The third of many articles concerning linking physical organs and their diseases to emotional, mental, belief and other spiritual issues. I hope you have enjoyed the last two.
As before I’ll start with the more physical world explanations before getting stuck into the spiritual significance. Let’s get started!
The physical function of the lungs
The lungs are perhaps much more easily understood by most compared to the thyroid from the last article.
Essentially the lungs take in air so that oxygen can be given to the red blood cells that in turn take that oxygen to whatever cells need them, in order to produce energy. Carbon dioxide is the waste product in this energy production process which ends up in the blood before being taken out by the lungs so that you can breathe it out.
At this point, I’d like to say that you should not feel guilty about creating carbon dioxide, if you have been following all this governmental rubbish about “carbon footprints”. Carbon dioxide is what the plant kingdom feeds on! That’s why the older generations told us to talk to our house plants, because the carbon dioxide we breathe out feeds the plants and helps them grow. Remember the photosynthesis equation we were taught in schools? They need carbon dioxide to make hydrocarbon molecules. There is less carbon dioxide on the lower atmosphere because the plants are soaking it up as quickly as they can. One of many examples of how they are convincing us of something that is opposite of the truth. OK, rant over 😉
The air reaches our lungs through our nasal canals and mouth, into our pharynx (back of your upper throat), larynx (the voice-box area), and trachea (wind-pipe) before branching off left and right via the primary bronchi towards each lung and then into smaller bronchioles and finally the many aveoli, which are like small air sacs where the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange happens.
So as you can see, the lungs are an organ of exchange. You receive one nutrient beneficial for us then release back out another nutrient beneficial to nature. So it very much relates to giving and receiving. Our ability of taking in as well as letting go. Generally you could say that the lungs represent the ability to take in life as well as give back to life.
Because it is an area of exchange and thus where all sorts of particles, bacteria, fungi, spores etc can get in, there are also a lot of immune cells inside the lungs and around the lungs such as in between the pleura (covering tissues) of the lungs. There is also mucous within the air spaces to trap harmful microorganisms and dust particles and lots of small hairs in the trachea and bronchioles/bronchi that help to move all this out of the lungs in a wave-like fashion, after which you either swallow it or cough it out.
The lungs and fatigue
The lungs are vital for supplying oxygen to the body for energy production and so any issues with the lungs results in lower energy production. This leads to fatigue, shortness-of-breath, wooziness etc related to this lower energy. And because everything requires energy, this can impact sexual vitality, immune system ability to fight infections, the ability to think clearly, the ability to repair the body and so on. This is why lung issues can make it more likely you end up with other diseases.
On the flip-side, deep breathing practices are shown to increase energy production and thus help with fighting off infections, reducing the likeliness you get ill, improve mood, think more clearly, add strength to exercises and so on. I would also add that you may notice improvements to spiritual abilities. More on that below 😉
The act of breathing
The act of breathing is a useful thing to understand for health (as well as spiritual practices, of which many mention breathing). There are a surprising number of muscles that are directly and indirectly involved with breathing. The most well-known is the diaphragm but there are many others such as the intercostal and scalene muscles which all work together to expand the rib cage and the lungs with it, helping to increase lung size and thus drawing air in via a vaccum-like effect. The opposite obviously happens to squeeze the air out of the lungs.
I mention this because the secondary effect of this lung expansion and contraction creates cavity pressure changes inside the torso and musculoskeletal movements that in turn cause a massaging of, from an osteopathic point-of-view, all the organs of the body as well as encouraging fluid movement in the arteries, veins, lymphatic system and interstitial fluids.
This greatly helps in providing nutrients and immune cells to areas of the body that need them as well as helping with waste removal from the cells. This fluid movement is vital to physical health, just as much as energy movement is vital to the health of the aura.
So few people understand how powerful breathing is for the health of the physical body. There are spiritual reflections of this process too which go beyond the scope of this article but regardless to say that breathing practices can greatly help in changing your vibration and helping you to have certain spiritual experiences!
Physical things to watch for with the lungs
Much of this relates to what you breathe in. There can be all sorts of things in the air we breathe that can be harmful to the lungs and eventually the rest of the body.
Smoking is obviously harmful as it contains free-radicals that can directly harm the lungs cells. In addition, the tar in cigarettes coats the inside of the lungs making it harder to breathe and interferes with the mucus and immune cells there. On top of that, cigarettes are known to stop the cilia (hairs) from functioning for 6 or more hours after smoking, meaning that particles are not not being removed from the lungs for that duration. Possibly never throughout the day, if they smoke both early and late in the day!
Many people know about traditional cigarettes yet many don’t know how bad vaping is in this modern world. It has already been suggested that vaping is actually worse. There are a lot of chemicals in vapes that are toxic in various ways depending on the ingredients. One of the most misunderstood is that of oils of which all vapes I’ve looked at contain. You are not meant to be breathing in oils like these. We can breath in essential oils of good quality to some degree for beneficial effect (which may be very useful for you depending on the lung issue you have) but the oils vapes contain are seed oils that, much like the ones in food, go rancid quickly after being harvested and thus become very toxic to the body. You might want to look up an inflammatory process that some American scientists call “lipofuscin”, which I have mentioned about in previous posts, of which these sorts of oils play a big role.
Those “air fresheners” that many people use, some of which you plug into a power socket (e.g. “Glade plug-ins”), spray or keep in a glass jar on a shelf often have nasty chemicals and again rancid oils in them which can be harmful like vapes. Yes, and get rid of those car fresheners for the same reasons too!
There are a whole bunch of other things you might want to consider limiting breathing in at work places depending on your work. They can include all sorts of factory chemicals, acids, oils, fibers etc which would take a long time to write about here. Asbestos is a well-known example of a fiber which when breathed in can cause scarring of the lung tissues and hence difficulty in breathing but there are many other modern chemicals/fibers to look out for these days.
At home, one consideration is the materials of your house and furniture. There are many fire retardants and preservatives in modern furniture that you should ideally not be breathing in. Anything you can do to air them out, wash or replace, especially if you have babies or children that are more likely to put their mouths against them would be a good idea.
Household paints are another good example, as often lead and other metals are used in the colouring of paints that you can breathe in. Arsenic has been used in paints in the past too, which may still be there if you own an older house in Europe for example.
I mentioned this not long ago about mold in houses that are exposed to lots of moisture. Black mold being the worst. I won’t repeat that same information here but sorting out mold, even if you don’t have any noticeable lung issues, is a must!
Your diet is something very important to consider too. Your body is literally made of what you feed it so make sure you are getting all the necessary building blocks to build the lungs in your food. A lot of the lung diseases below require a good functioning immune system to fight off infection, repair damage and of course prevent them in the first place. Not enough nutrients and harmful additives and ingredients in modern foods puts a lot of strain on the immune system!
In short there are a huge amount of things to consider. You can’t avoid 100% of them all the time in the modern world but at least get your home sorted and pick a job that doesn’t expose you to much.
Breathing exercises
I’m not going to mention specific practices here as this is a huge area to look into. Yoga, chi gung, and even Western spiritual practices include various breathing meditations that can be very beneficial to your lungs and the whole of your body in response. There are a lot of different views on what is best but essentially we don’t breathe as deeply as we should in the modern world.
It is said by some scientists that if you breathe deeply for several minutes and start to feel drowsy and light-headed afterwards, you likely have not been supplying your body with the amount of oxygen it truly needs.
As an osteopathic student, I remember how much emphasis was put on how breathing affects the musculoskeletal system and health in general by my teachers at the time, as for example what I mentioned with the cavity pressure changes above.
There are a lot of modern scientific papers and case studies that show how breathing can impact physical, mental and emotional well-being. For example, changing your rate and depth of breathing effects the types of frequencies of energy going through your brain and even what hormones and signalling chemicals are being released. Even cases where inflammatory disorders such as fibromyaligia were eased just by using focused breathing exercises daily.
For the meditators out there, slowing your breathing brings calm. Very long breaths are associated with deeper meditative states and spiritual experiences, which you might like to focus on if you haven’t had those sorts of experiences yet. Build it up slowly though and allow your body to breathe like that, rather than try to force it too much and thus stress yourself out!
Popular figures such as Wim Hof have shown how much more resilient the body can be, in his case especially against the cold, by practicing breathing techniques. He even went most the way up Everest just wearing boots and a pair of shorts – don’t underestimate the power of breathing!
Another obvious example of getting your breathing deeper is through exercise, especially cardio exercise. The benefit of exercise over stationary breathing exercises is that it also improves respiratory and metabolic efficiency and creates more movement throughout the body for good fluid mechanics – better nutrient distribution and better waste removal.
If you are doing any of this outside in nature, then you are getting even more benefits from the natural chemicals given off by plants and flowing water which have been shown to boost the health of our bodies. Plants literally give off chemicals that boost our immune systems when we breath them in as an example.
Let’s look into some specific diseases and their spiritual relevance now…
Asthma
This is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing when you breathe out and shortness of breath.
It can be a minor nuisance for some and a bigger problem for others where asthma attacks can happen to an extent that they cannot get enough air to breathe, risking death. It can be triggered through exercise, chemical irritants or other airborne particles such as pollen and of course mental, emotional and/or spiritual stress. Most commonly it starts in childhood though you can get it later in life with certain experiences.
“Experts” supposedly don’t know what causes it but they think that it’s a combination of genetic and environmental factors. They also claim that there is no cure and that inhalers, anti-inflammatories and anti-histamines etc and are needed for the rest of the life to open the airways any time asthma is triggered.
I have in the past however come across scientific case studies that show that large doses of vitamin B12 given to children before they fully develop into adulthood have greatly lessened and even completely healed asthma, so if you know anyone who is young as has asthma symptoms, then I suggest getting some good quality advice from a naturopathic nutritionist on some good sources of B12 and other nutrients that support B12, as well as looking up any recent scientific papers on this subject. Don’t just buy any B12 vitamin off the shelf as they may not be as bio-available as getting it from natural sources and of course you still need other nutrients for the lungs to be healthy too!
The key things to note here when considering the energetic causes of asthma are irritation/inflammation and an inability to breathe. This suggests that there is something in the outside world that you consider harmful or irritating to you that you don’t wish to take into yourself and hence try to protect yourself from. This can be caused by a trauma early (or late if happening as an adult)Â in life that makes you not want to be in this reality, usually related to an experience of feeling trapped, stifled, smothered, suppressed or anything that makes you feel you have no freedom.
This initial trauma makes you overly sensitive to the smallest things that your psychological defense may deem a threat to your freedom, whether a small particle or mental/emotional/spiritual trigger, resulting in an attack. This relates to the initial traumas creating a sub/un-conscious belief that all things in this reality could harm you similarly, hence why you react to all sorts of things that come into contact with your lung tissues as well as challenging situations with other people.
The lungs being about letting go too, suggests that asthma sufferers have difficulty in getting these fears and traumas “off their chest”, much like they were unable to fully cry and let go when younger. They can often hold in their tears or outward expressions, thus holding onto stagnant energies in their lungs and chest area. This can be related to not being able to express themselves when younger, not allowed to breathe, not allowed to speak.
All of the above results in asthma sufferers believing that they are incapable of fulfilling their desires, that others limit their path in life and that they are destined to keep repeating the same mistakes. This can lead to even deeper issues of being numb to their desires if they keep being led/controlled by others in their society.
A lot of the solution here is to test these beliefs. Is life really as dangerous/difficult/hard as you originally thought when the trauma happened? Are all people really controlling of you and able to stop you growing and exploring the world in the way you wish or is it merely a psychological fear?
By working on your desires with little steps each day, you slowly start to prove to yourself that you can create what you wish in life and that actually other people/situations/circumstances are only as smothering and irritating to you as you allow them to be. Letting go of certain people who continue to not allow you to express yourself the way you wish might be necessary in some circumstances.
Learning to express yourself fully is important. Just like the lungs are an exchange organ, saying out loud what you want for yourself and from others can lead to better responses from others in how they can help you and be around you. Talking about how you feel and about past traumas can help “get things off your chest” and create better relationships where you feel heard, supported and valued.
Bronchitis/Bronchiectasis
These two diseases simply represent inflammation/irritation to the larger airways of the lungs. The main difference between the two are that bronchiectasis results in permanent widening of the airways, usually due to a severe or prolonged infection, whereas bronchitis does not result in this widening. Both result in coughing due to the irritation of the airways. Sometimes it’s a dry cough, sometimes with lots of mucus dependent on what is causing the infection/inflammation.
Physically, they are typically caused by toxic chemical exposure of various kinds or infection via bacteria (bacteria is actually not a common cause) or viruses (if you believe in viruses!). Most of the time with bronchitis it is an acute situation that clears up over time but with prolonged exposure to the trigger and/or a weakened immune system in can become chronic. See COPD below for more info on the chronic version of bronchitis.
Typically medications are used depending on the cause such as anti-virals, anti-inflammatories, anti-biotics, bronchodilators etc.
Energetically this represents irritation/friction with receiving from others and/or giving to others, especially in the form of communication/expression with others, especially those you spend a lot of time with in a family or work environment for example.
This could be in the form of being unable to receive the words another is saying and/or forcing the will on others, usually in the form of an argument. It could also be an argument that you would like to start but don’t speak up about – a silent argument kept to yourself.
In the former, it comes from believing that you cannot obtain the desires and expressions of self due to others, so there is a lot of blame of others in bronchitis. This can manifest outwardly in arguments or contained within if they have a more “defeated” personality.
A big part of healing this is realising that only you can fulfill the desires of the Self. Making plans and baby step towards them each day is the proper way to better express yourself the way you wish.
Others are not really the obstacles you believe and can only help you with your desires if you learn to communicate more clearly, honestly and with positive intent. The ability to listen such that you truly understand their point-of-view instead of discarding it without thought is useful to learning and seeing a different path that may benefit you.
Remember that the lungs are about giving AND receiving so you might find that truly listening and giving to your family, friends, co-workers etc might be the solution to helping you also achieve your desires.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including emphysema & chronic bronchitis
This is a catch-all term for lung diseases that cannot be reversed, according to mainstream medicine. So if you have been diagnosed with emphysema or chronic bronchitis for example, you are deemed to have COPD.
Causes of chronic bronchitis are as bronchitis above but obviously over a prolonged period. Removing the causes mentioned above is important to prevent it progressing further.
In emphysema damage is made to the air-filled sacs called aveoli that causes them to lose their structure and form larger air sacs instead, thus reducing the surface area and efficiency of air exchange in the lungs. This obviously makes it harder to breathe accompanied with wheezing and coughing.
Emphysema is typically caused from prolonged smoking, chemical exposure, toxin exposure and/or infections, so obviously cutting out such sources of irritation is a must to at least prevent worsening of this disease.
Other possible causes of COPD include scarring and narrowing of the airways such as with chemical/toxin and especially asbestos exposure.
Energetically these diseases have a lot of similarities with the energetic causes of bronchitis above (so please read that again!) i.e blaming yourself and/or others for not fulfilling your desires and thus restrictions placed on yourself.
In addition however emphysema, as it affects the actual membrane of gaseous exchange itself suggests that there is an extreme fear of taking in life and thus has some similarities with the asthma energetic causes in that regard. Also worthiness/willingness/desire to live in this reality is a big issue here and stems from experiences that makes them fear this world or believe that it is difficult/hard/unfair/dangerous to be here. In some cases it may be related to feeling useless or unseen in this reality.
Because all causes of COPD are chronic in nature, it also suggests that there is a stubbornness, a refusal to change and/or a fear of the future. In this regard, the advice for listening to others and making efforts to express yourself and fulfill your desires as mentioned in various ways above, become even more important. Ask yourself, if your current methods/beliefs/actions for yourself and others are not getting you what you wish in life, then maybe seriously considering other advice might actually help.
Chronic conditions like this also can be procrastination. Maybe you’ve heard all the advice from various physicians and read the sorts of things written in these paragraphs before but simply not applied them. A big part of spiritual growth is feeling those emotions and hearing those thoughts that keep you away from the path you wish to take and choosing to walk down that path anyway. Again set some goals, divide them up into baby-steps and make those steps no matter how you feel or whatever excuses the ego comes up with.
Croup (laryngotracheobronchitis)
This is a respiratory infection that happens in children under the age of 5. It usually affects the larynx (voice-box) and upper trachea (windpipe). Swelling of these areas makes it hard to breathe and causes a distinctive cough similar to the sound of a seal.
The causes are similar to bronchitis but are usually more related to that made-up thing called viruses (most likely chemicals from other sources I would say).
Most of the time it is mild though in more serious cases oxygen may be needed. Usually limiting exposure to lung irritants, drinking warm fluids and looking after the general health is enough though anti-inflammatory medications are typically given too.
The energetic causes can have some similarities with bronchitis but because they are so young, the advice will be different. There is an emphasis on receiving love.
It usually happens to children that are not receiving or not feeling like they are loved. You cannot follow the bronchitis advice given above for children as they are still learning. They first need to receive love so that they know they are loved. This love then helps them love back, as well as helping them feel grounded and wanted enough in this reality such that when older they can better follow their desires.
Cystic fibrosis
This is recognised as a condition that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up not just in your lungs but also in other organs of the body especially the pancreas. Because it is a genetic mutation that occurs before birth, allopathically it is considered a life-long condition that isn’t curable and only managed.
Most people think of it as a lung condition because the mucus makes it hard to breathe and can lead to frequent lung infections, but it also affects other organs that produce mucus such as the pancreas, thus affecting the digestive tract and your ability to digest nutrients. Often cysts and fibrous tissues (scarring) can occur in these mucus producing areas too. This can lead to poor growth of the body and loose stools. Diabetes and osteoporosis are examples of diseases that can occur due to these lack of nutrients at later stages.
Medications to manage the symptoms are typically given, such as to regulate CFTR proteins, but dietry advice is very important to try and make sure the body receives enough of the right nutrients. Surgery is often needed to repair damage and remove cysts if severe.
Energetically, cystic fibrosis represents the inability to receive from life, not just in one way but in multiple ways. You could say an extreme version of many of the limitations of the other lung conditions because this lack of receiving is not just in the lungs but also evident in the digestive tract and its supplementary organs too.
Thus there is a strong belief that not only is life difficult/hard/dangerous etc but more than that – that it really won’t work out at all. There is no desire for life and hence there is indecision and even passivity in even finding, let alone starting a direction in life. Such individuals often take on the victim mentality as a result and have a “poor me” story they repeat to others and themselves. Or they may not really be present in their body much at all like the schizoid characterology in classical psychology.
You need to realise that you must have come here for a reason and therefore that there must be some value to living a human life. Looking for a purpose in life is key here, such that you learn to eventually learn to love life.
Testing out the belief that life won’t work out by trying out things and seeing that you can actually make progress is important. Also trying out a variety of things and seeing the contrast between what are like-able or not, can give you a better idea of what direction you might like to go in. Choosing something will give you more information and progress (even if some choices don’t appear to work out) than choosing nothing and ending up stagnant.
Influenza aka “the flu” including con-vid, swine flu, bird flu etc
Officially this is seen as a lung infection, that can also affect the other parts of the respiritory tracts, caused by the influenza virus. Coughs, runny nose, fever, chills, body aches, fatigue and sore throat are common symptoms.
Bird flu and swine flu are both recognised as variants of influenza A virus. Con-vid 19 is simply a repackaged/re-marketed version of the same family or viruses but conveniently you can also have “no symptoms” apparently!
Those of you who have read a number of my articles will know my thoughts on viruses. To sum up, I see them actually as exosomes (scientists literally cannot tell the difference between exomsomes and viruses on an electron microscope image – because they are the same thing!) excreted by struggling cells and immune cells in response to cellular stresses.
Those stresses can even include by-products of metabolism building up due to poor waste removal and low nutrient supply to cells, such as due to poor diet, lack of rest and muscular tension in the body. Often though it is toxins from our environment, such as through tap water, fumes we breathe in, additives in food or pharmaceutical drugs for example. This includes toxins from vaccinations of course and this is why people are often ill after a vaccination and why I do not ever recommend any vaccinations, despite my scientific/medical back ground saying otherwise!
You have to ask yourself, am I really catching the flu from another due to this thing called a virus, or am I actually receiving toxins excreted from another’s body and/or receiving them from other sources that is causing an immune response within me? Viruses conveniently take the blame away from companies that make those toxins and put them into our food and environment. A virus is a “scape goat” in my opinion.
The Louise Hay description of energetic causes of influenza in her book “Heal your body” is quite revealing about my beliefs in viruses in the paragraphs above. I quote directly from her book here: “Response to mass negativity and beliefs. Fear. Belief in statistics.”
Personally I have not had the flu in over 20 years simply because I started to question whether you could actually catch the flu from others at all, as well as improving my diet too I’m sure. I will perhaps write an article about the beliefs of catching something from another or not in a future article and what that means energetically as well as its impact on the physical.
Getting back to energetic causes of influenza, the belief that you can catch something from another due to mass programmed beliefs and thus the fear it produces in you, appears to be a huge factor in getting the flu or not. I like how Louise Hay pointed out statistics here. Did you know that the average person has less than one leg statistically? That’s exactly the issue with statistics – most people do not fit into the “normal or “average”that statistics come up with! Just because they say that you are more likely to get the flu at a certain time of year does not mean that you’ll get it.
A lot of influenza causes relate to indecision and procrastination. There is some resistance in you due to trying to decide on following one path or another and/or making the effort to change to that other path. Often, because the flu is an inflammatory disease, there is some anger at yourself or another due to not following through with your plans and blaming self or another for that.
A big part of solving influenza energetically is realising that you are giving a lot of attention to your thoughts but are not actually acting on them to create whatever you are thinking about. So practicing on following through with your thoughts by taking active steps each day towards them is important.
I find a lot of people I have come across get this due to their work or close relationships. Remember that the lungs are closely related to your desires and the way you express yourself (throat chakra and heart chakras combined). So if you are spending many hours doing a job you don’t like i.e. not expressing yourself the way you wish for several hours a day, then don’t be surprised that you’ll end up with a cold or flu! This does not mean that you have to quit your job straight away. Rather, you could see how to better create what you desire and use your current work as a stepping stone to get closer to that. Planning and baby steps yet again are great for that.
Lung cancer incl. Mesothelioma
Cancers are a disease where the cells of the body are damaged genetically making them multiply without the body actually needing more of those cells. Often the genetic damage means that genes that are not normally expressed in that area become expressed such as hair follicles, nails or other organ tissues starting to grow where they shouldn’t. Lung cancer can happen in the bronchi, bronchioles and/or aveoli.
A major risk factor for developing lung cancer is smoking cigarettes, vapes and other toxins and chemicals that you might breathe in – see above for some sources you may need to cut out. It is the third most common cancer in many Western countries.
Mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer caused by breathing in asbestos fibers so includes also scarring of the lung tissues due to the damage caused by those fibers. Obviously there are more complications with this disease and eliminating the source of asbestos is a must and there are typically more drugs and procedures used allopathically.
Depending on where the cancer grows it can affect air passage to the lungs and/or put pressure on respiratory muscles and even on blood supply to the lungs and heart, making it hard to breathe. Initially at least symptoms can be very similar to other milder lung conditions.
Traditionally it is treated like other cancers and as I have mentioned in other articles, I consider radio and chemotherapy to be barbaric and even if they seem to “cure” the disease there is a lot of damage to healthy cells and is likely why cancers appear very often many years later. Surgery can be useful in some ways but cutting into cancers even for a simple biopsy presents a risk of metastatic spread to other areas of the body. The body keeps it contained for a reason!
I will do a separate article on cancers in general another time to go into all the ins and outs and possible treatments.
Energetically all cancers are related to self-hatred in one form or another. This hatred can stem from a deep trauma/hurt, deep resentment or grief. Because we are talking about the lungs here, this hatred of the self relates more to giving and taking in life, being symbiotic with this reality. Any trauma where that symbiosis didn’t happen, may have started a belief that you cannot have a good relationship with others and this reality in general, such that you cannot take in life and are not worthy to do that.
Many of the other lung solutions can help here. Essentially you need to forgive yourself and others and learn to love yourself and express yourself as truthfully as you can. Live life to the full.
The world, other people and your Self are not the enemy. It does not matter what has happened in the past as you are not that person anymore. You can still be very valuable to others simple by wanting to and starting to make an effort to be the person you truly wish. You wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t some importance to you. Being the version you wish for is what is wanted by source/god/all-that-is/the divine too!
Do things for others and yourself as an act of love and to show yourself that life can be symbiotic. Use the advice of goal setting and trying out new things as mentioned in the other lung disease solutions if you have trouble knowing what to do or struggle with finding a direction.
Pneumonia incl. pleural effusion
This a lung infection that causes swelling and inflammation of your lung tissues and fluid or pus build-up in your lungs and can often lead to hospitalization. It can make it difficult to breathe and you can cough up a yellow, green or blood mucus. Chest pain on breathing, restriction of breathing and the mucus are often signs that you have pneumonia rather than a cold or flu.
It is from a physical point-of-view caused by either a bacterial, viral (see my views on viruses above!) or fungal infection. Signs and symptoms can be similar to other infections. Viral pneumonia has similar symptoms as the flu and is typically allowed to solve on its own. Bacterial pneumonia is the most common and is typically treated with antibiotics.
Complications can happen if the infection starts to damage lung tissues and tissues around the lungs. This can include abscesses, cysts, holes in the lungs and pleural effusion etc.
Abscesses and holes in the lungs will cause COPD symptoms so look into the details above if that’s the case. Cysts I will deal with in another article but they essentially represent where the body does not have the resources/energy to deal with struggling cells, usually due to infection, so the body encloses that area such that it cannot spread. This is a reflection of an energetic wounding that can seem so strong that you cannot deal with it straight away.
My wife had a serious case of pneumonia years before we met which resulted in pleural effusion, which is fluid accumulating in the skin-like tissue (pleura) surrounding the lungs. She was due to have a small operation to pierce the pleura and drain the fluid but she spent the weekend applying “thieves oil” all over her chest and upper back and lying on an infra-red heating pad for most of the day. When she went back to the doctor, he said that she no longer needed an operation as the fluid around and in her lungs had gone. Don’t underestimate the power of natural remedies but also know when mainstream solutions are the best option.
Energetically there are a lot of overlaps with other infectious lung diseases so I’ll probably be repeating myself! Essentially there is a repression of your emotions. Emotional wounds that you are holding onto rather than letting go of. You are are not expressing yourself fully with your words and actions as a result.
This can sometimes make you feel like you are being backed into a corner and so feel desperate. Or sometimes it can make you feel like you are tired and giving up on life. If there is also pleural effusion, then there is a belief that you are being crushed or suffocated by your emotions and by those you perceive to be causing that.
In my Wife’s case, she said she had a domineering boyfriend at the time who wouldn’t allow her to be the strong, independent, self-sufficient lady that is typical of Swedish women. A lot of her ideas and beliefs were rubbished and she felt steered into doing what he thought was best each day. She didn’t know what to do about it and what to aim for at the time. Though the thieves oil and infrared pad were very important for her recovery, having time to herself and overcoming the hesitancy to move forwards in more productive ways for herself were also important.
A key part of working on these energetic causes is to realise that you are allowing that emotional wound or holding to dictate you too easily. If there are others that you believe are the cause of that, then you are too allowing them to dictate you and your actions too easily. Often those others are not actively nor intending to have that effect on you, rather you are too sensitive to the situation.
Emotions are a message not something that you should allow to dictate you. That wounding continues exist because you are not acting on being who and what you wish to be. As is the advice for a lot of diseases, you need to get over the fear that stops you moving forwards. Often just having that first idea of moving forwards or taking that first step, is when the pneumonia starts to heal. Create goals towards what you wish for your life and make little steps towards that each day. Each step shows you how much power you actually have and weakens the belief of that original wound or person suppressing your life.
Tuberculosis
This is a bacterial infection that most people would think just affects the lungs. However this bacteria can affect other parts of the body depending on where the bacteria gets to and where you may have weaknesses already in the body.
You can get meningitis if the bacteria affects the lining around the brain, Pott’s disease if it affects the lining of the spinal cord, Addison’s disease if it affects the adrenal glands or hepatitis if it affects the liver. So look up those diseases if you are affected.
Symptoms are similar to other inflammatory lung issues so it’s best to see a doctor if you’re unsure, in case you suffer needlessly thinking it might be a lesser problem. Fever symptoms as well as coughing up sputum and chest pain are common. If left untreated, it can cause damage to the lungs resulting in COPD and even death so antibiotics are a must a lot of the time. Make sure you always build up your friendly gut bacteria over several months at least after a course of antibiotics to lessen the risk of other complications and diseases.
Energetically there is a misuse of expression. There can again be emotional issues and traumas that are being held onto causing you to have a negative impact on yourself or others. Because this bacteria also affects the adrenals and liver there are also issues to do with power/energy especially in relationships.
This can lead to feeling powerless in life or around others and as such can turn into identifying with weakness, giving up on life and wasting one’s life. Possessiveness may be apparent if there is someone or something that helps them hold on to life in some way.
It could also lead to negative, hateful, cruel or revengeful thoughts towards others, especially if they are perceived to be the cause. This may be reflective more if the bacteria is affecting the lining of the brain and spinal cord and/or the liver where anger may manifest.
There is no breathing in life and no balance of receiving and giving in such circumstances.
Like other inflammatory lung issues there must be a testing of the belief that other’s are holding you back and that you have no power to create life as you wish. Working on those baby steps towards what you truly wish to experience is yet again the key here.
Anger at yourself or others and/or wasting away isn’t what you really wish for in life. What do you really want? Start making efforts towards that and follow the advice I’ve mentioned several times above that others can actually be of help if you speak-up and voice your concerns, needs, wants.
The majority of people are good at heart and can help you as you help them. Inflammatory issues are a resistance/fight/friction within you reflecting how you are with others and this reality as a whole. Prove to yourself that you can be symbiotic with others and that you can create ease, joy, grace with them even in challenging times.
Sadness & “getting things off your chest”
This is an emotion I notice I haven’t mentioned much so far, yet it is a common factor in lung issues. You may also wish to look up heart issues regarding sadness as the heart is also involved here.
Sadness is the emotion you get when you are not fulfilling your true desires (not necessarily what you think you desire alone!). This relates to the lungs a lot because the lungs have so much to do with expression and if you are not expressing yourself the way you wish they you are not in line with your desires and vice versa. This is why sadness is often said to accumulate over the chest, heart and lungs.
Often sadness is a little warning bell before a disease such as those listed above starts to manifest, so noticing it sooner and then working on relieving that sadness and its causes, can often prevent them from occurring.
I very often say to my clients that becoming more awakened means that you are more and more aware of bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts and/or other things beyond the body. While it can be uncomfortable picking up on many of the things you hadn’t noticed before, it also means that you can start to pick up on things before they become an issue too. Picking up on things earlier will save you a lot of stress compared to allowing something to get worse and even become life threatening before you notice something is wrong!
So the advice for lung issues is to notice when you have sadness and work on relieving the root cause – not putting effort into truly following your desires for this life.
Many people find “getting things off your chest” helps a lot. This is an English expression that simply means talking about your problems and working through possible solutions with another. It could be a person you are having trouble with or a friend not involved in the problem directly. Remember the lungs represent expressing yourself and talking with another can clear a lot of sadness simply by you giving voice to the stuck energy rather than keeping it inside. Remember too that the lungs are about both giving and receiving too, so try not to just continually take from that supportive person.
Getting things off your chest is often just a relief or an initial step however. Remember that there needs to be forward movement in thinking and action. So, after you’ve had your sadness reduced somewhat from your chat, start to make those baby steps towards the experiences you wish for.
If you find it hard to tune into your lungs and thus are likely finding it hard to know what you desire, then it is likely you have stopped being your true self to fit in with society’s norms and/or in order to survive. In such cases you may need to explore and try new things, meet new people, learn new things etc, in order to slowly get the contrast needed that will help you better read your emotions and thus know what you truly like and dislike.
As with my other articles, it is not possible to go through every disease or complication affecting the lungs in one article nor all the possible practical advice that might help in each person’s scenario. Energetically a lot of the same advice would be repeated over and over anyway as there are core themes that all lung issues share. So if you have a problem not listed here, you will likely get what you need energetically at least, by reading through the whole article and looking at themes that are common with your disease.
