“Any malady in your physical body was a lot longer in coming than it takes to release it.” – Abraham-Hicks
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I bless my body for all it keeps.
May my cells refresh before I wake,
In perfect pattern for my sake.
I have always shied away from the original “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. You know the one that speaks of dying. They were not words I wanted to say as a child, so I found other prayers. As someone who loves a good rhyme, I have been playing around with the words for a while. This morning I read the daily Abraham quote, “Any malady in your physical body was a lot longer in coming than it takes to release it.” and the words for the little prayer I just shared flowed forth easily.
Recently, I have begun to bless my body as I lie in bed preparing myself for sleep. My prayers have changed over the years and currently I find myself giving thanks for every random thing, letting my mind wander to find what I appreciate and to bless what I do not. That part is not always easy because sometimes I can only see the surface. Sometimes my body is sore, or more vainly, my wrinkles are deeper and I fail to see their beauty.
Having said that, I am one of those people who always feels young at heart. I never hold the thought that I am old. If this makes me one who is unrealistic, hallucinatory even, I do not know. However, it is how I came to bless my body before sleep and by blessing, I mean speaking directly to my body; organs, tissue, bones, cells, every part and thanking it for all that it does to support me.
I give this blessing, whether spoken aloud or silently, knowing that my intelligent cells listen to me and they hear my command. What is my command? The frequency I offer in the words I speak to it. We often think of the vibration of our words as traveling outward, away from the body, affecting our outer world and how others respond to us.
While this is true, the vibration of our words also travels inward, even if we are not consciously speaking to ourselves, even if we think our words are meant for others. Our cells are always listening, feeling, and responding to our command, which is the frequency we are setting for ourselves.
What we speak without, is also felt within.
As I read Abraham’s quote, I had an instant recognition: the body is kind. Its kindness comes in its patience.
The body gives us so many signals, so many chances to change course, like a friend who gently tells you when you are wrong and loves you anyway. The idea that the body betrays us is simply not a truth. It is more that we do not listen to or heed its guidance as it kindly tells us that our vibration is straying from its natural coherence while it continues to remain supportive.
Is the problem that our friend did not warn us enough, that the friend should have been clearer, more assertive as they stood by us? Then we would have listened, surely, but now it is too late.
Why didn’t you warn me? I tried says the friend.
The body exists to support the life that we chose to live. Our intelligent cells came together to hold us in form. Those cells know what to do. Is that not amazing!
When I view my body this way, it is impossible to not see the magnificent creation that it is, so perfectly designed. My beautiful body is in living service of my spirit in form, holding my soul and allowing me to have this experience. That is a form of love. This love my body has for me brings me back to my rhyme, my prayer, my spoken word, my way of responding in kind to my body which supports me in every way.
You know what it is like, the experience of receiving kind words, approval, encouragement, or love, even if it has not come often. If you can recall a time when you received kindness, you can feel that experience in your body, wonderful and warm, soothing and safe. My instinct told me to give that to my own body and let my cells feel the vibration of appreciation and love, so my prayer begins with a simple, “Thank you, beautiful body. You are wonderful.”
As I say that, I hold in my heart the truth that my body, in all its parts, is an intricately designed, perfectly tuned instrument, made specifically for me to express, so amazing are its functions and capabilities. If some place is sore, I love it, I breathe into it, I ask what it wants or needs and I listen. The answer will come in its own time. Often, simply because I let it come into my awareness, it resolves itself.
As for the wrinkles, they receive the blessing too. Still, I never see them in the mirror of my mind’s eye and maybe that is what keeps me young.
Bless your body with your words.
May your body receive praise from you for the kindness it shows you.
May your cells feel your appreciation for their tireless service to you.
May you recognize that they are working for your perfect expression.
May they respond to your blessing with continued Well-being.
So it is.
