As we head into the end of the year and the joyous holiday season, I want to provide you with more tools for repairing your Parkinson’s, which I see as a symptom of a life out of balance…physically, mentally, and spiritual. Today, I am re-posting my explanation of how Parkinson’s is a symptom of a life out of balance, and the subsequent posts until the end of the year will provide additional tools to enhance the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery™ as it leads you on your journey of recovery…from your Parkinson’s and in your life.
From Fighting Parkinson’s, and tremors three years ago:
“Three years ago today, I got my final wake up call, my body’s final notification to make me sit up and take notice that there was something dreadfully wrong with me…tremors. As I pointed out recently, for the previous 7 or 8 months, I had received polite, and not-so-polite, notifications that my physical body was falling into disrepair. I chose to ignore these. Tremors got my attention. I have discussed that the symptoms are not the problem, but instead, they are the messages that there is a problem, so we have to look behind them as to why we have them. This morning I realized that Parkinson’s is a symptom…a message that says, “your life is out of balance.”
Parkinson’s…the symptom reflecting a life out of balance. Physically, you are off balance. You move slowly and cautiously, often looking down instead of forward. What does that do? It puts your body in a posture that makes it virtually impossible to walk balanced. Your neck is bent, your spine is bent, the fluid in your semicircular canals is moved, and your visual frame of reference (important for balance) is your legs or the floor, and you acquire what is often referred to as a Parkinson’s gait. Mentally, you then become off balance because you are afraid of falling or freezing, and you are afraid of the future with Parkinson’s. This is right where Parkinson’s wants you…not living in the moment, but instead living in the past (getting Parkinson’s) and being fearful of the future (life with long-term Parkinson’s). Spiritually, you give up hope that you ever will get better. At that point Parkinson’s is winning.
Essentially, when you stare at your legs and feel unbalanced, you are looking at the past. When you feel unbalanced, you fear the future. How can you move forward in life in a balanced manner if you are staring backwards and it makes you fearful of where you are going? Faith.
Faith in yourself that you are the cure to Parkinson’s, and that you can see your recovery through to the end. Yes, that carries a lot of responsibility, but you have help. You have the Recipe for Recovery. The Recipe for Recovery is your road map to bring your soul, mind, and body back into balance.
Over time in my recovery, I came to see Parkinson’s as a grand opportunity to fix the things in my life that had gone out of balance. The Recipe provided me with the physical tools to re-balance my body, the mental tools to calm my mind and re-balance my emotions, and the spiritual tools to re-balance my soul and find again the essence of who I am.
Am I grateful for having had Parkinson’s? Yes. Through that bump in the road in a life already out of balance, Parkinson’s stood as a bump at a fork in the road leaving me two choices: 1. Fix the imbalances in my life and it would go away; and 2. Do not fix the imbalances in my life and it would stay with me forever. I chose the road less traveled, I had no plan B, and every day I did the Recipe for Recovery to find balance in my life. And every day that I awoke with Parkinson’s still there, it was a reminder I still had more work to do.
However, in the end, when I awoke on June 12, 2010 with no Parkinson’s, I knew it was not coming back — I had re-balanced my soul, mind, and body, and I no longer needed the message or symptoms known as Parkinson’s as a reminder that I had more work to do.
I was finished with that part of my life, and I am grateful for that as well.”
You can do this, too. I know you can.
You are worth it!
All my best,
Howard
You are right Howard. We are worth it.
Your message today came at the right time. My tremors etc. are bad but I am going to keep on keeping on with my road to recovery. It is so hard to not get aggravated at my symptoms sometimes! But, we all can be winners.
Thanks Howard for being such a thoughtful and caring person and role model.
Beverly
Likewise, Beverly —– it is so frustrating at times…. thanks for the encouragement! So grateful for Howard and his example. Best Wishes, Trudy
Repairing a life out of balance…what could be better than that? I was also shocked into admitting something was wrong once my hand started moving on its own. That was undeniable. The tremors were stronger and stronger, worse and worse, as I recorded my descent in a daily log. How many am tremors? How many midday? How many at night? How much pain? Numbness? I was keeping detailed records.
Now it has been a little more than a year since I became free of symptoms .
Just now, at first I wrote “symptom free”, then changed it. “I became free” is the more important phrase. When I found the Recipe for Recovery, even while the symptoms continued, the huge difference was that I began to free myself with the focus on wellness and my belief that I could recover. The journey has been remarkable, the changes, absolute.
Who would I be today if I had not needed to confront the imbalances? A less happy person, to be sure. And if I had not found Howard’s inspiration, support, and Recipe for Recovery ? …..well, no reason to even consider that. The good news is that we are dealing with the challenges in our bodies at a time when Howard has hacked his way through the Forest of Fear and created a path for us to follow to recovery.
Thank you so much, Howard.
To our lovely community here: I so hope each of you will follow that path to your own recovery. My very deepest, heartfelt best wishes are with you as you travel.
Thank you, Marie and Howard….. I feel inspired, hopeful, grateful, clear…..
Thank you Howard, thank you Marie for these timely messages and yet further
inspiration to keep on travelling the path and for you both being living proof that it works.
Thank you both once again.
Blessings to all
Ainsley
Thanks howard ,
your reminder for recipe for recovery inspires everyone to get back their balance.
we are worth it.
I love when God sends the same message by more than one messenger. It’s nice confirmation that we are on the right track. After reading Howard’s message above, I opened up my devotion and read: “when you’re plagued by a persistent problem–one that goes on and on–view it as a rich opportunity. An ongoing problem is like a tutor who is always by your side. The learning possibilities are limited only by your willingness to be teachable. In faith, thank Me for your problem.” Through this journey, I am learning much about myself and learning to recognize the baggage that I’ve carried around for years. Little by little, I am releasing the baggage and allowing my “balloon” to soar ever higher. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Keep the faith! We are worth it!
Teri
Thank you Howard, for your dedication to heal the world from an illness confirmed as progressive and incurable. You have proven the medical community wrong though they all share the same opinion. I thank all of you for your comments that buoy me up and give me the encouragement to press forward with the faith that we can be successful too, by following the recipe of hope and recovery. What would we do without this knowledge and proof that it works and can be done. Heartfelt gratitude to all of you!
To all,
You are welcome. And, thank you very much for sharing your journeys with all of us. There are many who have a difficult time expressing how they feel, and some who have no support for doing the Recipe outside of our group. The inspiration you provide them, and all of us, is most incredible. You help yourselves and you help all of us.
With gratitude and love,
Howard
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I have begun the exercises, I struggle to learn them and persevere in doing them. Thank you Howard, for the workshop and your power of example.
The day after my “struggle” posting, when I did the exercise #1 for the liver, I did it from memory (five days after starting) and felt no resistance or struggle, only a deep peace and serenity as I did the exercise.
Hi Kay,
This is wonderful! Congratulations. Yes, when you feel confident in what you are doing and can relax into the movements, they can become very meditative and gratifying. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Blessings,
Howard
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