Fighting Parkinson’s, and knowing you will be cured

Okay, I already hear the question: How can I “know” I will be cured? Simple. Do you want to be cured? Then decide that you are going to get what you want and decide that you will put up with whatever you have to put up with in order to achieve your cure. Simple…in theory. Difficult in practice. Why? Because Parkinson’s is a symptom of your life out of balance, and until you restore balance to your life, the symptom called Parkinson’s will remain with you as a reminder that you have more work to do.

Knowing you will be cured. In the beginning of my journey, I knew I would be cured one day. Sally knew it, too. In the last couple of weeks, I asked my daughter Victoria if she ever thought I was afraid I would not be cured or ever thought I was concerned that the increasing symptoms meant I was getting worse. She said that I was so confident in my recovery, never showing fear of Parkinson’s or concern over increasing symptoms, and as a result, she and her siblings were completely confident in my recovery as well.

My fears were in two places: 1. That the known path my mother had followed resulted in her being crippled in a wheelchair with barely any voice to speak, and that the Alzheimer’s and Dementia from 20+ years on medications had rendered her mindless three years before she died; and 2. Life. Fear of not being perfect enough or having all of the right answers or making everybody else happy or being in control of everything….

As you can see, fear of Parkinson’s was a luxury I could not afford. So what choice did I have? Decide I would cure myself and chart my own course…fearlessly!

Was my life out of balance at that point in time? Absolutely yes! (They call it Parkinson’s).
Is your life out of balance at this current point in time? If you have Parkinson’s, then absolutely yes!

Lets take a look.

Physically out of balance (not an exhaustive list):
If you cannot stand up straight and walk like you did pre-Parkinson’s, then physically you are out of balance.
If you are suffering from tremors (shaking), rigidity (stiffness), Bradykinesia (slowness), and/or fatigue, then physically you are out of balance.
If you are suffering from constipation, urgent urination, and/or chronic indigestion, then physically you are out of balance.

Mentally out of balance (not an exhaustive list):
If you think that you need to be perfect in all things, then mentally you are out of balance.
If you think you have to control everything going on in life including, but not limited to, all the other people’s happiness and feelings in general, then mentally you are out of balance.
If you cannot accept something you do not like when it is happening in the moment and you respond to it with the emotions of anger, frustration, resentment, stress, anxiety, worry, and/or fear and you are consumed by those emotions, then mentally you are out of balance.

Spiritually out of balance (not an exhaustive list):
If you love God, but you think that God does not love you, then spiritually you are out of balance.
If pre-Parkinson’s and/or now you did/do things unconditionally for others, but even in your physically debilitated current Parkinson’s body you are unable to fully and open-heartedly accept others unconditionally doing things for you because you do not love yourself or find yourself worthy, then spiritually you are out of balance.
If, instead of being in the present moment of what is going on in your life, you are looking at the past with regret and guilt instead of acceptance, and you are looking at the future with fear instead of faith, then spiritually you are out of balance.

As you can see, Parkinson’s is a symptom, a manifestation, of all of these imbalances in your life. Why does it manifest in such harsh physical symptoms? I will be the first one to step up and answer (admit) this one: Because if Parkinson’s did not provide me physical symptoms that lasted until the day of my cure, I would not have fixed the physical, mental, and spiritual imbalances in my life. I lacked the understanding and motivation to change.

I had become the old me. It is what worked in my life, so I thought. I had to admit to myself that I was out of balance in my life. Did I do it on purpose? Of course not. It happened while I was living life that way I thought life was supposed to be lived. There is no shame, no blame, no finger-pointing, no fault, no guilt in getting Parkinson’s.

I knew the way I thought and felt had to change because the way I was thinking and feeling had helped me get Parkinson’s. So, I decided to do what was the complete opposite of how I thought and felt…I decided with full faith and no fear that I would cure myself from an incurable disease and I would tolerate whatever it had in store for me along the way, and that I would do it day-by-day, moment-by-moment, in the present, here and now. For me, that was anti-Howard, the Howard I had become. I knew it would work.

And, how did I restore balance to my life? By doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® day-by-day, moment-by-moment, staying in the present.

And, how will you restore balance to your life? By doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® day-by-day, moment-by-moment, staying in the present.

And be patient. The journey you are on is life. When you cross the final finish line in your life, it is death. I haven’t heard one person say they are in a hurry to reach the final finish line in life. Slow down, and please be patient and enjoy the journey of life. Feel your recovery in your zest to be alive, in the joy in your heart, in your compassion for yourself and others, in your love for yourself and others. And be grateful. It changed my life the day I became grateful for being alive, even in a Parkinson’s body. I cherished the breath of life and was grateful. I still am.

Know you will be cured. Do the Recipe. Make it happen. Be your own cure!

You are worth it!!!

All my best,

Howard