I got sick last week. Twice.I bet one reason was so I could write about healing today. (I’m getting worried. Everything is so personal with me. What if I write about exorcism?)
Last Thursday, after eating my breakfast, I felt an ache in my stomach.
It was my usual breakfast: A tall glass of carrot juice with apples thrown in. Plus two bananas. Or some other fruit. Been eating this way for years.
So I didn’t know why I had the sore tummy.
As the searing pain continued, I took a shower, got dressed, and rode the car. I figured the pain would disappear.
But it didn’t.
As I sat in the car, I still felt the fiery throb in my belly.
That was when it hit me: This was acid!
It didn’t click right away because it’s been two years since I felt it.
After living with my body for 40+ years, I’ve learned a lot of things about it.
That I’m incredibly macho and completely irresistible to the girls, shucks, that’s obvious. That my brain is deranged and hallucinatory, I learned that too.
Kidding aside, here’s one thing I learned about my body: When I’m over-stressed, my stomach acids would hit turbo.
But here’s the great thing. Every time I have acid in my stomach, I’ve learned how to heal it. No pills necessary.
All I did was close my eyes (By the way, I wasn’t driving!), place my hands on my chest, and inhale and exhale very slowly. And I said over and over again, “I’m totally, completely, perfectly loved.” I breathed in God’s love into my life.
And in minutes, I felt the pain vanish. Completely.
Sickness Is A Message
But here’s the funny thing: I didn’t know I was stressed out!
Sure, I knew I was juggling lots of stuff. But what’s new? I lead 9 non-profit organizations, plus a few personal businesses. I thought I was managing my work pretty well. But here’s the curious thing—my physical body picked up my inner stress even before my conscious mind knew about it.
When my subconscious mind couldn’t get through to my conscious mind, it would speak directly to my body.
Today, I listen to my body more. Why? I believe that 90% of the time, a sickness means your soul is telling you something. Disease is a message. Because you don’t pay attention to your soul, your soul is using your pain to slap you on your face and cry out, “Listen to me, will you?”
But what do we do? We swallow a pill to deaden the pain. Wrong move. The message was not heard. The wound isn’t healed.
But in the car, I listened.
And my soul quietly told me, “Bo, your To-Do-List has become just too long. Who are you trying to please? Relax in God’s love. Don’t try to win love. You’re already loved. There’s nothing to prove!”
I didn’t only listen. I acted on it. I began to relax. It was like I hit the “refresh” button of my life and saw my work for what it is: Play.
I felt wonderful.
I was healed.
But funny, two days later, I got sick again.
The Second Time I Got Sick
Two days later, I ate in a seafood restaurant.
I ate something really bad and had the runs.
Sorry to be graphic here, but I now know why they call diarrhea the runs. Because I was literally running from one toilet to another.
Believe me, I’ve never thanked God enough for the clean toilets along the road going home. My reward? I now know the best toilets along C-5 Hi-way. It was like Good Friday for me. Not Visitas Iglesias but Visitas Toiletas.
This time, let me make it clear: My sickness had nothing to do with my soul. My soul wasn’t giving me any secret messages. And I couldn’t remove the pain no matter how much I inhaled and said, “I’m totally, completely, and perfectly loved.”
I just ate something rotten, period.
I drank lots of liquids, took a pro-biotic pill, and I was well by evening.
Why am I telling you this? I believe 10% of our diseases are totally biological—and I thank God we’ve got doctors and medicines.
Perhaps your sickness is purely genetic or purely environmental. My point here is that not all diseases of the body are diseases of the soul.
But when it’s not purely biological, you need to go to the roots.
Stress Ain’t Good
The medical community has already said this again and again: A huge majority of our diseases are psychosomatic. (Psyche means soul. Soma means body.) Doctors have been saying this message for decades. But incredibly, the percentages are getting higher.
Forty years ago, doctors were saying that 50% of diseases were psychomatic.
Thirty years ago, they raised it to 60%.
Twenty years ago, it was 75%.
Just yesterday, I read the report: Some doctors now believe that over 90% of our diseases have emotional roots. And if I may dare say—spiritual roots.
Some studies even show that specific negative emotions weaken certain organs of our body. Anger weakens the liver. Grief weakens the lungs. Worry affects the stomach. Fear hurts the kidneys. And guilt lowers your immune system to fight diseases. And when you hate yourself, your body starts destroying itself.
People say that heart disease is the number one killer in the world. Every year, 30% of all deaths in the world are related with heart disease.
But that’s superficial data. I’d dig deeper. I believe that the number one killer in the entire planet is not heart disease but stress. Why? Stress is the number one cause of heart disease. (Nope, it’s not crispy pata, chicharon bulaklak, and aligue. Not a license to eat them, but just clarifying the facts.)
But Where Does Your Stress Come From?
This may be hard for you to believe, but your stress doesn’t come from your job or your boss. Even if he has the thick moustache of Hitler. Your job is merely the location of your stress.
I believe your stress comes from a broken relationship with yourself, with others, and with God.
Stress is not a job problem. It’s a relationship problem.
You’re not at peace. That’s why you’re stressed out.
That’s why you took in more than you could chew.
That’s why you’re working hours aren’t human.
That’s why you’re carrying a burden of 10 people.
That’s why you’re trying to prove something.
That’s why you’re trying to be loved.
Because you don’t have peace.
And note: Peace is about relationship.
That’s why when some men brought their paralytic friend for Jesus to heal, He shocked the crowd because before he said, “Get up and walk,” he said, “Your sins are forgiven.” This is an incredible revelation. Before Jesus healed his body, he healed his soul. More specifically, he healed his relationship with God.
Here’s my wild belief. In a deeper sense, the #1 killer in the world is not even stress, but it’s cause. In essence, there is only one sickness: A lack of love. And that’s why I believe there is only one medicine. Only love heals.
I’ll say it again: Over 90% of the diseases of the body are diseases of the soul. Because the body is a blueprint of the soul, the body manifests the wounds of the soul.
How does one get healed? There are only three steps.
1. Locate the Wound
2. Clean the Wound
3. Strengthen the Body
If you want to be healed, you need to go through these crucial steps.
Step #1:
Locate The Wound
Yesterday, I showed a brand-new basketball to my audience.
I said, “The ball is your body, the air is your soul. They’re one.”
I then dropped the ball. Instead of bouncing, it landed on the ground with a loud “flop”.
I said, “There’s nothing wrong with the ball. There’s something wrong with the air inside the ball. It’s the same with your body. Your body is sick perhaps because your soul is sick. To bounce well, you need to repair the air of the ball. In the same way, to function well, you need to repair your soul.
Locate the wound.
Most likely, the wound is not in your body but in your soul.
Let me give you an example.
Let’s say you feel pain in your leg. But in reality, the cause of the pain is a pinched nerve in your spinal cord.
So even if you hire the most expensive masseurs from China to massage your leg, you won’t get healed. Even if you apply imported ointments from Germany on your leg, you still won’t get healed.
That’s why I believe the first step of healing is to locate the wound.
Let me give you a more common analogy.
Is There Really A Problem Child?
When a boy is rebelling, drinking, taking drugs, parents will knock on my door and beg me, “Bo, please talk to our son. He’s a problem child.”
But from my experience (around 75% of the time), the problem child is only a symptom of a problem parent. I’m not kidding. Perhaps the boy is manifesting the conflict in his parents’ marriage. Or the boy is manifesting the immorality in his father’s life. Or the boy is crying out for love and affection from his emotionally-distant father.
If his parents locate the wound (themselves!), then they won’t ask me to talk to their son. They’ll ask me to talk to them! They’ll ask me to help them sort out their marriage. They’ll ask me to teach them how to build a relationship with their kids. Because if the problem parents are healed, the problem child is healed too.
Here’s my last example, and I know it’s something you can relate to.
Don’t Just Treat The Symptoms
My friend Sean suffers from ulcers and high blood pressure. So his doctor prescribes him maintenance medicines and he takes them regularly. The pills are expensive and the leaflet in the box says it may damage his liver if taken for a long period of time. Sheeesh. That’s the problem with not listening to the message.
Because I know Sean, I told him, “You’re so stressed! Almost everyday, you work until 12 midnight. If you really want your ulcers and high blood pressure to be healed, you need to de-stress your life. Get peace.”
Sean shook his head. “I can’t. My job is my stress. How can I live without my job? That’s why I’m taking meds.”
How many Seans are there in this world?
They want to be healed but they don’t want to locate the wound.
They just want the symptoms to go away.
Healing won’t happen unless he says, “I’m wounded in my soul. Please heal me.” But the Seans of the world don’t say that. Instead, they will say, “Me? Wounded? Nah. I just need a pill and I’m ok.”
After locating the wound, you need to heal it by doing something very simple.
Step #2:
Clean The Wound
A few centuries ago, people didn’t believe in germs. Scientists hadn’t developed the germ theory yet.
So for many Wars, many soldiers died not because of gunshot wounds but because of infections. When the wounded soldier came for treatment, doctors didn’t clean the wounds. They just bandaged them. And millions died.
Today, we know that many wounds don’t even need ointments.
Just clean it—and the body’s healing system will heal the wound.
It’s the same with the soul.
Once you locate the wounds of your soul, clean it from the overstaying dirt: Sin, Guilt, Fear, Worries, Grief, and Resentments.
And the only cleansing agent I know is forgiveness.
To clean a wound, you need to ask forgiveness and give forgiveness.
It’s the only way.
Ask forgiveness from God. Ask forgiveness from those you’ve hurt in the past. Give forgiveness to those who hurt you. And forgive yourself for your own failures. (I have met many who God have forgiven—but who can’t forgive themselves.)
Sadly, I’ve met people who are sick with cancer today because of a deep-seated anger towards an adulterous husband, a horrible father, a selfish mother… Anger is a powerful emotion. At right amounts, it stirs you into action. (That’s why God gave us the ability to get angry.) But if you keep anger in your heart for too long, it becomes a deadly poison that will kill you.
Clean the wound of your soul.
If you want physical healing, heal your relationships.
Your relationship with God.
Your relationship with others.
Your relationship with yourself.
Finally, the last step of healing.
Step #3:
Strengthen The Body
The body has it’s own powerful healing system.
Locate the wound, clean the wound, and it’ll heal itself.
But you need to provide it with the nutrition it needs.
For the soul, its food can only be love. We’re sick because we lack love. Fill it with love, and healing happens spontaneously.
Learn to love yourself as God loves you.
Learn to say, “I’m totally, completely, and perfectly loved.”
You have nothing to prove.
Relax in His love.
Release all stress from your life.
And start giving love more.
Why Some Don’t Get Healed?
One day, someone asked me, “Bo, my father has cancer. I’ve been praying for his healing for two years now. Why is he still sick? Why doesn’t he get healed?”
So many have asked me this disturbing question before.
My honest answer: I don’t know.
I can’t explain why sometimes, the healing happens in a blink of an eye.
Sometimes, it happens gradually.
Sometimes, it happens without even seeing a doctor. No surgery. No medicines. In a snap, the person is well.
Sometimes, it happens through surgery, medications, and hospital care.
And sometimes, the healing doesn’t happen. The person dies.
Why? I can only guess. And my guess is Romans 8:28—all things work for good to those who love God.
All sickness can be used for a greater purpose.
Perhaps it’s to bring you closer to God.
Perhaps it’s to bring you closer to your family.
Perhaps it’s your path to inner peace.
If you’re sick right now, I urge you to listen to God speaking through your soul. Perhaps there’s a message in your sickness. Once you hear the message, do it.
If you’re sick right now, fill your life with love.
Receive love. And give love.
Like my young friend Gemma.
To end my article, I’ll allow her to speak to you—first person.
Gemma Pasimio
I don’t look sick but actually I am.
I’ve been battling with cancer since September 2006. A tumor was found in my right ovary so I had a major operation. Upon biopsy it was found to be malignant. I was simply told I have cancer. My heartbeat stopped for a moment when I heard the word “cancer”. How can I have cancer when I’m so young? Am I gonna die? I cried a bucket of tears but my doctor assured me that I’m not gonna die because my cancer was discovered at an early stage – Stage 1C. However I have to undergo chemotherapy for 6 months.
Initially it was difficult for me to accept the harsh reality. It was painful for my family, friends, and for my boyfriend. My boyfriend promised to walk with me throughout the difficult journey.
I had my first chemo in October 2006. After 10 days, I lost my long straight dark brown hair. I was completely bald and had no hair in my whole body. I felt so ugly. I looked like a freak. I didn’t want to get out of the house for fear that people would look at me strangely. I was that insecure. But my insecurity hit rock bottom in November 2006.
Because 4 days after my second chemo, my boyfriend of 3 ½ years, who promised to stay with me no matter what happened, broke up with me to be with another woman. He simply decided to leave me when I was battling with cancer.
I thought, God was truly punishing me! Why did I fall for a man who I thought would love me unceasingly, unconditionally, whether or not I was sick, whether or not I had hair? I was angry with God. I was angry that I was sick, that I was bald, that I was ugly, and that my boyfriend left me.
In April of this year, my cancer spread in both my ovary and abdomen. Doctors said my cancer advanced to stage 3c-4a. They also said I needed 2 major operations and undergo chemo afterwards. I asked, if I go through this again, can you assure me that I will be completely free from cancer? As expected, there was no guarantee.
So my answer to them was simple — “no to operation, no to chemo”. Why would I allow the doctors to open me up again if they couldn’t guarantee that the cancer cells will no longer spread? Why would I have another chemo if there was no assurance that I will be completely free from cancer? Therefore I said “no”.
That day, I decided to do two things: Grow closer to God and enjoy my life as much as I can. Today, I serve in Singles for Christ. I love God and have given myself to Him.
And I’m enjoying my life so much, I can now swim 50 laps in 40 minutes. I go to the gym. Since the start of this year, for the first time, I’ve joined 3 marathons, completing 5 kilometer races.
I’ve resigned from my stressful job and now operate my own little business.
Today, because of my faith and my positive attitude towards life, where I avoid useless stress in my life, I’m receiving God’s healing. Today, my medical tests show that even without chemo or surgery, both of my tumors have now shrunk!
With God at my side, I live one day at a time. Everyday is such a beautiful gift from Him. And I enjoy each day so much. I’m happy and at peace. God is my healer and I give my life to Him.
Here’s my bet: Gemma is healthier than many of us who don’t have cancer.
Fill your life with love, and healing will happen spontaneously.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
