Last week, I posted Fighting Parkinson’s, and knowing you will be cured. Today, I want to take a closer look at the sections on being mentally and spiritually out of balance. Most of you know that the rest of the world stares at Parkinson’s symptoms and determines how well or how poorly you are doing based upon what they see in your symptoms. By now, I am hoping that you know how incorrect they are in their assessments. They have never thought with a Parkinson’s mind or felt with a Parkinson’s heart.
To begin, here is an excerpt from my previous post:
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.
In the past, I have offered many things to assist with mental and spiritual healing, including the two posts that dissect the disease and walk you through the mental and spiritual healing contained in the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. They are:
Fighting Parkinson’s, and dissecting the disease, part 3 of 4, and
Fighting Parkinson’s, and dissecting the disease, part 4 of 4.
Today, I want to share with you a realization I had about how out of balance I had become, and how I transformed myself back into balance…one was imbalance of the mind, the other was imbalance of the spirit.
Imbalance of the mind. When things occurred in my life that I did not like, I experienced anger, frustration, resentment, stress, anxiety, worry, and fear. These negative emotions had become habitual. And, I held them inside. I did not explode at anybody. Instead I imploded on myself.
Imbalance of the spirit. When things were going well in my life, I was complacent, taking them for granted. Also, since I did not expect them to last, they brought no permanent joy to my heart.
Regaining mental balance. Acceptance. I realized that if I accepted what was going on in my life and my Parkinson’s as necessary, then I could respond to it non-emotionally. If I did not like what it was, I transformed the negative emotions into acceptance and put together a solution to non-emotionally deal with the issue. Click here to read more about this deeper level of acceptance.
Regaining spiritual balance. Gratitude. I realized that my life, being alive, in and of itself, was a precious and rare gift…a true blessing. To be alive and be a human being was something for which I needed to offer gratitude. I gave gratitude every day for being alive, even in a Parkinson’s body, and I gave gratitude for all of the people and things in my life. And, for me, I realized that being alive was not enough…I needed to live…really live. To really live, I realized I was a “human being,” not a “human thinking” — I needed to live life through my heart and just be in the moment, not live through my mind and over-think everything about the past and the future. Click here to read more about a deeper level of gratitude.
Yes, I know, it was your precious, brilliant, Adrenaline-driven, over-thinking mind that made you successful in life. However, by now I am certain that you know that it was your precious, brilliant, Adrenaline-driven, over-thinking mind that helped bring your Parkinson’s symptoms to the diagnosable surface. Holding onto “that” mind and all it brings into your life serves no purpose except to exacerbate your symptoms. Every one of you knows this!
Here is the simplest example: What happens to your symptoms when you experience anger, frustration, resentment, stress, anxiety, worry, or fear? They go off the charts!!! (You are being a “human thinking”). And what happens to your symptoms when you meditate or pray? They calm down!!! (You are just “being” in the moment). There is no denying it. I implore you to get out of your mind and into your heart…and LIVE YOUR LIFE, NOT YOUR PARKINSON’S.
It takes two transformations:
1. Transform negative emotions into acceptance.
2. Transform complacency and taking things for granted into gratitude.
Stop over-thinking the past with guilt and regret.
Stop over-thinking the future with anger, frustration, resentment, stress, anxiety, worry, and fear.
Start feeling life, being in your heart…your heart filling up with joy, happiness, peace, love, forgiveness, compassion, and GRATITUDE.
Speaking of gratitude, I am grateful for all of you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for supporting each other. Thank you for being the beautiful people you are. Thank you for reaching deep inside yourselves and finding that seed to nurture to empower you to do what very few people in this world think you can do…cure yourselves from Parkinson’s. How liberating is that!
Know you will cure yourself. Be in the moment of this knowing. It will change your life and change your Parkinson’s.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
A heartfelt Thank You.
That is so beautiful and moving Howard. Your posts get more beautiful and clearer every time. The posts at New Year were especially moving.
Thank you so much for your clear and kind help. All we have to do is follow your expert advice.
And it is so true. Though my outside symptoms may be the same or even slightly worse, I feel different on the inside, better, cleaner, more free from negative emotions, more joy and this is just from doing a fairly reduced version of the Recipe.
My first realisation of what was really the matter with me came 2 years ago when my old loving cat of 14 yrs company died. It was a wake up call that I had lost the ability to feel joy in my life, what she had given me all those years.
Then Howard appeared to show the way out of that terrible hole.
Thank-you Howard! And thank-you friends for sharing this journey.
It’s so amazing what our animals teach!
Yes Sally my old cat stared at me with her big eyes continuously for the few weeks before she died watching me as my anger and emotions were spiralling out of control and I had lost the ability to feel anything good or enjoy the simple small things of life. When she died it brought me so much grief it was as if she had died to give me a message. She only knew how to live with pure joy. I shall never forget her eyes.
Howard I am so deeply moved by your beautifully expressed realisations. You have a wonderful knack of sharing in such a way that I am totally inspired. Thank you. You have touched my heart.
Thank you.
I am so grateful to have you in my life Howard.
It’s as if you sit on the back door step of my mind and gently confront my secret thoughts and old habits.
Thank you so much for allowing me freedom from that place.
Dear, dear Howard
In this moment, I accept where and who I am with gratitude…I do not fully understand it, but I am grateful for the opportunity to learn. One of the most joyful realizations is that Parkinson’s has brought me you, Howard…. as well as a courageous community of souls sharing our journeys, insights and inspirations with one another. Thank you all.
Brilliant. Inspiring. I am deeply grateful to you, Howard.
This is really true. Last Sunday Luca and I went for a lovely day in the neighborhood. We had fun and a relaxing day doing nothing in particular. Luca is without medication since diagnosis by choice. In the evening, he was so calm and relaxed without worries about the day after and/or the past, he had lived entirely in the present moment that day and his hand was without tremors in the evening.
Now we understand what Howard wrote. If this can be done little by little he will be able to turn it into a way of life and he will re-balance himself and his Parkinson’s will go away because it will no longer have reason to exist in his body! It will not be easy, because he do not live in a vacuum, but little by little it can be done.
On monday again he was worried about things to do at work and all the old circus that gives him anxiety, anger, stress ecc ecc and his tremor was there again, but to us this is one of the proofs of the power of the recipe. This is not only a chance to heal, but to change mind and be a better person inside (and outside). And one day, no matter when, Mr P. will go away! We are too deeply grateful to you, Howard.
Howard,
I cannot yet say I am grateful for my PD but after reading your post I felt a wave of overwhelming gratitude to have crossed paths with you , Howard and for the countless things that you have taught me………..but then I have to remind myself that it is my Pd that brought us together. The many things I have learned from you and others in this community have been priceless and I wouldn’t have had this tremendous opportunity for growth and balance if I didn’t have PD. So ultimately I have to say I am thankful for this opportunity and for all of you. Life has a way of humbling us and that is when we become teachable. I once heard that there is no growth in an individual without deep thought and pain. I feel that PD brings us to our knees and opens our heart! Thanks to all of you!
For two days I have been reading and re-reading this post, and today all the wonderful comments. It is exactly what I needed to hear and wanted to know. But of course knowing it is not enough. As I work to regain my mental balance, I need to practice this new way of thinking. I am tempted to say practice until I get it perfect! But I know that perfection is not the goal. Sandy said it well – this needs to be turned into a way of life.
So I am eager to transform my initial response to things that frustrate and exasperate me to gracious and merciful acceptance. My prayer is that these better attitudes become a habit for me and a powerful weapon against Parkinson’s.
I, too, am so grateful to Howard for his wisdom, patience and insights into healthy living.
God bless us all!
Thank you so much Howard. You are one of the blessings I am grateful for.
That’s the hardest part to change fear anxiety and worry. They have been around for so many years with me. I find that there are moments when I manage to be in the moment and whoopee no trembling. so its all there in our minds. I have just bought the book by David Burns ‘ feeling good’ the new mood therapy. Although aimed at depression it is helping me be very aware of the thought that generated the shaking or the anxious/fearful/angry mood etc. I recommend it its very cheap on amazon. Thank you Howard yet again for reminding us of the things that need doing and that we are not alone on this journey.
Buna dragii mei,nu am mai scris de mult nici un comentariu .dar am citit tot ce s a scris aici.Din pacate a trebuit sa trec din nou pe medicamente fiindca nu am reusit sa mai merg dupa mai multe incercari de renuntareDoresc sa va spun ca am avut foarte mare avantaj ca am citit aceste sfaturi ale lui Howard,…,nu-mi mai este teama de aceasta boala,iau medicamente mai putine,ma bucur de fiecare zi si plang foarte rar.Multumesc Howard. Teri as vrea sa stiu tu cum esti. Cu dragoste LEO
Translation:
Hello dear, I have not written much comments, but I read what he wrote here. Unfortunately I had to go back on medication because I could not longer go after several attempts to renounce, but want to tell you that I had a big advantage as I read these tips from Howard, …, I do not fear the disease, take fewer drugs, I enjoy every day and rarely complain. Thank you Howard. Teri I want to know you as you are. Love LEO