EACH OF US has the power to create a rainbow spectrum of realities.

Every time we make a choice we drop a pebble into the pool of our own ecosystem, and those tiny waves; ripples of energy, are the result of our innate ability to make choices. That energy ripples through every level of our world. It ripples through the very waters in our bodies, it makes waves, and over time, as we see in nature, those waves erode and change the environment in which they flow.

Our bodies are vessels with a built-in cycle. When in harmony, the body fills, contains and eliminates. Natural health is based on the principal of harmony; harmony is maintained through balance. To live in harmony, we live in balance; we take in energy, it flows through us, and we release it. This process happens over and over in a healthy body fueled by a healthy mind. Only when we become unbalanced does the process slow and cause the flow to figuratively "back up and stagnate."

Any number of things can cause an imbalance on a physical level, which causes a change in the body's harmony. A cold, a virus, environmental pollutants, all these things can cause a breach in our bodies immune system. If we rest and take care of ourselves, take the right herbs, and/or visit an understanding doctor, within a few days we usually recover. After that we remind ourselves to wear our hats when we go out and we avoid the usual causes of illness. For a while, we remain reasonably healthy.

This is the body's immune system at work.

We are built for flow and harmony, and the immune system acts like a back-up system, an emergency generator which kicks in when germs slip by and we are caught off guard. Those who work in the spiritual realm know that there is another immune system, beyond the physical: the spiritual immune system.

Most religions recognize the presence of the spiritual side of our nature, but one doesn't have to be religious, to understand that we are more than the body we were born with, and the body we will leave behind when we die. The spiritual immune system is also built for flow and harmony. The same principle applies to the spiritual immune system: filling, containing and eliminating.

In order for our spiritual nature to be filled continually, we must first make a connection to something beyond chaos. Some people call that connection God, while others call it love, light, or universal energy; the name is just that, a name. It is what that name represents that is important. It is that connection to the source that is of utmost importance.

In order to keep our spirits healthy - which is, in fact, the first line of defense for our physical body's good health - we must be able to do several things well.

• First, we must be able to love and be loved. We must be able to make a caring connection with another human being and we must be able to feel and accept love in return.
• Next, we must be able to forgive others for what they have done to us, real or perceived. And, we must find a way to forgive ourselves for what we have done or left undone, real or perceived.
• Finally, we must realize that the energy we put out to the world and to others, always finds its way back to us. It serves to remind us that it is always good to do good, and it is never ok to justify a known wrong action.

The healthy spirit must remain in balance and harmony. Love others and allow yourself to be loved; forgive others and accept that forgiveness for yourself. Send out positive energy and freely accept that energy will come back to you. Remaining healthy depends on both sides of the equation being satisfied.

There are moments and events in our lives that have the ability to throw our systems into a tail-spin: The loss of a loved one, betrayal by a companion, the death of a child, all of these events can cause us to lose faith in the stability of life. Even more alarming, they remind us that the world is in a state of flux and we have very little control of many things happening around us. At these times, it is essential to have a strong spiritual immune system.

We may still collapse and fall down. We may need to rest, or see a health care professional, even take medication to help us through these situations, but a strong spiritual immune system gives us the capacity to come back, the capacity to recover. A poor spiritual immune system makes us vulnerable to the risk of never fully recovering. As important as it is to understand the principals of what makes a strong spiritual immune system, it is equally important to learn what breaks down that system.

One of the things that can break the walls of our spiritual immune system is the act of holding on to the vivid emotions associated with the memories of a painful event. The inability to let go of those emotions causes stagnation in our spiritual flow. Like the pebble dropped into the water over and over again, re-experiencing the emotions of traumatic events prevents us from seeing their meaning clearly, it stops the flow, and over time, it erodes the environment of spirit.

It also acts as a trigger to set off the recall of other stored emotions and memories from the past, as similar memories tend to go to the mind's files of similar memories. Emotion stored below the surface of our subconscious is like a television playing in the background of our conversations; it never stops playing. We learn to ignore it, but it still plays. Over time it erodes our system and makes us weaker than we would otherwise be.

Emotions are part of what makes us human, they are our teachers and they hold great meaning. It is very important to find out what they are revealing, in and about us, in each situation. The problems arise when we start filing memories into our sub-conscious with all the unresolved emotions attached.

It is possible to do emotional housecleaning. The point is not to erase the memory and never to invalidate the event, but merely to remove the emotion that is stored in the event or the trauma. This release is so important because when we experience any strong emotion we also experience a number of chemical actions and reactions in our physical body. Chemicals are released, and depending on the degree of emotional trauma and what that trauma triggers from past stored emotions, those chemicals and their amounts are often inappropriate to the situation at hand.

What we have, in a sense, is a small chemical plant beneath the surface of our subconscious; it is an active plant that will produce chemicals in our body every time an emotionally laden memory is triggered and relived. There are specific indicators when this happens. These indicators are the result of re-experiencing emotionally laden memories, also referred to as trauma. The physical manifestations of these indicators include:

• The rising or falling in the pitch of a person's voice
• Rapid open eye movement
• A fixated stare
• Tics in the bodies neurological system
• Sweating, tears, agitation or anger

These indicators often precede one of two kinds of "shutdown." Subconscious shutdown manifests as the inability to recall a memory or event. Conscious shutdown happens when a person insists upon not recalling a memory or event. Both survival techniques are used to mask the debilitating pain of an emotion locked into a memory, a memory the mind deems too hard or too intense to recall.

In order to maintain a healthy spirit and a strong spiritual immune system, we must learn to recognize emotions as they manifest, understand what they are attempting to convey, and - without judging them - acknowledge their energy and its connection to the action or situation. Once that is accomplished, we must release the emotion. When we have achieved this, we can recall a traumatic or painful event without re-experiencing the intense emotions of the event, including the indications that a chemical reaction is reoccurring.

The spiritual immune system is a complement to the body's physical immune system. In time of need, these systems work together to provide balance, harmony and wellbeing; both immune systems - the spiritual and the physical - integrate, working in tandem to promote healing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca Buchanan is the Education and Research Director at the Ozark Research Institute in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a non-profit membership organization that conducts research into the power of the mind and its effects on healing.

You may contact Rebecca at (479)582-9197 or at: ori-buchanan@ipa.net For more information on the Ozark Research Institute visit: www.ozarkresearch.org.