Fighting Parkinson’s, and following the signs

In life, we encounter many external signs. Today, I want to explore re-gaining the confidence in ourselves to follow the signs we encounter during meditation and spiritual practice, the internal signs. What do we do when a feeling deep inside us says, “Do this.” Do we do “this” or do we think about doing “this” or do we ignore the sign and think it was just in our imagination? To recover from Parkinson’s, we need to trust in ourselves again by feeling and doing rather than thinking and over-thinking, often resulting in doing nothing.

You are driving down the street and as you approach a corner there is a stop sign. If you have been driving long enough, without thinking, your foot moves from the gas pedal to the brake pedal, and you come to a stop. It is a reflex, a habit. When you act in this manner, there is a happy ending; you do not run through the stop sign and potentially end up in an accident. Now, same scenario, with thinking and over-thinking: The sign says I should stop, but why should I stop, I do not see other cars, I do not see an officer who might write me a ticket, etc., and as you are thinking and over-thinking, you are not “doing,” that is, you are not stopping, and into the intersection you go, thus potentially having an unhappy ending of an accident.

Following the sign and stopping is based on faith. I looked up faith in the dictionary, and here are three definitions: 1. confidence or trust in a person or thing; 2. belief that is not based on proof; 3. belief in God. Regarding the stop sign, you do not know who decided that it needed to go there; you do not know why somebody decided it needed to go there; you do not know who actually put it there; and, you do not know if the person who put it there mis-read his instructions and it was not supposed to be there at all. However, without knowing any of these facts, you have confidence and trust in the sign, not based on proof, and you stop. That is faith. And your faith is so strong that you do not question it. It is a reflex, a habit.

Take that same faith and look inside yourself and follow the signs! When a feeling inside you says “Do the Recipe for Recovery,” then do it. When your body says, “Take a nap,” then do it. When you heart says “You’ll feel better if you smile,” then do it. When you are meditating and involved in spiritual practice, and you get a message or see a sign, have faith and follow the sign — faith that hits the definition at every level — 1. confidence and trust in yourself; 2. belief that you will recover even though Parkinson’s is considered incurable; and 3. belief in God (or the Universe or the Divine, or the Higher Power or the Greater Consciousness, or whatever/whoever you believe in) that whatever you are feeling, you have to do it.

And do not think about it. Do it!

As in the example about the stop sign, if you see the sign and only think about acting on it, eventually you will find yourself in a car accident as a result of thinking and over-thing, and doing nothing — as you can see from this example, doing nothing is still doing something, and eventually, you get an unhappy result.

The more you feel and do, the easier it gets. The more you feel and do, the more your confidence and trust in yourself builds. The more you feel and do, the more you will trust your beliefs even if not based in somebody else’s “proof.” The more you feel and do, the more you will trust your belief in your Higher Power.

Whether you realize it or not, you already have strong faith. That’s right…strong faith. You are reading a blog about Parkinson’s recovery, on a site about Parkinson’s recovery, featuring a Recipe for Recovery from Parkinson’s Disease, and you are actually doing this Recipe for Recovery because you have FAITH in your recovery. And your faith is more powerful than other people’s beliefs.

Your faith is what empowers you toward your recovery. You are strong and courageous and brave and recovering. I am grateful for each and every one of you for having faith in me, for having faith in the Recipe for Recovery, for having faith in your Higher Power, and FOR HAVING FAITH IN YOURSELF to do the work day after day, chipping away at the iceberg a little at a time on your path toward recovery.

Keep your faith strong and keep following the signs to your recovery.

You are worth it!!!

All my best,

Howard