Catherine Poole

If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size?

–Sydney J. Harris

Temper if ungoverned, governs the whole man.

–Anthony Shaftesbury

Skin is such a complex topic when it comes to metaphysics, in part because there are so many tissue issues related to the skin: rashes, blisters, acne, scars, burns, and of course, there is the overall pigment of skin and the ethnic complications that can transpire with that! Where DO I begin?

Skin defines us, for centuries it has put us in cultural categories. Skin is what we show to the world and issues with the skin are really about how we think other people see us. I immediately think of the two terms: “Thin-skinned” and “Thick-skinned”. Thin implying that your emotions are exposed and you take everything too personal, and thick implying that you can handle just about anything.

Since the skin is the largest organ in our body, tissue issues can be narrowed down by looking at what is happening with your skin and where is it happening on your body. Irritations with the skin are similar to a splinter working its way to the surface, think of that entire process from the initial splinter to the pain, then redness, then swelling and then the festering in order to “push” out the splinter. Emotions are like the splinter and when we bury them instead of pulling them out, they eventually work themselves out…in a painful and messy process.

Overall, when there is dry skin, it indicates that you are holding back emotionally. Fluids (water/hydration) is associated with the sacral (orange) energy and represents creativity, emotion and the processes of flow. Often when there is an issue involving fluids, such as edema, blisters, and “seepy” stuff (yech) then I go right to the keyword “emotion”. You are either holding emotions in or putting your emotions out there for the world to see. Eruptions, such as boils and certain cysts are all about buried feelings that finally erupt when the conflict that NEEDS attention finally comes to the surface.

Cysts hold fluid (emotions) and really are like pimples, just on a larger scale. They often contain pus, fluid, blood, almost as if they are little garbage cans in your body. I apologize for being so graphic, but they really are what they represent, trash. So there is this anger and irritation that is held right beneath the skin until is boils and festers and finally bursts.

I had a client many years ago in Chicago, a young woman that came to see me because she had cysts, but only on the left side of her body. I asked her some questions concerning emotions, pent up anger, and also about what she did not want to “allow” in her life? (Your left represents accepting and allowing.)

She was rather resistant to the questions, so I just let her speak. My father was a Superior Court Judge in Indiana, and he used to tell me that when he would let the person on the stand speak, he would just let them go…and eventually you get your answers. He would say, “little sister, you just gotta give ‘em enough rope…” So, what did I do? I gave her some rope, and then a little more.

She started out very gentle and just talked about her profession and life in Chicago, then a bit about childhood …

and on and on …

and THEN…

she had enough rope.

As if someone turned on a switch, her entire disposition changed. Her energy shifted. And needless to say, she got my attention! Out of nowhere she started talking about how women (in general) are weak and cannot be relied upon, and she continued to express her opinion of the female population. Then she must have realized my gender because she looked at me and stopped. Apologizing, she shut down.

I admit, I did blink a time or two…but I leaned over the desk and I asked, “Wow. You have all of this anger toward the female gender?” She said “yes, they are weak…” and on and on…I leaned back in my chair, took a breath  and began to explain that

• cysts are buried unresolved anger
• they emerge when the hurt and the anger can no longer be contained.
• What we are angry about is usually indicated by where the cysts are located.

Her cysts were only on the left side of her body.

• Left represents female.
• She hates females.
• She IS female.

And there you have it…

The amazing thing was that she DID get it! In her mind she was trashing women, but her body was hearing that she was trashing herself. Well, cysts are really little pockets of trash! (they stink too…) So her body was just responding to her self talk, (“trash talk”)

We need to pay attention to what we tell our body, it loves us and will do what we ask!

Skin is also about connecting with others and the intimacy of touch. When you manifest eczema, dermatitis, (remember last week, about–itis?) even acne or a rash is your body reacting to your request to keep people out of your personal space. These conditions keep others at a distance; whether it is because they do not want to get near or because you keep yourself isolated is no matter, the objective is to keep out intimacy, avoid CONTACT.

Where these conditions appear gives us yet another clue as to what or whom you are avoiding or you find irritating!

Left or right side or both? This is your first “check” is the skin issue only on one side? Again, last week’s entry talks in more detail about left and right distinctions.

Left side is usually about a female getting “under your skin” and can have something to do with being irritated about having to do something you do not want to do or someone you do not want to allow in.

Right side is usually about a male getting “under your skin” and can have something to do with being irritated about having to let go of something (someone) you do not want release.

Arms? Arms represent relationships, either accepting or releasing. They are an extension of our heart center, giving and receiving love. Issues on the left arm are about resistance to allowing new relationships or accepting love into your life. Ask yourself who entered your life when the irritation began? Understand that it can be a karmic remnant from another life and time, so don’t beat yourself up (yea, then it becomes a cyst! Lol) just understand that past life may be the case if nothing else makes sense.  Ask for insight and see what answers you come up with.

Issues with the right arm are about resistance to letting go of past relationships. It may not be YOUR resistance though, so take note! Is there anyone you are trying to “scrape off” and they just won’t go?

Hands are very common for dryness, (emotion) and I remember when I was at Notre Dame, my hands would be so dry and fingertips would just split! This is all about emotion and trying to complete tasks that are required of us. Of course,  which fingers split and leave us in pain and vulnerable can be explained in my “finger entries”…one on thumbs and the other on hands and fingers in general

I have to laugh though, as hindsight is 20/20…My ex husband could not wear his wedding band, EVER. It would break out his ring finger, just where the gold band would be. If I knew then what I know now (and that is 20+ years ago) I would have realized that he was allergic to marriage! (left ring finger, so he was allergic to marriage with me…lol)

Our hands are our first extension of ourselves, so when we cannot extend our courtesy,  offering our energy to another, it adds to our sense of isolation, and pulling back of emotions. When they are dry and cracked, it is because we are giving so much of ourselves to others emotionally and the message is: that it is time to give to oneself. My worst dry hands and fingertip-splits were with my babies, changing diapers, working at the university, (bringing the baby to work, so I had my baby AND students AND faculty obligations…ouch) But it all makes sense now, as I become more balanced and centered I don’t have those issues anymore.

Now I would like to talk about your back, as so many of us have skin issues with the back. In part because it is difficult to scrub thoroughly.

OK, so if cysts are trash, then your back is your garbage dump.

Everyone is always taken aback (pardon the pun) when I say that. But it is true, issues we do not want to deal with get tossed back there for another day…so having a back that has deposits of black heads, pimples, acne or even the outbreak of shingles, indicates some aspect of your life, little irritations and angers that you are ignoring in hopes that they will go away. Cysts are bigger issues of course that fester and bake before they erupt.

Your chest region is about control, actually when there are issues in this area with skin irritations, rashes, cysts, it is anger and irritation about not being allowed to control, you have been waived! Think about Superman when he splits open his shirt to reveal his big “S”…someone or something is keeping you from “saving the day”, so you become irritated, bury the emotions and they find their way out.

The Face is perhaps the most personal and difficult place to deal with skin issues. Our face is literally our identity. We are in a society that places a high level of aesthetics on facial features, so issues with this area are predominantly about not wanting to face the world, mostly due to self-esteem. Irritation, criticism and self-dislike create emotional pain and that is manifested in acne on the face. Adult acne is also self-esteem issues, just as it is in our teen years, so look to see if their are similar emotional circumstances (usually involving peer reviews and approvals) to the teen years.

Scars develop when body tissue has been traumatized, whether cut or burned, the body normally regenerates scar tissue to replace it. A problem occurs when a wound doesn’t heal correctly. We take pride oftentimes in showing our scars, so there is a level of pride in the incident or accident that created it. The scars that finally fade are the issues that finally fade!

There are no accidents, so it is important to look at where the wound was generated and then look at the message your body was sending. I will often ask in a regression if there is a scar that is significant to that lifetime, and then ask that it be healed. They are all about holding onto the past, whether it is current life or past life scarring. Either one, it is all about letting the past go so you can move forward with confidence and courage. How do you do that? That would be answered in my entry “past perfect”!

Have a great week! Next week I talk about allergies! So hold that sneeze for one more week.

Tags: Alternative health medicine, alternative medicine, behavior modification, body language, body talk, CatherinePoole.com Metaphysics, chakras, Color Energy, color psychology, energy medicine, help with stress, holistic alternative medicine, hypnosis, life coach, life coaching, Medical Intuitive, metaphysical, motivation, new age, non-verbal communication, positive attitude, power of positive thinking, prayer, self-help, self-hypnosis, self-talk, spiritual guidance, spirituality, subliminal messages

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Guidance, Health and Dis-ease, Relationships. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.