaxation. It feels a bit like the starting stages of meditation. You know how it is… That first time you meditate, you try so, so hard to stop thinking that you spend all your time thinking about how you shouldn’t be thinking…!!

Returning Home

I have now started to rest. But it’s painful. Yes, that’s right. I struggle to rest. But it’s getting easier. I am saying no to that extra task (or ten extra tasks). I am ensuring I have a whole day each week with no agenda items. I am also taking naps in the sun. I am taking time to read a rubbish book. I have dug out old jigsaws that I haven’t done for years. Most importantly, I am taking the time out to show my body that I am not fighting anymore and it doesn’t need to either.

Now that I live in the Middle East, I am finding myself in a country with a slower pace of life. People don’t rush here. Things happen, things may not happen. Someone may drop by, they may not. And all is good. As I reflect back on how fast-paced my life used to be, it reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend not long after moving out here. He kindly provided some feedback to my driving style. He explained that I was switching lanes too fast when on the motorway (a pace that would be considered perfectly normal in the UK!). He said that local drivers wouldn’t anticipate my ‘quick’ lane changes and that I was therefore more at-risk for an accident. I had to train myself to indicate for longer and transition over the white line at a much slower pace. It has taken time, but I move more slowly now. I hover and pause as I cross the line. I have allowed my car to flow at pace with the cars around me. And now I am encouraging my body and mind to do the same.

Sleep

I am still having some struggles with sleep. Don’t get me wrong… When I’m in bed, I’m usually out like a light. But it takes me a long time to get up those stairs to my bedroom. I procrastinate or, as my husband would say, Dilly and Dally come out to play! I think there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the godforsaken Netflix. It still sucks me in, despite my best efforts. The combination of the blue light it produces plus the never-ending jump to the next episode makes it hard to switch off. Secondly, there is also a desire to “just get one more thing done” before I get to bed. That is the trauma response. The need to justify rest. The need to persuade myself it’s safe enough, everything is safe enough in my world, for me to go to sleep.

Andrew Weil, in his book ‘Spontaneous Healing’, argues for the importance of rest in healing. I completely agree with him. However, his discussion of rest focuses solely on sleep. Whilst I agree that sleep is important (see my post on sleep here!), I think rest needs to extend beyond that, into the waking hours of life too.

I have two dogs. I believe that they are incredible role models in the way that I should live my life. Being creatures of the wild (their grandmother was a wild-born dog), they have not been influenced by the modern world, by Netflix and to-do lists. And they sleep. They rest. Their meals and exercise are provided as required. So, the rest of their time, they sleep and rest. They play. They enjoy belly rubs. They don’t feel the slightest need to do anything more than that. And they’re happy.

Extending Rest

I recently discovered Matthew Edlund’s book on ‘The Power of Rest’. He outlines a 30-day plan for effecting rest in your life. Whilst the plan itself did not call to me (why rest for 30 days only?!), what did stay with me was the five different types of rest that he stated are needed in our lives. These are: sleep, physical rest, mental rest, social rest and spiritual rest. Matthew Edlund outlines various activities that fall under each of these headings, including meditation, power naps, walking with a friend and so on. For this content alone, I think this book is wholly worthwhile.

Going forward from here, I feel that I need to dedicate some time to considering how to percolate rest, in all its forms, throughout my days. Activities such as gratitude, breathing, yoga, meditation and laughter as forms of relaxation are likely to be content in future posts!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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March 21, 2022

Read more about the article The Beauty of Rest

Art / Creativity / Increasing Positive Emotions

My Playful Soul

Sharing Some Artwork

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Just popping in to say ‘Hi!’ and share a couple of new bits I’ve been working on.

My creativity is still growing and changing. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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September 11, 2021

Read more about the article My Playful Soul

Art / Creativity / Increasing Positive Emotions

Art Is Calling My Name!

Healing More Than The Physical

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: The author embraces creativity as a pivotal part of their healing journey, inspired by figures like Carl Jung, Alice Miller, Gabor Maté, and Stacy Solodkin. Rediscovering art through therapy, they find solace and expression. Now engaged in an abstract painting course, they explore self-love and potential life purpose through joyful creativity.

At the moment, I am really called to being creative. Art, more specifically creating art, is calling my name. I see this as a good sign. As Rachel Remen highlights, there is a deep connection between healing and creativity. I believe that the divine source inside ourselves is naturally creative. As I heal and become more of my authentic self, I reclaim those creative parts of myself that have been absent or denied.

As I welcome this part of myself back into the fold, I am drawn to thinking about people I have come to know about during my healing journey that have also used art and creativity to heal themselves…

Carl Jung

I know that, as the psychoanalyst and healer Carl Jung proceeded along his healing journey, he became highly creative. It didn’t only result in the impressive volumes of psychiatric theory that still influences nearly all areas of psychotherapy today. It also resulted in Jung’s magnus opus – the Red Book. The Red Book is a beautifully decorative and artistic book of his journey into his inner world as he transformed himself, his healing and his relationship to his spirituality. Art was a central component of his healing and life’s work.

Alice Miller – Psychoanalyst, Author and Artist

Alice Miller trained as a psychoanalyst in her early thirties. She worked successfully in the field for twenty years. However, in 1987, Alice announced her outright rejection of psychoanalytic practice in a German magazine called Psychologie Heute (Psychology Today). She felt that the theory behind psychoanalytic practice actually prevented survivors of childhood abuse from being able to recognise and reconcile their abuse, instead holding the parents as sacrosanct and blaming the child for their fantasies.

Having turned away from psychoanalysis, Alice Miller found healing in art. She painted a multitude of paintings in the latter half of her life and published the book “Pictures of My Life” as an expose of how she reconciled her own trauma through artwork.

Gabor Maté: Scattered Minds

Gabor Maté, the renowned physician and healer, first interested me with his book ‘Scattered Minds‘ because of my own challenges with AD(H)D. However, as I have read more of his works, I have come to realise that this physician is actually more of a healer than a psychiatrist. He works with multiple healing modalities, for both himself and his patients. In his outstanding book ‘Scattered Minds’, he outlines several strategies useful to healing ADD, one of which is creative expression. In his own words… ‘Essential to finding meaning and purpose in life is the liberation of one’s creative instincts’ (Gabor Maté, Scattered Minds, 1999, pp. 289-290).

Stacy Solodkin – Cancer Survivor and Artist

Stacy Solodkin is an actor, artist, wife, friend and cancer survivor. She first came to my attention through the Heal Community. (There’s a great interview here on her journey.) What particularly interested me about her healing journey was how she returned to her artwork, transitioning back to a place where she was making her artwork for herself and her own soul.

My Own Healing Journey

My own history with art followed a long and unpredictable route. I loved to draw as a young child. I was truly creative, more interested in doing arts and crafts than most other forms of play. As I became an older child, the play and genuine love of all things arty was replaced by a realisation of inadequacy, incompleteness, just being ‘not good’ at it. My older brother was a natural born artist. He could draw beautiful portraits and still life in a way that, even in my memory today, astounds me. In retrospect, I guess I could look back and say that he was the Leonardo da Vinci and I was more of a Picasso. I just didn’t understand that they were both beautiful forms of art.

So I lost my way with art and stopped doing it. I grew up and became serious. I lost my sense of play. It wasn’t until I was about a year into therapy that my creativity woke up. I was struggling in therapy. I had hit a wall. I couldn’t express what I was trying to say in words. No words seemed to match my experiences so I took to art to try to express my depths. I recovered a part of me that gave me joy, expression, meaning and focus. The pictures were usually dark and difficult to sit with, but they provided me with such relief. The pictures that came to me at that time didn’t feel like they came from me. They were already complete when they entered my mind and it was purely my job to replicate them on the paper in front of me.

After I finished therapy, I didn’t feel drawn to do much art. I enjoyed doing various crafting projects but that was about it. But, recently, as I have been focussing more intently on my healing work, the passion for art has reawoken in me again. I am currently working my way through an abstract painting course that I bought online by the Australian artist Tracy Verdugo It is really good fun and I’m getting a lot of fulfilment out of it!

I think I’m coming to understand that reclaiming my creativity is part of the healing journey. It’s about learning to love yourself, through loving your art, even if you want to reach for judgement about what you’ve just created.

Maybe art and creativity will also become part of my life’s work. I don’t know. All I know is that I am drawn to it (pun intended!) and I am enjoying it. I truly believe that joy is a true healer so any way that increases the joy further in my life is welcomed. I’ll see where it takes me from here!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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August 23, 2021

Read more about the article Art Is Calling My Name!

Emotional Wellbeing / Intuition / Mind-Body Medicine / Nutrition / Physical Wellbeing / Taking Control of My Health

Hippocrates’ Wisdom

An Alternative View On Healing

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, founded modern medicine and his principles still guide medical ethics today. Exploring his teachings on nature, illness origins, and patient involvement sparks deep introspection into the author’s healing journey. While some ideas challenge, like self-contribution to illness, they offer holistic insights crucial for balanced health and wellbeing.

Who Was Hippocrates?

Hippocrates was a Greek physician who lived in Ancient Greece (c. 460 – c. 370 BC). He is thought of as the founding father of modern medicine, having established it as a distinct practice from the more spiritual practices of the time. Indeed, Hippocrates’ medical assumptions and beliefs still form the foundation of the Hippocratic Oath that new medical practitioners swear to upon completion of their training.

Why Is Hippocrates Relevant To My Healing Journey?

I think there is great benefit looking back at the old masters, when the field of medicine didn’t exist and spirituality and science were mixed in equal measure. Healing is a force that has always been present in human culture and I wonder whether its nuances may have been easier to see in ancient times, when life and medicine were much less complicated and the body and mind were not considered distinct entities.

I have been having a wander through some of Hippocrates’ writings and have fallen into deep inspiration… I’m having an inspiration bath today! I’m grabbing my rubber duck, my favourite soap and a good book for this one because I think I may be here a while!!

So, without further ado, I’m diving into Hippocrates’ observations and teachings to light my way on my journey…

Hippocrates On The Healing Force:

As I have read more and more on cases of spontaneous remissions (which, to be honest, are never spontaneous… They take months or years of hard work by the person involved… It’s just in the doctors’ eyes that the person was ill one day and well the next!), I have come to realise that our intuition is always available to us and is continuously trying to steer us towards better health. We just need to lean in closely and learn how to listen to it.

So I make it a priority to keep asking myself the question… ‘What are my mind, body and soul really asking for today?’.

Hippocrates On Nature:

I think, when Hippocrates talks about nature here, he is referring to it in ways that, today, we would understand as two distinct components. Firstly, there is the nature around us in the world. Trees, plants, forests, lakes, rivers, the sea, deserts, mountains. Being in nature restores me in a way that the modern world of cities and urban landscapes just doesn’t. I am therefore taking the reminder from Hippocrates to access it more. I need to find ways to make it a more consistent part of my life, even in the hot, arid climate I now live in.

Secondly, I think Hippocrates could also be referring to nature as the internal body system we have, made up of cells and organs and tissues. My own body can heal me better than any medicine, if I just let it. And, each time I am living in excess in any part of my life – diet, exercise, laziness, stress, work, too much sleep – I am contravening this natural force. A striving for moderation is key (without, well, striving because that would to excess too!). Balance is healing.

Hippocrates On The Origins Of Illness:

Now this quote really peeked my interest. When my daughter was a year and a half old, her blood sugars started oscillating quite violently. A diabetologist confirmed my worst fears – she was in the latter stages of developing Type 1 Diabetes. He suggested, as a last resort, that we could try giving her a range of vitamins and probiotics to support her gut health since research was starting to suggest that Type 1 Diabetes may in fact be a gut disorder. Roll forward six years, my daughter still takes her supplements each day and is still a non-diabetic.

Hippocrates’ observation that illness results from ‘small daily sins against Nature’ resonates with how I have come to understand my T1D (see my post on allostatic load for a deeper explanation). It’s great to have my thoughts supported by someone in a different country, in a different time. I feel like we’re both somehow tapping into the universal healing that has always existed across time.

Hippocrates On The Patient’s Contribution To Their Illness:

Okay, so now I’m heading into choppier waters. This section is looking at how the patient may have contributed to their illness. I want to make clear at this point that I am in no way blaming myself, or any other Type 1 Diabetic, for creating their own illness. I don’t think any one of us, having any choice in this disease, would have chosen to have this. This is not about objective choice. But I am starting to come around to the idea that maybe, somehow, my body developed the diabetes in me as a way to process the ‘small daily sins against Nature’ that Hippocrates refers to. And I do believe that these ‘daily sins’ are not necessarily just physical in nature, not just what we eat and drink or how much we exercise or rest or sleep. I think they also fall into the mental, emotional and spiritual fields – the ‘thoughts’ that Hippocrates refers to in the second quotation here. So, again, Hippocrates is supporting those small whispers of intuition I have that say that who I am, how I turn up in the world, and how I respond emotionally and mentally and spiritually, are also important in this healing journey. Healing involves all aspects on myself, not just a selected few.

The two latter quotes of this section don’t sit so easily for me. I guess I need to ask myself the question… How much exactly do I have to give up?? I suspect that there may be a lot of unlearning to do before true healing is obtained. Through my years of healing so far, though, I have learned that you are never presented with more than you can contend with at each stage of healing. You are asked to stretch but not to the point of breaking. It isn’t easy, it isn’t pretty but eventually you get there. Like, right now, I feel that I am being asked to give up sugar. Like, totally. It feels like an impossible stretch. But three years ago, the idea of meditating every day was too much of a stretch. One year ago, forgiving anyone for anything was just too hard. Slowly but surely, the process unfolds and I find that I unfold with it.

Hippocrates On Tools For Healing:

I think that Hippocrates seems to offer a fair number of insights for me to pursue on my journey from here. Of course, as I have just mentioned above, I feel that food is important on a healing journey and the next step of mine is asking me to be sugar-free. I am not ready for that yet but I suspect that my future will possibly contain that truth. I am reminded about how it is often cited that our bodies are made up of the food we eat so do we want our bodies to be made of french fries or healthy proteins, fat and carbohydrates? Of course, when put like that, it’s a no-brainer. But maybe this is where the second quote here comes in… I need to apply the warmth, sympathy and understanding to myself with this current struggle of mine. Removing the judgement around my current struggles with what I eat are more likely to lead to a better outcome than continually beating myself up for what I put in my mouth. Perhaps it is that hostility towards my perceived flawed nutrition that requires the healing, rather than the nutrition itself. I suspect better nutrition would naturally result if it wasn’t dragged through such hostility on a daily basis!

Okay, so maybe there is new ground for me to cover here… The spine and astrology! I know that Dr Joe Dispenza, as well as being a respected healer, is a trained chiropractor. Whilst I don’t necessarily want to do all that training, I wonder if an adventure into the world of chiropractics might yield insights for me. Similarly, I know very little about astrology and I’m not quite sure how it may be useful to me but, until I investigate, I won’t know more!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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July 19, 2021

Read more about the article Hippocrates’ Wisdom

Meditation / Spirituality / Taking Control of My Health

Morning Routine

Starting The Day In A Healing Way

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: Waking at 5:30 AM despite being a night owl, the author embraced a morning routine influenced by Hal Elrod’s ‘Miracle Morning’. Initially including SAVERS (Silence, Affirmations, Visualisation, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing), the author tailored it to include: meditation, spiritual reading, soulful writing to God, and prayer. Completing the ritual with self-hugging and Reiki principles, it centres the author’s day spiritually.

Now that I’ve chatted through my new bedtime routine, I guess I need to talk about what happens at the other end of the day… My morning routine! I’ve actually been getting up for a morning routine at 5.30am (or thereabouts!) for probably two years now.

Now, I think it’s important to make clear right from the start that I am NOT a morning person. Well, not a natural morning person, anyway! In all of my iterations of my ideal day, getting out of bed never happens before 10am! So how did I, the archetypal night owl, persuade myself to end up getting up daily at 5.30am…?

Hal Elrod’s ‘Miracle Morning’

A friend first introduced me to this book two years ago. I was pretty frustrated with my life at that point, feeling I wasn’t really in charge of my life or had any real direction. When she handed me this book, I devoured it in a couple of days. To this day, I still recommend it to friends!

The book outlines a model for your morning that you can adapt to any timescale you have available (six minutes to two or more hours!). It is based around six key areas that you focus on each morning, which Hal Elrod calls the ‘SAVERS’:

On top of detailing what to include for each section, Hal gives tips on how to effectively get up in the morning (great for us night owls!) and how to maximise the productivity and profitability of this routine and therefore the rest of your day.

The Miracle Morning was a really great way for me to start the practice of a morning routine and set me up well for finding what works for me from there. However, I did struggle with the idea of exercise that early in the morning – I was barely conscious! I found, as the months went on, my ‘SAVERS’ became ‘SARS’ (yikes!!). My frustration levels built with my lack of discipline. So I looked for inspiration elsewhere.

Adapting The Miracle Morning

I still really liked the Silence (aka meditation), Affirmations, Reading and Scribing (aka journalling) parts of the Miracle Morning but I was having a couple of issues with them. Firstly, being a busy wife and mum, I was frustrated by the time limit imposed on me by the demands of my life. For example, I would get halfway through an amazing chapter in the inspirational book I was reading then realise it was time to get my daughter up for school. Secondly, as time went on and I read more self-help material, I realised that there were other things that I also wanted to include in my morning routine or do in its place that I couldn’t accommodate in the SAVERS routine. So I branched out.

What Is No Longer In My Morning Routine

The first thing I knew had to go was the exercise. I have never enjoyed starting my days with exercise. My body just doesn’t coordinate well first thing in the morning. On top of that, I have high insulin sensitivity and high glucose sensitivity before 10am, with both increasing by a factor of two. Chucking exercise into that mix just turns my blood sugar levels into a disaster for the rest of the morning. So exercise was out.

I also found the visualisation quite boring and didn’t ever really get into that. I tried to improve my technique and by reading both ‘Creative Visualization’ by Shakti Gawain and ‘Vivid Visualisation’ by John Freeman. Despite their stellar Amazon reviews, it just didn’t stick with me. So, reluctantly, visualisations didn’t make my final list. (However, I may return to this. I have just discovered that the highly successful Tony Robbins uses visualisations as part of his morning routine so there must be something in it. I think there is great power in visualisations, if only I can learn how to harness them.).

Affirmations were something else that I removed from my morning routine. I enjoy using affirmations and feel they really help me to shift my mentality around whatever I focus my affirmations on. However, I found that I use them most consistently when I attach them to the action of brushing my teeth every morning and evening. I have stuck my affirmations to my bedroom mirror and repeat them every time I brush!

My Spiritual Hour

I now call my routine my spiritual hour because that’s where I want to place my emphasis during the start of my day. I want the focus to be on my spirituality and practices that support that. I feel this aligns well with my healing and reflects Dr Kelly Turner’s findings about the importance of spiritual practices in a healing journey.

Meditation – 20 Minutes

The first thing I do every morning is meditate. I tend to do this for about 15 to 20 minutes. I do different kinds of meditations because I try to choose something that answers whatever I feel my mind, body and soul need that day. Sometimes, I will just sit in silence (I actually find this the hardest type of meditation to do… My, how my mind wanders and my frustration rises!!). Other times, I might listen to a guided meditation on my laptop. I’ve accumulated a selection of these over the last few years. One set I particularly like is an album called ‘Blessing of the Heart’ by Padma Devi Sumananda at Heart of Living Yoga (available here). Other times still, I might follow a particular course that has called to me. Deepak Chopra’s 21-day meditation challenges are particularly good for that! These incorporate some learning with some meditation that usually involves a mantra. I feel particularly zen after these! Deepak has released some of these for free on YouTube and others are promoted free for limited periods of time through his website.

Writing

The next thing I do is a form of writing. I did feel inspired by Hal Elrod’s suggestion to write and knew that I wanted to keep some form of writing in my spiritual hour. I just didn’t like the whole ‘write about what’s on my mind’ thing. I looked around for ideas to replace this.

I have heard really great things about something called ‘The Morning Pages’, which is outlined in Julia Cameron’s book ‘The Artist’s Way’. Whilst it is outlined as a way to inspire creativity in your life, I know that people use the morning pages for all kinds of levels of exploration. The idea is that you write whatever comes into your mind – yes, every word! – for three pages. It is supposed to bring clarity and inspiration and all host of other amazing things. Unfortunately, it fell flat with me. It just seemed a bit pointless. I did it for a couple of months but didn’t feel I gained anything from it at all. It just didn’t call to this one’s soul!

The writing practice I eventually landed on was Janet Conner’s ‘Writing Down Your Soul’. I love this book!! It gave me a brilliant tool to access my spirituality in a way that felt progressive and fulfilling. Janet Conner outlines a routine to surround and hold the writing practice. She also generously gives a whole series of questions you can seek to ask if you are stuck for your own.

Janet suggests that, as part of the preparation for writing, you could read something that resonates with you. The book I chose for this part is Sarah Ban Breathnach’s ‘Simple Abundance: 365 Days to a Balanced And Joyful Life’. This book is truly beautiful. It consists of 365 passages, one for each day of the year. I think you are supposed to work through each day in turn throughout the year but, as I bought it half-way through the year, I decided to pick a page at random each day. Most days, whichever page I land on, it seems to resonate deeply with something in me that is stirring that day.

So, every morning, that is my writing practice. After I meditate, I read ‘Simple Abundance’ and then I write to God. I tell Him (Her?) how I’m feeling and what is going on for me, then I listen for His answers. They always come. This writing practice reminds me of what Neale Donald Walsch did in his ‘Conversations with God’. I hope to benefit from even a fraction of the wisdom that he gained from his experience!

Prayer

After writing, I usually pray briefly. I like to say thanks for all the good in my life and then I select a prayer from ‘Uplifting Prayers to light your way’ by Sonia Chouquette. This is another book that I really appreciate. Again, I select a page at random. More often than not, there is a great synchronicity with the prayer that I find. It often compliments what I have read in ‘Simple Abundance’ and also often resonates with me. It really makes me feel close to God as speak the words out that are presented to me. I feel at peace.

Other Quick Practices

Mirror Exercise: I learnt this on the desert retreat I went on last year. I grab a mirror and, whilst looking directly into my own eyes, I say ‘I see you. I love you. You are beautiful. I am proud of you.’ It is a really affirming process that, whilst feeling awkward at the start, builds over time. It is a powerful practice to sit with yourself in that feeling.

Hugging: I finish my spiritual hour by giving myself a good hug. I discussed in this post about the importance of hugging and how self-hugging can be as effective as hugging someone else. Every morning, I regulate myself and my body with this quick practice.

Reiki Principles: As I walk out of the room I do my spiritual practice in, I turn off the light. I have placed by the light switch the Reiki principles to repeat. These are:

So that’s it! That’s my morning routine.

Of course, there are days I don’t do it. There are also times when I step away from this practice and do something else. For example, that happened when I decided to focus last month on my forgiveness practice. I spent my spiritual hour each morning doing that. But I always return to this. It is my home.

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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June 21, 2021

Read more about the article Morning Routine

Exercise / Hydration / Increasing Positive Emotions / Nutrition / Spirituality / Taking Control of My Health / Yoga

Bedtime Routine

A Better End To The Day For Better Healing

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: Previously resisting structure, the author has finally embraced a bedtime routine for healing. Yoga stretches, skincare, dental care, hydration, gratitudes, and prayer now anchor her evenings. Planning the next day ensures productivity without stress. Fiction reading and experimenting with sound frequencies add relaxation. Candlelight aids skincare, all in pursuit of restful sleep and holistic healing.

The Bedtime Routine. I don’t know why I have resisted this concept for such a long, long time. It could be that it’s because I’m a night owl. I love those deeply quiet and restful hours of the early morning when the world is asleep and peaceful. Or it could be because, as a parent, those few hours after the little ones are asleep seem so short and so full of possibility.

Whatever the reason, I resisted and resisted giving my evening hours to something as structured as a ‘routine’. It felt onerous and long-winded and, well, just hard work at the end of a long day. But I knew that it was a brilliant time to be working on healing, rather than my total number of accumulated telly hours, so I took the plunge. And, as is my way, I went at it with full force…!

Designing My Bedtime Routine

I considered many options for my bedtime routine. Audiobooks, reading, baths (with or without essential oils, epsom salts and all other kinds of healing products), hydration, reflections on my day, gratitudes, affirmations, yoga, stretching, journalling, diffusing essential oils, facial cleansing routines, drinking herbal teas and so on…!

I started to realise that, if I didn’t narrow down my to-do list, I would actually still be awake in the early hours of the morning but, this time, it would be because I was still slogging through my bedtime routine! I decided to trust my intuition on this and go with what I felt drawn towards. Some things jumped out at me immediately…

Yoga Stretches (10 Minutes)

I felt some yoga stretches before bed sounded great. I love yoga and always feel restored and relaxed after spending some time on the mat. However, it’s something I only seem to do sporadically these days so the idea of incorporating that into a daily routine ticked both boxes. So yoga was in.

Cleanse, Tone And Moisturise (5 Minutes)

My appearance, and more importantly how I feel about my appearance, has become more important to me over the preceding months. I have never really invested in my skin and have always found beauty regimes to be too much effort for too little output. But a simple cleansing and moisturising routine felt doable. So that made the list.

Brush And Floss Teeth (5 Minutes)

Of course, dental hygiene goes without saying! I would like to have teeth when I get to old age and diabetics are at increased risk for a whole host of dental problems, including being more prone to gum disease. As part of my intention to reduce toxins in my life, I considered using herbal toothpaste. I actually started this and bought a well-known brand. However, within three months of using this, I was found to have my first ever filling. Perhaps coincidence, perhaps not. But I didn’t want to risk any more problems so I’ve scrubbed that idea and gone back to standard toothpaste. So… Teeth brushing (with a standard toothpaste!), check. Flossing, check.

A Glass Of Water (1 Minute)

Hydration. So, as you know, I now live in an extremely hot desert climate so hydration is on my mind at all hours! I never used to drinking water at night because it often disrupted my sleep due to much needed loo break. However, out here, I am now waking up each morning feeling very thirsty and that doesn’t create a good bodily environment for healing. A glass of water is now part of my night-time ritual.

Gratitudes (5 Minutes)

I tried to make a gratitude practice part of my morning routine but I struggled to name lots of things I was grateful for when I’d just staggered out of bed! I always seemed able to remember to be grateful for my sleep but that was about it!! I hope that, by making this part of my evening routine, I will be able to reflect on my day and all the wonderful moments in it. I hope it will therefore strengthen and deepen my gratitude practice. For now, I will start with three gratitudes every night.

Prayer (1 Minute)

How much did I resist prayer in my life?? Wow, it has hardcore! For years, I didn’t want to pray to a god that I felt had cursed me with diabetes. I didn’t feel He/She deserved as much as a hello from me! I think that the addition of prayer into my night-time routine shows just how far I have come on my healing journey already. I don’t have any set format for praying. I just treat it as a time for me and God to talk, for me to say whatever’s on my mind and, when I can, offer gratitude for all that He/She has done for me and given me.

Plan For The Next Day (18 Minutes)

i have been getting more into self-development lately and I have heard again and again the phrase ‘those who fail to plan, plan to fail’. I don’t know how much that is true but I do know that, on the days that I have made a plan for my time, I get a whole lot more done than on the days when I don’t plan. So planning is in there. But please note that this is not an all-out plan-every-minute kind of thing. It’s more ‘these are the things I want to get done and what is the best order I can do it in’. If I plotted every minute of my day, I dissolve into a stress heap when I got five minutes behind schedule. That isn’t good for creating a stress-free environment for my healing to take place!

Reading Fiction (15 Minutes)

Ah, reading! I love reading!! I have found that, as my healing journey continues, I seem to be devoting more and more of my time to reading factual books about healing. Consequently, less and less of my time is devoted to reading fiction. I feel the balance between work and play is important in life so time needs to be made for enjoyment and relaxation. Reading fiction answers this call for me. Moreover, a gentle story sets me up well to drift off into the land of nod so I have added 15 minutes of reading fiction to my plan.

Finishing Touches

Once I’d worked out what I wanted to include in my bedtime routine, I then had to figure out how long to allocated to each item (see above). I didn’t want to spend more than an hour on my routine so I allocated that hour according to how long I felt each activity would realistically take. I might have to adjust as time goes on.

Then, the last thing to do was decide the order of the activities. I decided I would start in my bathroom as this was the furthest from my bed. That meant doing my ‘cleanse, tone and moisturise face’ and ‘brush and floss teeth’ first. I followed those with my yoga stretches in my bedroom, since these needed to be completed before I could get into bed. Then, from the comfort of my bed, I chose to plan my day first. I knew that this activity would wake my brain up a bit and I needed to save some more calming, less engaging activities for after that. I therefore follow my planning with my glass of water, gratitudes and prayer. I complete the routine with reading my fiction book for fifteen minutes and then turn the light off. Job done! Night night, sleep well.

A Couple Of Extra Things

You might have noticed that I have added candlelight to my skincare routine and sound frequencies to my yoga stretches. The reason for the candlelight is due to something I read in the book ‘Sleep by Nick Littlehales’. He discusses the importance of avoiding bright light on the run-up to bedtime. I really recommend that book if you need to improve the quantity and/or quality of your sleep!

The reason for the sound frequencies is a little less delineated in my mind. I have been hearing great things about the healing qualities of sound frequencies and so I have started to experiment with solfeggio frequencies. Because of the link diabetes has to past trauma and the solar plexus chakra, I am focussing on the frequency of 417 Hz. At the moment, the only time I play solfeggio frequencies is during these ten minutes that I’m doing my bedtime yoga poses. But it’s a start!

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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June 14, 2021

Read more about the article Bedtime Routine

Spirituality

Finding My Own True North

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: In my journey to redefine my blog’s purpose, I’ve realized it’s become a repository of facts, lacking personal essence. Drafting a piece on water consumption left me feeling unfulfilled. Inspired by Carl Jung’s unfiltered ‘Black Books,’ I’m embracing authenticity. This shift mirrors my quest for genuine healing and self-acceptance amid life’s upheavals.

I’d like to change up this space a bit. I feel like I’ve slightly lost my way on this blog. Without me realising, it has become a place to come to access facts, figures and knowledge. I am in the process of drafting a post on water consumption and hydration. I feel it’s an important topic and one that I will publish on my blog at some point. However, as I’ve been drafting it, a feeling of unfulfillment and dissatisfaction has been creeping up on me. The post has left me thirsting for something else (pun intended!!).

What is missing? Me. In my heart, I feel that a true journey to healing is one that has to involve every facet of myself. I can’t hide myself behind pretty graphics and lovely charts anymore. I don’t want to pretend to be more (or less!) than I actually am. I’ve got to show the raw, unedited version of myself… To myself and those around me. That’s the only true path to wholeness, to healing. The learning is as much in the ‘failings’ as it is in the ‘successes’.

I am thinking about Carl Jung’s journey to wholeness. He had a very dark, yet totally inspiring, period in his life in the 1910s and 1920s. During this time, he collated his thoughts, experiences and inner teachings in a series of personal diaries that have now come to be known as the ‘Black Books’. Jung then decided to collate the material from these, refine it and chisel it into a perfect (and more socially acceptable!) format. This format is a beautiful manuscript that came to be known as the ‘Red Book’. Whilst I find the Red Book truly remarkable, having provided me with layers of spiritual enlightenment and synchronicities, I have always somehow also found it lacking. Something in me just couldn’t settle completely when I read it. Once I finally saw some of the contents of the Black Books for the first time, I understood why… His true soul, the true work, the mess and the turmoil that is spiritual transformation, was contained in the Black Books. Not the edited version but the real McCoy. The trials, the tribulations, the frustrations, the imperfections. All of that, along with the findings and the realisations, spoke to my soul in a way the Red Book in its completed form just didn’t.

And I now need to listen to my soul. Until now, this blog has been my Red Book. The edited highlights, with the polish and veneer held in place. But I’d like to get real and get messy. I need to show the wrong-turns as much as the right ones and learn from both.

So let me get real. I am struggling right now. I have undertaken a major overhaul by moving from my home country to halfway around the world. I feel I am being pushed, on every level, to turn inwards. I have lost the normal trappings of a middle-aged woman… Friends, family, my home, familiarity, the predictable. I have also lost a deeply spiritual relationship, the consequences of which will stay with me for a long time to come. Every day now, I am waking up to find the question ‘Who am I?’ waiting for me.

My life feels dark and it is tough-going right now. Loneliness has come knocking at my door and all I can do, in the words of Rumi’s well-loved poem ‘Guest House’, is welcome and entertain all these feelings. A crowd of sorrows has violently swept through my house and is clearing me out for new delights. And I’m staying true to these events. I am sitting with them and feeling them and now, on this blog, writing about them.

To aid my journey inwards, I am meditating daily. Currently, it is for fifteen minutes. I am feeling called to do more but, for now, that will be what it is. I am praying. I also felt called to pick up and read a book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for a good few years… ‘Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within’ by Janet Conner. I am now actively engaging with writing down my soul everyday. I feel called to make art, sit in silence, dive into my inner world. I guess you could say that I am, in the words of Kelly Turner, ‘deepening my spiritual connection’ right now.

I am starting to think more deeply, more spiritually, about the battle that I feel has been raging inside me. I have spent my life trying to ‘knock myself into shape’. I was forever trying to work out how to push myself to do more, be more. I am now choosing to stop that. No more battles from within. I am seeking out peace instead. I am turning to self-love and deep acceptance of who I am. I am thinking about forgiveness, for myself and others. I am asking what it looks like to truly love yourself. For example, I am wondering what exercise and nutrition look like when they come from a place of love and peace. No more diets, no more demanding exercise plans. I have started to explore energy healing, with an interest in chakras and crystals coming into play.

Whilst I’m coming to understand what I no longer need, I still feel a way away from working out what I do need. I don’t have all the answers yet. Maybe I never will. But I truly believe that I will get enough answers to do what I need to heal. And this post, in this moment, is a reflection of some of the process unfolding and my answers developing from there. I hope it may leave a little breadcrumb on the path for those that follow on behind.

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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March 15, 2021

Read more about the article Finding My Own True North

Spirituality

Into The Desert I Go…

Starting Afresh In The UAE

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Summary: The author recounts an unplanned emigration from England to the UAE, prompted by a desire for healing from Type 1 diabetes. Amid unexpected life changes—academic pursuits ending, careers shifting, and relocation—she finds opportunity for profound personal transformation. Embracing this new beginning, she seeks healing through introspection and embracing change in her new environment.

I now find myself over 3,000 miles away from England, from the place I call home. You see, I have emigrated. It wasn’t particularly planned, well not by me, anyway. But I do suspect that higher powers are at work in this one. I set my mind to writing this blog and seeking out healing for my type 1 diabetes and, from that moment on, tectonic plates shifted. In a short space of time, I found that my academic pursuits unexpectedly terminated, my future career evaporated, my husband lost his job and we were then free to welcome in a new life abroad. I made the decision to heal and the paths were cleared for me to make my way.

I now find myself in the UAE. This is a place with a massive rate of diabetes, finding itself in the list of the top 15 countries in the world with the highest prevalence of diabetes. Whilst the majority of these cases are type 2 diabetics, the number of cases of Type 1 Diabetes are also multiplying. I suspect that my relocation to this country is no accident.

I find myself with time. After being so busy for so long, I now have time to dedicate to healing on all levels. I have the space to read, to ponder, to ask questions of the world around me and also of myself.

I find myself with the opportunity to make changes. I can now pick a completely new direction for my life. I am starting from ground zero here. I don’t have a daily schedule. I don’t have a supermarket list of foods to buy. I no longer have bad habits to try to avoid or routines that are no longer suited to me.

Every step I take into a new life in the UAE is one that I can think about and choose with healing in mind. It is a complete reset of everything that was before. I feel I have been granted a sacred opportunity here to pursue my healing.

I am reminded of a case study that Dr Jeff Rediger talked about in his book ‘Cured’. He spoke of a lady who moved half-way around the world to heal. Whilst she planned it with intention, life planned this one for me! What should be the first step I take into this unknown…?

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Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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October 26, 2020