Last month, I made a big push with my November to Remember, No Excuses November, 30-day challenge 2013 to do a modified version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® for 30 days. The 30 days ended yesterday, November 30, 2013. So, what’s next? Where do you go from here?
Yesterday was November 30, 2013 and today is December 1, 2013. We have a way of putting labels and limits on our lives based upon what somebody at some previous time decided was correct. Theoretically, if somebody’s decision had been different, today would be November 31, 2013. What I am trying to point out to you is that much of what we think is real is a script written by somebody else, and we have been following the script and its rules without question.
If you want to be cured of Parkinson’s, then today, you need to begin breaking the rules, clearing out the illusions, and writing your own script of where you want to go in your life and your recovery. It is time to choose to start truly hunting your cure!
Faith says “I know I am going to be cured of Parkinson’s, and I will do the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® every day until I am cured!”
Before we talk further about hunting your cure, you need to stop hunting your fear. Here are a couple of looks at fear from previous posts:
“Marie shared with me something she had been told in a seminar many years ago. The instructor explained that fear is a prayer. If you live in fear, it is like praying for everything you fear to come true.”
“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story and that day mine changed.” From After Earth.
I was on a coaching Skype after I had posted the quote from After Earth, and the woman’s husband came into the room and shared the following with me. He said that fear is just a thought. People, when confronted by fear, fall into one of two categories: Fighters and Hunters. If you fight the fear, you realize it has no form or substance, and that it does not exist in the reality of the moment…at that point, the fear dissolves. If you hunt the fear, you do not give up the hunt until you get what you are hunting…the thing you feared. He is a wise man, and he is correct on this point.
Oftentimes, I tell people that when they are consumed with fear, they think they are running away from what they fear. However, in actuality, they are running right to the thing they fear. This is because they stop doing whatever positive things they were doing in their life out of “fear” and this sends them right into fear’s arms. The three examples above confirm this point.
Taking a look at Parkinson’s, if you want to be cured one day, you have to stop hunting your fears — fear you are getting worse, fear you cannot get better, fear of not being perfect, fear of not getting everything correct, fear of not being in control of everything, fear of having a walker, fear of ending up in a wheelchair — fear, fear, fear, fear, fear! It is ENOUGH.
It is a choice. If you think about, when does a hunter stop hunting his or her prey? When the prey is caught. If you are hunting your fear, then you will live in fear forever…each time you catch your prey, and you suffer whatever you feared, you then find something else to fear and you start hunting that fear. The cycle never ends unless and until you say, “ENOUGH!” I know this is true because this is how I was and this is how the people with Parkinson’s with whom I have discussed this issue on a regular basis are.
Don’t you think it is time to begin breaking the rules, clearing out the illusions, and writing your own script of where you want to go in your life and your recovery. It is time to choose to start truly hunting your cure!
It is a choice. It is time to take the giant leap and choose faith!
Faith comes from deep inside you. It is that place where many of you have not been in decades. As you know from reading this blog, when I speak of God or Higher Power, I use these terms to describe the non-describable universal force that surrounds us and runs through us so everybody will know that they are included in being cured from Parkinson’s, and being cured is not based upon their religious beliefs or lack thereof. Please feel free to substitute your own terms to fit your belief system in the explanation below. With that being clarified, here is where to find your faith and KNOW you are ready to hunt your cure:
Faith. Throughout life, we, the great thinkers, start to trust our rational, logical, over-thinking minds, and we lose the instinctive nature of trusting God’s messages that come from within, where part of God resides within us. We get an impulse, and we stop and think it through and over-think it through, and often we fail to act on what it was that God was giving the impulse to do; sometimes, this is because we are afraid we might misinterpret the message or make a mistake. Over time, we fail to notice the impulses at all. Hunting your cure is the journey to go back to clear out the things in life where you did not feel good about yourself or where you started to lack trust in yourself, for it was then that you stopped listening to messages inside and started putting layers over who you are.
Faith is trusting the messages you get from deep inside yourself that tell you “Since I am doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®, I know that I am on my path to being cured of Parkinson’s.”
Faith is trusting your decision cure yourself of Parkinson’s.
Faith is ignoring everybody who tries to tell you something different than how you have decided to cure yourself of Parkinson’s.
Faith is hunting your cure and not looking back with regret.
Faith is hunting your cure and not looking forward in fear.
Faith is living in the moment, moment by moment, from the inside…trusting what you feel over what the others think.
Going back to my earlier question and answer, “When does a hunter stop hunting his or her prey? When the prey is caught.” When your prey is being cured of Parkinson’s, then you need to be committed to the hunt. You need to commit to yourself that you will be hunting your prey fearlessly, without regret, without shame or blame or self-criticism, without worrying what do your symptoms mean, without worrying what the other people are thinking…but instead, absolutely with full faith and trust in the Recipe, in your Higher Power, and in yourself to see the hunt through to the end!
And when will that end occur? When it occurs! Faith says that you do not have to concern yourself with this question because you know your cure will occur when the time is right.
Faith. Your real question is “what am I doing right here, right now, in this moment, to help me achieve my cure.” The Recipe is a soul, mind, and body cure. Open your heart and your dopamine flow by being kind and compassionate to yourself and others as you choose to live your life, not live your symptoms. Calm your mind by choosing to tell yourself that whatever is happening in this moment is necessary in your life and your Parkinson’s cure, so instead of being afraid or angry or frustrated, you welcome it because it is necessary in your journey. Heal your body by choosing to do the physical part of the Recipe.
Faith. Knowing you will be cured. Knowing you are worth it!
Yes, my friends, I have faith in all of you.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Howard,
Thank you for helping in my journey to have the COURAGE to have the FAITH!
Howard, your faith shines….your selflessness in giving to us is boundless, infectious and inspiring! So I am inspired to give back to you by heeding what you so kindly offer, settling into my tortoise-like pace with confidence and gratitude…and by receiving the gift of your wisdom and guidance, trust that I am in some small way, giving back to you. So, yes, “ENOUGH!” I will continue to shout to Ms. Fear…”Enough,” I will also gently whisper as I surrender…. then step into the knowing that resides so patiently within my heart. Thank you for these consistent and firm reminders…. maybe you really can teach an old dog new tricks!
Hunt The cure and fight the fear! Thank you for those inspiring words! I think I’m finally starting to understand the whole picture. Thank you for your constant support and love and inspiration! I am so grateful!
Greetings all
It’s been a mixed month; some days there seemed to be improvement; other days much less so. When the exercises were hard to do, I walked in my nearby park, paying attention to breathing. When I risked giving up I read Howard’s encouragements; these were critical to my resolve. A big thank you to our selfless friend. It’s hard to believe that getting worse can be a sign of getting better. I struggle with that notion. But I remain on board with the project of recovery because hope is the best fuel we have and I put my faith in that.
Warmest wishes glyn