Our bodies use many means to communicate with us, and one of the most obvious is metaphoric communication through symptoms. Symbolism is an important part of energetic communication because it is multi-layered and non-linear, just like energy itself. Since I am currently battling a very bad case of Poison Ivy, I decided to figure out what my body was trying to tell me. 
Things are poisonous because they appear harmless or even attractive. Something that looks, smells or sounds dangerous is not classified as poisonous because it is so obviously harmful.
But poison is stealthy. It creeps up on you and takes you by surprise when you thought you were safe. Poison Ivy is a good example. It hides its toxin behind beautiful shiny green leaves. It also grows tightly among other plants so it is hard to see and identify.
Poison Ivy attacks the skin, which is our first line of defense. The skin is our physical boundary, so when we encounter a stealthy psychological danger, the body often reacts with a skin problem. Skin problems are usually not life threatening, but they do definitely get your attention. Poison Ivy itches and burns and makes you look like you have leprosy.
Since this affliction is so unsightly and uncomfortable, I couldn’t help asking what it might be telling me about other parts of my life. I know that if I don’t understand what my body is trying to tell me with this relatively benign condition, I may be faced with more serious physical problems later.
As I examined my thoughts and feelings during the time I contracted Poison Ivy, I realized that the stealthy psychological toxin stalking me was anxiety.
Anxiety is stealthy also. It is a low grade fear that hides very nicely behind the respectable façade of foresight.
In order to keep ourselves safe in the physical world, we rely on our own past experiences and those of others to give us the foresight to avoid problems in the future. Foresight gives us needed control and increases our physical and psychological safety. If we learn to use it well, it can save us from many unpleasant and dangerous circumstances.
But foresight works best when we are fairly sure we have the ability to control the situation. If we are walking along a country road and hear a car coming, foresight tells us to get out of the way. As long as we can easily move off the road, there is little fear or anxiety involved.
But when we face an experience that has been problematic in the past, and we doubt our ability to avoid or control the situation in the future, anxiety can easily set in. This is when dwelling on the past and future can become poisonous.
While thinking about the past in order to avoid future problems can be beneficial, foresight can easily turn into anxiety when it seems there is really nothing obvious we can do to avoid the assumed problem. This subtle form of fear is extremely toxic since it can so easily become chronic. It causes our bodies to react in dangerous ways especially when it is undetected or unnoticed and continues over long periods of time.
Once I understood what my body was trying to tell me, I could reevaluate my thoughts and feelings around the source of my anxiety. I realized that obsessing about something I had no control over was dangerous to me, and that my fear of what might happen in the future was dangerous also, because energetically we tend to call to us what we obsess over. In the energy world, similarities attract, so the more I fear something, the more likely I am to draw it to me since the fear frequency will attract similar frequencies to it.
On the other hand, my experience with life, and especially with working in the energy dimension, has taught me that the past is often not repeated in the future, especially if we don’t expect it to be. Consciousness and intention can change the probabilities affecting the outcome. In addition, I know it is important for me to trust myself and believe that whatever happens, I have the ability to meet it with strength and equanimity. Experience has also taught me that solutions can always be found if I am persistent enough, even if there doesn’t seem to be a solution when I first set out to find one.
So the bottom line is that I have a choice. I can continue to fear the future because of the past, or I can release the anxiety, concentrate on the present and savor every moment it brings.
By noticing the symbolism in my condition, I have learned the difference between foresight and anxiety, and thus choose to concentrate on the beauty of the moment. I still have Poison Ivy, but I thank my body for alerting me to a greater danger, which I now have the foresight to avoid.
For more on the energy realm, see my book, It’s All About Energy: Adventures in Expanded Reality”, available on Amazon, in local bookstores and on my website: www.transformationalexpansion.com