AlexSandra Lett "Lett's Set a Spell"

Letts Set a Spell:
Healing Body, Mind, and Spirit

As I set my intentions, and thought about goals for the New Year I decided to focus on recharging body, mind, and spirit. For two years I had been riding a roller coaster—juggling the creation and promotion of two new books with the concerns of elderly parents who had died in recent months—and longed for relief. Now, waking up in the morning without the dread of deadlines, I realized how dead I had been for a long time, tied to traditional views of working hard and bound by worldly expectations related to making money and gaining fame. Releasing the walls of workaholism, I could see the prison I had built for myself.

In taking time to reflect, I remembered a story about a group of Brits who went to Africa on safari. After days of hightailing it across the plains, the guides refused to go forward. When asked why, one responded: “We are waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies.”

Back in 1998, I had moved to the country to escape the trappings of city life, but more importantly, to connect with Mother Nature and to discover my true self. Then I realized that many people, including myself, were working for material comforts but often sacrificing spiritual nourishment. As an enthusiastic but struggling freelance writer in 1991, I had strategically shifted the focus of my communications company, because clients were willing to pay me big bucks to perform public relations and marketing services. My business grew dramatically, but my soul suffered.

A devastating illness in 1995 attacked my exhausted body and a destructive hurricane in 1996 destroyed important property. These challenging experiences forced me to examine life's messages and reassess career choices. These wake-up calls allowed me to tune in to the message that God wanted me to use my talents in other ways. Change is rarely easy—I had to spend some time in the wilderness before I was led to the best path for expressing my creativity. I went through the “dark night of the soul” then and experienced it again in dealing with my Daddy's sickness and passing in 2004 and my Mama's dementia and death in 2005.

Most spiritual leaders agree that a “trial by fire” is often necessary for all human beings to change their beliefs and alter their behaviors. Crises like death, illness, job loss, natural disasters, and betrayals offer opportunities for improvement and growth. Eventually people see the light at the end of the tunnel and experience a feeling of healing and renewal, even transformation.

Healing is a process that requires ongoing discovery to facilitate complete recovery. Often it takes weeks, sometimes months, even years, to move through the natural cycle of coping with a crisis, then resolving and releasing it.

Recently I reminded myself that I am considered an expert on health and healing, having written many articles and a book, Natural Living: From Stress to Rest, and presented numerous programs related to wellness. As Mama and Daddy always told me: practice what you preach!

Here are some of the modalities I am implementing to evolve from the Dark Night of the Soul to the Bright Light of the Spirit:

(1) I am treating my body like a temple and have quit eating foolish foods and drinking bad beverages containing white sugar and artificial substitutes that were destroying my body and damaging my mind. I am focusing on eating a high-protein diet and drinking lots of pure water.

(2) I am honoring the adage “rest is the ultimate cure,” therefore getting more sleep at night and taking naps to speed the body's natural healing ability.

(3) I write often in my diary about my thoughts and feelings. Keeping a journal and other forms of creative self-expression can be very therapeutic.

(4) I put exercise as a priority—walking and doing yoga. Motion heals emotion!

(5) I spend time outside with Mother Nature, benefiting from the healing sun, the invigorating fresh air, and the beautiful scenery.

(6) I am seeking help from professionals in the form of bodywork, therapeutic massage, detoxification, and nutritional supplementation. I take the mineral magnesium, a natural tranquilizer, every night to promote sleep.

(7) I am indulging in soothing baths often and have noticed that soaking in epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) mixed with baking soda is especially relaxing.

(8) I pray often, asking God for guidance, and meditate more, listening for answers.

(9) I am taking the religious holiday Lent seriously this year—March 1—and have adopted the slogan “Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking.” I decided to forgive the few folks who had let me down when I needed them the most during the past two years and be thankful for the loyal friends and faithful family members who are always ready to listen and to love.

This New Year, I will remind myself often to nurture body, mind, and spirit and to honor the Sabbath. As I focus on “Rebirth” and healing, I am grateful for the many blessings that surround me. Through elder care challenges in recent years I have been constantly reminded of the precious passage of time and know that at any age, there are cycles of change and seasons of the heart. While a ripened crop may go to seed in the fall, bare fields will bring forth fruit in the spring. Like the philosopher Albert Camus said, “In the midst of winter I found in me an invincible summer.”