Quotes by Anita Moorjani to Inspire & Uplift You
In 2016, I read Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing by Anita Moorjani. These were the most powerful quotes for me.
“The most frequent question people ask me is why I think I got cancer. I can sum up the answer in one word: fear.
What was I afraid of? Just about everything, including failing, being disliked, letting people down, and not being good enough. I also feared illness, cancer in particular, as well as the treatment for cancer. I was afraid of living, and I was terrified of dying.”
Cancer & Fear
Her yoga master said to her, "Cancer is just a word that creates fear. Forget about that word, and let's just focus on balancing your body. All illnesses are just symptoms of imbalance. No illness can remain when your entire system is in balance."
"I understood that my body is only a reflection of my internal state. If my inner self were aware of its greatness and connection with All-that-is, my body would soon reflect that and heal rapidly."
"To access this state of allowing, the only thing I had to do was be myself!"
" 'Okay, I have nothing more to give. I surrender. Take me. Do what you will with me. Have your way.' "
"I want to clarify that my healing wasn't so much born from a shift in my state of mind or beliefs as it was from finally allowing my true spirit to shine through."
"I do suggest, however, not viewing illness or symptoms as 'something to be gotten rid of,' like an enemy. This [is] a fear-based reaction. For me, the appearance of these symptoms is my body's way of trying to heal me. I know that if I try to eliminate the illness with an adversarial attitude, I end up doing the opposite, antagonizing it and embedding myself deeper into the illness mind-set. [...] It's actually far more productive to distract yourself and stay occupied with activities that stimulate you in a positive, creative way."
Self-Love
"People ask me whether there's such a thing as too much self-love. Where's the line, they ask, where it starts to become selfish or egotistical? To me, there's no such possibility. There is no line. Selfishness comes from lack of self-love. Our planet is suffering from this, as we humans are, along with too much insecurity, judgment, and conditioning. In order to truly care for someone unconditionally, I have to feel that way toward myself. I can't give away what I don't have. To say that I hold another in higher regard than myself isn't real and means I'm only performing. [...] When I stop being my own worst enemy and start loving myself more, I automatically have less and less friction with the world around me. I become more tolerant and accepting. [...] Realizing that I am love was the most important lesson I learned, allowing me to release all fear, and that's the key that saved my life."
"At this point, I've replaced forgiveness with empathy, unconditional love, and compassion--for myself and for others. Rather than judge, creating a need for pardon, I now have only caring and great respect for the multifaceted role each of us plays in the Whole of creation."
"I believe that my cancer was related to my self-identity, and it feels as though it was my body's way of telling me that my soul was grieving for the loss of its own worth--of its identity. If I'd know the truth of who I actually am, I wouldn't have gotten cancer!"
"The only universal solution I have is to love yourself unconditionally and be yourself fearlessly! This is the most important lesson I learned from my NDE [near-death experience], and I honestly feel that if I'd always known this, I never would have gotten cancer in the first place. [...] Finally, I can't stress enough how important it is to enjoy yourself and not take yourself or life too seriously. Laugh throughout the day, especially at yourself! This would be hands down over and above any form of prayer, meditation, chanting, or diet reform. Day -to-day problems never seem as big when viewed through a veil of humor and love."
Surrendering The Mind
"The only thing that can keep me from being aware of this [Universal] energy is my mind--that is, my thoughts, particularly my self-limiting beliefs about myself. [...] Once my mind got out of the way, the floodgates opened. Instead of fighting against the nature of the universe in order to heal, I allowed chi to flow on its own terms."
"When we live completely from the mind over a period of time, we lose touch with the infinite self, and then we begin to feel lost. This happens when we're in the doing mode all the time, rather than being. The latter means living from the soul and is a state of allowing. It means letting ourselves be who and what we are without judgment. Being doesn't mean that we don't do anything. It's just that our actions stem from following our emotions and feelings while staying present in the moment. Doing, on the other hand, is future focused, with the mind creating a series of tasks that take us from here to there in order to achieve a particular outcome, regardless of our current emotional state.
"I have discovered that to determine whether my actions stem from 'doing or 'being,' I only need to look at the emotion behind my everyday decisions. Is it fear, or is it passion? If everything I do each day is driven by passion and a zest for living, then I'm 'being,' but if my actions are a result of fear, then I'm in 'doing' mode."
"I now live my life from joy instead of from fear."
"It seems to me that we aren't meant to forget who we are, and that life isn't meant to be so difficult. It felt as though we made it tough here with our misplaced ideas and beliefs.
Enjoy life!
"The internal understanding I received in that realm came as sort of an 'imprint,' but if I put a voice to it, here's what I would have been saying internally in that state: Ooh, so life isn't supposed to be such a struggle--we're supposed to enjoy it and have fun! I wish I'd know this! Oh, so my body created the cancer because of all my dumb thoughts, judgments about myself, limiting beliefs, all of which caused me so much internal turmoil. Boy, if only I'd know that we're just supposed to come here and feel good about ourselves and about life--just express ourselves and have fun with it!
"Now this part is a little hard to explain, but let me try. I had a question that was something like this: Why did something so big--like this terminal cancer thing--happen to me just for not realizing my own magnificence?
"Simultaneously, I had this understanding: Ooh, I see--it didn't happen to me, because in truth, I'm never a victim. The cancer is just my own unexpressed power and energy! It turned inward against my body, rather than outward.
"I knew it wasn't a punishment or anything like that. It was just my own life force expressing itself as cancer because I didn't allow it to manifest as the magnificent powerful force of Anita."
Doctors had given Anita Moorjani just hours to live when she arrived at the hospital in a coma on the morning of February 2nd, 2006. Watch her TEDx Talk here!