Healing Metaphors A-Z

The Healing Metaphors A-Z were created by Chuck Spezzano and Janie Patrick / Ticehurst using the template of Louise Hay, according to Lency Spezzano. The website displaying these metaphors was removed from general public access in early 2014, as well as access to the Internet Archives version.

The old site did include this statement: "Please feel free to quote - Please would you note that it is from "Janie Ticehurst" or Chuck Spezzano" or "Lency Spezzano" as credited and include a link to www.healingkeys.com. Thank you very much!"

Fortunately, some selections were preserved on other venues, such as on this link:

 http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=4179.0

Here is what has been saved:

Birth Defects

A birth defect is an abnormality that is present at birth.

It represents unfinished business from ancestral patterns and/or a past life metaphor. We are being called to heal this soul level issue.

The area of the body affected can give us more information about the metaphoric meaning of this symptom.

Down's Syndrome

Down’s syndrome is a congenital abnormality (one that is present at birth). It is the result of having an extra chromosome in our genetic make-up, usually number 21 or 22.

Down’s causes moderate to severe mental retardation, oriental appearance of eyes, flat nose or absent bridge of nose, a single palmer [sic] crease on a short broad hand and a dwarfed body.

If we have Down’s syndrome, it means that we have come to learn some lessons at a soul level. We are here to seek soul fulfillment and the completion of a cycle, yet we are stuck in the transition between the old level and the new.

The two main soul lessons of Down’s syndrome are correcting over-willfulness and giving up the ego’s plan in exchange for heaven’s plan.

Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a nerve disorder characterized by a slowly spreading tremor.

It shows that we are caught in an unconscious fear about accomplishing our soul purpose or promise.

This unconscious, or soul level, issue has us "shaking in our boots."

Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular Dystrophy is characterized by the wasting away and atrophy of muscles.

It is believed to be a genetic defect in muscle metabolism that can be inherited from one generation to the next. Typically symptoms show up early in life, and it is more common in males than females.

Having Muscular Dystrophy indicates the existence of an ancestral issue that has left us weak, debilitated and afraid (paralysis).

A guilt issue has become a family script and now there is a level of self-attack.

Somewhere in the past generations of our family, there is a belief that being strong, powerful or cruel, caused damage, and therefore we are afraid to have strength now.

Muscular Dystrophy is a compensation to cover over and make up for this issue.

We are being called upon to let our weakness be heaven’s strength.

This inspires us to let heaven be in charge so that we know our power and strength will be used with the highest integrity.

Meningitis

Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

It represents where we are disillusioned about something that we consider central to our life, which has led to anger, disappointment and death temptation.

Meningitis can point to a surfacing core memory where we felt unsafe and unprotected. Our conflict comes from feeling emotionally attacked in such a way that it steals our courage and makes us fearful.

It can stem from feelings of unrequited love or from not getting what we were trying to get. This can happen in spite of having acted in the correct, prescribed way to get it.

We feel a frustration or anger from not getting what we want. Our conflicts stem from an unwillingness to move on.

While every illness has a relationship component, this one may place emphasis more on our purpose, career or "doing" side.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a disease of the eye, resulting from a pressure build up within it. This pressure can eventually lead to optic nerve atrophy and blindness.

The predilection for this disease is inherited ancestrally. It is representative of an emotional pressure, or a place where a part of us (a self) is suspended in emotional trauma.

We are pushing ourselves to do something, but can’t see a way to do it and go forward.

Blindness eventually ensues because there is something we don’t want to see. At some level we are adamant or stubborn about something.

We are reluctant to recognize our responsibility and the need to change, find the way forward or lead. Instead, we give ourselves away emotionally until we reach a point of feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Prostate Gland

The prostate gland secretes fluid, which becomes part of the semen.

The prostate gland represents issues involving sexuality and masculinity.

Problems with the prostate indicate a level of sexual guilt and an interruption to our natural flow or creativity and emotional processes.

Gall Bladder

The gall bladder is a pear-shaped sac on the under-surface of the right lobe of the liver. Part of its function is to provide gastric juices to the digestive process to help break food down for assimilation.

Problems with the gall bladder indicate that feelings of anger and bitterness have become overwhelming and that we are judging what is going on.

We feel attacked and bitter about something and/or someone’s bold effrontery (gall).

We are projecting arrogance from a shadow figure, a part of ourselves that we have fractured off as an unbearable belief about our self.

Fibrocystic Breast Disease
Fibrocystic breast disease is characterized by single or multiple benign tumors of the breast, showing that we have cut off an element of nurturing.

While we push to move forward, we are holding on to something unresolved from the past. Part of our life’s purpose is nurturing those around us, but because we didn’t feel nurtured ourselves, we carry a grievance.

This grievance-judgment hides our own guilt, which in turn hides our soul level gift of nurturing. Instead of embracing the act of true giving, we have either adopted a role, or we have withdrawn from the gift of nurturing altogether.

This gift was meant to nurture the very parent we have a grievance with for not nurturing us. All of this is a conspiracy that has to do with giving nurturance.

We see it as too big a challenge for us, because we perceive the need around us as too great.

But, like any purpose, heaven does it through us; we don’t accomplish it alone. So we could receive heaven’s nurturing for those around us.

Fibroids Uterine

Uterine fibroids are fibrous, encapsulated, connective tissue. Found in the uterus, these benign tumors vary in size from a few millimeters to the size of the abdominal cavity.

They demonstrate that we are rooted in the past with some grievance under a buried level of guilt. We have a desire for birth, but are afraid to let go of the past and give what it takes to make a leap forward.

Our desire for birth goes only as far as the desire. The fibroids depict our unwillingness and blockage to nurturing and truly birthing ourselves.

This block stems from a place where we are giving and not receiving.

We may be caught in the mothering role of taking care of the whole family. We are using the role and our family as an excuse to not move forward and live our life in such a way that would encourage and support them the most.

We are being called for commitment to the birth of self, which would generate ease.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea is the frequent passage of abnormally watery bowel movements.

This symptom comes from the feeling that we "don’t have our shit together" about some issue or area in our life. There are feelings of loss of control and courage or feeling unprepared and disorganized.

Diarrhea reflects a fear of the next step because we have not yet handled this particular area of our life. We are "running" for it.

    Deafness

    Deafness is a complete or partial lack of the ability to hear.

    It signifies that there is something that we don’t want to hear either about relationship (left ear), or career (right ear).

    We have a fear of our purpose, and there is something that we are refusing to learn. There is an area where we have cut ourselves off, which is holding us back from joining the dance of life.

    Because we want to do things our way, there is something we don’t want to hear from others or from within. Deafness means we have some stubbornness and unwillingness to listen and communicate.

 Diabetes Mellitus

    Diabetes mellitus is an impairment of the body’s utilization of sugar.

    Sugar is used in several languages to describe sweetness and love. Metaphoric statements and "pet names" such as "Give me some sugar," "Honey," "Sweetness" and "Sugar love" are abundantly used in the English language with those we feel close to.

    The problem with diabetes is not that there is not enough sugar available; it is that the body is not able to metabolize it normally.

    Emotionally, there is a hidden fear of sweetness and intimacy. Just as the body can’t completely transform the sugar into a usable form, we may have love in our life, but somehow we are not able to receive or experience it fully.

    We might be in a loving, nurturing relationship or be the member of a very loving family, yet we are simply unable or unwilling to feel the love at a deep level.

    The problem, therefore, is that we have a block to receiving nurturing and love. This is often an ancestral issue passed on inter-generationally.

Cystic Fibrosis

    This is a disease of the exocrine glands (i.e. glands that secrete externally).

    Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease, which usually begins in infancy and is rooted in unresolved pain. It affects the pancreas, respiratory system and sweat glands.

    Problems caused by this disease include chronic respiratory infections, heat intolerance and pancreatic insufficiency.

    Cystic Fibrosis indicates that there is some kind of self-deception going on. Metaphorically, an ancestral ‘big hairy spider’ is weaving a web of deception around us as a result of repressed sibling Oedipal patterns, usually involving a "cyst-er" (sister).

    We are unable to "secrete" the pain due to some deep issue from the past in our family. This may be hidden by sexual guilt and revulsion, which are compensations for the attraction.

Constipation

    If we are constipated, then we are having difficulty with our bowel movements, due to the passage of hard and dry fecal material and sluggish action of the bowels.

    Constipation shows us that we are holding on to the past. We are holding on to our "shit" (emotional detritus), with a conflict between the need to let go and the refusal to let go.

Obesity

    Obesity is a state of being abnormally fat and is one of the ways in which we hide our true self, true power, purpose and sexuality.

    We are caught in major patterns of indulgence and sacrifice; we are substituting food for love, bonding and creativity.

    We have deep feelings of insecurity and are trying to fill up our unconscious, hidden feelings of desolation, misery and desperation.

    Our obesity is an attempt to create padding to protect us from the shocks and downfalls of life.

    Overeating is a way to tranquilize our emotional pain and fear. There may be a massive compensation for feelings of failure.

Alzheimer's Disease

    Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia, involving the loss of memory, speech and physical ability that is accompanied by the deterioration of intellectual function and disorientation.

    This is the result of a lifetime of unprocessed emotion and shattered dreams, combined with a loss of hope that comes from our feeling that time is running out.

    From shattered dreams we derive the feeling of missed opportunities; not living up to our potential, disappointment in ourselves, the desire to return to a better past, unwillingness to deal with the present, regression from purpose and from life, and retreat into the past.

    There is a great desire for us to forget and so we live in the past, no longer feeling strong enough to deal with the present, which has only been disappointing.

    Suffering from Alzheimer’s means that we have a lot of experiences that we have not understood or processed emotionally.

    Suffering from broken dreams, and having been overwhelmed with life’s losses and disillusionments, we withdraw into ourselves and into our own world.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

    This disease means our body has lost its ability to fight off infection. Infection by the HIV virus has caused serious damage to our immune system.

    Normally our immune systems produce antibodies to fight off foreign agents but, because we have a poorly functioning immune system, "opportunistic infections" take advantage and infect the body.

    The development of this syndrome is the result of immense self-attack and self-judgment. We have judgment on society, which we feel is judging or attacking us in return. We feel that we have no defenses against attack.

    At some level, we experience an inability to receive or give help. We are caught in a trap of indulgence, martyrdom or rebellion, rather than leadership.

    The martyrdom takes the form of not receiving help and at the same time criticizing parents, family and society’s ability to give.

    Yet, we are ignoring our vocation, refusing to heed the call to giving, to leadership, purpose, vision and not allowing ourselves to have all the help and comfort we crave.

Cancer

    Cancer involves the transformation of healthy functioning cells into malignant, or harmful, cells. The altered cells transfer faulty information to their offspring, and the cancerous cells grow in an abnormal and destructive way.

    Cancer is the embodiment of self-directed anger. It reflects a place of guilt and self-attack.

    A traumatic situation with a significant other will have taken place between six and eighteen months before the onset of the cancer.

    At some level, it is an attack on another through self-harm. It highlights that we have a need to give that has gone wild, or is completely misplaced, in addition to a fear of our purpose.

    Cancer reflects a fear of the next chapter in our life and a fear of major or radical change for the better.

    Tumors encapsulate our repressed anger, malice and conflicting, hidden belief systems.

    We are trying to shelter our pain or disappointment and are attempting to hold back negative self-beliefs and evil self-concepts. These mistaken beliefs and self-concepts stem from unresolved emotional fractures and broken hearts.

    We can get more information about our particular cancer by cross-referencing the information in this section with the body part affected.

    For example, if we have cancer of the stomach then we know that our anger is also about our ability to accept, integrate, receive and be nurtured. It may also reflect aspects of introjection, (swallowing others emotional pain).