"I'm sick... there's something right with me"

BhikkhuJayasara

when you feel yourself getting sick before an important week filled with important events you can't be sick for(which is SO life isn't it?) what can you do? Do you fight your sickness, try to drug it up, feed it negativity? or do you make peace with it, be kind to it, know that there is nothing wrong with being sick, accept the situation and feed it positivity.

Which way do you think gets rid of a sickness faster?

Ajahn Brahm always asks people to raise their hands if they've never been sick in their life, and of course no one ever can, because we all get sick. He coined the phrase " i'm sick , there is something right with me". Which made so much sense to me and I took this philosophy of being kind to the sickness and accepting it as normal, not trying to fight it. So in times like this where I feel sickness coming on and think about the old habits of negativity towards that sickness, I see how much the practice changes your ability to deal with situations like this. It is the same philosophy in meditation practice period, being kind to your body and mind, observing, accepting, and letting go... being at peace.

zombiegirl

I take supplements/foods to boost my immune system. My mom always says that if you think you'll get sick, you will, so I figure half the battle is convincing myself that I won't. But honestly, I might get that familiar day or two of, "Oh man, I think I'm getting sick!" but it typically doesn't progress beyond that... although when something actually does beat my immune system, it's always like the bug from hell.

BhikkhuJayasara

zombiegirl said:

I take supplements/foods to boost my immune system. My mom always says that if you think you'll get sick, you will, so I figure half the battle is convincing myself that I won't. But honestly, I might get that familiar day or two of, "Oh man, I think I'm getting sick!" but it typically doesn't progress beyond that... although when something actually does beat my immune system, it's always like the bug from hell.

I have a similar experience. I was a very sickly child. major asthma(still have minor asthma) and allergies(still have some allergies), always stuffy, had to have weekly shots etc. As an adult I very rarely get sick. Even in a season like this where i'm in an out of houses where literally everyone is sick,not to mention living with a nephew who brings home sickness from school. I don't stress over it and if it comes, it comes. I've noticed for a few days a few "symptoms" of something coming, but as you said rarely does it ever go past this point. I can't remember the last time I took a sick day from work, let alone more then one.

being sick is a great chance to practice mindfulness and see your body in a different state then you would normally see it on a daily basis.

Glow

It helps me to remember that sickness is simply your immune system doing what it is designed to do. Fever to create a hostile environment for pathogens. Inflammation (sore throat, aches and stiffness) to send white blood cells to the area to fight the infection. Increased mucus production to do battle with upper respiratory infections in their home base (mucus is antiseptic and contains antibodies and salts that help defeat germs.) That Ajahn Brahm quote is correct in more ways than one.

chela

Every day I find a new reason why I love my new practice. Today I am sick. This is so refreshing, thank you for posting @Jayantha.

Silouan

Depending upon the severity of the illness I know I can become quite irritable, and pretty much want to be left alone. I pray throughout it that I may be able to approach being ill with patience and compassion in particular towards others. It's an opportunity to really see how far off the mark one easily can be with the aspiration of such a prayer serving as a spiritual reference.

sharonsaw

HE Tsem Rinpoche, has taught us that when we fall sick, we should think - may all the sickness and suffering of others come to me... and that we suffer it happily because we are absorbing their sicknesses. Since we are suffering from illness anyway, we can imagine suffering for others and that makes the sickness much easier to bear.

This is a form of meditation called tonglen, where we visualise taking onto ourselves the suffering of others when we breathe in, and we visualise giving happiness and success to all sentient beings when we breathe out. This is a training in altruism and as such, is also known as the practice of a Bodhisattva.

JohnC.Kimbrough

I have had thoughout my life a reluctance to take any kind of supplement, vitamins or medicine. I have tried to use meditation, Hatha Yoga, racewalking, exercise, food, rest, reading and sleep as my main tools for staying alive and focused......I was "sick" for a good part of my youth and young adult life. The sickness was not knowing myself or the "bright path". I was made ill though my own ignorance and the ignorance of others. I was sexually molested at the age of 13 by the minister at my church. But my parents abused me worse because they neglected me and demonized me. I was a substance abuse and spent time in both jail and prison. It was not Buddhism that saved me. It was....well....The Holy Spirit of God directing me to do a few good things, make a few wise decisions. I think healing begins with or is to a large extent brought about once we trust ourselves. I do not think that it was Buddhism that gave me that. I think it was the Holy and enlightened spirit within me......Was it because of God or The Buddha? I do not know. I am thankful for it and it's grace and wisdom. I guess this has not or does not address your question, but it is what has gone though my mind in trying to answer it. We are I think, you are I think, blessed if we can ask questions that help others think about what needs to be thought about.....May God and The Buddha bless you for that.....