the Roommates Khush Raho with Sangeeta

Ten years ago, some friends moving cities left behind a desert rose plant that looked like it was struggling to survive. Over the years it stayed with us, moving home multiple times, adapting each time to a new environment. Twice it needed surgical intervention: I cut off its sickly branches and watched over the following months as new nodes emerged and it finally burst into those gorgeous fuchsia flowers. 

Our last move was to a home without a balcony that got direct sunlight. The desert rose sat on a ledge in my bedroom alongside a snake plant, and I assumed they would both get enough light to be fairly happy. The snake plant thrived, growing into a thick, lush spread of happy yellow edges and green middles, and even blossoming into a shoot of flowers, which I believe is quite a rare occurrence. The desert rose struggled. Once in a while it would bloom, but then quickly revert to a depressed looking state. I noticed black dots appearing on its branches. It was clearly not happy where it was. So I made a hard decision and moved it to the front of our building, where it would get more direct sunlight. Not goodbye. Just a change of address. 

A few weeks later I checked on it in our building's little garden. New green shoots, no black infection, branches reaching outward. Out in the sun, among other plants, under a canopy of trees, in a small ecosystem of green — it was doing well. 

The energy and resources available to both plants in my bedroom were identical. Same sunlight, same fresh air, same love. Yet one thrived and the other didn't. It was not simply about the plant's DNA, though that is part of it. It was about environment, the right mix of inputs for that particular living being to flourish. 

We are no different. We are energy beings in an ocean of energy, and how we absorb and process that energy varies enormously from person to person. As an energy healer, what I understand is that healing is about the right mix of energy being supplied. We are, like plants, self-regenerating beings. Given the appropriate conditions, we come back to balance and begin to thrive. My desert rose needed my awareness and understanding of what was out of balance; and once I saw it clearly, the answer was simple. More direct sun energy. I moved it closer to its source. The plant did the rest. 

This method is a good one for us too. The first step is always awareness — of our thoughts, our emotions, and how they are settling in our body. Journaling, mindful reflection at the end of the day, simply noticing what triggered the anger, the hurt, or the moments when the heart swelled with happiness - all of these are valid practices. Whatever suits you. Each emotion is felt in both the energy body and the physical body. Each has the power to impact our health, positively or negatively. With a regular awareness practice, you will begin to see the patterns. And that is the start of your healing journey. Small rituals. Profound healing.  

(Sangeeta Bhalla

 is an Energy Healer, Instructor, and Therapeutic Aromatherapist. She can be reached at www.sangeetabhalla.net )