Grow
letting go of image
Shaving My Head
A Practice of Detachment, Reminder and Inspiration
Om Namah Shivaya
(I Bow To My True Identity)
ego detachment
My name is Elicia Woodford, I am 35 years old and currently living in Koh Samui, Thailand. My business ePowerMe is about releasing thoughts, behaviors, beliefs, toxins, and stress that keep us from being who we really are and fully alive. I am launching another business called Samui Healing which is designed to provide cleansing information, services and resources to support ePowerMe’s mission. I’ve personally done many various body, mind and material cleanses this year. Cleansing is about getting rid of what we don’t need that is attached to the ego like stress, social pressure, and an image that is identified with the body and material things. I decided to end my year of detox with a spiritual ego cleanse by shaving my head to detach from society’s pressure of looking a certain way and caring what others think.
Reasons, Reminders and Inspiration:
v Spiritual Detox and Detachment
- Detaching from ego, image and identity
v Source of Happiness
source of happiness
- How you feel is dependent of what you are thinking and the health of your body. If you are overly concerned with physical appearance, and what others think, then you will cause unnecessary stress and unhappiness.
- Most people think that if they look good then they feel good. If you dig deeper on what it is costing you in stress and worry to look good you will see that is not true.
- Pay attention to your thoughts “My hair is too short, I wish my hair was straight/curly, my roots are showing, I want to look like Angelina Jolie, I can’t go out with this pimple, I need my teeth whitened, I wish I was skinny, my nail chipped…”
- All the physical things that seem to matter most are impermanent and will change. Your hair will grow, your nails grow, you choose to adopt a clean natural diet and your skin and hair glow plus the extra 5 pounds comes off without trying. With this awareness you can focus on what matters most in life: the health of your mind and body.
- I’m not saying to not care how you look and to let yourself go but instead let society’s pressure of how you should look go. Care more about what thoughts you let in your mind and what you are putting in your body. Know what thoughts and food either feed you or deplete you. Your happiness depends on them.
- Focus your energy up towards who you are, how you live, and your potential instead of down towards what you look like, what you have and comparing yourself to others. Become aware by asking yourself, “Does it matter, does it make me happy and is it beneficial to my life?”
- Another thing to be aware of is how you treat others and your generosity. When you give selflessly and are kind to others you feel good about yourself. Practice compassion on yourself, while making changes, and you will feel good and be able to relate to others with a better understanding.
v Cancer
prevent & heal disease
- Cancer is real and can heal. Place importance on trying to prevent it by improving your lifestyle choices.
- Cancer, and other illnesses, can only live in a toxic and deficient environment. The best defense towards disease is a healthy body.
- Focus on boosting your health with detox, cleansing and nutritional therapy.
v Patience & Dedication
- Patience is needed for growth and development.
- Developing the mind with awareness and compassion for yourself and others requires practice and patience.
- Be excited to see what develops at each stage of the growth. It is about the journey and not the destination.
v Embracing Natural Beauty
live & radiate from your heart and nature
- When you live from your heart and nature you radiate natural beauty.
- I am releasing what is not me (chemicals) to let my natural hair and self shine through.
v Re-birth
- 2009 detachment & detox – from the things that I don’t need, that cause stress and unhappiness.
- 2010 birth & new development – caring and nurturing my mind and body like a newborn.
Let go of what you are not to find out who you are!
Credits:
Hairshaver – Dany Lopez, samuihair@yahoo.com, +66 (0) 81 787 4893
Blue Sarong – Donated by Ta from Thai Organic Life
Photographer & Samui Healing Model - Carrie Bain
Wow – don’t know if I would have the courage to shave my hair off, but everything you site as a good reason for doing it certainly has merit ….and lots of it!
Some great life advice..thanks
Celebrate Life
Lorrette
Thank you Lorrette!
May you live from your heart and fully =)
Enjoy!
Elicia
I think you look great with the shaved head! Will you keep it that way? Why not staying bald for ever.
you figured out my secret to love and happiness!! lol… but seriously, i had such vanity about my hair until i finally said, enough is enough to maintenance and expensive hair products to keep up the “illusion” of the beauty of it that didn’t come naturally. so, out of fatigue i let it all go by way of an impromptu walk-in to a Great Clips around the corner from my gym, no less. lol, and i haven’t grown it back since! ocassionally a mohawk for pure adventure and fun will play in my experience every other few weeks or so. it’s fun and i love the no/low maintenance of the whole thing! i’ve been dubbed “the funky buddha” for sometime now… a title i doubt i’d have the joy of receiving had i had the thick beautiful, untouchable (seriously! i wouldn’t anyone ever touch it!! lol) of hair on my crown. =)~
so do you shave it yourself or still go to great clips?
bald is beautiful!
i actually prefer me bald then with hair….now that it’s growing in i’m trying to stay present and not wish it different but i do miss the bald look (who knew?!).
we’ll see….life is fun =)
thank you peter! i’m not sure now, my plan was to grow it in and be excited about each stage but i do miss being bald now that i have black stubs…practicing detachment from my ego’s desire to ‘look good’ though…
“When you live from your heart and nature you radiate natural beauty.”
You have completely proven this to be so true!
You are SO immensely beautiful!
From all your responses above, i would like to say : Well considering the fact that less hair equals less ego…it would not hurt staying bald…in fact it could perhaps be one step further with repsect to your philosophy!
def something i’m considering, thanks peter.
you make my heart smile big! love you lots girl xo
Hi Elicia,
thanks for sending me the link to your blog.
The only thing I can say is that I totally agree to what your writing. The question is how strong is someone to take the next step to reach re-birth level
…?
…you did it.
Congratulations!
thank you joerg for your note and connection!
I shaved mine after 15 years recently and I am feeling good!