Purification is not a word I invented. It has been in the dictionary for a long time. However, when I used it for first time many years ago to refer to a client’s condition which he called “sickness,” it did seem as if I had made a new discovery. This man suddenly had a different and more empowering perspective of what was happening. He was willing to be purified, yet seconds before he viewed his condition as sickness, vacillating between resisting it and trying to mask it.
Purification by Another Name Can be Sweet, or Not
Purification is not always sweet. It is primarily after the purification process that you experience the sweetness or clarity or freedom. The naming of a thing can make all the difference in the way you relate to it. Here are some names that are often applied to the process of purification:
Detoxification; Detox; Retracing; Illness; Sickness; flu, cold, headache; Healing Crisis; Correcting Crisis; Health Correction; Paradigm Shift; Recycling Toxicity; Release; Cleansing; Cleansing Response; Chronic/Acute Condition; -itis; Recoiling; Pattern Breaking; Falling Apart; Breakdown; Breakthrough. And perhaps you have others you could add to the list.
Levels of Experience
So often I speak and write about four levels of experience: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive categories. While your attention may be on one dimension, all the other levels are somehow involved in each experience, even if you are not aware. I do find that when distinguishing these four levels (or layers or bodies or parts or aspects), they are easier to sort out, and therefore, they are easier to clear out. Integration follows differentiation. Ultimately, you want to be in touch with the whole; familiarity with the parts enhances familiarity with the whole.
Through my ability to read information in the energy field, I know that the density of these levels becomes finer when proceeding from one to another in the order listed. That is, the physical level is the most dense (for example, you can see, touch, hear it), the emotional level is less dense, the mental level is an even finer vibration, and the spiritual level is the finest and lightest of all four. I have trained myself to see, touch, and hear in the emotional, mental, and spiritual levels and consider this as natural as accessing the physical level in these ways.
A Day for a Year
A client of mine, Sue, embarked on a personal purification process several years ago when she committed herself to a 49-day juice fast, supervised by a health care practitioner and me. Her intention was to clear anything from her body that she did not need. She thought of it primarily as a physical cleansing, but also experienced powerful healing in other ways. The emotional release often took her by surprise. In addition, she was constantly aware of how her mental body was working. And she experienced herself as more spiritually attuned.
It was a delight to check her energy field each day and notice the changes. In addition to the fasting from solid foods, she reflected and wrote about a year of her life, counting backwards. So, the first day, she released anything that may have accumulated during the current year; the second day, she released anything that may have accumulated during the previous year when she was forty-eight, and so on. The forty-ninth day coincided with the year of her birth. Throughout the 49 days, she carried on a full day’s work, usually six days a week.
A Recent Personal Purification
A few months ago, I unexpectedly engaged in a purification process. This began at a three-day conference in an extremely toxic environment: a hotel conference center during the day and hotel sleeping room at night. The conference was sandwiched between two airplane flights. I am not accustomed to being without fresh air for more than an hour or so at a time. As my body started to release the toxic overload, I began to feel “sick.” My head ached, my joints stiffened, and I felt listless. My body was reacting to the toxins; more precisely, my immune system was working properly to release the toxins.
Just as my clients find it helpful when I re-frame their disempowering situations, I immediately re-framed my situation by converting the thoughts of “sickness/illness” to acknowledge that my body was strong enough to eject toxicity. Truly, when the body is healthy enough, it does release toxins. Most of these symptoms are mildly to very uncomfortable; however, when you understand the process, you are more likely to cooperate than resist.
Without this understanding, you are likely to reach for some substance to repress the symptoms so that you do not have to feel uncomfortable. I grew up with parents who did not want their children to experience such discomforts. We were given many over-the-counter remedies and prescribed drugs. I equate this to removing the batteries in the smoke detector because you find the sound annoying when the detector works properly and gives its warning. I have not taken any drug (prescribed or over-the-counter) for many years.
True for Me; True for Others?
I often experiment with healing processes for myself because I have been challenged by some health conditions over the years. In addition, processes pop into my mind and flow from my lips or finger tips for clients and others. Sometimes my personal experiences serve as great barometer for others' experiences; other times they do not.
Of course, when I report my own personal experience, I am reporting just that: one person’s experience. As valid and helpful as that may be, it is not appropriate to generalize one person’s experiences to everyone’s experiences. I am fortunate to have information from so many others to help me to make generalizations and see patterns: clients, workshop participants, web site visitors, subscribers, and thousands who benefit from my services on the Internet. All those connections serve to reinforce that each one of us is unique.
Purification as Week One
The principles of purification I have discovered when working with myself and clients have served as a solid foundation for the first week of the DailyAffirm Process. The first week of each calendar month is devoted to purification — called “Releasing/Cleansing.”
About purification, I have learned that “a little goes a long way” and often “less is better.” These are, of course, cliches, but they connote important dynamics. I have found that those who benefit most from the DailyAffirm messages are the ones who know how deeply to work with each message. As with any discipline, you need to know when to be unrelenting in following a practice and when to be gentle with yourself. I suggest you not construct a lot of rules (e.g., “I must do this every day for twenty minutes.”), which further limits you. Since the purpose of purification is to release limitations, it is wise to avoid adding new limitations.
The Bottom Line for Purification
The true test for knowing the success of a purification program is to experience greater clarity or health or freedom when it is complete. You can call the program by any label that seems appropriate — from a cold to a healing crisis or an illness or a rose — but the results at the end must make you feel more pure and vibrant, otherwise it is not a purification program.
