The Inner Shield

Khush Raho with Sangeeta

I made a start on our pre-Diwali deep cleaning, the annual ritual of clearing, refreshing, and rearranging our homes. A loud exclamation came from my helper as soon as she opened the first cupboard we had decided to tackle that day. On the shelf, once the stored packages were removed, was a mass of brown powder. Then, along the back wall of the cupboard and the shelf below the windows, we saw streaks of brown lines zigzagging across the surface. Yikes. It looked like termites.

The shelf had once been lined with paper, and I realised that since paper is made from wood, the termites had been feasting on that too, along with the wooden shelves. For once I was grateful to plastic. The linen stored here was all in plastic bags, and therefore undamaged. We live in a fairly old building, and these termites seem to have found a crack in the outer wall. If left unattended, they could have done much more damage than this one storage unit. They could have spread through the entire apartment, into the built-in fittings, and eaten through some of the walls.

Just as the termites got through the defences of our building, I have come to see that our bodies can be invaded in the same way. When our defences are weakened and our immunity is low, it is hard to fight off infections. Those that persist can lead to the growth of cancer cells. From an energy perspective, our immune system is weakened not only by poor lifestyle, which is what we commonly focus on, but also by what we carry within. Stress, anxiety, negative thoughts, and negative emotions are like termites. They quietly attack and weaken our invisible body, our aura and then the physical one too. 

An IARC-led analysis published in The Lancet Oncology* reinforces this understanding. It analysed data from the WHO's international archives and presents evidence of a causal relationship between certain infections and cancer. According to the study, of about 2.3 million new cancer cases worldwide in 2024, one in eight of all new cases were caused by infections. It covers 12 infectious agents known to cause cancer. Five of them drive most of this burden. H. pylori accounts for about 760,000 cases, mainly stomach cancer. HPV accounts for about 750,000, mostly cervical cancer. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C together account for more than half a million cases, mostly liver cancer. Epstein-Barr virus accounts for about 260,000, largely nasopharyngeal cancer. 

This indicates that a full recovery from an infection is critical to rebuild our defences. My focus for good health has been on strengthening my immune system. Remember that there are no magic pills or supplements that can be short cuts. A natural holistic multi layered works best I have found. I follow simple guidelines, like eating healthy, timely, fresh, local food, and avoiding boxes and packaged items. Exercise, sleep well, and practise good energy hygiene, which most importantly means clearing emotional and mental waste, garbage, and dust, call it what you will. All the tips I share in this column, along with a daily meditation, my essential oil blends, cultivating mindful and positive thoughts and actions, keep our immune system strong. Let's keep the energy termites out. 

Until next time, Khush Raho! Stay happy, stay healthy. 

*https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(26)00307-4/fulltext

(Sangeeta Bhalla is an Energy Healer, Instructor, and Therapeutic Aromatherapist. 

She can be reached at www.sangeetabhalla.net )