Now I’m not suggesting that our lives should be one constant adventure. The routine, known, helps us to complete our daily tasks with minimal energy output. Calmness and quiet are conducive to meditation and introspection, important to our understanding. But living full time in a comfort zone equates to a life with little growth and growth is why we’re here.

So don’t always strive to be comfortable. And don’t work hard to keep your loved ones feeling comfortable. Strive instead for some regular discomfort in your life. Think of it as a stepping stone to joy. Why? Well, we know we feel joyous when we behave as who we really are; this is our soul shouting encouragement. And who we really are is, for most of us, not who we are being much of time. Most of us are operating below our highest self. So we’re comfortable at our current level because it’s familiar. But joy comes when we’re being our highest self. The transition in between, a necessary stepping stone, is uncomfortable. We’re out of familiar, but not yet at joyous level of highest self. Welcome that feeling of discomfort as an opportunity to advance your life. Take next steps to joy.

Affirmations can help as well. Some good ones to say are: "I am supportive of myself." "I am supporting myself." "I am surrounded by supportive people, and have all support that I need in life." "I am standing up for myself." "I am standing upright for myself." "I am moving forward in my life, surrounded by supportive people and pain-free."

Eliminating stress from your life is essential to good back health. Stress contributes tremendously to tight muscles, a constant adrenaline rush of "fight or flight" and feelings of helplessness. Look around and do what you can to cut stressors in your life. Give up feeling that you must be super-human and that you have to control everything!

For pain relief, try this: put an ice cube on a plate. Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit, relax and just watch ice cube melt. As it melts, say to yourself that pain is melting away along with ice. All stress, pain, fear and worry are just melting away.

Be aware that you are all support that you really need in your life. You are more than capable of being supportive of yourself if you will only allow yourself to be.

No matter how debilitating your back problems are, if you will work on this, it will help if you can be open to possibility that it will. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain with attempt.

Please, feel free to email me and let me know if this helped you or if it did not! sibyl@www.circle-of-grace.com