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