I can share how I healed last time, but a big question I have starting again is, “Do I try the exact same process this time, or do I dare to alter the process and try a different approach?” That has been a big question of mine!
Honestly, I’ve wrestled with this one. I’ve been scared of the down side of deviating from what worked before. After considering it for some time, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is more than one way to heal. But I am guessing there are some basic foundations that any plan to heal must observe. Such as – 1) general care for the body, 2) taking care to create a healthy, joyful/grateful mental outlook, and 3) letting go of ego, accepting our limitations and spiritually seeking to be a better person. In the end, my guess is that I will heal if I attend to all three of these areas: the mind, body and spirit.
What changes this time?
What I plan to allow for change this time is how I address these foundational aspects of healing. This is where things might be different. And to do this I will need to check in with my inner healing intelligence, Higher Self, or God and follow what my gut tells me. Already I am seeing that last time my body needed rest, lots of rest. This time I feel my body needs lots of movement. This is a big difference! I am attending to the general care for my body, but this time how I care for it may be relative to my disease or just different needs I have.
So back to the question, “Do I dare to alter the approach I took last time? “
Yes and no. Yes, I might change how I take care of my body, change how I create a positive mental space, and how I address my spiritual growth, but no, I won’t change my foundational approach. Or to put that positively, any plan I make will have an plan action in all 3 areas: mind, body, spirit.
My hope is to answer this question in my quest for healing: What are the foundational aspects of healing and what are the variables?
In trying to heal myself again, I will be testing out my hypothesis that there is more than one way to heal. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to get sick again, I wouldn’t know the answer to this and I might be misdirected to think that because I healed myself one way last time, it’s the only way to do it. And I think that’s the risk anyone who has healed themselves has – the risk of thinking that because they did it one way, everyone else needs to do it the way they did it.
Chronicling my healing
I am chronicling my process and doing it publicly for a couple reasons. One, there have been many times over the years I wish I had better shared what I did to heal myself last time. But I didn’t. Doing this will give me an opportunity to share – even if I don’t heal from Parkinson’s. I’ll finally share how I healed from lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
I realize that going public with the process will keep me accountable to write and share what’s happening. Sharing, I’ve realized, is important to me. Already in my mediations and healing process I’ve reconnected with a deep desire to help others be the best they can be. It’s a recurring theme in my life and it’s been a reason behind career choices I’ve made many times before. The thought of it brings me great joy.
But going public has a downside. It’s occurred to me that although I believe I can heal again, what happens if I don’t? Will going public make my potential recovery harder? I won’t deny that there is a certain pressure to putting myself out there with this. But when I look at the down side, even that has benefits because I believe that what I share if I don’t heal may be just as important for everyone trying to heal themselves to consider.
And I truly believe that if I don’t heal from this, that my path will still be taking me closer to what is in my best and highest good. Sometimes I think we deceive ourselves when we think that the only best and highest road is complete healing. Maybe there is another road I don’t see or understand yet. I hold open that possibility.
Staying real. Being vulnerable. Being completely honest with myself and others. This will be the challenge of going public. I may bruise my ego along the way, but who said healing was going to be easy?!!!
Maintaining privacy
Lastly, on this issue of going public and being real, I plan to protect the privacy of my friends and family. What this may mean is that I won’t be using the real names of people or in some situations I will be vague with details. I will do this to protect the privacy of others while being honest and trying to provide you, the reader, with the information you may need to understand how a situation affected my healing.
I hope you choose to join me on this journey.
Hi Sheryl,
I’m proud of you and your approach the document your path down the Parkinson’s road. There are no directions or roadmap to follow. I’ve traveled a short way down my road and am more than happy to share my experiences with you…
Your friend Chip
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