So now I'm looking at the possibility of allergy shots and wishing there was a more natural, long-lasting solution, but I'm seeing very few options. I wish I understood my body a little better.
I think one way to look at allergies is an overreaction of the body's natural defenses. We react to something that isn't really a threat, but we do so because our body's defensive cells don't recognize certain substances as friendly or benign. There are a lot of health issues that can crop up when our body has this kind of misunderstanding. Blood type mismatches, organ type mismatches, even type I diabetes, I believe, where our defensive cells fail to recognize the markers on cells in the pancreas and they attack it, disabling its ability to produce insulin. This is the western view of the body and it works pretty well.
That got me thinking a few months ago of our body reacting to impurities. And then, as I often do, I made a leap to spiritual things. I realized that being sensitive wasn't always a bad thing and I prayed that I might be as sensitive to spiritual impurities as I am to environmental allergens. Wouldn't that be great? Still working on that. But it was a nice thought and got me focused on purity a little more.
I think there's another view of allergies that stems from an oriental view of the body. It is that allergies are a natural side effect of a body whose systems are out of balance. Bad things happen when the body's communication system breaks down, when energy (the Chinese qi or chi) doesn't flow properly, when one or more parts of the body are neglected. And while I don't know of any good treatments along those lines (the Internet has a few claims that may or may not be true), I think this is a pretty good way of viewing our bodies to ensure proper health.
And so, jumping to spiritual matters once again, I thought that maybe the negative spiritual health we experience is sometimes brought about by a spiritual imbalance. Perhaps we sometimes seek after impurities because something is out of whack. An example I've found that impacts me both physically and spiritually is exercise. When I neglect to exercise, my health deteriorates and I also feel less sensitive to spiritual connections to God. I think the body, mind, and spirit are very tightly connected and what affects one will have an effect on the others. But whatever the stimulus, taking care of ourselves by balancing the needs of every part of us seems really important.
So I'll be searching for a bit more balance in the near future ... and hoping to be a little less sensitive.
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