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What messages might our bodies be sending through illness, disability, or limitation? What wisdom lies beneath the surface of our physical challenges?
Caroline Born, a movement practitioner with over four decades of experience, takes us on a remarkable journey through her 34-year relationship with a progressive hand disability. Rather than pursuing surgical interventions to "fix" her contracting fingers, Caroline chose a path less traveled—treating her body as a messenger carrying profound wisdom.
Through a practice called the Life Art Process, Caroline has created 50 paintings and drawings of her hands, translating her somatic experience into visual expression. This "kinetic visualization" allowed information to emerge that surprised even her conscious mind. "The symptom has been a gift," she reflects, acknowledging that without this physical challenge, she wouldn't have deepened her self-understanding in such meaningful ways.
What makes Caroline's story so compelling is her radical honesty about the emotional landscape of disability. When asked if she loves her hands, she responds: "That's the journey. I have hated them and I have loved them." Her exploration led her to discover unexpected connections—rage stored in her shoulder blades, dreams offering guidance, and the fascinating link between her little finger (the first to contract) and the heart meridian in acupuncture.
Most remarkably, Caroline's progressive condition stopped progressing after five years of deep embodied work. This outcome wasn't achieved through focused effort to "fix" the problem, but through a process of creative engagement and acceptance. "No change—that's what's changed," she observes with profound simplicity.
Caroline's journey illuminates the crucial distinction between curing and healing. While curing typically involves a single intervention aimed at removing symptoms, healing encompasses a more comprehensive process of transformation. By listening to her body instead of attempting to silence it, she discovered a pathway to peace that transcends our cultural obsession with perfection and fixing.
Have you considered what messages your own body might be sending? What would change if you approached your physical challenges as invitations rather than obstacles?

This Podcast is sponsored by Onlinevents