Blog Archives
Hear It, Share It – (Part 2 of 4) – This Disease Isn’t Fair
Today’s posting is part two of the four chapters I am sharing from my audio book, A Soft Voice in a Noisy World – A Guide to Dealing and Healing with Parkinson’s Disease. This week’s chapter is about the fairness of Parkinson’s.
What is Fair?
We are all tasked with some sort of physical, mental, or spiritual challenge in our lives at some point. Some events that we face are inexplicable and hard to fathom. Often, we categorize a level of what is fair or unfair. Parkinson’s disease, for over 30 years, has taught me that as difficult as some lessons are to learn, they’ve helped me to grow.
Click the play button below to hear voice actor/narrator, Doug Gochman read Chapter 12 to hear my perspective on fairness:
If you missed the first post in this series, visit this link: Part 1 – Timing In Parkinson’s Disease May Be Everything
Please feel free to comment about this chapter by clicking the Leave a Comment button below. If you liked this chapter, please share this post with others by clicking the share buttons on the right.
Next Week’s Chapter…
The next chapter in this series has some ideas on how to talk with your doctor. Come back next Thursday to hear the next installment! If you subscribe to the blog today, you will receive automatic notification when the next post is released.
Summer Reprise – Tips for Staying Positive and Proactive
This was created in May 2014, but I thought it was worthy of another appearance.
Here are some Tips for Staying Positive and Proactive:
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Take care of yourself. The more you know about Parkinson’s, the better. You play the key role in your own health. Seek out therapies/modalities that work for you. Accepting your illness does not mean giving up.
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Appreciate the good in every day. Focus on what you can do! Do not focus on what you can’t do! Savor and appreciate everything.
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Stay flexible in all ways. A rigid pole often tends to break in the wind. A flexible pole will bend and give in the wind. Being more flexible will add a new dimension to your life.
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A person with a good attitude is much easier to be around and is good for our well-being.
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Being positive is a choice! When we label everything “good” or “bad”, we lose sight that we cannot savor one without the other. You cannot have the sweet without the bitter. This is life!
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Explore the stressors in your daily life. Find an outlet to help you release your stress.
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Procrastination, denial, fear, and apathy only delay the opportunity to begin our own self care. Don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it.
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If you don’t laugh every day, start! Laughter has all kinds of health benefits. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t stop laughing!
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Plan ahead for what you can and be aware and engaged. Always have a plan B, C, or more.
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The best exercise or activity is the one that you like and you are willing to do. If Parkinson’s prohibits us from doing something we love, then we must find a replacement for that activity.
I hope these are helpful to you.
Karl
Healing Becomes a Prime Time Show
Healing Becomes a Prime Time Show
The world is shifting faster and even more progressively to complementary medicine, than I would ever have imagined. While late-night television channel surfing, I found a program that appears to be both informative and comforting. This new show is on a channel that I rarely watch. Home to numerous reality and family related dramas, TLC is not a station that usually offers programming that thrills me. I will admit that this show really interests me.
I came across a new show called, The Healer. Let me say that as a Parkinson’s patient and a reiki master, I use the term “healer” very rarely and very carefully. I had to see what TLC was doing with someone who had the ego and gift of restoring one to health. To use the word “healer” takes on a serious responsibility.
Charlie, an Australian entrepreneur, has been using his “gift” for several years and seems to deliver results with varying success. Charlie admits that results may depend upon the malady and the severity of it. I respect that he takes his gift so seriously. He freely admits that some illnesses may not respond well to his energy work, while some may react better. I also like that he shares his gift at no charge.
Doctors on the show are amazed, without explanation, yet appear to be willing to make the mind-shift that energy work may have merit. They are witnesses of the inexplicable. The doctors don’t deny that after Charlie’s treatment, something substantial has just occurred for their patient. Skepticism is understandable from the medical community, but when they see results from complimentary therapies, they should be willing to acknowledge them. One of the biggest dilemmas facing energy workers and the medical community is that if they both worked together, the patient may very well see surprising new results and at minimal cost.
I have seen slightly over one episode so far. I am an energy worker. I find the delving and unveiling of energy work on prime time television as a huge leap in the right direction! Shows like this demystify and shed light on the benefits of touch. This television program helps to show that hands on work has much to offer. In the United States, patients are less likely to pursue energy workers. In my opinion, the reason that many doctor(s) discount or don’t understand the potential benefit of working with energy practitioners is that little to no research has been funded.
Not until seven years into my diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, at the age of 32 was I introduced to Reiki. From day one, I went from skeptic to believer, immediately. After experiencing what I had so easily discounted, it turned out to be something life-changing. Reiki hasn’t healed me to where I am void of symptoms. I do know, not scientifically, that Reiki has made my life considerably better, increased my quality of life, and slowed my Parkinson’s progression over these last 20 years!
“Let It Go” – Reprise
Clinging on to that which does not serve us only weighs us down. Rather than control our emotions, if not monitored closely, they may control us. I have seen anger and resentment consume the strongest of men and seen it bring them to their knees. I have seen a quick temper ruin friendships as well as careers. I have seen jealousy and greed destroy the trust of what appeared to be the most solid of marriages. Retaining negative emotions can do nothing positive. Why do we hold what we don’t need?
If you can make yourself sick, can you make yourself well? How often did your parents tell you that you were going to make yourself sick because of worry? Whether it was guilt, worry, anger, hate, anticipation, anxiety, or some other emotion, maybe we have the same ability to make ourselves well, if not better! We probably didn’t get ill overnight, so it is unlikely to think that we will get well overnight.
Letting go takes practice, discipline, and intuition. It takes timing. Knowing what to keep and what to release sometimes takes a leap of faith into the unknown. It requires bravery and will.
Not everyone is prepared to or immediately willing to release years of pent up anger, bitterness, hurt, or bad memories. Some of us are better than others at avoiding confrontation, forgetting our pasts, and discarding the regrets and losses of of our lives. Depending upon the severity of our emotional challenges, professional counsel may be required to realize what is necessary to move forward. I have little doubt that our emotions have a direct connection to entire body’s well-being.
Remember to let go of what you don’t need or just what doesn’t benefit you. That’s what I’m hoping to do.
–Reprise January 2012 – re-edited 2017
An Open Mind May Lead To Healing
Parkinson’s Disease is a designer disease without any glamour or style. Unique to each owner is a brew all of its’ own. Put a room full people with this illness all together and you’ll see an array of symptoms of varying combinations but you probably won’t encounter any two exactly alike.
Parkinson’s Disease, for all the research, press, and money that has gone into this disease, frankly, has not come that far. There are medicines to stabilize patients for only so long, risky and invasive brain surgeries that may temporarily delay or reduce some symptoms, and some therapies that assist sufferers in retaining their voice and mobility, but the breakthrough that was promised 20 plus years ago when I was diagnosed has yet to come.
If each one of has such a unique case, maybe that means each of us has a unique combination of triggers that set the course for this development. If that is the case and we set the parameters either genetically and/or emotionally, it just may be within our reach to find our own cure.
As radical as it may sound, I whole-heartedly believe that our bodies, given the right information and regimens, an openness to self-discovery, and a willingness to change just may lead our bodies to healing themselves. Combined with Western medicine and Eastern therapies, a proper balance of physical and mental conditioning can, does, and will reverse or at least improve the damage of illness.
My long journey with Parkinson’s has led me down some dead-ends but I have seen successes. In my hunt for healing and therapeutic answers to improving my condition, I have seen Reiki (see posting 28) make the largest impact on this disease. Amazingly, the scientific community shies away from testing this therapy so it is conveniently discounted and dismissed.
As a Reiki practitioner and Reiki Master (in a 1 year training program), it is my belief and hope that anyone reading this posting strongly consider that an open-mind and a willingness to help yourself can lead you to the answers and assistance that you seek.
This is my journey and I wish you well on yours!
