Over the years, I’ve had my share of ailment adventures, including cancer—not once, but twice—a hysterectomy that left me in a coma on life-support, a premature baby where we both nearly died (but thankfully didn't), and more. Yet, from these earlier experiences, grew an understanding of the goodness in ailments and the creation of my Marvelous Messages™ method.

Recently, I had a new adventure, and I’d like to show you just how this goodness works, along with a quick method you can use on yourself.

Early in August, my husband decided on a moment's notice to hand deliver some auction items to Florida. I had three days to pack for the seven-day, 2600-mile round trip. (Yikes!) 

However, one thing I refused to reschedule was my annual eye exam. I knew I had been experiencing some changes in my sight, and my previous optometrist had not been stellar. I found a new one close by, but had waited six weeks for my appointment. There was no way I was going to miss out on it. Call it intuition, call it an internal nudging, I just felt it was important—and it was.

Packed and ready to leave for Florida upon conclusion of my exam, my new optometrist informed me I likely had a detached retina and that I absolutely must see a specialist right away. Fortunately, they scheduled the appointment eight days later, giving us the time we needed to make the Florida drop-off.

The day after my return, we went to see the retina specialist hoping beyond hope it was nothing more than floaters due to aging. To my shock, that single appointment became many more, eventually leading to retina reattachment surgery at the Cole Eye Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. As I write this, I still only have clear sight in my left eye with the expectation that my right eye vision will return within a few weeks. A blessing to be sure, as I could have totally lost my sight in that eye had it not been discovered.

So how can I use this seeming misfortune to find the goodness—or what I refer to it in my books as a Marvelous Message? Here’s a summary of the process I used, though please note that my more complete, step-by-step process can be found in my Marvelous Messages from Your Body book. (Links below.)

SUMMARY OF STEPS

Step 1: Write down a specific description of the issue. Do not use a medical diagnoses or terminology. (Leave the diagnoses to your doctor.) Think about how you might explain it to your best friend. Focus on one location, one symptom.

Here's mine.

Due to a detached retina, I had surgery on my right eye to prevent the loss of my vision. My eye feels swollen, sore, and my vision is blurred as well as blocked. This is due to a gas bubble doctors inserted into my eye and eye fluid. During surgery, my eye may have been scraped, cut, and stitched. I received a buckle. Later I received a laser treatment, which they compared to being "spot welded." (This burned.) I still experience what I call "searchlights" in my eye.

Step 2: Highlight Keywords from the description. Use a dictionary (no guessing) to look up the definitions. Look for relevant descriptions above and beyond the ailment's actual meaning. (Hint: This will connect to your life situations.)

Here's mine:

Keywords: 

Detach (ed) - disengage, withdrawal 

Sore - angry, irked, causing emotional pain or distress 

Blur (blurry/blurred) - vaguely perceived, confused

Block (ed) - obstacle impeding progress; prevent normal function 

Buckle - to give way; yield

Scraped - to accumulate money by in increments; make one's way with difficulty

* * *

Fluid - subject to change, available for use; smooth, easy style

Swollen - expand in size, increase in size or intensity

Vision - a vivid mental image, especially a fanciful one of the future

Cut - turn sharply or bypass, reduce in amount, to separate

Stitched - to fasten or join; to make or mend; unite

Weld (ed) - to unite or repair closely or intimately 

Burn (ed) - to give off light; to use freely without limits

Searchlight - used to illuminate or search for distant objects or as a beacon

Step 3: Look for the message. Look for connections to your present life and keys to moving forward positively. It's okay if some words do not connect, but sometimes you have to check more than one dictionary. (There are several online.)

Here's mine:

Notice I've split my list in two. The top half seems to echo the essence of happenings in my life pre-surgery. The bottom tends to show a premonition of what's coming post-surgery. While I feel each person who reads this will garner their own meaning, here's what I wrote for myself.

The obvious first—I may have been angered or hurt by a situation/person (hurt often covers an underlying anger), which caused me to pull away (detach). (At this writing, I don't know exact;u what/who that was—and that's okay). Just know this pulling away included connections to my heart's desires and life's path. (I had put things I care about aside.) This is a key point to keep in mind.

This pulling away was causing me to lose a hold on my vision—not my physical sight, but my hopes/wishes/desires and ultimately, my highest purpose—my destiny. But my body called me back into focus, into alignment—that's what our bodies do.
Looking at my other words, I see what this ailment is trying to accomplish—it's a Marvelous Message for me.

Something had come up to block my way, and my body was trying to create change, Something in my life is being mended (stitched), this is to reunite or join me back to what I've pulled away from (detached).

I love that the searchlights (a beacon) and burn (to give off light; to use freely without limits) are telling me this interlude of discomfort is designed to bring me back to who I am meant to be so that I can shine brightly (as a soul, a helper, a spirit). This is the best, most marvelous part of the message!

The longer I contemplate these words, the more I might learn from them. However, it's also fine to accept the message at its face value, thank my body for it, take any action steps determined from it, then release it and move on.

Again, the book version of this simplified exercise contains many more details, but you can learn enough here to get you started on understanding what your body is trying to tell you. There is a lot to glean when you listen to your body groan and your soul weep.

Would you like a Marvelous Messages from Your Body reading? You can buy the book (see links below), or scroll down to see session options.